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
The autumn arrival of auks has always been one of the
notable events of the Oslo birding calendar. The last few years though there
have not been that many and Little Auks have been more or less absent. This has
been due to a lack of strong southerly winds to push birds up the fjord which is
also the reason for a lack of almost any other exciting seabirds. This autumn
we had a small arrival of Guillemots at the end of September and probably a few
new birds since then but there are just a handful of Razorbills amongst them. These
small numbers are the result of a lack so far of any strong winds to drive the
birds north so it has been surprising to find birds on Maridalsvannet. What I
assume happens is that the birds have problems when trying to return to open
seas and end up flying higher and higher and around and around trying to find
their way out of the Inner Oslofjord and some end flying north as a part of
this endeavour. This would help explain why I found a LITTLE AUK on
Maridalsvannet yesterday despite there being no wind at all. This is my first record here and my only new species in the Dale so far in 2025.
Since Sunday there
have been a lot of Little Auks turning up on the fjord. They have been flying
north over calm seas and are clearly very lost. My theory is that storms
associated with Amy displaced many Little Auks from areas further north and
into the southern North Sea. These birds are trying to return north from whence
they came and if they were far enough east then they will end up in the Oslofjord
and if they continuing flying north despite the ever narrowing fjord they will
hit Oslo City. Yesterday morning I was watching from Fornebu and saw a steady
stream of birds arriving from the south and then flying around confused in
circles and clearly one of these birds just decided to not stop and continue
heading north before then seeing just forest and deciding Maridalsvannet would
be a good place to abort the northward flight and contemplate its choices in
life.
No other species are turning up on fjord so the movement is
restricted to Little Auks although I have a hope a Puffin may also turn up.
Fornebu is getting very quiet with just a Kingfisher to
liven things up and apart from auks Maridalen has had the first Pygmy Owls
turning up which as usual coincides with the first heavy frosts further into
the forests.
The fact I am writing about Auks in Oslo clearly means that
I haven’t travelled to Værøy. Kjell has gone up but his messages today have not
had me feeling jealous with not a wing bar or scarce bird in site. He does have
two more days though… and I wish him luck but not too much.
Little Auk (alkekonge). They do not seem to be scared of people at all and also often feed (dive) right by the shore meaning they can offer great views
look at the legs right at the back of the body
a group heading north with the Oslo - Nesodden ferry in the background
here a group flew in a circle around Lysakerfjorden and were at one point flying over land
here with the offices at Fornebu in the background
they returned to the fjord and flew right past me
before all 15 landed right in front of me. They were calling which can be heard in the video above
the Maridalen bird. Completely unidentifiable in this photo but with a landmark in the background
a Razorbill (alke)
Guillemot (lomvi) and Razorbill together
this Guillemot was hoping I had a fish for it
here it almost felt like it was performing so as to be rewarded with a fish
and my first Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) of the autumn in Maridalen
