OSLO BIRDER: Hedmark 2022

If you are reading this expecting an account of my time in the mountains and pictures of Bluethroats, Great Snipe, Dotterel and the like then you may end up being disappointed. If however you were just hoping to read about amazing Norwegian birds then I think you will be satisfied.

My trip with Conor to the cabin in the mountains had to be called off due to illness and I was left with the family not expecting me to be around and lots of birds waiting for me to see them. Instead of heading off to the mountains I decided to hit Hedmark on Friday. I used to do this trip at least once every year but have not done so since 2018 with Corona having put a stop to it for the last 2 years. My target with the trip was owls and Ortolan Bunting. Normally I would also try to see Rustic Bunting but this seems to have disappeared as a breeding bird in the south of Norway (although interestingly seems to be establishing itself in the very far north). Ortolan is also in danger of disappearing with just 6 pairs found last year at 4 sites. I visited the main site where as recently as 2016 I heard 6 singing males and only found a single pair. It is possible that it is still early in the season and more birds will arrive but this is not good news for the species. The pair did seem to in breeding mode though so if they raise a couple of broods then there is some hope. They were surrounded by Yellowhammers and it is difficult to understand what differentiates these species and stops them competing with each other.

After enjoying the buntings in their sandy farmland habitat it was time to entire the endless commercial forests where clearings and the provisions of nest boxes and platforms has proved to be good for two of our largests owls: Great Grey and Ural. Great Grey is the commonest but I failed to find any birds although if I had stayed until dusk then I would surely have done so. Ural Owl with under 20 pairs known in Norway is nearly as rare as Ortolan and is also similarly predictable in where to find it as they regularly use the same nest boxes. I visited a nest box I have seen them in before and where I know a bird was singing earlier in the spring only to find lots of recent foresty work and the tree holding the nest box felled. A frantic phone call to a man in the know revealed that the nest box had been moved and when I started searching where I believed it to be I was found by mummy Ural who flew towards me calling! She luckily kept her distance and I then saw the nest box which ultimately revealed itself to be holding three large young who will no doubt soon be leaving the nest at what seems like an early date. I kept a safe distance and mum calmed down and the young started peering out of the hole. At one stage dad sang from nearby and was answered by mum. I saw him briefly and hoped I would see food delivered but this did not happen and after a little while longer I took this as my cue to leave them.

The area also held Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Cuckoo, Redstart and Parrot Crossbill aswell as my first mosquitos of the year so was all in all a good stop.

I was pretty knackered by all the driving on Friday and had an uncharacteristic lie in on Saturday despite it raining and me knowing this was perhaps the greatest chance of finding something good this spring. On checking my phone I saw loads of messages of good birds and decided to head for a place where no messages had come from but which must hold something, namely the (once) mighty Svellet. I was glad to see there were waders and set about trying to work out what they were although the distance, light and rain made it difficult. I was hoping for Broad-billed Sandpiper but had to settle for a couple of Turnstones and Temminck’s Stints amongst Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, Redshank and Ruff. It is very interesting how there were no Greenshank or Wood Sandpipers which in the first half of May are the dominant species here and number in the hundreds. After 5 minutes I was joined by Reidar Myhre and whilst I kept looking through the small waders and ignoring the large white birds (gulls) in the area, he calmly asked me what I made of the tern sleeping amongst them (he knew what it was). Looking one meter behind the waders it was clear there was a Caspian Gull there and I felt a real sense of déjà vu to my visit on 16 May 2017.

After this very good result I thought there was a chance of something in the Dale. There were no large numbers of waders but 2 Ringed Plovers were only my second record there and caused Halvard to appear in a flash for a Maridalen tick. A singing Cuckoo was lovely to hear as I fear that every year will be the last time I hear one there.

As usual I took far too many pictures and video and have only managed to go through the pictures so far. The videos will come soon and there should be good ones there I think 😊