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