The first week of school summer holdiays is, as always, being spent at the cabin we are so lucky to be able to use near Hulvik. No seawatching to mention and few birds although the now to be expected close encounters with Nightjars were as good as ever.
Nightjar (nattravn). Definitely one of my better efforts and taken before sunset although we were in shade at 22:34
It is bugs that are my main interest here and a 30 minute drive brought me a new dragonfly species with a single male Club-tailed Dragonfly (klubbeelvelibelle) showing along a muddy slow moving river (a habitat that is very unusual in Norway).
My first club-tailed Dragonfly (klubbeelvelibelle)
I also added a new species of butterfly to my list but didn’t realise at the time and that despite it being one of the largest and most spectacular species there is. I was walking my usual butterfly route here and only 50 meters from the car saw what I thought was a Poplar Admiral (ospesommerfugl). I can still count my encounters with this species on one hand so quickly raised my camera only to find the battery was flat. I went to my pocket for my mobile only to realise I’d left it in the car…. I jogged back to the car to remember that I had not bought the bag with a spare battery but I did have the superzoom in the car (where it always resides). Taking this (and my phone) and jogging back - who would have thought butterfly watching would be good exercise - I found the butterfly again a bit further along the path where it was sucking up some sort of sustenance. I was most interest in taking video of it but did note some markings that I didn’t remember from before and was also a bit puzzled by how blue the upperwing looked at some angles… It was only when I got home though that I looked at some images and realised I had in fact been watching a Purple Emporer (stor purpurkåpe). This is a species that was first seen in Norway as recently as 2019 and which has been recorded under 50 times since.
A bit embarassing that I did not recognise it there and then and I realise now that I thought it was a much larger species than it actually is.
Purple Emperor (stor purpurkåpe)
Look at that blue colour
And then a slight change of angle and it just looks black
This is one of those posts done on my iphone blog posts that I am sure will come out looking rather strange with different font sizes but with luck I’ll post something better later once I’m home.
I have spent a bit of time observing breeding
Long-eared and Tawny Owls this spring. Both bred at sites where I have had
breeding in previous years and I checked these earlier in the spring without
noting any sign of use but in May things changed.
First the Long-eared Owls and the Tawnies will follow in a
separate post.
The Long-eared Owls who use an old Hooded Crow nest first
revealed their presence when I saw an adult on it. I assumed she was on eggs
but it soon transpired she was brooding three young. It was not long before the
female stopped brooding and then just a few days later the first jumped out but
it was still a week before the youngest chick followed. After this the young could
be found in nearby trees and bushes and on one occasion I located one of the
adults but they then became impossible for me to locate in the day.
29 April - tail of bird on nest. According to BWP it is the female that indicates
the other adult (male) perched lower down in the nest tree
the sitting bird from the other side of the nest
7 May. I assumed that the female was still on eggs as I had checked the nest earlier in the spring without seeing a bird here
8 May - a large young was clearly visible in the nest so the nest had been in use for at least 6 weeks
13 May - three young in nest (the 3rd is barely visible) and the female had stopped brooding
15 May - only 2 young seen in nest
16 May - still 2 young in the nest, and...
one already out and in a bush below the nest
one of the birds in the nest from another angle
23 May - a whole week later and still a single young in the nest although was perched on a branch by nest
I could not find any of the other young but this adult (presumably the female) followed my every move
28 May - all three young heard calling but I could only find this one. It was the one furthest away from the nest which could imply it is the oldest but I don't really know
This year hasn’t been that good for butterflies yet with
lots of rain and when there is sun it is often windy. I have consequently not
spent much time searching for them but as with all things with wings sometimes
they come to you. Yesterday whilst driving in Maridalen I saw a large black and
white butterfly flutter in front of the car. For the first time (that I can
remember at least) I emergency stopped for an insect although it soon transpired
I had all the time in the world. The butterfly, which was a Poplar Admiral
(ospesommerfugl) was attracted to the road and was clearly finding something
good, probably salt, on the tarmac. It managed to avoid death at the hands of
passing cars, although all slowed down as they were clearly interested to see
what I was up to, and it kept landing and showing itself off from all angles.
Whilst this was happening a Swallowtail flew over although unfortunately did
not stop. So arguably the two most spectacular Norwegian butterflies at the
same time and in the Dale 😊
Poplar Admiral (ospesommerfugl). Only the fourth time I've seen one and by far and away the most cooperative. They are famous for being attracted to dog sh*t but seems tarmac roads are just as attractive
I paid a visit to Østensjøvannet yesterday hoping that the rainy
weather might have produced something (a Black Tern turned up at Årnestangen at
the weekend) but as with all my rain fuelled visits this spring there was not
even a Swallow to see. Something is clearly up with the lake with there being
no insects hatching and therefore no Swallows, terns or most importantly gulls
to feed off them. I reckon that this is the reason that Black-headed Gulls, which
used to breed here in a colony of many hundreds of pairs, have now more or less
completely abandoned the lake for breeding. It did look like there were two nesting
pairs though which was a surprise although whether they can raise young is
another thing.
Even if there were no insect eaters, a couple of male
Gadwall in eclipse plumage were most unexpected.
male Gadwalls (snadderand) in eclispe
Coot (sothøne) parent and young
when at Østensjøvannet it is rude not to take a picture of a Great Crested Grebe (toppdykker)
Maridalsvannet has been having lots of hatching insects over
the last few weeks with many Common and a few Black-headed Gulls hawking them.
There have also been Common Tern which today peaked at 6 birds which I am sure
is a record here. There have also been lots of Swifts, Swallows and House Martins
and the odd sighting of Sand Martin. Today there three birds including a pair
mating on wires right above my head. I never saw them visiting potential nest
holes although they have previously bred in holes between stones on a nearby bridge.
I did foolishly have another nocturnal outing last night but
with nothing to show for it I think this must be my last of the year, in
Maridalen at least.
mating Sand Martins (sandsvale)
Swallows (låvesvale) collecting nesting material. The bird on the left is ringed. It is quite late to be nest building
I haven't been able to make much out of the ring not even which country
Marsh Warblers (myrsanger) have become quiet as they pair off
there are now two Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås) at Maridalsvannet. At least one of them is paired to a Greylag and maybe both
These two Mallard (stokkand) chicks are very different
