Birds in the Dale

Guess who’s back?  - and not a butterfly in sight! 😊

Autumn is really upon us and the cereal fields in Maridalen are being harvested as we speak. This always causes the first flocks of Meadow Pipits to appear and there is also a big flock of Greylag Geese so it is nice and birdy. A fine 1^st year male Bluethroat was today’s bird of the day but not quite as good as a Kingfisher on Wednesday and there are also good numbers of Whinchats, Nutcrackers flying back and forth from the city where they are collecting Hazel nuts and raptors to see including Honey Buzzards and Hobbies.

Yesterday I needed to go to the airport to pick someone up so made a day of it with a stop at Svellet and then a look for the Taiga Bean Geese which have already been seen. I failed to find the geese and with no GPS tags still functioning it has become a bit more hit and miss especially in the autumn when they do not use the river. I did find feathers and droppings at a favoured loafing site so can personally confirm their return

Svellet gave me my first Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper of the year but I am till missing three common waders for my year list – Grey Plover, Sanderling and Great Snipe – and fear there is a real risk they remain as absentees.

Maridalen has had a good autumn for waders and that is despite there being nearly no mud showing due to high water levels. Today 2 Ruff were on an island and over the last couple of weeks I have had flyover Curlew, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank and Greenshank aswell as Common Sandpipers along the rocky shore. The Lapwings look to have moved on sometime in July though and I saw no evidence that the two late broods produced any fledged young.

If my photos are looking even worse than usual then it is because the bazooka has now gone into complete lock down and I cannot get any life out of it so all pictures are with the superzoom which itself is suffering with age.

Bluethroat (blåstrupe) in Maridalen. The colourful throat shows it to be a male

and the wing bar shows it to be a bird of the year

Whinchat (buskskvett) and Meadow Pipit (heipiplerke) very typical birds for the end of August

although this Whitethroat (tornsanger) is getting a bit late

spot the Kingfisher (isfugl)?

a bit easier here

some of the Greylag Geese (grågås) and a Whooper Swan (sangsvane)

12 Curlew (storspove) migrating over Maridalsvannet earlier in the month

and two Greenshank (gluttsnipe) that flew around looking for somewhere to land

A video of a Mink eating a Crayfish and you can see the remains of many others. Otters have recently been seen in Maridalen and if they establish themselves then they will hopefully result in a reduction in Mink numbers

and a Grass Snake that I nearly stood on

Back in Oslo and one more butterfly...

This will, I think, be my last butterfly post of the year so please bear with me 😊

 

Sunday and Monday saw us driving back from Bodø to Oslo with us again taking the scenic but by no means slow route via Røros and Trysil. This allowed me to see Silvery Argus (kileblåvinge) for the second time and once again they were easy to find along a road. We also drove past great looking forest bog habitat that I will have to visit in the middle of June in one of the coming years.

First full day back in Oslo and I had to take a trip to Fornebu to see my first Brown Hairstreaks of the year with two males noted. I thought this would be my last butterfly species of the year but there was a surprise in store for me. In my post from January where I listed the species I had still to see in Norway there was one species that looked like it would be easy for me to see – Essex Skipper (timoteismyger). I had been contemplating the 40 minute drive to the Drammen area to “twitch” one but had seen some new records this year showing that the species was clearly expanding to the east and I thought why should I travel to see what is quite a small, boring species when it looked like it would come to me - although not necessarily this year, or even next, but soon.

And there it was! I was watching some Small Heaths (engringvinge) when I saw a small orange butterfly perched on a grass straw. I immediately knew what it was and just managed to take two pictures before it flew off strongly in the direction of Oslo (where it has yet to be recorded) and was gone. For such a small species it had a very strong and direct flight and it is no wonder that it is such a successful colonist.

Essex Skipper becomes my 85^th Norwegian species and my third new one this year following a successful trip to the forest bogs of Hedmark in June.

