The Fornebu Strikes Back!

Some days ends up by surprising you, don't they?

I arrived at Fornebu at 9am to be greeted by windless blue skies and the first frost of the autumn. Not many birds though. The finch flock that livened things up yesterday was not to be found and as I walked around there was hardly a bird to see. I found a few Meadow Pipits and amongst them heard the trill of a Lapland Bunting. It took a while to find it but it eventually landed in the open before moving to a weedy area where it was incredibly difficult to see so the pictures are no real improvement on yesterdays.

Feeling happy with one good bird I had a real adrenalin surge when I heard a distant Yellow-browed Warbler. If I was on Værøy that call would have been enough but here I needed more. I stood, I waited, and I played the call but not another sound and no sign of a warbler - one that got away.... But standing there waiting did have an upside. I found a national rarity although in these parts actually a commoner bird than the warbler - a Serin.



I heard a trill call and immediately thought it was the Lapland Bunting but when I saw the bird which was flying fairly low towards me I realised it was too small and when I saw the greeny/yellow rump all the bricks fell into place! It unfortunately did not land although was flying so low that there is a good chance it is in the area. It was calling constantly although it all happened too fast for me to think of recording the call. I raised the camera but realised I would not manage a picture and instead focused on watching it in the bins for another few seconds to record as much detail for an old fashioned written description. I even made a sketch!

Anders Simonsen walked by shortly afterwards and we made an attempt at relocating the Serin but to no avail and I then tried again for the Yellow browed but also here without luck.

The day did have another twist though. As I approached Storøykilen I heard a Kingfisher but again felt I needed more to report it. I searched the areas of open water but saw nothing and heard nothing more except a Robin alarm calling in a similar way and began questioning myself but then I heard the call again and glimpsed a flash of blue!! It was a Kingfisher. The bird proved INCREDIBLY difficult to get to grips with and perched unseen out in the reedbed only very occasionally making any noise although at one stage there was a real burst of calls and I wondered if there were 2 birds here. Kingfisher was reported here 3 weeks ago but not since despite a fair number of birders having walked by. Judging by today though it would not surprise me if the bird has been here all along.

I wonder if this was Fornebu’s swansong before it disappears under concrete?

The day's most colourful bird a Kingfisher (isfugl). The all dark bill shows it to be a male

not easy to find as it perched up the birch trees in the reedbed

 

even at range it shines in the autumn sunlight

I never was to good at art

the red nape and boldly marked breast show this bird to be different to yesterdays

I got close but the grass got closer

 

Wheatear (steinskvett)

This female Teal (krikkand) was dabbling in the radioactive water of Storøykilen reedbed

 

Aggrivating Acros

On our recent tour Rune and I initially reported that we had heard a Blyth's Reed Warbler (busksanger) from a location where one is singing in Hedmark. However it transpired we were 2km from where that bird was and as we heard it at 0230 after 22 hours on the road, were dead tired (close to hallucinating) and didn't record the song we decided to delete the record rather than claim a new undocumented bird. I therefore know full well how aggrivating acros can be.

I therefore had good reason to go searching for the Blyth's Reed Warbler that has been reported near Lillestrøm for a week or so. It has been reported by quite a few observers but seemingly in different locations and there are also some observers who report no Marsh Warblers and others who report one or two. Some observers have also been there for a couple of hours in the middle of the night (usually optimal time) recently and only heard Marsh Warbler. Clearly a confusing situation......

I visited first between 16:00 - 1740 yesterday which is not optimal. Never-the-less I was able to locate acros. Acrocephalus warblers (acros for short) are the group that includes Reed (rørsanger), Marsh (myrsanger) and Blyth’s Reed Warbler. They all look very similar but have developed slightly different habitat preferences and different songs. They can be a nightmare to separate in the field on migration but by seeing singing birds one gets the chance to appreciate the subtle differences in plumage and jizz.

