Rosefinch

 It is very hot and sunny at the moment and the fields are getting very dry in Maridalen which will be a test for the Lapwings. Yesterday I saw a brood of 4 to the west of the road where the previous day I saw just one. As I saw no others in that area I am assuming that I just missed 3 young previously although maybe they were a new brood as I thought the single youngster I saw was a bit bigger. Otherwise the two females are still sitting and I saw what was probably another female in the long grass but still do not know what has become of the other birds.

It is an above average year for Wrynecks in Maridalen with I believe 2 pairs and a single male but other Woodpeckers seem to be having a very poor year. I have only had one sighting of a pair of Three-toed and haven’t located a nest, I have just had two sightings of Green Woodpecker all year (would normally be 3-4 pairs) and know of only 1 Black Woodpecker nest. Even Great Spotted seem scarce than usual. It is still early for Red-backed Shrikes but 2 pairs is promising. Yesterday I watched one pair whilst a Wryneck sang in the background which for an English birder is a pretty unforgettable experience.

I have finally added Common Rosefinch to my year list but had to travel to Sørkedalen where a red male showed very well. It is still a but early but it is my definite impression that this year continues last years negative trend for this species. Being unfaithful to Maridalen also allowed me to hear a Cuckoo😊

A Hobby pair has now shown up in Maridalen and yesterday I saw and heard them briefly harassing a pair of nesting Hooded Crows in what I interpreted as an attempt to take over the crow’s nest.

old male Common Rosefinch (rosenfink)

Hobby (lerkefalk)

a well camoflagued (and badly photographed) Icterine Warbler (gulsanger)

pair of Red-backed Shrikes (tornskate)

and a glimpse of the Wryneck (vendehals) that was singing behind them

Jays (nøtteskrike) are now visiting marshy areas searching for emerging dragonfly larvae although there are not yet many for them to find and I did not see this one make a catch

Grizzled Skipper (bakkesmyger)

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (rødflekket perlemorvinge)

Dragons and Little Gull

I spent little time looking at dragonflies last year and was unsure whether I would do so this year but an observation on Sunday has reignited my interest. In 2020 an encounter with a Broad-bodied Chaser (blåbredlibelle) was very memorable and when I saw one (only my second) on Sunday I felt quite a rush and fear that I may spend lots of frustrating time chasing and trying to take photos of odonate again this year. I had seen my first dragons and damsels last week but they were newly emerged individuals without any proper markings and this is do frustrating that I did actually there and then decide I wouldn’t bother this year. But how things change and on Sunday morning I managed to identify 4 species.

Birding wise I have got a little more control of the Lapwing situation in Maridalen with 2 birds still sitting and 2 broods (3 and 1) seen although the farmer has seen two more broods.

An adult Little Gull at Østensjøvannet seems quite settled and has shown ridiculously we for some although I had to make do with trying to take flight shots as it zoomed past me catching flying insects which as we all know is beyond me.

adult Little Gull (dvergmåke)

female(?) Broad-bodied Chaser (blåbredlibelle)

Siskin (grønnsisik) - looks like young all alreadt on the wing

adult male

a new brood of at least 1 Lapwing were hanging around this green island (um is just visible to the right)

Greenfinch (grønnfink) and Siskin

and here a video of a Wryneck (vendehals)  singing in Maridalen which has an unusually long song.

First Lapwing brood in Maridalen

We are now heading to the time of the year when I spend as much time looking down as I do looking up. The days are getting hotter and sunnier, migration is winding down and butter and dragonflies are emerging.

After a surprise Cuckoo in Maridalen – a silent bird that just appeared in a bush in front of me for 10 seconds – I am only missing Common Rosefinch from the common migrants. It does feel strange to have not heard a Cuckoo yet but next weekend I am travelling with Conor to Valdres again and there we should hear many although there is still so much snow in the mountains it will be interesting to see how far spring has come.

A pair of Common Scoter resting on Maridalsvannet on Thursday were a typical late migrant but otherwise there has hardly been a bird to see on the water. The Lapwing situation is confusing. On Thursday there were just two females sitting but on Friday morning I got a message from Halvard that there was female with three young. When I got there later in the morning I could just see 2 females sitting on nests but then in the afternoon I had the female with 3 young and a bird on a nest so I am unsure if there is a brood plus 2 nests or 1 brood and 1 nest – time will tell. Whilst I was watching in the afternoon I saw the sitting female fly off the nest to go and feed. She had to fly to another field as the nesting field is extremely dry with presumably little food. When she flew off, her mate who had been standing about 50m away then flew up and flew over and around the nest as though he was protecting it.

