Goshawk

Over the weekend it turned warm again and we had strong southerly winds and rain which has of course made it treacherous to be out and about. The conditions were clearly spring like for some species though and there has been a small arrival of Greylag Geese in Oslo and two Wood Pigeons flying over Maridalen looked very usure as to where they should go.

In Maridalen the male Three-toed Woodpecker was drumming again yesterday when it briefly turned sunny. I have yet to see or hear a female so it will be exciting if he stays in the area to see when and if a female turns up. In previous years I have two female that have fought over amale so there is much potential excitement to be had.

Otherwise a Goshawk astride a freshly killed Hooded Crow was the highlight of otherwise quite birdless conditions.

Goshawk (hønsehauk). The large size of the bird should make it a female and the brown feathers mean it is a 2nd winter/3cy

male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett)

Drumming Three-toed pecker

When the sun shines now then more and more species celebrate the longer days and prospect of spring by singing. I have heard various tits, Greenfinch and Goldfinch singing, Ravens displaying and on Thursday woodpeckers suddenly started drumming. I heard 3 Great Spotted simultaneously but best of all was a male Three-toed that showed very well and at times a Great Spotted could be heard in the background which allowed for a good comparison of their subtly different drumrolls.

Wednesday was very exciting when I discovered one of the Pygmy Owls atop a spruce tree. That in itself wasn’t so exciting but was made it so was that a weasel was running around (and disappearing in holes in the snow) right under the owl. The owl had clearly seen the weasel and I was wondering whether it would attempt to take it. Size wize a weasel is large but is it too large? Or does the owl recognise that it is not a rodent but rather a ferocious killing machine? Either way the owl whilst intently following the weasel did not make any attempt on its life and I expect both were attracted to just that area because there were mice/voles to be found. It is even possible that the weasel attracts the owl as the weasel may scare mice into the open?

The owl was in the same place for a good half an hour and a couple of times Hooded Crows and Magpies flew over which caused the owl to radically change posture and become much thinner and taller and with its tiny “ears” raised. I am not sure as to whether it was trying to appear large and more menacing or whether it was trying to become invisible to the corvids.

male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett) drumming

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) doing its xmas decoration imitation

reacting to a Magpie flying over - notice the "ears"

and hear when a Hooded Crow flew over

this is only the 3rd time I can remember seeing a Weasel (snømus) and all have been in winter when they are white

apart from the much smaller size, the lack of a black tail tip separates Weasel from Stoat (røyskatt). This picture is photoshopped

displaying Ravens

Beaver in January

On Saturday temperatures were down to -19C in Maridalen and yesterday they were+6C. It had also rained on Monday so wherever the snow had been compacted (roads, footpaths and tracks in the forest) had turned into ice. These are the worst winter conditions we can have and even in a country which is used to winter there are lots of problems on the road and with public transport and people are urged to stay at home.

The change in the weather had some effects on bird and animal life. Strong southerly winds had pushed seabirds into the Oslofjord and I had an adult Kittiwake off Fornebu yesterday although a lot more were seen further south. In Maridalen three Fieldfare were new in and seemed to be optimistic birds thinking spring had sprung. The most interesting observation was a couple of Beavers! All waterways including streams and rivers in Maridalen have been frozen but the rain has caused water in places to run over the ice. I was looking for Three-toed Woodpecker (which I did see) when I noticed a fresh Beaver activity and then I saw two animals floating in the water. As they were over the ice the water was shallow and also very clear and I had unusually good views.

Otherwise the Dale gave up to of its Pygmy Owls and the Great Grey Shrike but generally it is very birdless at the moment.

Beaver - I think this was a young animal as it seemed quite small

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

as you usual it is a gang of angry passerines, in this case Greenfinches (grønnfink) that reveal the presence of an owl

surprisingly a Magpie (skjære) also seemed annoyed with the much smaller owl

Great Grey Shrike (varsler)

a distant adult Kittiwake (krykkje)

Moose (elg) have been quite easy to find especially at night with the thermal imager but also in the day

Releasing my inner togger

The weather is all over the place again. Earlier in the week we had blizzards and snow is now around a half metre deep and even more where it has drifted. Today and yesterday we had blue skies, no wind and temperatures dropped to -21C in Maridalen creating magical conditions to be out in. We are forecast more snow on Sunday before temperatures then turn positive and we will have a lot of rain before it again goes below zero and everything will turn into an icy hell!

Yesterday I was at Fornebu for sun rise and felt my inner togger bursting to be set free. I was hoping to see the Beardies and as I looked over the reedbed the reeds were covered in snow, the sun was just rising creating an amazing golden light and the tits were not too far out. The low golden back light just looked magnificent and in my head I was seeing amazing, indeed prize winning, images with the icy breath of the birds visible, snow flakes flying through the air as they fed and amazing halos of light around the birds. Of course things didn’t turn out quite as imagined with a lack of skill, freezing fingers and a camera that was struggling but the best pictures do capture how it was to be there.

There were a least 8 Beardies and they gradually came closer and closer until some eventually came through the fence and were feeding less than 5 metres away. At one stage it became clear that a predator had been sighted and the birds all called and flew down just as a young male Sparrowhawk whizzed past me and ended up crashing into the fence. It seemed unharmed by the fence and flew off to a nearby tree with empty talons. The tits went quiet for a long time and were clearly hiding on the ground (in the snow) within the reedbed but eventually started making some noise although seemed reluctant to return to feeding exposed.

A week ago in the garden a Blackbird was taken presumably by a Sparrowhawk and this resulted in an exodus of all things feathered. Blackbirds which had previously numbered at least 7 birds have now only numbered, at most, 2 and the 30 strong mixed flock of House and Tree Sparrows was completely absent for 6 days and whilst most of the House Sparrows have returned I have only seen a single Tree. I am surprised the effect this single act of predation has had but assume that when they fled they found another garden in the neighbourhood with a better menu (and cover?) than mine.

the light over the snow covered reedbed was fantastic and,,

forever changing

Maridalen today

despite this look, the Beast is in his element now

the remains of a male Blackbird (svarttrost) in the garden

the Purple Sandpipers (fjæreplytt) at Huk are tough little fellas and this one had blobs of ice on its feathers