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