1st June marks the start of summer in Oslo but on a rainy
day with southerly winds I still had my thoughts on late spring migrants. This
is the time of the year when really unexpected rarities can turn up but there
are also more predictable ones such as rare terns or waders that you can hope
to find at Svellet or Årnestangen. That was where I was headed today and
Svellet still has some exposed mud. A good number of gulls and a few Common
Terns were resting here but nothing rare or scarce and single of Red- and
Greenshank were the only waders.
The walk out to Årnestangen was mostly dry (I chose the
umbrella rather than rain coat option which worked out well) and mercifully
free of mosquitoes although I am sure they will come soon. There were attractive
looking mudflats and pools at the tip but they were all rather birdless
although a heavy rain shower but an end to my scanning and I had to seek cover
sitting down pushed against the wall of the hopefully inadequate but typically
Norwegian viewing platform. Most counties equip nature reserves with «hides»
where you can sit down and escape the rain whilst also being hidden from the
birds such that you enjoy closer views and the birds are less disturbed. Norway
of course has to do things differently and at Årnestangen the choice is a
slightly raised open platform that offers no real shelter from the elements and
definitely doesn’t hide you from the birds. Rather curiously, viewing slats
have been put in the low walls which I was able to use today when on my knees
and flattened against the wall with umbrella over me although I doubt that was
there intended use.
Whilst sheltering I did hear a few waders and when the rain
stopped enough for me to look properly I found three Turnstones with a small
flock of Ringed Plovers. It is very rare for me to see Turnstone in summer
plumage so this was a nice if distant encounter. Not a single calidris
wader was a disappointment although a Red-Backed Shrike was the last of the non-nocturnal
breeding migrants that I had yet to see.
Maridalsvannet has had a hatch of insects which in recent
years attracts terns. None have turned up so far this year but a Little Gulls
hawking insects with the Black-headeds today was nice. Yesterday evening a
large flock of Canada Geese flew over the house and today what must be the same
birds were in Maridalen. Amongst them was a hybrid Canada x Barnacle but
surprisingly not the same one as in Sørkedalen last week. What is causing this
sudden influx of presumed dutch birds?
On Friday butterfly watching in Maridalen was interrupted by
news of a Little Egret at Fornebu and I quickly drove down to enjoy it. This
species is still very rare around Oslo with this being only the 5th record
whilst Great White has become annual and sometimes in small flocks.
the knee high viewing slats at Årnestangen allowed me some slight protection from the rain
during a pause in the rain. It was the exact weather conditions you hope for out there and in mid to late July could have resulted in hundreds of waders of many species.
Little Egret (silkehegre) at Fornebu on Friday
hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose in Maridalen. It lacks the white forehead that last weeks bird in Sørkedalen had (see previous post) and also had a much darker breast
three young Lapwing (vipe) being looked over by mum
and here are 4 young. There was another adult closeby and the 4th young may have been from another brood. None of them was the single large young that I saw flapping its wings last week so things are still looking good. Two nests are still being incubated and have at least another week to go before we see any young.
Skjerven - the geese and Lapwing field in Maridalen
