Geese, geese, geese

I have been drawn back to Nordre Øyeren daily now in the hope of uncovering something rare. The numbers of geese are just enormous and you can see them either feeding on stubble fields or resting on the water at Svellet. There are at least 2000 each of Barnacles and Greylags but probably a lot more as well as 400 Canadas. Finding something scarcer amongst all these has proved tough going but I have now found a single White-fronted Goose, single Bar-headed, single Pink-footed and 3 Greylag x Canada hybrids. I have only found one bird with with a collar - a Greylag ringed in Germany in 2021 and since either close to Oslo or in Germany.

I have spent too long looking at the Canadas and have got a headache at the amount on variability amongst them with some birds definitely looking «wilder» than others but all probably within the variation of size and plumage of a feral population that probably has little genetic diversity.

 

White-fronted Goose (tundragås)

Bar-headed Goose (stripegås)

neck collared Greylag (grågås) D780 and its history below

this Canada looked very interesting from afar 

but closer up I wasn't s sure

and this one while not being so dark also looked quite different

enormous numbers

Water levels have risen a lot due to heavy rain and there is no longer mud in Svellet so waders and dabbling ducks have vanished but there are now 4 Little Gulls and also 4 «commic» Terns (I remember as a child hearing the term Commic Tern and not being able to find it in my bird book. It caused me lots of confusion for a long time until I finally plucked up the courage to ask an older birder what it was and found out it was from COMMon and ArctIC and referred to unidentified birds of the species pair. I also remember very soon after calling out “Commic Tern” and it being a white dove….). I initially thought there were 2 Common and 2 Arctic but with better views have now come to the conclusion that there are at least 3 Common and the fourth bird is also most likely a Common. It has been quite a learning experience where I relied too much on jizz and behaviour to start with.

a commic tern and 2 Little Gulls (dvergmåke)

3 f the 4 Little Gulls. All were 1cy

this 1cy tern with grey secondaries must be a Common (makrellterne)

I have had 10 species of raptor which is a good showing and my first Great Grey Shrike of the autumn.

my first Great Gre Shrike (varlser) of the autumn which I saw eating a mouse

a very distant, but very smart, male Hen Harrier (myrhauk)

Peregrine (vandrefalk) and a pale Common Buzzard (musvåk)

this immature White-tailed Eagle (havørn) flew over Svellet

and a bit later I found it on a field that had previously been covered in geese with just a few crows for company

Merlin (dvergalk)

I have also had a couple of attempts to locate the Taiga Beans but have failed. I assume they are still around as it would be record early if they have already left and I remember that in previous years the GPS tagged bird(s) have shown they have often used one particular field that is very well hidden and that I have never tried to get to as I am certain it will just result in flushing the birds – they may well be using it again.

 

I have only had a couple of quick visits to Maridalen but a perched and then hunting White-tailed Eagle was a very good sighting.

the Crane (trane) family is still feeding in Maridalen

it is very unusual to find a perched White-tailed Eagle in the Dale