Pygmy Owl in sunlight

There are at least 3 Pygmy Owls in Maridalen at the moment and on Sunday I finally got to see the one that everyone else is seeing (not that I haven’t tried) and in sunshine. It was clearly hunting for rodents and made one unsuccessful attempt to catch something. This is in contrast to previous years when the owls have been seen to catch many rodents in quick succession. There have been quite a few news articles about this being a rodent winter but it is clearly still quite local.

Østensjøvannet proved to be half frozen today not that that really caused there to be much in the way of new birds although I did have a single Common Snipe and the Scaup was still present.

A nice surprise at home was a flock of 29 Waxwings that briefly visited an apple tree that still has fruit on it. There are very few Waxwings around this winter but I had been counting on them visiting at least once.

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

a classic pose when it has heard something

the female Pintail (stjertand) at Østensjøvannet was along with the Mallards clearly hoping I had food

these two Goldeneyes (kvinand) with bills that are turning yellow must be young females

good numbers of Herons (gråhegre) show there must also be a lot of fish

the ice had concentrated all the remaining (9) Moorhens (sivhøne) and I assume now that all but one or two will move off over night

this really is not a finch winter with seemingly no wintering birds other than resident birds. This (Lesser) Redpoll is a rare sight at the momemnt

the Scaup (bergand) with a Tufted Duck (toppand) and 4 Wigeon (brunnakke)

Waxwing (sidensvans) in the garden

the Maridalen Marsh Tit (løvmeis)

just look how much the appearance of a pale wing panel changes depending on angle

and a Willow Tit (granmeis) where the pale wing panel is always obvious

Ice is coming

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 8^th. 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

Making Owling Great Again

To Make Owling in the future Great Again Per Christian has been banging together Tengmalm’s nest boxes and Great Grey Owl platforms and on Sunday I helped him hang them up along Owl Road. Hopefully they will be used already next spring and if so will make finding these species so much easier.

Whilst we were out we did not see either of the two species but did have a really nice encounter with a Pygmy Owl.

Today I had a perhaps even better with another Pygmy Owl in Maridalen and maybe we should be hanging up nesting boxes for them although I think they will have no lack of natural (Great Spotted) Woodpecker holes to use.

I also visited Østensjøvannet today as a swift was reported nearby yesterday. Although reported as a Common Swift it is far more likely that it was a Pallid. It is relatively warm at the moment (close to 10C) but there are no visible flying insects so a Swift will struggle in the city so it was no surprise that I did not refind it. A Scaup was far more expected but still good bird to find and at least two Water Rails were an addition to my Oslo year list.

me underneath a GG Owl platform

and Per Christian putting it up

me and a Tengmalm's box

The Pygmy Owl on Owl Road which can be heard giving its autumn song in the video:

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

And today's bird in Maridalen:

the Scaup (bergand) at Østensjøvannet

and a Water Rail (vannrikse)

Wigeon (brunnakke)

the female Pintail (stjertand) at Østensjøvannet

and a big surprise was this flock of Pintails flying over Owl Road