OSLO BIRDER: First spring migrants and record early Taiga Beans!

It doesn’t feel very much like spring at the moment but temperatures have been a few degrees on the red side of zero and there has been a strong southerly wind the last couple of days and this seems to have been the cue that the first spring migrants needed. A walk around Maridalen yesterday revealed a flock of 9 Greylags first heading north and then thinking better and heading south and a Skylark calling as it headed north. Today a Skylark was singing and a pair of Whooper Swans were on the only tiny area of open water on the lake.

Whilst we were in Maridalen yesterday an email came in from Larry in Scotland telling me that a couple of the tagged Bean Geese were calling in from Norway. This is a record early arrival and Larry was keen to know what conditions were like. Previously they have arrived only to find it too snowy and then returned to Denmark. Conditions in Maridalen were definitely not suitable but I didn’t know how it was along the Glomma River so decided to find out. As I drove north and further inland I was surprised to see less and less snow and when I arrived at my destination there was very little snow on the fields although the ground was still frozen. Stopping at the river first I was surprised to see not a single goose or even swan and then went searching likely fields. My first stops revealed nothing but then I saw the flock in flight. I thought they were heading for the river but they surprisingly landed on a field close to the road. This proved to be a short stop before they headed north where I refound them on a favoured field. This field had been ploughed already but they seemed to be finding food. It was now getting dark and I headed to the river where I saw them come into roost 20 minutes after sun set. Despite the record early arrival of the Beans the only other migrants I saw in the area were 2 Stock Doves and it is difficult to understand why they have chosen to come so early (other years they have not turned up until the end of March).

I counted 112 birds and saw three birds with GPS collars and 2 with metal collars of which I managed to read T8 who was ringed as a juvenile in Scotland in October 2015 and who I have seen every year since.