Spotted peckers

Another week has passed without me blogging which is a sign of a very quiet period. The weather has been quite changeable but we had a day with strong southerly winds and plus temperatures which brought some Greylag Geese and also the first (very early) Stock Doves although I didn’t see them.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers have started to drum but the other ‘peckers are still in winter mode and are concentrated on finding food which makes them difficult to find (I have for example yet to see or hear a Black Woodpecker in 2023 although quite soon it will be difficult to avoid them). A male Lesser Spot did show well but there was no calling or drumming in the period I observed it. Tits are also singing now on sunny days and we can definitely start looking forward to spring. The weather forecast for next week is for southerly winds with plus temperatures so we may well see some foolhardy migrants turning up – maybe the Taiga Bean Geese will arrive record early.

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)

here it seems to have located something to eat

only my third sighting of the Great Grey Shrike (varlser) in Maridalen this year

Goshawks (hønsehauk) are becoming more obvious and this bird is I believe a 3cy male (it is in the same territory where a 2cy male bred last year)

Starling (stær)

Robin (rødstrupe)