We have had the first good day of the year in Maridalen
and I am looking forward to many more! On Tuesday I had only the second ever
record of Rock Pipit and also a Lapland Bunting which is not seen annually and
this was the earliest ever record in the Dale. There was not much else to be
seen though and it was definitely a case of quantity over quality. The Rock Pipit flew up calling from a stubble field and I initially assumed it was an early Meadow Pipit but the sound was not quite right and I prayed it would land which thankfully it did allowing me to confirm it as a Rock Pipit. Rock Pipit are being encountered more regularly inland on spring migration but are usually on wetlands so a record in a stubble field is definitely unusual. On Monday I
searched in vain for a Woodlark that had been seen the day before. This was a
Maridalen first and a bird I have yet to see in Oslo so it was a crying shame
that the news was not shared effectively. Woodlark is a species that is expanding
in Norway and with lots of forestry work around Oslo and the creation of
clearings that might suit the species then I had been expecting one to turn up
(along with Nightjar).
It is still cold and very dry and this seems to be
putting a stop to migration although the first Song Thrushes and Great Crested Grebes have now turned up.
male Lapland Bunting (lappspurv)
proof it was in the Dale
Rock Pipit (skjærpiplerke)
female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)
a pair of Wigeon (brunnakke) at Østensjøvannet
this ringed Black-headed Gull (hettemåke) was seen in Yorskire in January
and this one in Kew Gardens, London in October. Both birds (with sequential ring numbers) were ringed at Østensjøvannet on 10 April 2021
this is a much older bird and was ringed as a 2cy bird at Østensjøvannet on 12 June 2012 but in the following 10 years has never been reported away from Oslo
The last 6 days have seen a number of new birds for
the year with Crane, White-fronted Goose, Linnet, Woodlark, White-tailed Eagle,
Teal, Reed Bunting, Grey Wagtail, Moorhen, Dunnock and Merlin all gracing my optics
with their presence.
Sunday was a great day for visible migration and I joined
Jack D in Maridalen to witness the first large movement of Pink-footed Geese.
We had at least 2000 go right over our heads and managed to pick out 6 Barnacle
Geese amongst them. We were looking for White-fronted Geese as well (the stomach barring on adults should stand out) without
noting any but I took quite a few pictures and managed to pick out one from
them (which had also been seen a bit to the south a few minutes previously).
I had a great day in the forest on Tuesday when I
visited my Hazel Grouse and had him feeding and singing nearly at my feet. The
female was nowhere to be seen (they are normally together at this time of the
year) and given how much he was singing I fear something may have happened to
her. A pair of Three-toed Woodpeckers turned up in the same area and I had both
species from the same spot. I have also currently a pair of Three-toeds at
another spot so things are looking good for nailing down both species this
spring although it is still a month before the peckers will start nest building
so they could still move on.
Black Woodpeckers are nest building in Maridalen and
Lesser Spots showing regularly so hopefully they too will breed.
I visited the Woodlarks site again on Monday and 3-4
birds were now present and singing strongly – surely one of the best songsters
we have.
Here are quite a lot of photos and videos but I feel the quality is so good they deserve to be shown 😀
A video of the Hazel Grouse and Three-toed Pecker taken with my phone (they were that close!)
And a video of the Hazel Grouse singing taken with the bazooka on a tripod
male Hazel Grouse (jerpe)
male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett)
and a female
This video has the contact call of a Three-toed which is very similar to Great Spotted and often I cannot tell the different
Woodlark (trelerke)
and a video where you can hear its song
Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås) migrating with Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås)
and a White-fronted Goose (tundragås) which I only picked up from looking at my pictures
my first adder (hoggorm) of 2022
nest building female Black Woodpecker (svartspett)
Coot (sothøne)
the first Cranes (trane) of the year over Maridalen
displaying Goldeneye (kvinand)
mating looks quite violent
my first Pink-footed Goose on the deck
Small Tortoisehell (neslesommerfugl)
a very early Common Snipe (enkeltbekkasin) in Maridalen
distant White-tailed Eagle (havørn)
Whooper Swans (sangsvane)
mating
male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)
Lesser Redpoll (brunsisik) which are already singing in Maridalen
