Jack Snipe

The cold spell we are having has resulted in shallow lakes such as Østensjøvannet and Bogstadvannet and marshes to freeze over as well as making the ground rock hard. Maridalsvannet which is much deeper is still ice free although ice is forming at the edges. This weather means that any remaining snipe or Woodcock are going to have a hard time. My nocturnal trips into Maridalen with the thermal have not revealed any Woodcock for a week and Jack and Common Snipe have gone from Fornebu. However, this is the time when any birds that have not fled south can be found seeking refuge on suitable streams and ditches and a visit to one such stream revealed singles of Jack and Common Snipe this week. With the forecast being for a temporary return to warmer weather next week these birds may have made a good decision to remain although to survive the whole winter here will be exceptionally tough for them.

All snipe have a very similar plumage which is a very effective camouflage however they rely on this camouflage to varying degrees. Common Snipe will freeze when they spot a potential predator but will then fly up at 5-10 metres range and often then fly a fairly long distance. A Jack Snipe on the other hand will usually freeze against the ground and trust that it is invisible to such an extent that it doesn’t fly up until it is almost trodden on and will then often fly a relatively short distance before landing. I have often wondered why the species have such different strategies but feel like I have had a breakthrough in my own understanding now.

When I found a Jack Snipe it was as usual frozen to the spot. I know from experience that it will do nothing whilst it can see you so I decided to continue along the stream to see if I could spot anything else. About 50 metres further along a Common Snipe flew up before I had even seen it and headed along the stream without me seeing if it landed. I then returned to the Jack which was of course frozen to the spot but it wasn’t exactly the same spot so it had clearly moved when I wasn’t there. I decided to set up my camera on the tripod and operate it via my ipad from a safe distance. This allowed me to see that once I had moved out of view the bird remained frozen for a couple of minutes before it gently started bobbing before then really coming to life and preening and then feeding. If it heard a threatening noise it would stand still before resuming bobbing once it was sure there was no threat. I tested how it would respond to me moving into its view and it could be seen to shrink, flatten itself to the ground and freeze. All this can be seen in the video I took.

the camera in place by the stream

and using an ipad to control the camera

So, what is my breakthrough insight? Well, Jack Snipe often try to exploit quite marginal habitats and if they were to fly off when disturbed or threatened then they would not necessarily find another suitable habitat and would miss out on lots of feeding time and use up energy unnecessarily. By freezing to the spot and waiting for the danger to pass they can resume feeding in their chosen spot more quickly. Of course there is a risk that the predator will locate them and grab them before they chose to fly off at the last moment but I guess evolution has resulted in that risk being small enough. But why do Common Snipe not do the same? Well they are larger and therefore it is not as easy for them to just blend in and disappear as well as the Jack does so presumably they have learnt that they face a higher risk of being spotted and taken? This is just my musings but I feel there is some truth in it.

The edited video is 3 minutes 14 seconds long but in my own humble opinion is well worth watching all the way through. I posted a 17 second snippet on Twitter and it has become my most popular posting ever.

Oslo is having its first cold spell of the winter and shallow lakes and marshes are now frozen. Any remaining snipe have either had to flee south or seek refuge on suitable streams.

This Jack Snipe has chosen the later and allowed itself to be filmed bobbing and feeding today. pic.twitter.com/F5gqFTMnWI

— Simon Rix (@si_rix) November 21, 2024

as usual I ask the question - can you spot the Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin)?

this was my clue to the fact there was a snipe on the river - probing beak marks in the mud and a white dropping

And now for something completely different - some picture of the supermoon taken with the superzoom in Maridalen on 16 November. The pictures are all taken from the same spot and it is only a minute between the first and last picture but note how much the moon's position changed in that time so anyone who had been planning any specific pictures of the moon rising over a specific location has extremely little time to get their desired picture. I on the other hand had no idea there was going to be a super moon and just happened to be there at the exact time it came over the horizon. There were lots of people taking pictures and at first I thought there must be a bird but then realised their lenses were not big enough 😉

Pygmy Owl

The Hawk Owl has currently made Maridalen the most popular destination for bird photographers in the whole of Norway. They seem oblivious to the other treasures that the Dale holds though and yesterday I was alone with the likes of Pygmy Owl, Goshawk and Pine Grosbeak before briefly joining the throng when I was lucky enough to see Hawkie catch a shrew of some kind which is the now the third type of rodent I have seen him take.

We are having a cold spell now before it warms up again next week. Nighttime temperatures have dropped to -13C and despite it being sunny it has not risen to more than -3C in the day. Despite this there are, to my surprise, still hundreds of Fieldfares enjoying the rowan berries. Even though they quickly strip individual trees of their berries there are still berries galore and it will be interesting to see how long the flocks remain. A few Redwing also remain but these very rarely spend the whole winter here.

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

Pygmy Owls are less showy this year which I believe has to do with what food they are hunting but when they do expose themselves then the local passerines often take exception

adult Goshawk (hønsehauk). This bird seemed far less massive than the one I saw a few days ago but it may just have been due to posture

Grozza

Yesterday I drove around a corner and saw a line of photographers in a field and then saw Hawkie on the wires between me and them so there had to be a drive by video (for the record the homo sapiens were at a very respectable distance from the surnia ulula).

staring intently at something

he then launched himself into the field and took something in short grass

which turned out to be a shrew

on Thursday morning the owl was being given a lot of space and hunt unimpeded

by the afternoon though an excess of enthusiasm had taken over

Bullfinches (dompap) are quite numerous although are probably outnumbered by the Grosbeaks and feed on rowan berries in the same way as there larger cousins

a Common Scoter (svartand) on the lake

2 female Common Crossbills (grankorsnebb) and a Greenfinch (grønnfink) on ice and snow where they looked to be getting water

and a male Crossbill and 2 Siskin (grønnsisik) doing the same

and Goldfinches (stillits) seemingly doing the same although there may also have been wind blown seeds

First a Goldfinch

Goldfinches have been exceptionally numerous this autumn with a flock of at least 300 in Maridalen and groups of up to 50 many other places. They are of course a beautiful bird but not one I typically don’t spend much time looking at other than to count them. Yesterday though when I was looking in vain for Grosbeaks at Grefsenkollen I became aware of flock feeding on thistles in a lovely golden light so I just had to take some photos. 

Goldfinch (stillits)

 Goldfinches are all well and good but I know what you really want is some Piney and Hawkie both of which were sourced in the Dale yesterday.

I contented myself with arty shots of Hawkie

he was followed by a gang of photographers all day and he moved over a kilometre as a result. Because he doesn't seem bothered by people standing close by there soon develops a thought that it is OK to stand in a semi circle in front of him and have a good old chat whilst we wait for him to fly down and catch something (which is the photo everyone hopes to get). Of course by doing this he is very unlikely to catch something because no mouse is likely to stick his head out when all those noisy, and smelly, homo sapiens are around. In this photo I was watching from a kilometre away and the owl did actually land right by the photographers (can you spot him) causing them to have to back up to get him in frame. It is OK to quickly get a close photo and then move away but the problem occurs when he is followed for 6 straight hours.

male Pine Grosbeak fanning his tail