As soon as I had expressed my gratitude to the Pine
Grosbeaks for saving the birding winter then they seemed to disappear from
Oslo. None were reported at the weekend and on Saturday a whooping 502 were
counted viz migging in the SW of Norway suggesting that the invasion was
continuing and birds were still continuing dispersing south. I tweeted about
the viz mig sighting and as I hoped it got British birders excited😊
On Monday and Tuesday though I found there were still lots
of Grozzas in Oslo, or at least in the Tryvann area. It would be interesting to
know if these are birds that have been here the last two weeks or whether they
are new arrivals. And if new arrivals have they come from the north or are they
reorienting birds from the south coast?
Whilst in the forests searching for the Grosbeaks it is
impossible not to notice the enormous numbers of Common Crossbills which are
singing and getting ready to breed. There is quite a variety of calls and bill
sizes amongst them which I assume means a number of different types (sub
populations) are present in southern Scandinavia this winter. Some approach
Parrot Crossbills and indeed I thought I had a pair recently but looking at my
pictures I get more of a parakeet feeling.
Hawk Owls are also coming with an increasing number of
records in lowland habitats with the closest now only around 30km from
Maridalen 🤞🙏
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| an adult male Pine Grosbeak (konglebit) in perfect light |
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| an adult female I believe due to the rounded tail feather |
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| a 1st winter male I believe due to the red feathering appearing on the head |
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| 1st winter male with pointed tail feathers and red on head |
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| adult female with very rounded tail feathers |
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| they are never as photogenic when they are feeding on spruce buds |
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| crossbill challenge. The male in the middle which was paired with the female to the left has a very chunky jizz with thick neck and a sizeable bill but is it correct for a Parrot? I am unsure. The male to the right is a Common |
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| a pair of Commons |
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| I don't see any real reason for the current split of crossbills into three species in northern Europe: Common, Parrot and Scottish and it would be far easier if they were all lumped in the same way Redpolls have been. This lump may have cost me two species for #Oslo2024 but also means I do not have to worry with how to assign this individual |
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| Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) can still be found |
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| a 1st winter Pink-footed Goose (kortnebbgås) can be found in exactly the same spot on a stubble field every day this week. It has no obvious injury (although I have not seen it fly) but is clearly not completely healthy |
