Settling down

Birdlife in Maridalen has really settled down with all signs of migration having come to an end. The very popular Pygmy Owl (one of at least four being seen in the valley) by the bridge and feeders continues to show most days as do the Marsh Tits. I have now ascertained beyond doubt that there are three Marsh Tits which is a Maridalen record and 🤞maybe the start of a permanent range expansion. The quiet bird is still hanging out by the horses usually in the close company of at least one Willow Tit and is now feeding in trees rather than amongst (now frozen) horse muck. Only 300 metres away there are now two noisy birds regularly coming to the feeding station where they can be seen alongside the other five tit species.

Only around 25 species is now the expected haul from a session in the Dale which really is not very exciting. A visit to the fjord at Huk gives roughly the same number of species but of a very different composition and on Thursday I had both Oystercatcher and Purple Sandpiper. There are many hundreds of Herring Gulls in the fjord feeding on a super abundance of starfish that are exposed by very low tides. This super abundance is apparently a further postive affect of a huge breeding (wrong word I know) of mussels last year which in addition to being food for seaducks are also food for the starfish.

Pygmy Owl before sunrise

In this video the owl chases off a Magpie (skjære) that landed close to it

Marsh Tit (løvmeis) with Great Tit (kjøttmeis)

Nuthatch (spettmeis)

birds need to drink and when there is ice but not yet snow to eat then theyneed to exploit any open water they can find such as this Blue Tit (blåmeis)

the view from Huk, Bygdøy on Thursday morning

Purple Sandpiper (fjæreplytt) and Oystercatcher (tjeld):

Herring Gull (gråmåke) eating a starfish:

and some reflections in Maridalen