Beardies!

Sunday’s walk around Fornebu resulted in no Pallid Swift (nor was it refound by anyone else) and I had nothing else of note although Razorbills and Rb Mergansers feeding on small fish right by the shore was a sight that even Mrs OB appreciated. In the evening I saw that 7 Bearded Tits had been seen so was a bit disappointed that we had failed to find them. On Monday morning I was down at Fornebu again though and in the 3^rd reedbed I tried I found eventually a minimum of 9 Beardies. We had none at Fornebu last winter so it is nice to have a good sized flock again that will hopefully stay a good while.

Today I found only 4 Beardies and maybe they are still on the move and do not consider Fornebu entirely to their liking. The weather over the next few days is forecast to be poor so I do not think these birds will be leaving just yet though.

Only a single Jack Snipe seems to be left although more may well turn up when the cold weather sets in further north.

male Bearded Tit (skjeggmeis) calling

female

another female with a lot less black on the back and none on the crown

Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin)

a male Goosander coming into breeding plumage. I am unsure as to whether it is an adult coming out of eclipse or a young bird