Coming to an end

It’s so hot and sunny now that I have almost given up on birds for the year and started on butterflies.

If I am to break my Oslo year record of 191 species, let alone smash the 200 barrier, then some rain and falls of migrants are necessary.

My Oslo list is ticking along with yesterday giving Garden Warbler #165 and Scaup #166 whilst today gave Whitethroat #167, Red-backed Shrike #168, Cuckoo#169 and Kingfisher #170. I have never reached this total so early so things should be looking good. Problem though is that I reckon I have only another 4 species that I can consider certain: Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Common Rosefinch and Honey Buzzard whilst all others will bonuses and this includes species like Redstart, Sand Martin and Bluethroat which I would have expected to see by now and fear I may have missed my chance with. So, I will need to find a lot of Oslo rares😊

Yesterday’s Scaup was a bonus bird and was a pair on Maridalsvannet which is only the third spring record here. Today’s Kingfisher was even more unexpected but could well indicate breeding which I need to follow up on.

pair of Scaup (bergand) on Maridalsvannet - a rare species on spring migration

Wood Warblers (bøksanger) are now back. Although it is never to be found in large numbers I had 5 birds today

Wryneck (vendehals)

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett). I had both these species in the same tree "singing" but did not mange to record it

female Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)

Black throated Diver

Blackcap (munk) have been back a while

but Garden Warblers (hagesanger) are only just arriving. As usual I need to see them to tell them apart as I usually don't hear a difference in their song

an unexpected sighting was this silent flyby Cuckoo (gjøk). I was alerted to its presence by alarm calling White Wagtails

a singing Pied Flycatcher (svarthvit fluesnapper) in the garden is probably last years bird

a couple of Slavonian Grebes (horndykker) I bumped into at a breeding site

whenever I see an old Black Woodpecker hole I scratch the tree trunk hoping a Tengmalm's Owl will stick its head out. That never happens unfortunately but today this Goldeneye (kvinand) did

she had a bit of down stuck to her head

interestingly she has a hole in her beak. I can't imagine what caused it

a Grizzly Skipper (bakkesmyger) was my earliest ever and first unusual butterfly of the year. I have now seen 12 species so far in 2024

a Holly Blue (vårblåvinge)

and a Green Hairstreak (grønnstjertvinge)