Raptor time

The Oslo Honey Buzzard nest that I have been following this summer is now empty (as far as I can see) although if you have been following the Sussex Honey Buzzard nest webcam on YouTube then you will know that the young can potentially still visit the nest four weeks after taking their first flight so my lack of sightings is definitely not absolute proof that they are gone. I will of course have a loooong but hopefully interesting post on the nest later in the autumn.

At the same time I no longer found any HB at the nest site I was following (I also know of another successful nest in Oslo this year) I noticed multiple juvenile HB over Maridalen with some birds definitely migrating in a southerly direction (both south east and south west) and other birds seemingly just enjoying thermalling, soaring and landing in the woods where I would love to to know what they were doing. It therefore seems clear that the species has had a good, and early, breeding season in southern Norway in 2026.

All the time looking at the sky has resulted in quite a few other raptors with seven species in Maridalen and a session at Årnestangen yesterday giving ten and I have seen 12 in total this last week. Nothing too exciting yet but juvenile HB in a direct flight have a very harrier like jizz and many birds also have narrow pale rumps so I have been eft scratching my head quite a few times.

Årnestangen yesterday was apart from the raptors a very strange affair with the extensive mud/sand flats almost completely empty of waders with just two Dunlin and two Greenshank. Svellet though has been far more productive with large numbers of both waders and dabbling ducks. A Broad-billed Sandpiper here was the undoubted highlight and a species I had forgotten about completely when in my last post I moaned about the wader species I had yet to see this year.

Great White Egrets have now turned en masse at Nordre Øyeren with 12 being the highest, and a record, count. I have had to content myself with just eight including a flock of six.

a migrating juvenil Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) which is a grab from this video

the pale Common Buzzard (musvåk) in Maridalen. It has been around a few years now but for such a distinctive bird I see it quite infrequently.

my first Great Grey Shrike (varsler) of the autumn on the early date of 31 August. a lack of a wing bar shows it to be an adult and the all black bill probably a male

six Great White Egrets (egretthegre) and some Cranes (trane) at Svellet

and two at long range at Årnestangen

a video of a male Hen Harrier (myrhauk) at Årnestangen:

and a Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) eating a young gull at Svellet:

Fog more fog and finally the golden globe

 My new favourite Maridalen fields were jinxed by my last post and have been almost empty since! Fog also covered the valley on Wednesday and until early afternoon on Thursday but today we had sun from the get go and I had sky high expectations. With a light southerly wind I was expecting Falsterbo heavy but had to wait a looooong time for my first raptor. In the meantime a number of small flocks of Pink-footed Geese headed north but I really thought there should be raptors. We have not had a raptor migration day yet this spring and by my reckoning there should be thermals full of Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks waiting to head north. Well, my reckoning doesn’t seem to count for much.

There were NO Sparrowhawks, and none of the four Common Buzzards that eventually passed in front of my field glasses looked to be actively migrating. One of them, a very pale bird, looked to be the same as I have seen in previous years. There was one raptor highlight though that then brought a little rush. I picked up a young Golden Eagle heading very slowly west over the north of the valley whilst I was stood at Nes. I drove up to the north and did not find it but did pick up a Kestrel and a White-tailed Eagle heading north so there was some quality if no quantity. Along with Goshawk I had five species of raptor today and am already up to to nine for the year in Oslo.

 

The first Adders are also out showing themselves and my first butterfly, a Small Tortoiseshell was on the wing today so spring is springing!

a young Golden Eagle (kongeørn) at far too long range but you can see what it is

One of 4 Common Buzzards (musvåk) none of which was actively migrating. This very pale bird looks to be the same that has been in the valley in previous years

Goshawk (hønsehauk)

Goldcrests (fuglekonge) look to have really suffered due to the cold spell so it was nice to find this bird which was also singing