Essex Skipper (timoteismyger) - my 3rd new species this year and 85th ever in Norway

a male Brown Hairstreak (slåpetornstjertvinge)

the glacier Blåmannsisen lies above Sulitjelma and is visible from close to our cabin.

male Silvery Argus (kileblåvinge)

And here is some evidence to show that I do still look at birds. This juvenile Greenshank (gluttsnipe) was just one of a surprisingly good selection of waders at Fornebu.

One week passed and one more day of sun experienced

A whole seven days after the last day of sun we saw it again yesterday although I had to drive over an hour to experience it and its arrival was a whole three hours later than forecast - but it was all worth it in the end!

I, of course, went to Sulitjelma and hunted butterflies. I was not alone on that errand with another birder/butterer visiting all the way from Lista. Øyvind however was only having a short stop on his way even further north and only got to enjoy 5 minutes of sun before having to leave. I was able to wait it out though and when the sun did finally show for longer periods I finally, and after lots of efforts, got to see the Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow as well as is possible with nectaring individuals too close to focus on and one in the hand such that I could see the upperwing. I also got to see Northern Clouded Yellow’s upperwing so I can now «forget» about these species and concentrate my efforts on the really rare species that I am certain occur up here😊

Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow (polargulving) showing the underside of both wings

I had to take matters into my owns hands though to finally see the upperwing

This small flower rich hillside was where the previously pictured individual was flying from flower to flower.
Previously when I have seen them they have barely had time to stop

Spot it?

And here another individual. It was only 50m away and was also nectaring but was not quite as easy to follow. It was a much more heavily marked individual making me wonder if one was a male and the other a female.

A second, and more heavily marked, Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow (polargulvinge)

My usual out of focus flight shot but this is actually better than normal

Again showing both wings whereas previously the forewing has been hidden

When the light shines through the wings and the forewing is raised then you can see the upper side pattern

An almost acceptable flight (take off) shot

The upper side of a Northern Clouded Yellow (mjeltgulving)

I had to pick it up and blow on it when the sun had gone behind a cloud to get it to open its wings but it flew off strongly when the sun came out again

Clouded yellow habitat and with a much larger flying object in the background

One flying by

And here the upperwing caught as it nectared

Birding has occurred too with the Surf Scoter sighted a few times and even digitally documented. Wader passage is picking up with both adult and juvenile Spotted Redshanks now moving. A male Garganey felt like a strange species to see north if the Arctic Circle but they are observed regularly enough over the years that I am sure they breed locally from time to time. Very good numbers of Common and Arctic Terns (a couple of hundred), Lapwings and breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also satisfying sightings.

Arctic Skua (tyvjo) which breed on a bog nearby

Collared Doves (tyrkerdue) also surprisingly occur this far north although are rare

Garganey (knekkand) - in flight its blue forewing showed it was a male in eclipse

Adult Spotted Redshank (sotsnipe) with Greenshank (gluttsnipe)

Bar-tailed Godwits (lappspove)

And the male Surf Scoter (brilleand) showing his white nape patch..

Svellet feeling cosmic even if all else is dire

Cold nights, a cold northerly wind and blue skies continue to sing a lullaby to both birders and birds and dire is a word that frequently goes through my mind but we are now getting to the time of the spring when no matter what the weather there will be new birds coming although southerly winds and rain would still be much preferred.

 

Svellet is now getting ready to be very mighty. Water levels are perfect (3.77m today) and are rising very slowly, the light in the early morning is good (meaning there is a chance of identifying what is out there) and new waders are coming. Whilst the number of Curlew is now falling with under 50 today the number of Greenshank is rising with the first 2 on the 24^th, 7 on the 26^th, 14 on the 27^th and 25 today, the 28^th – the increase is nearly exponential! No Wood Sands yet but a single Whimbrel and two Bar-tailed Godwits including a brick red male were a sign of things to come. If things stay like this then I think the next two weeks could be cosmic!

