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:

Spring, summer and autumn all in the course of an hour

Even though the weather today was quite challenging with rain storms I am actually talking about the bird seasons.

I ended up at Fornebu this morning after having had to drop Jr Jr off nearby. A report earlier in the morning of a small flock of Brent Geese flying over the suburbs and the fresh southerly winds had me thinking a sea gaze may give something although this late in the spring (or summer as it officially is in Norway now) there was never going to be much but it could be a case of quality over quantity.

My first scan revealed a Brent Goose standing on an islet – very nice - and then whilst watching it in a scope a Sandwich Tern flew over – very, very nice! The tern quickly moved off and I managed no pictures but this was only my second ever Norwegian record so the day was definitely delivering. Further scans of the fjord did not reveal any skuas or large divers but I did pick up a flock of 20 Brent (which tallies with the flock seen over the suburbs) resting on the fjord, then 5 Common Scoter (late migrants) and 5 summer plumaged Guillemots that looked to be displaying to each other. The Brents were Pale-bellied hrota on their way from wintering areas in Denmark to breeding grounds on Svalbard. They are traditionally one of the very latest movers and normally fly up the west coast of Norway but a few always take a wrong turn and fly up the east coast before always and obviously getting confused when the fjord narrows and then stops in Oslo. Sometimes the birds carry on over land but other times seems to turnaround and go south again. Today’s birds were still to make a decision.

So two species – Brent Goose and Common Scoter – that were still on spring migration.

part of the flock of 20 Pale-bellied Brent Geese (ringgås). Later in the day a single Dark-bellied was found with them. I did not see this bird or am able to find it in my photos so it presumably arrived some time later

and the initial single bird. The lack of an obvious neck collar ages it s a 2cy

A visit to Storøykilen had me hoping for Broad-billed Sandpiper but instead there was a Greenshank and Green Sandpiper. The sandpiper would definitely have been a returning so therefore on autumn migration but I am unsure about the Greenshank which I think could have been on either.

And summer? Well, there are loads of breeding birds but best of all was seeing the Ringed Plover family again. I was able to watch them closely from the car and the male was sheltering and guarding the two young whilst the female was nearby and calling and running in the opposite direction trying to distract me. I don’t know how usual it is that the male takes responsibility for the young in this way but see from my photos the other day that it was also the male caring for them.

In Maridalen there was only one hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose today, the dark one but another small goose looked like a pure Canada or Cackling but I am unsure and it is almost certainly a backcross hybrid and perhaps a mixture of three different species. Whatever it is it will certainly have a feral origin, probably in Holland.

the dark breasted hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose and a new bird which would also seem to be a hybrid but one without a white forehead or a dark breast

here the chest looks pale

in this shot there is maybe a shadow of a dark chest

the obvious hybrid has (in this picture at least) a very stubby bill and steep forehead suggesting Cackling rather than Canada Goose genes

A hunting 1^st summer male Marsh Harrier and possible a new and second singing Sedge Warbler were also notable in The Dale.

1st summer Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) - note the new grey feathers in the wing and tail

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)

Bopping geese

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

spot the shy swans