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (dvergspett) are making themselves known singing and drumming and I have seen a pair together. Here the male

and here the female who was reacting to the male in the next door tree

Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås) - one of a number of small flocks heading north today

pair of Teal (krikkand)

male Adder (hoggorm)

and a different individual

Nordre Øyeren warming up for the autumn

I think we may be up for a very good autumn around Nordre Øyeren. As I wrote yesterday there are lots of ducks and geese using Svellet – the ducks (mostly Teal) are feeding there whilst the geese come into rest but are feeding on nearby harvest fields. Yesterday I discovered one of the fields that the geese (primarily Barnacles) are using and here there were also many raptors and Cranes. I assume there is lots of spilt corn which the geese and Cranes like but also rodents because the raptors (3 juvenile Marsh Harriers and at least 9 Common Buzzards) seemed to have no problem finding food. The harriers were quartering the field but the Buzzards were mostly just walking around and pouncing on prey. At least one juvenile Peregrine and 2 Hobbies were also in the area and it was particularly birdy. Amongst the geese was an interesting Canada Goose that I first noticed flying in when it was noticeably darker and slightly smaller than its compatriots but once on the field it was more difficult to find and the raptors, and my search for something rare, took my attention and I never formed an opinion on the goose. I was hoping to find a harrier other than a Marsh but failed although I am sure that with regular coverage something else will turn up. I also expect that Rough-legged Buzzards will soon discover the field as they migrate through the area.

There are rather surprisingly still some unharvested fields as well and one of these clearly also had a lot of rodents as another two Marsh Harriers were constantly hunting over it. Both these birds were second calendar birds – a male and a female.

If the stubble fields remain as stubble (i.e they don’t get ploughed this autumn) then they could continue to attract both geese and raptors until November or December depending on the weather. The passage of proper wild geese has yet to start and if Pink-feet discover these fields then there could be many thousands of geese still to come.

Numbers of waders using Svellet have fallen dramatically but a Black-tailed Godwit was briefly present as was the Little Gull and terns so there is still non-waterfowl potential. A Great White Egret was also present nearby but only visible very distantly.

2cy male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) with a Hooded Crown (kråke). The dark secondary feathers are remaining juvenile feathers whilst the grey feathers are adult feathers

2 1cy/juvenile Marsh Harriers in the birdy field having a rest from their quartering

2cy female Marsh Harrier. Two generations of secondaries are clearly visible

the 2cy male quartering the unharvest field

many hundreds of Barnacle (hvitkinngjess) and some Greylags (grågjess) on their way from the field where they had been feeding to Svellet for a rest

this Common Buzzard (musvåk) was hovering over the unharvested field whereas those using the stubble field were mostly just walking around

the interesting Canada Goose. It has a dark breast and darker flanks compared to the normal feral Canadas and is also slightly smaller. It is possible that it is a wild bird but there are also feral birds of other subspecies and strange hybrids knocking around in Holland so it is impossible to know especially with only these grainy photos

a late(ish) Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)

Wadering

One of the main birding events around Oslo is the gatherings of migrating waders and waterfowl in Nordre Øyeren especially  at Årnestangen and Svellet. I have not given this much attention so far this autumn and have missed the best bits which are normally at the end of July when thunderstorms can bring down a vast selection of adult waders. Now in late August the species variety is significantly less and almost all birds are young birds. On Wednesday I joined up with Jules Bell for a trip to Årnestangen and Svellet and yesterday I visited Svellet and Merkja. The most numerous wader was Ruff with around 250 birds in total and more unusual birds were Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew Sand and Little and Temminck’s Stints.

In Maridalen I have continued looking for raptors and especially Honey Buzzards but despite what I would describe as perfect condition there has been very little to see although the HBs will get their own post later. A young Peregrine has been a regular sight though terrorizing a group of Feral Pigeons that frequent one of the farms and amongst the few Common Buzzards is a particularly pale bird.

Svellet has been Made Great Again and alongside lots of Ruff (brushane) are a couple of Black-tailed Godwits (svarthalespove)

on the neighbouring Merkja two male Gadwall (snadderand) in eclipse

Goosander (laksand) in Maridalen. A female (middle) has managed to raise 8 young which is incredibly gowing considering that the many Goldeneye (kvinand) broods typically and quite quickly decline to one or two, or none

here male (who has had nothing to do with the family before now), a 1cy and mum

a 1cy Peregrine (vandrefalk) has been regular in Maridalen and likes to have a go at a small flock of Feral Pigeons (bydue) that hang around one of the farms

this pale Common Buzzard (musvåk) has also been a regular sighting

I have seen evidence of a Nutcracker in the garden with discarded leaves and nuts from our Hazel Trees on the lawn and today I saw the culprit from the kitchen window:

Taiga Time

MC Hammer may have had his Hammer Time but Oslo Birder has Taiga Time and is lucky enough that it is biannual occurrence. Two emails had already pinged into my inbox from Angus in Scotland asking me whether there had been any sightings in Norway yet as Dan in Sweden already had 24 birds on the early date of 9^th August and a whopping 193 on the 23^rd. I may not be Norwegian but it does sting to be outdone by a Swede so I went out looking for the geese last Thursday and then again yesterday. The last working collar stopped transmitting this summer so I have no technical aids to help me in my search which does make Taiga hunting a very different ball game altogether as they have a habit of choosing obscure fields or marshes. On Thursday I checked out previously favoured stubble fields which only revealed that they were indeed stubble and the harvest had happened and yesterday my search of these same fields revealed only a small flock of Canada Geese and Cranes. I knew where I had to go but was hesitant as visiting the often used peat bog would likely mean sinking to my shins in peat (happened), getting crawled on by deer ked (hjortelusflue) which while not being big biters are undoubtedly one of nature’s most annoying creatures (happened) and if I found the geese I would undoubtedly end up flushing them which I hate doing (happened).

What initially looked to be just 6 geese hidden away on the bog turned out to be 129 when they flushed at more than 100 metres range and despite my best efforts for it not to happen. After a pretty constant decline since I started counting them in the autumn in 2013 this is a very welcome increase and must be the result of a good breeding season. Dan had managed to count 31 juveniles in the Swedish staging flock of 193 on Saturday and while I must admit to not being very confident at separating juveniles from adults it is clear from the flight photos I took that there are lots of family groups.

Otherwise , my drive around an increasingly autumnal landscape revealed disappointingly few raptors but there were good numbers of Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears.

I had seen that one bird had a collar when I was in the field but could read no details. Instead I took loads of photos of the flock in flight with the aim of being able to find all ringed birds aswell as identify family groups. After going through my pictures I have been able to see the following:

1. Collar V8 was the only collar in the flock and he had 3 young but no mate. V8 was paired to 05 who carried the last working GPS sender until she sent her last plot on 30 May. The plots had suggested that 05 had nested successfully and it was great to see that is the case but of course sad that I could not see 05 with her mate and young. We will never know what happened to her and whether she perished at the same time the sender sent its last plot or if that happened later.

2. I read a single leg ring (right leg) of a bird that had lost its collar and this was a really exciting find. Y6 is a bird that has used both Norway and Sweden and is I think the only bird that has been documented doing so:
spring 2020 NO
autumn 2020 SW
spring 2022 NO
autumn 2022 NO
spring 2023 NO
autumn 2024 SW
spring 2025 SW
autumn 2025 NO

3. In addition there was a bird with a white ring on its left leg that I could not read but is probably 7V

4. I also saw two birds with metal rings, one on the left leg and one on the right leg. From the pictures it is not possible to see their other legs so they could be the same as 2 and 3.

I have not yet attempted to identify and count juveniles and family groups but will post a number of photos that allow any who is interested to do so.

glimpsing some birds on the bog

the whole flock of 129 birds

the graph shows that this is a high autumn count and indicates a good breeding season but Y6 shows that birds that had used the Swedish route in previous years can use the Norwegian route in the next season so we have to be a bit careful how we interpret these numbers

V8 with 3 goslings but his mate 05 is no longer with us

another picture showing the family of 4 sticking together

Y6

a white colour ring on the left leg with an inscription that I cannot read. 7V is I think the best candidate

a metal ring on the left leg but we don't see the right leg

and here a metal ring on right leg (can't see left leg) and a white ring on right leg which may well be Y6

when I spotted the first birds which were over 100m away beyond the small trees

this is where they had been

there were a few discarded feathers

and droppings

the peat bog was very dry with most pools having dried up

there were a few pools though and it was clear the geese had visited them. In the autumn they often do not visit the river or their roosting lakes at all during the day and when they are using stubble fields I interpret some of their regular visits to this peat bog as visits to drink

And a load of pictures that will help in identifying juveniles and family groups

V8 and his family are at the bottom

V8 and family highlighted

a Cuckoo (gjøk)

and adult Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) and juvenile Common Buzzard (musvåk)