The birds were singing quietly and also reacted to playback. I had two definite singing Marsh Warblers, one of which was possibly paired and then a third singing bird. If flew in when I played Blyth's Reed and started singing quietly. Its song was not Blyth's however but neither was it a classic Marsh as it sang slowly (Marsh Warbler normally has a very excited song). At one point it sang from the same bush as another Marsh without the two seeming to compete. Perhaps a hybrid or just one of these slow singing Marsh Warblers that are put there to confuse us? In the pictures I took there is nothing to separate it from a Marsh Warbler so I guess it is just a slow and relaxed singer.

Marsh Warbler and this sang fast. Note the olive ting to the plumage, pale legs, white edges to the outer tail feathers, long primary projection and supercilium that ends at the eye

presumed same bird as above. Note "kind" and rounded face

The slow singing Marsh Warbler. Note the same features as above

A couple of recordings of the Blyth's have been put out on the net. One recording by Sindre Molværsmyr can be heard here:

 

 I went back in the evening with Fernando who needed Blyth's as a lifer and I had promised to take him although I didn't feel confident we would find it. We arrived at 9pm and had a Marsh Warbler singing quietly where I had heard one before. We then searched a larger area than I had done earlier in the day and played Sindres in what was classic Blyths habitat and where the bird was initially found although not where a number of the subsequent sightings are from.  Quite soon we had a very short and quiet response from an area of mature trees bordering long grass and herbage which is the classic habitat for Blyth's. And then we saw the bird or should I say birds as there was a pair! They kept together nearly all the time and were seen carrying nesting material. At one stage they called excitedly and then both flew out of a bush - maybe they had been getting to know each other better?
The fact they are breeding and there are no other Blyth's Reed in the area probably explains why they didn't sing and others haven't heard them during the night (we had the same situation with the breeding pair of Rustic Buntings). We saw the birds for about 10 minutes until 2140 during which time they were very active but then they did not show or make noise until we left at 2300 which was a bit annoying for the other 5 birders who turned up....Lucky I got some pictures!
The pictures are not excellent but you can see enough and compare to the Marsh Warbler pictures. The ground colour is darker than the Marsh, the eye stripe extends further beyond the eye and most importantly the primary projection is shorter than on Marsh. Although not captured in any of my pictures the birds often adopted the "banana" posture with raised tail and head which is a classic field characteristic and also the origin of its alternate name of Banana Warbler. They also gave the impression of being smaller than the Marsh Warblers.

Blyth's Reed Warbler - note the longer supercilium that extends beyonf the eye, darker, greyer plumage and a less "kind" face

this picture shows themuch shorter primary projection than Marsh, lack of white outer tail feathers and the darker upperparts

the short primary projection is visible here

here the bird is doing "the banana" whereby it raises its tail which is a characteristic pose

Some of the records of the Blyth's from the last few days seem to have been a singing bird from the area 300 metres away by the barrier (bom) where the slow singing Marsh Warbler is and I am sure that there have been a lot of misidentifications (but I would know all about that wouldn’t I?).

We also heard a brief Grasshopper Warbler here. A search for a couple of River Warblers only turned up more Marsh.

I couldn't resist a trip into Maridalen. The Nightingale and a couple of Marsh Warblers sang but nothing more exciting. We heard a young owl begging for food. This was the bird reported as a Long-eared Owl and a much awaited Oslo tick but would appear to actually be a Tawny Owl although is not a call I am really familiar with. Here is a video where you can here the call.

After a few hours sleep I was up this morning to guide Jari from Finland around Oslo. We had a successful time with Nuthatch surprisingly for me being a real highlight as this is a very rare species in Finland. We had a good number of other species including good views of the Red-breasted Flycatcher (dvergfluesnapper) and Serin (gulirisik).

male Serin (gulirisk)

male Red-breasted Flycatcher (dvergfluesnapper)

the bird was bathed in sun and got rather burnt out in the picture

Great Crested Grebes at Østensjøvannet are always a treat for the eyes

Back in business

Yesterday started overcast and thunderstorms were forecast for the evening but the rest of the week looks even worse so I decided to make the most of the day.

