Hazel Grouse again

It has been a good while since a blog post and even longer since there was a regular one. February is a quiet birding month when the weather can also make it difficult to get around (unless you strap skis or skates to your feet). This is the time of the year when birders can really get the blues and that has definitely been the case with me. I have felt the need to do (and see) something different and in the end succeeded. I have still been drawn back to the Jack Snipe many times though but my hope of seeing the bird do something other than standing frozen to the spot are no closer to fruition. The thrill of the hunt though is still the same and I do get a sense of achievement every time I find its hiding place.

In addition to my smelly stream I have now discovered a small stream (no more than 100m long) and narrow enough to step over which has held a Water Rail and Common Snipe which again highlights the potential to find lots more of these birds if one systematically checks all unfrozen streams and ditches.

A territorial male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was a most welcome change to proceedings and showed quite well for this species. They are quite a rare bird now a days and it can often go many months between my sightings.

I have had a few unproductive walks in the forest recently where I have stuck to ski tracks so as to avoid deep snow and ice. I decided that I needed to be more adventurous though and went off piste on Friday with snow upto my knees at times. This paid off handsomely though with “my” Hazel Grouse pair showing incredibly well both on the snow and above me in trees eating buds and shoots. These birds are always a treat to watch and the closeness they allow you to approach feels like a blessing from the Bird Gods.

male Hazel Grouse (jerpe)

and the female

and some pictures of both together

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)

some Waxwings (sidensvans)

and Siskin (grønnsisik)

I paid a visit to the Water Rails (vannrikse) at Østenstjøvannet

two birds with a Blackbird (svarttrost)

And of course some Jack Snipe pictures

7 Feb:

this bird was very much in the open and may well have been moving from one place to another when it froze

an hour later and it had moved 20m and was much better hidden

11 Feb:

when I saw this Mallard swimming along I thought it might spook the Jack Snipe but he remained frozen to the spot

And something completely different, the northern lights over Maridalen on Thurday evening.