This week has continued in the doldrums with very few birds
(as is quite typical for mid-April) and the reason was made clear today. Mid-April
is still early in the spring and birds know this through thousands of years of
evolution and the weather can turn quickly very wintery as it did this morning
with 10cm of snow in Maridalen. Whether we will now get a rush of birds or
whether they still think it is too early will we find out in the coming days
but we should at least get a mini rush tomorrow of returning birds who temporarily
fled back south.
The doldrums does not mean no new Oslo birds though and I
have had four in four days although Tuesday and Wednesday were blanks.
Yesterday gave me some 7 species of raptor in Maridalen and Marsh Harrier #134
and Hen Harrier #135 were new for the year. These species never feel guaranteed
although some prolonged sky gazing in mid or late April should produce them.
Today I quickly abandoned Maridalen when I saw that the snow had left the
fields empty of birds and headed for Østensjøvannet. There was nothing of
interest on the lake although the stubble fields held quite a few Meadow Pipits
and White Wagtails. I had a hope that this might produce a Lapland Bunting and
sure enough it did with me picking up one singing! #136 and then seeing it very
well. Biggest surprise though was clearly hearing a Tree Pipit #137. This is by
far my earliest record but this year is seeing a lot of early migrants (edit it is not my earliest as I have previously had a bird on the same date which remains the 4th earliest bird documented with a photo in Norway). It
would not surprise me if my next new species will be my earliest ever Willow Warbler.
I have paid a couple of visits to Nordre Øyeren in the hope
that there would be more to see there which there was although not much more.
Bar-tailed Godwit and Little Ringed Plovers on flooded fields were my first in
2024 but water levels are now so high that there are no mudflats exposed.
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the field at Nes in Maridalen today |
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and driving in with Skjerven farm in the middle |
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male Lapland Bunting (lappspurv) at Østensjøvannet |
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and when it was singing from a tree |
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the Greylag Goose (grågås) nest from my last post covered in snow. The water level has also fallen considerably this week |
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Maridalen's Lapwings (vipe) had problems finding food in the snow |
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there were not many thrushes to see but here are some Mistles (duetrost) |
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and a Song Thrush (måltrost) |
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and a comparison of both species from behind with Mistle having broad white edges to the tertials |
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one of three Twite (bergirisk) today. The main migration of this species is behind us now |
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