A Red-breasted Flycatcher (dvergfluesnapper) was reported on Monday from Dælivannet close to Oslo so that was going to be my first stop. Before I had even left the house though I had a message from Kjetil J that the Serin (gulirisk) had returned for the fourth year running to Haslum Chuch which is close to the flycatcher. Two good birds to go for!

The Flycatcher was singing when I got to its favoured area and sang for the next 10 minutes but I failed to see it in the dense woodland even though it was close. It then shut up for an hour and I was close to leaving when it sang again and this time I located it. Inside the mixed spruce and deciduous wood it was quite dark so the pictures are all with a high ISO. Also I continually failed to capture it the few times it perched low down as the autofocus just wouldn't lock on. A great bird though and only my second ever adult male. Also in the area a singing, brown, first summer Common Rosefinch (rosenfink), Hawfinches (kjernebiter) and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett).

 

male Red-breasted Flycatcher (dvergfluesnapper)

singing male Common Rosefinch (rosenfink). The brown as opposed to red plumage shows this to be a male in its second year (1st summer)

 After all this excitement the Serin gave itself up very easily although always sat very high up as it sang its little heart out.

singing male Serin (gulirisk)

I paid my first visit to Maridalen for a few days and had a flock of 5 immature Mute Swans (knoppsvane) and two Whooper Swans. A Rook (kornkråke) with a flock of Crows (kråke) was my second record here this year but only my third ever on the patch. This bird had an adult like bill so was different to the 1st summer I had earlier this spring.

Rook (kornkråke) - a rare Oslo and Maridalen sighting

another picture of that Wryneck (vendehals)

...and another

A few Yellow Wagtails (gulerle) included a singing male and one of the Wrynecks (vendehals) showed well.

In the early evening the sun shone but this was only a window of light before the thunderstorms were to start. I never the less headed towards Hellesjøvannet where a Great Reed Warbler (trostesanger) was heard on Monday. On the way I had three Honey Buzzards (vepsevåk) and a Hobby (lerkefalk) over the road and it looks like these late migrants are arriving in force. The Honey Buzzards showed very well although I underestimated how much I needed to adjust the exposure with the closest pictures. One bird was very pale and could almost suggest an Osprey. Looking at the pictures all three appear to be males due to limited barring on the flight feathers and grey heads. At Tuentangen two male Red-backed Shrikes showed distantly but I got my first picture of one for the year.

Hobby (lerkefalk)

Honey Buzzard 1 an intermediate phase

same bird as above

pale phase Honey Buzzard (#2)

#3, a dark phase bird,  which was circling above #2. I assumed them to be a pair but it looks like both are males

first Red-backed Shrike of the year burned onto the hard disk

At Kjelle nine Temminck's Stints were nearly impossible to see feeding on a distant area of mud and a singing Spotted Crake (myrrikse) was completely impossible to see.
At Hellesjøvannet I had an hour before the heavens opened at 8pm. In this time I heard three Reed Warblers (rørsanger) and one Sedge Warbler (sivsanger) and saw a male and female Marsh Harrier. It then rained really hard for two hours and it wasn’t until 10pm that I was able to get out of the car and have a listen. Three singing Spotted Crakes was quite a result along with another Sedge Warbler but no Great Reed.

Driving home there were countless flooded fields and in two areas houses were flooded and people were standing outside getting assistance from the fire brigade. On the radio they were saying that there is a risk of a 50 year flood in many parts of Southern Norway due to combined heavy rainfall and melt water from the mountains.

Getting comfortable with red

The day started with a pre-dawn raid of Maridalen. All the geese from yesterday were gone and there were also fewer ducks so ducks had left but no new ones had arrived. Waders though had arrived with 6 Greenshank perched on stones (there is no mud showing yet although the water level is falling so maybe next week there will be a little mud), also 3 Common Sandpipers and a Whimbrel flew north calling. Still only a single Common Snipe on snipe marsh and although it was calling there was no display.  A Yellow Wagtail over was a nice year tick .

Three adult Whooper Swans were clearly non breeding birds and probably the same as I had on Sunday. I wonder whether 1 or 2 of them could be the 2010 youngsters?

