Back in Oslo I am now getting tired of winter. We have had
one of the longest cold spells in Oslo for many, many years and there is no indication
of it stopping. Temperatures have not risen above zero since 20 Jan and since 1
Jan we have only had plus temperatures on 16 – 19 Jan. Although I always say
that I like “proper” seasons it does get a bit boring when nothing changes. One
possible upside from this long winter is that we will get a much more noticeable
beginning to spring migration when the thaw finally comes. One thing for sure
is that we will not be seeing an early arrival of the Taiga Beans this year.
On Tuesday I had my first owling trip of the year, a year
and a day since the first trip of 2024 which produced 11 singing Tengmalm’s.
Owling conditions were good with no wind and temperatures of -14C but there was
no moon which may or may not (depending on who you speak to) be an important
factor. The result of the evenings endeavour’s was just a single Tengmalm’s
which sang constantly and could be heard at over 2km range but which was not
close to the road. It is still early in the spring but this disappointing
result is I believe due to a collapse in the rodent population but there is
still time for things to change and there are always local variations.
In Maridalen I have seen Pygmy Owls in three different locations over the last three days and all sat
high and were easy to see which is how it should be.
I am guiding this weekend and on Sunday we will drive up to
the taiga areas in Hedmark with the hope of Hawkie, Piney and Sibe Jay. It is
forecast to be sunny with little wind but very cold but these should be good conditions.
I have had a chance to go through my Tromsø pictures on the
computer so present a few more here.
a close Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)
Moose are becoming easier to see in Maridalen but luck is still needed
the Østensjøvannet Water Rails (vannrikse) have not been that easy to see so far this winter but this one showed well
Common Eiders (ærfugl) in Tromsø
a Queen Eider (praktærfugl) with her Common cousinns
from the left: female Common Eider, 2 different looking Queens, a young male Common and an adult male Common
We have now had a few nights of frost and with very little
wind and daytime temperatures also staying cold I visited Østensjøvannet expecting
it to be mostly covered in ice. In fact the lake was ice free with just some
ice on the edges although the wrongly named Wader Pond (just Pond would
suffice) was frozen. I was a bit surprised that the first bird I saw was a
Scaup as the bird I found on 3 Nov has not been reported since the 8th.
This bird looked to be a 1cy male (a grey feather on the back and hint of green
on the head) whereas the previous bird whilst being a 1cy had nothing in its
plumage to suggest it was a male but upon looking at pictures I believe it is
the same bird but that just come further in its post juvenile moult over the
course of a week.
I had been hoping for ice as I hoped this would have
concentrated what ever birds were left (and also any new arrivals) but that should
come some time next week as temperatures are still forecast to get colder. This
will hopefully also push out some snipe which I was unable to find today.
Yesterday I enjoyed close views of Red-throated Diver and a
feeding Eider at Fornebu. The diver was showing unusually well and was in the
same area on Sunday. Rather than being ill I think it is exploiting a food source.
The Eider had caught a crab and I was able to watch it remove the legs by
holding one leg at a time and shaking the crab until the leg was detached and
the body fell into the water. This was done with each leg until there was just the
body left which was swallowed after some careful manoeuvring to allow it to
slide down. It impressive to think of the stomach acids it must have that will
allow it process the crab.
the female Eider (ærfugl) preparing a crab for lunch
the video shows it removing the remaining legs and then eventually swallowing the body
a confiding 1st winter juvenile/1st winter Red-throated Diver (smålom)
a Razorbill (alke) getting ready to dive
and the RtD with a Guillemot (lomvi) when the diver looks surprisingly small
a young Scaup (bergand). The dark green colours coming through on the head plus a grey feather on the mantle show it to be a male
And a video of the Treecreeper in Maridalen that likes searching for food on/in spruce cones
and a comparison of the Maridalen Marsh Tit (løvmeis) and a Willow Tit (granmeis) in sunlight. Notice how the Marsh Tit seems to have a very pale wing panel... a feature that is commonly said to mean Willow
On Thursday I had to drop Jr Jr off at Bygdøy so afterwards decided
to see if the fjord at Huk had anything to offer. I don’t normally visit there
at this time of the year unless it is blowing a gale which it wasn’t but it was
blowing from the south and raining so there was always the chance of something.
The rocks and skerries here attract Purple Sandpipers in winter but I have seen
few other waders over the years other than Oystercatchers and those I have seen
have generally stopped just briefly before continuing on their journey. Yesterday
was a bit different though as first a Little Sint and then a Dunlin showed themselves
and seemed quite happy searching for food in exactly the same way the Purple
Sands do. The stint was only my third in Oslo and is a genuine rare species
here with just 6 other records this century.
I also visited Østensjøvannet for the first time in a good
while and there were worryingly few birds. Even if there was a lack of quantity
then it was compensated so some extent by some quality with a male Pintail
coming out of eclipse, a Shoveler, a Peregrine and most surprisingly a Common
Scoter. This is a surprisingly scarce species on the lake with only 6 previous records
ever and these have either been on spring passage or in late October (which
matches when birds turn up on Maridalsvannet). A record in mid September is
therefore unusual (and I had seen none on the fjord) and the bird was an adult
female which is also an unusual record with records later in the autumn being almost
exclusively 1cy birds.
Another unusual trip for me was a walk all the way out to
the tip of Årnestangen. Water levels have kept on rising and the mud flats were
gone but it was a relatively good day for raptors with 9 species noted including
a hunting Hen Harrier at relatively close range.
Little Stint (dvergsnipe) with Eiders (ærfugl) - they are small!
and the Dunlin (myrsnipe)
this Herring Gull (gråmåke) made short work of a starfish
Østensjøvannets male Pintail (stjertand) coming out of eclipse. Hopefully it will hag around until it has acquired its full breeding plumage. Male Pintails that have turned up in Oslo have often, for some unknown reason, lacked the long central tail feathers that give this species its name and it looks like this bird (which could well be a returning individual) will also lack them
Shoveler (skjeand) with Tufted Duck (toppand)
adult female Common Scoter (svartand) with Great Crested Grebe (toppdykker). There was a brood of 2 less than half grown grebes which still had stipy, downy plumage and one of which was sat on a parents back. This is very late and it will be interesting to see how things go especially if we have an early cold snap
Great Grey Shrike (varsler) at Årnestangen
and a Great White Egret (egretthegre)
hunting Hen Harrier (myrhauk)
with a mouse
and a Merlin (dvergfalk)
Cranes (trane) are starting to head south now
2 Shoveler and 2 Wigeon (brunnakke) at Merkja
The Beast accompanied me to Årnestangen and I finally discovered who the viewing shutters were designed for...
