Gressholmen

The car has been in the garage for a couple of days and I used the chance to bird Oslo by public transport including on the boat out to Gressholmen. Despite damp, grey weather there was lots of life on Gressholmen with displaying Shelduck, Red-breasted Mergansers, Oystercatchers and Black-headed Gulls making lots of noise. 11 Ringed Plover was a very high count and may well be the entire local breeding population. The coastal breeding birds return early where as the birds that breed in the mountains or tundra do not pass through mid May. Chaffinches were also back and singing and it was pure heaven to hear them 😊. I was hoping for some more unusual migrants such as Rock Pipit or Snow Bunting but it was very quiet on the passerine front except for my first Grey Wagtail of the year.

With the car back I paid a visit to Fornebu today and could add Snow Bunting to my year list and in Maridalen I finally added Black Woodpecker plus had my first Mistle Thrush and Buzzard there.

The Oslo area is still very much in the grips of winter whereas places to the south but also inland to the north east have far less snow cover. We are forecast to have temperatures below zero again next week so there will not be any big arrivals of migrants for a bit.

here the male Shelduck (gravand) seem to be making the moves

but here it is a female chasing off another female

this video has displaying Shelduck and Red-breasted Mergansers (siland)

And this video has a sound I had not heard for over half a year

3 of the 11 Ringed Plovers (sandlo)

the Little Grebe (dvergdykker) at Frognerkilen now in near full summer plumage. Look how small it is compared to the (not very large) Goldeneyes (kvinand)

this gull caught my eye and had a definite Caspi vibe to it. It was ringed in Oslo on 26 July 2020 as a 2cy Herring Gull but the ringer also wondered whether it was a hybrid. Since being ringed it has been reported from exactly the same place year round

my first Maridalen Buzzard (musvåk) of 2023