Snow and freezing temperatures have left Oslo quite
birdless. In Maridalen there has hardly been a migrant passerine to see and
surprisingly the same was also the case at Bygdøy. Thrushes, Starlings,
Skylarks, Wood Pigeons and Chaffinches which had all arrived in good numbers have
just disappeared and have presumably headed south to areas without snow which
may have meant a very long journey. From tomorrow we are forecast to have
southerly winds and much warmer temperatures so we might see the birds return
quickly and hopefully with a spectacular fall.
With so few birds to see it was a huge surprise to stumble
across my first Wheatear of the year at Fornebu. It was actively looking for
food but only once did it seem to find something and its days may have been
numbered but that is the risk the earliest returning birds always take.
At Østensjøvannet a Tundra Bean Goose has taken up residence.
I assumed it would be the same bird as seen earlier at Bygdøy but judging by the
state of its feathers it is a new individual (and this is a species that is not
annual in Oslo). There is still only a small area of open water there but a
number of Great Crested Grebes have returned and are displaying. A couple of
flyover Snipe were Oslo #117.
my, and the regions first Wheatear (steinskvett) of 2024 |
surprisingly it was a female - normally it is males that return first |
in the snow |
here it had found something edible |
Tundra Bean Goose (tundra sædgås) coming into land at Østenjøvannet |
the orange legs allowed it to be picked out from the Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås) it was with |
from above though it was noticeably darker |
the small size (same as Pink-foot) helps in IDing it as a Tundra and not a Taiga. |
it often had its eye closed and was not fully healthy |
Pink-feets coming into land |
spot the Tundra |
here it can be seen that the Tundra has some feather damage |
Great Crested Grebe (toppdykker) and White Wagtail (linerle) |
15cm of snow pushed Maridalens Lapwings onto the ice. In addition to this group of 6 (I am unsure of the male/female split) there was a single male another place |
Two Water Rails (vannrikse) were calling at Fornebu and one allowed itself to be glimpsed |
three Waxwings (sidensvans) at Fornebu were feeding on rosehips |
I've never noticed before how the "hair" looks like from behind |
one of the Whoopers giving chase |
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