OSLO BIRDER: Ural Owl in Oslo?!?

I have started a fair few blog posts describing the day’s events as the best ever so I will not do that but yesterday may well go down as one of, if not the, most unexpected days birding I have had in Oslo.

The day started very well with a female Grey-headed Woodpecker at Fornebu (probably the same bird I saw there a few weeks ago) which showed particularly well feeding in trees. I followed it for a long time and did not once hear it tapping (as I would expect from other woodpecker species) and it only called a couple of times meaning it would be very easy to miss it. Only a single Bearded Tit revealed itself it me although my birds were reported by others.

The day took its turn for the unexpected though when I received a picture from Kjetil Johannessen with just the text “discovered from the kitchen window”. I did a double take as the picture was of a Ural Owl!!!! If you had asked me to predict the next new species I would see in Oslo I think this would have come a long way down the list. With only around 10 pairs known in Norway and a very sedentary nature it is not a bird you expect to find out of range. They have a more varied diet than the vole specialists like GG and Hawk Owl so are less likely to be forced out of range by food shortages but they do very exceptionally turn up in unexpected places. My first record was one such wandering bird in October 2012 and a record from a couple of weeks ago of a bird seen by the motorway south-east of Oslo did suggest that something was up with the species. But for one to turn up in a small urban wood in Oslo was not on the cards.

I was a bit stressed when I got the message as dusk was fast approaching but I was able to arrive just in time and I saw it where Kjetil had found it (a gang of crows had previously been giving it grief). After only around 10 minutes though it started looking around and then flew off into the wood. My thermal imager came into its own though and I was able to relocate it and we were able to see it clearly looking for food although after not too long a loose dog and a noisy owner caused it to fly out of sight and in the failing light (and despite use of the thermal imager) it was lost to us. Searches today (including by me) failed to refind it but that definitely does not mean it has gone and I wouldn’t be surprised if it or another turns up again soon. Hopefully there may be other owls on the move as winters progresses although there are few records from other places to suggest so.

I did have an owl today though with a very cooperative Pygmy Owl in Maridalen so also today goes down as a good ‘n.