Peak time

The end of May is probably the ultimate time to be birding in Oslo although there is never a bad time. The last spring breeding migrants are returning, migrants heading further north or for the mountains are coming through in peak numbers (although without rain they are likely to just fly over at great height) and the chance of rare birds is as high as it gets. The sunny weather we are having is not conducive to unusual birds but some rain is now forecast from Thursday evening onwards so one can hope.

The hot weather is causing the water level in Maridalsvannet to keep on falling and it is visibly lower each day. My belief that it was too little too late for waders has thankfully proven to be wrong. Even if I am still to see Greenshank and Whimbrel (which others report) I have seaw (or at least heard) 10 species yesterday which in these parts is defined as a wader bonanza. Temminck’s continue to be seen each day with Sunday’s five rising to six yesterday and falling to three today. Single Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers and Great Snipe were also migrants as were a few Wood Sandpipers but Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Woodcock and Snipe are breeders.

The Great Snipe was a displaying bird that I heard on my first nocturnal singer trip of the year. It was a warm, windless night but it is still very early in the season. I did have Great Snipe in mind but the birds I thought were most likely were Nightjar and the begging calls of Tawny and possibly Long-eared Owl. It was marvelous to hear the Great Snipe and also the bleating of a displaying Common Snipe but I’ll have to wait for another trip to hear Nightjars. The only owl I had was a singing Tawny which was the same unmated bird that sang all through the spring. After hearing no begging juvenile owls it was therefore a huge surprise today when in the heat of the afternoon I heard and then saw 3 large young in a nestbox that I would never have expected to be used by Tawnies and in an area where I have frequently stopped but not heard them earlier this year. I will write a post on these a later stage.

The muddy edges to the lake will hopefully be good news for the breeding Lapwings in Maridalen which continue to surprise me. Yesterday I saw there two broods of young – one of 4 newly hatched on the field and three larger ones (from the first nest?) on the mud. There were still three birds sitting so I am at a loss as to where the brood of 4 came from and t was an additional pair displaying and which today looked like they may have started egg laying. So six pairs when I originally thought there were only three and that these had all failed due to the plough.

My first Icterine Warbler and Rosefinch of the year mean that Marsh Warbler and Red-backed Shrike are the only regular breeders I am waiting for.

Temminck's Stint

Ringed Plover (sandlo) with the orange legs behind a Little Ringed Plover (dverglo)

Lapwings (vipe) in Oslo. 3 young on the left and a single on the right with 3 adults. At the time I assumed it was one brood and another adult that was getting involved for some reason. Another possibility is that there are two separate broods of 3 and 1 but then we would be up to 6 confirmed nests plus another pair which does not seem possible

here we the three adults having some sort of argument and the single youngster

male Common Rosefinch (rosenfink)

singing Icterine Warbler (gulsanger)

if a Common Sandpiper (strandsnipe) flies up in front of you when you away from water it may mean there is a nest as was the case today

3 eggs

I saw a Great Tit (kjøttmeis) disappear into a crack in this stump

and found a nest with young that were at ground level