Back in Oslo and procrastinating away I am using dog
walking duties as a means of checking out on my breeding raptors. Yesterday,
saw me visiting the Honey Buzzard nest and today was a final attempt to find the
Hobby nest.
The Honey Buzzard young still look healthy although
a very obvious difference in the development of the two birds is perhaps more
than just an age difference and could suggest food shortages mean one of them (the
older one) is getting more food. I looked under the nest and saw no discarded
wasp comb which I take as a bad sign. Walking up to the nest area I glimpsed an
adult gliding towards the nest but was unable to see if it was the male or the
female although based on the last two years the female will probably have already
bailed. An hour and a quarter at the nest revealed only the young doing nothing
other than sitting still with no wing stretching or squabbling. On the way back
to the car I saw two dark HB thermalling high over the nest site that quickly
disappeared from view and then the male appeared low over the trees by the nest
and also quickly thermalled out of view. I could not make out if the first two
birds were a male and female but assume they were non/failed breeders moving
over the area or perhaps prospecting for a future nest site.
On the Hobby front it was a case of bad news and
good news. The good news is that I located the nest and could confirm that there
have been young, the bad news is that the confirmation came from the presence
of a dead juvenile on the ground under the nest. The carcass was right by a
path and the nest right over it and it was only seeing the carcass that allowed
me to find the nest. The nest was incredibly will hidden and impossible to see
from anywhere else other than under it. I had no live birds in the area so have
no idea whether any other young have fledged although if they had then I would
have expected to hear them. My last sighting in the nest area was 16 June and I
have visited since then without joy so it was a real surprise that such a large
juvenile was there which would have meant the adults would have been caring for
it and bringing food for the last month. The carcass still looked fairly fresh
although had been eaten at and there were droppings from a mammal on it. My
theories for how it ended on the ground are either being blown out during high
winds or perhaps a Goshawk attacked the nest resulting in one of the young
jumping out and the others being eaten?? My failure to locate any adults (especially
hearing them) on previous visits is also strange and makes me wonder if one of
the adults also perished at some point such that just a single adult was bringing
food but that is pure speculation.
Otherwise, I have had very few other raptors when in
Maridalen although it is the end of the month that is usually the most
productive and there is little in the way of migrants other than a few Whinchat
and Red-backed Shrikes. The two baby Whooper Swans are growing and being well
guarded by their parents but I have not seen the lone baby Mute Swan again.
The two Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) young on the nest. The head of the closest bird is still covered in white downy feathers whereas the other, older, bird has lost most of them
very poor pictures of the two HB that thermalled high over the nest.
the male from the breeding birds that appeared out of the forest by the nest
the unfortunate proof that Hobbies (lerkefalk) have indeed bred in Maridalen this year
the carcass of a juvenile Hobby
fresh droppings of a mammal that I assume had been feeding on the carcass
here, I have turned over the carcass
the nest was very difficult to find but through the binoculars I could see lots of white feathers around the nest
one of four 1st year Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) that as is most recent years are finding lots to eat in a cooperative organic vegetable patch
a juvenile (male?) House Sparrow (gråspurv) was with the Tree Sparrows (pilfink) at Kirkeby and indicates repeated breeding of this once mythical species (for me at least) in Maridalen
I still haven’t finished going through my videos of snipes
but have at least sorted out of the pictures from the last few days. It has
been very wet and grey but every now and again the rain stops and you can
appreciate how autumnal it is with the trees showing some great colours. Bird
wise there has been little to see other than the snipes with Common now
increasing to 21 at Maridalen. Long-tailed Tits seem to be on the move with
suddenly many flocks seeming to move westwards after I had not really noted any
earlier in the autumn.
An incredible sight in Maridalen yesterday was a flock of at
least 10,000 Bramblings that flew west over the lake in a dense flock that
stretched over 2km!!!!
The Stonechat in Maridalen was last seen on Monday and on
Tuesday a bird was seen at Østensjøvannet. The pictures of it are far too
grainy to be sure but it could well be the same bird. I went looking for it
yesterday but it seemed to have moved on again. Østensjøvannet is not
particularly birdy this autumn (except for geese) but Smew and a male Pintail
were nice and a probable hybrid female aythya duck was a headache.
Maridalen pictures from Monday:
Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) and its Common cousin (enkeltbekkasin)
Jacky boy
Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis)
my last sighting of the Stonechat (svartstrupe)
small numbers of Teal (krikkand) are on Maridalsvannet
Tuesday:
spot the Jack Snipe. Instead of my usual photo taken with a mobile at a couple of metres range this is taken with the 600mm at around 50m range
there he is
Common Snipe
more Common Snipe
Wednesday:
Common Snipe with reflection
The one parent Whooper Swan (sangsvane) family seems to have lost one of the young
a very small part of the Brambling (bjørkefink) flock that was 2km long as it flew over!
Today:
what may well be my last Adder (hogorm) of the year
Brambling
one of Maridalen's House Sparrow (gråspurv) family with its far commoner cousin a Tree Sparrow (pilfink)
Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgås) that have stopped in Maridalen for a feed
Østensjøvannet:
this male Pintail (stjertand) arrived a while ago when still in eclipse plumage but is now nearly in complete breeding plumage (and far earlier than any of other dabbling ducks there). It lacks a proper long tail though
male Wigeon (brunnakke) in different phases of plumage progression
a Cormorant (storskarv)
and a confiding Grey Heron (hegre)
the Smew (lappfiskand) is still present
As duck hybrids of not most peoples cup of tea I have kept it for last.
It is possibly a pure Tufted Duck (toppand) but I reacted initially to its head shape and reddish plumage. The eye colour also looks too red for a pure Tufted. I thought initially there might be Ferruginous Duck (hvitøyeand) in it but it lacks the obvious white arse of that species. I will do some more research but will be pleased to here if anyone has any thoughts.
this and the next picture from Wednesday
and this and the next from today
here it does have some white under the tail even though it is not visible on the swimming bird
and a Tufted Duck with its very yellow eye and this bird also shows a Ferruginous like white arse which is not that uncommon for the species so should definitely be present on a hybrid between the two
