OSLO BIRDER: Garganey in Maridalen

Thursday 21 April 2022

Garganey in Maridalen - finally!

I’m not sure whether I have written on it before but I often wonder what my next Maridalen species will be (after having reached 200 with a Kittiwake last autumn). Of course I hope for something rare with Pallid Harrier my most hoped for but there are a number of commoner species that I still miss. Pochard, Moorhen, Nightjar and Woodlark are obvious candidates although it is only Woodlark that has previously been recorded but Garganey is the species that I have known will fall sooner or later. There are three previous records of which one was a pair found by Halvard on an early morning when we had agreed to meet up but I slept in.

Yesterday morning Halvard again found Garganey on Maridalsvannet but this time I was awake although a phone that was initially on silent and then started doing an IOS update meant it took a while before I saw he had tried calling me and messaging me. No harm done though as they were still present when I got up there at 0820. Two pairs were sleeping on the water at the edge of the ice and I felt a rare calm descend over me as I sat and watched them. THANK YOU Halvard!

The lake is still over 90% frozen (probably 99%) but it will start breaking up very soon and the ice free areas in the bays are growing and growing and there is a really birdy feel to the place now. Green Sandpipers are everywhere and their migration is peaking now. The high numbers and variation in plumage has surprise, surprise resulted in reports of multiple Wood and Common Sandpipers around Oslo (although not in Maridalen thankfully). It never fails to surprise (and annoy) me how many, including quite active, birders fall into the same trap year after year – if you think you have seen an early Common or Wood Sand then please take a picture 😊

The only waders in addition to the Green Sands were 6 Snipe feeding together (and another found dead with a broken wing from most likely flying into a wire) and Lapwing but this will have to change soon. In addition to the 4 Garganey there was a male Gadwall, male Wigeon, 70 odd Teal, 13 Goosander plus Mallard and Goldeneye. Gadwall is a less than annual visitor to the Dale so was an additional sign dabbling ducks were on the move.

I had hoped that there would be a good movement of raptors and whilst I did see a Marsh Harrier and 3 Ospreys it was not as good as I thought the weather conditions should have delivered. Two singing Willow Warblers turned out to be my earliest EVER in Norway

The Garganey were very unafraid but for some reason my pictures didn’t do them justice. I took a lot of video that I have not been through yet but will try to post soon.