As I write this it is just +1C and snowing outside the window.
This is in stark contrast to England where Jr and I spent a loooong weekend
looking at flowering daffodils, bluebells, wood anemones, Firecrests and Red
Kites. Firecrests have now become ten a penny in my childhood birding haunts
where I definitely did not see a single one (40 years ago….) when I was a young
birder and Red Kites now cruise over urban areas looking for a snack. In
contrast to these species that have become much commoner I also heard a Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker which would appear to be the first eBird record for West
Sussex this year. It was a rare species when I was a lad but has clearly become
even rarer in the (may) intervening years.
Before we went to England Maridalsvannet was still frozen and
Østensjøvannet still half so. Now Maridalsvannet and, I presume, ØV are ice free
but surprisingly Sognsvann proved to still be covered in ice on a walk with The
Beast today. We are still waiting for the big arrival of thrushes but lots of Chaffinches
have arrived although we are still waiting for the big arrival of Bramblings.
Yesterday was a good day for Pink-footed Geese with 3000 or so passing over Maridalen
in just an hour of observation but there did not seem to be anything else
moving. Maybe I will still get big raptor da
Mute Swan (knoppsvane) pair on Maridalsvannet. I have not seen them getting any grief from the Whooper Swans so may be there will be far less swan drama this year although I still think the lake is a very suboptimal locality for them. Both birds had colour rings although I was unable to read them
Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås) heading north over Jr in Maridalen yesterday
a lone Pink-foot with Greylags by a frozen Sognsvann today
a large flock of Pink-feet over Nes in Maridalen
a pair of Smew (lappfiskand) at Østensjøvannet before we went to England. It has now become an expected event that the species will turn up as soon as the ice starts melting there
another species that has appeared in Sussex since I left is Egyptian Goose (niland) which still breeds during the southern summer, i.e our winter
Goshawk (hønsehauk) nest at Sognsvann today. This pair must surely be the most accepting of humans in the whole of Norway
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
The first week of February is done and dusted and I cannot
say that things have got better yet. A Wood Pigeon flying north may count as my
first spring migrant of the year although could have just been an
overwintering bird moving between
feeding sites and I did have a Greylag a couple of weeks ago that may also qualify
for that distinction. Although why either of these birds would be heading north
when temperatures are still constantly way below zero is anyone's guess.
A Black Woodpecker gave a nice performance on Thursday as
both it and a Great Spotted were seemingly finding lots of food in some dead
spruce trees. Otherwise it has really just been same old, same old. A trip to
Tromsø this weekend to see Jr fills me with the promise of finding white-winged
gulls and rare eiders but will probably be a failure judging by the lack of records
of anything exciting on either eBird or Artsobservasjoner.
this Grey Heron (hegre) had found some open water but I don't think there were any fish for it
whereas this Water Rail (vannrikse) was happy to eat porridge oats that had been put out for it
adult male Goshawk (hønsehauk) back in a favoured tree in Maridalen suggests his mind is turning to the breeding season and we may soon see some display
And these are still easy to find and for the first time in sunshine:
For many, many years Hazel Grouse was a very frustrating
species for me. I knew of areas where they had territories and would
occasionally flush one or hear one singing but struggled to see them well let
alone get a photo. As I got to understand the species better I was able to get
slightly better and better photos but it was always a lot of work and the
better areas I knew of were quite a walk in often difficult terrain. Then in
spring 2021 I discovered a new territory that was less than 15 minutes walk, in
easy terrain and best of all had a pair, and especially male, that were
remarkably confiding. This territory became my go to site for the species and
although never guaranteed I could find them on something like 4 out of 5
visits. The fun lasted for 3 years with my last sighting in spring 2024. I’ve
no idea what happened but assume the male died presumably taken by a predator.
I had assumed that the territory would be taken over by a new male but that
hasn’t happened and I have struggled to find Hazel Grouse since then with many previous
territories seemingly unoccupied.
Today though I finally had a good encounter with the species
in a territory where I have previously seen them and although nothing like the
encounters I had with “my boy” there may be something to work with here.
Pygmy Owl also showed so it was approaching one of those
good autumn days in the forest. Just need some rarer owls and finches to turn
up now.