A pleasant surprise was finding Kingfisher at a breeding site. This winter has been so long and cold that I think that many birds will have perished and even though we may have far fewer pairs this year than last I think the species is now established and won’t come and go as it used to do.

Svellet 28th April. Water levels are currently perfect but it won't need to rise very much before those mudflat between me and the water disappear.

Bar-tailed Godwits (lappspove) are, despite what the local rarities committee thinks, a proper scarce bird around Oslo and especially in spring. Brick red males are even rarer

3 Greenshank (gluttsnipe) at Maridalsvannet today. An early record here and with water levels currently, and surprisingly given the weather, very high there is no mud so I am not expecting many more waders this spring

male Kingfisher (isfugl) with fish. I saw him twice with a fish which he did not eat himself but flew with it towards the bank that is here hidden by bushes and where I assume there is a nest hole

this female Sparrowhawk (spurvehauk) was in a display flight and calling today in Maridalen. She was displaying above a Goshawk teritory but it did not result in any Goshawks flying up. Note the white undertail feathers which both Sparrowhawks and Goshawks fan out when displaying

my first Whimbrel (småspove) of the year. I had previously reported a bird on 14 April which is an extreme early date. Whilst I was happy with the ID it was distant and I didn't manage to get a photo. I therefore deleted this record after a couple of days as I am a firm believer in that very early (and late) records of migrants should be documented with photos or sound recordings. This applies particularly to species which can easily be confused with a commoner species and include in addition to Whimbrel species such as Tree Pipit, Wood and Common Sandpiper, Honey Buzzard, Hobby, Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail and Wryneck (sound records) 

Relationship update

It’s official and my Facebook status is updated accordingly:

 

Simon is no longer in a relationship with Fru. Gressholmen

--

Simon has started a relationship with Fru. Galteskjær

 I had been playing things cool and islands and ferries were kept at the back of my mind but rain and low tide at midday today meant my desires could not be ignored. Of course as I arrived at the ferry I forgot about all rejection and heartbreak and my naive optimism was going at full throttle. 

Surely Fru. Gressholmen would finally admit, and most importantly show, her love for me. As I arrived at the bay sheltering from the rain under my umbrella I could see a medium sized wader with my naked eye and convinced myself that it was a Spotted Redshank and that the fire of our love had been reignited. Upon getting my scope out though my hopes were dashed and the fire hose of rejection splashed all over me - it was a juvenile Common Redshank. A juv Greenshank was the only other wader in the bay (interesting that juveniles are now migrating) but I had to accept it - me and Fru. G will never reconcile, she has clearly moved on.

 But there is the other, more risky Fru. G – Fru. Galteskjær. She doesn’t require anything more than that you look admiringly from afar and that I did. And boy, did she reward me with a Little Stint🥳❤️. Only my second Oslo record (the first of course also being from Galteskjær) and #oslo2024 species #191 thus equalling my 2019 record. She is a keeper but she also knows her attractions and will always be a tease I fear. As we sped past and my attention was absorbed by the stint I barely registered a couple of other waders and attempts to take photos have not resulted in being able to ID them. How can I best woo her? Get off at Lindøya or Nakkholmen and view from afar with a scope? Take the ferry multiple times?? Or should I put my heart completely out there and drop visiting Fru. Gressholmen at all and make Fru. Galteskjær the full focus of my ferry ride???

To celebrate my new relationship I have given Galteskjær her own tag on the blog whereas before she has always been covered under Gressholmen.

 More rain is forecast later in the week so we will see what strategy I choose and how I fare.

arriving at the Ferry and feeling so optimistic

there was even good amounts of exposed mud but Fru. Gressholmen is not to be reconciled

Little Stint (dvergsnipe) on Galteskjær. An early juvenile

and what was this wader?

spot the Greenshank (gluttsnipe)?

there were very few Common Terns (makrellterne) left and I fear they have had a disastrous breeding season. This one had an unusual all red bill

I am now equal to 2019 (ignoring the redpoll lump) and 200 looks a possibilty