After breakfast I headed for Svellet in Nordre Øyeren. The water level has unfortunately risen a lot but there is still a lot of mud at the northern end and here there were good numbers of waders. If we are lucky the mudflat will remain for at least a week as the real wader migration has not yet begun.

mudflats at Svellet with Ruff, Curlew, Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper

The most numerous waders were Wood Sandpipers with 155, followed by 115 Greenshank, 22 Ruff including a number of fully summer plumaged males, 14 Oystercathers, 7 Curlews (including 1 with a broken wing), 10 Lapwings, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Ringed Plover. The only duck were 9 Wigeon, a pair of Gadwall and 5 Shelduck. Raptors were represented by a single Merlin and single Kestrel.

Next stop was Svindal which offers good if distant views over the outer delta (south of Årnestangen) and can also be good for raptors. Not so many waders on the much reduced mud flats here, just 20 or so Greenshank and a handful of Wood Sandpipers. More ducks here though with 300 Teal and 80 Wigeon. All three hirundines feeding and a Lesser Whitethroat singing. The day’s highlight and the red letter bird flew by giving a dry trill, was about Redpoll size, lacked wing bars, had a bright yellow rump and had green upperparts: a SERIN. Even though they have bred near Oslo for the last 2 years this is still a national rarity so this was a good bird – just a shame it was a fly-by.

Continuing onto Hemnesjøvannet there was a hunting Osprey, 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Terns and 2 Whinchat.

When I arrived at Hellesjøvannet there were 4 (2 male and 2 female) Marsh Harriers circling together seemingly in some sort of territorial display with one of the males carrying nesting material. They then all dispersed away from the lake. Not long later I disturbed another male which was bird number 5 and later a male came in from another direction but this could well have been one of the other males.

male Marsh Harrier

Also here the breeding pair of Whooper Swans, a pair of Pochard which looked like they may settle down to breed and a male Gadwall which was very interested in a female Mallard and was chasing her and chasing away male Mallards – she did not seem at all interested in him though. A flock of 40 summer plumaged Golden Plovers flew over a couple of times.

On the drive back I had a female Marsh Harrier a few kilometres to the north which could very well have been one of the breeding birds, a couple of Kestrels (I had seven in total today), a very light Buzzard and a Hobby.

The Buzzard was an incredibly pale bird and had a white rump and white central tails feathers which can be seen in these pictures.

pale Buzzard

pale Buzzard - could invite confusion with many rarer raptors

pale Buzzard from above.

Getting better...

I allowed myself to sleep until 5am and woke feeling suprisingly churpy. Off to what is becoming my new "local" patch of Brentetangen. Arrived at 0625 and the first bird I saw was a Fulmar which fooled me into thinking this would be a day of intense passage. The winds were again from the SW and stronger than yesterday so it should have been good. A local soon joined me and he too expected good things. I stayed until 10am and had some good birds but they were few and far between and there was nothing else moving to keep the interest up. It does appear though that this is how it is here. Undoubted highlight was an light phase Pomarine Skua which went through at some hight at 0918 and had me thinking back to seawatching off Seaford in Sussex in the early 90's. Also single Puffin, Black Guillemot and 2 Gannets were quality birds.
A check of the national bird sightings on my phone showed there was a singing Serin back in Oslo. This was at the same location that a pair bred at last summer although for some reason I never made the 15 minute journey to see them last year. This time I felt it would be worth the "effort" and set off back to Oslo. The location was a large graveyard and after walking around for 10 minutes I heard the bird and soon saw it. A fine, very yellow male Serin singing his heart out. I was able to get very good views and good photos and video and then show Per Christian the bird who had also arrived. After getting our fill we then headed for the car park only to hear a Serin singing 200 metres from the bird we had just left. Given that this is a national rarity and that birds do fly it would be natural to expect this to be the same bird but no it was a new bird. This one was a lot less yellow and had distinct barring on the breast. So 2 males present. Could they be the male from last year and one of the young?
Here are picture of the 2 different birds plus a video of the more colourful bird

Serin 1 - the colourful male

Serin 2 - the less colourful (young?) male

Singing Serin