I initially found the male on the ground and played a game of cat and mouse with this being the best image I managed
he then flew up into an alder tree where he remained and fed allowing much better if often obscured views. I did see his mate briefly but she didn't feed in the open
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) - quite likely the same bird as in my previous post
the Whooper Swan (sangsvane) family in Maridalen
a close and in focus encounter with a young male (based on small size) Goshawk (hønsehauk)
I saw him first on the ground
before he then took off and flew right towards me (I was in he car). My camera problems (the shutter doesn't shut properly) are clear to see but my manual focusing worked far better than the autofocus ever did of a bird in flight
Tomorrow I am off to Lista for their annual Bird Race. This will be only my second ever visit to what can
probably be fairly described as Norway’s premier birding locality and
definitely the home of Norway’s most famous bird observatory. If I am lucky I
will also win the evening quiz and be crowned Norwegian Birding Champion 2025 (after being runner up on my previous visit in 2017 although most likely I
will be knocked out in the early rounds... The birding should be good though and
with a bit of luck a rarity or two will turn up when we are there.
Local birding has been pretty good though this week although
a hoped for rush of seabirds this morning after a night of strong southerly
winds revealed not one single non-local seabird and the only real unexpected sighting
was a juvenile Honey Buzzard battling into the headwind to cross from Bygdøy to
Nesodden.
I have been to check on the Taiga’s a couple of times and
found them to be on the same stubble field that they used for the first time
last autumn and then also used this spring. This is quite typical that they
will change preferred field in one season and then also use it the following
1-2 seasons and I would not be surprised if next spring they choose somewhere
else. When they are on a stubble field they can be surprisingly difficult to
count accurately and they have also had both Canada and Greylag Geese, and a
hybrid between the two, in amongst them but in the end I concluded that the
flock size was still 129 meaning no additions or depletions.
Visits to Hellesjøvannet with raptors in mind turned up
trumps with a Red Kite and lots of sightings of Hobbies, Marsh Harriers and
especially Common Buzzards with one “kettle” containing 18 birds.
I have only had fleeting visits to Maridalen but had a real
head scratching surprise today when I discovered a family of four Whooper Swans
on a field and then river (they were very shy) 4km away from where I had last
seen the intact family on the lake. The young were large but not fully grown
and I am sure could not fly meaning they must be the Maridalen family but I don’t
know how to explain the sighting of 18 August and my subsequent sightings of
just an adult pair or no birds at all.
Red Kite (rødglente) at Hellesjøvannet. Only my second in Akershus (I have had more in Oslo) and the first one I have managed to photo. Clearly not a juvenile but other than that my knowledge of moult and plumage in this species doesn't allow me to say any more
I was very lucky to come across this juv Goshawk (hønsehauk) eating what looks to be a Jackdaw (kaie) right by the road at the Taiga Bean place.
Lots more pictures lower down
male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) at Hellesjøvannet who was regularly bringing small rodents to two juvenile that would fly to meet him and would catch the mouse mid flight
an adult Hobby (lerkefalk) catching a dragonfly whilst brave Swallows (låvesvale) try to chase it off
the wings have been removed
a bit of nictating membrane
Taiga Bean watching
V8 and kids are in the video but when they are distant and in stubble I cannot unfortunately see any legs rings
part of the Taiga Bean Goose (taigasædgås) flock
here with Canada Geese, a Greylag and a hybrid between the two
a family of Cranes (trane)
just a single Pochard (taffeland) at Hellesjøvannet and very few other birds including only 2 Great Crested Grebes suggests to me a lack of oxygen, and life, in the water. There were 3 visits from at least 2 Ospreys and they left with a fish each time on their first attempt which I reckon means there were fish at the surface gulping air
the highlight of today's seas gazing at Fornebu was these juvenile Knot (polarsnipe) that flew in from Huk and landed on the rocks in front of me
I was not expecting to see these today in Maridalen. I will try to see if the beak patterns allow me confirm that these are the regular pair
the flight feathers of the juveniles are not yet fully developed so I am quite sure they have not flown in from somewhere else