3 Lapwing (vipe) young with mum

the still sitting bird

Common Scoter (svartand) pair

my first Cuckoo(gjøk) of the year

a healthy looking but thin Fox. With it not being a rodent year then foxes will struggle to find food for their young and birds will make up a higher proportion of their catch

there seems to be breeding in both Goshawk (hønsehauk) territories in Maridalen. In one I could not see a bird on the nest but the nest rim had a lot of white feathers on it and at the second (pictured) they are using a new nest which also had a lot of white feathers and I eventually managed to see a head sticking up

a return visit to Østensjøvannet allowed a distant picture of the Pochard (taffeland)

The Wryneck (vendehals) pair is still active in Maridalen and I do not know if they have started nesting

the other bird (probably female) in the pair

this male Yellow Wagtail (gulerle) in Maridalen was either a late migrant or a bird thinking of breeding (the marsh it was on seemed a suitable nesting site). It has an interesting plumage with a weak supercilium and a bold subocular patch so is not a typical thunbergi but what it is I cannot say

a shameful and unsuccessful trip to Østensjøvannet to year tick a piece of plastic did see a Coot (sothøne) danceoff

Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) in Maridalen eating a beetle

this singing Whitethroat (tornsanger) popped up right in front of me. This was at Østensjøvannet but the first bird has also appeared in Maridalen. They always appear later in Maridalen as the slightly higher altitude means that vegetation takes a week or so longer to develop

And some butterflies

a female Orange-tip (aurorasommerfugl)

my first fritillary of the year, a Pearl Bordered (rødflekketperlemorvinge)

and a Dingy Skipper (tiriltunge smyger) in Maridalen. Now that I have got used to how small these skippers are and how early they fly I am finding more and more of them

I also took pictures of day flying moths but will resist showing them

A Tale of Two Twitches

Two very different twitches yesterday and only one involving a bird. The day started with Jr and I rushing down to Drøbak to see the USS Gerald R Ford entering the inner Oslo Fjord. This is the largest military vessel in the world and was quite a sight. It carries more aircraft than the entire Norwegian military has and has more sailors on one ship than are in the entire Norwegian navy. We have previously seen the USS Iwo Jima in Oslo which is classed as an Amphibous Assault Ship although for all intents and purposes is an aircraft carrier with additional capabilities and last year HMS Queen Elizabeth which is the UKs pride and joy but looks a bit puny in comparison to what our American cousins sail in.

The arrival of the ship was covered constantly all day on Norwegian TV and we were far from alone in travelling to see it in Drøbak – the narrow streets of this tourist town were gridlocked for over an hour after the boat had vanished from sight. It is of course an impressive display of military strength but when you see it you also realise how vulnerable it must be to a hostile attack.

 

The birding day had begun with a singing Icterine Warbler on the morning dog walk and the return (finally) of screaming Swifts. On the way back from Ship Twitch I had a couple of minutes roadside at Østensjøvannet and year ticked a Pochard and then headed into town for Twitch #2. The Mountain Marsh Runner was still present and the chances of it moving on mid day were so little that I felt that a successful twitch was as good as guaranteed. It was quite stressful getting out to Gressholmen though as there were SO many tourists and the ferry was delayed but I quickly left the masses on Gressholmen (after saying hi to two happy birders who were leaving after enjoying the bird). It was easy to find in the tidal bay and had the company of Oystercatchers, 3 Redshank and 2 Ringed Plovers. The Ringed Plovers were local (unsuccessful?) breeders and kept taking exception to the MMR causing it to fly around. It was generally fairly distant but did come a bit closer after one of its alterations with a plover. There was VERY little passerine life on Gressholmen but I hoped strong southerly winds would produce something on the sea (skuas were being reported heading north further south) but I couldn’t find anything on the sea. The MMR takes my all time Oslo list to 247 – I remember well passing 200 and thinking that was the pinnacle but 250 must now be within reach.

Broad-billed Sandpiper (fjellmyrløper)

here being scared by a Ringed Plover (sandlo)

and fleeing the plover

USS Gerald Ford. Here the tug boat is pulling the back left to help it turn

and here pulling it right

very Top Gun

you need good balance to stand there

with an escort of Norways finest

male Eider (ærfugl)

Eider family

Redshank (rødstilk)