Snow Buntings

Every day is bring different weather at the moment. After yesterday’s blue skies we woke up to rain and sleet, low cloud and temperatures just over zero today. I headed down to Huk, Bygdøy just after sunrise (not that I could see the sun) hoping that there would be some signs of migration and grounded birds. Well that was most definitely not the case!
Heading over to Fornebu there was still a nice flock of seedeaters although a lot less than 2 days ago. Still 6 Snow Buntings (snøspurv) though and new for me were a few Linnets (tornirisk) amongst the Twite (bergirisk).

A quick stop at Smestaddammen, a small and very urban lake, showed that as usual at this time of the year it was full of birds with 9 Goosander and 3 Teal the best.

In Maridalen the sleet was turning to snow and the fields looked very dead. However there was a single Lapwing that clearly does not want to risk losing its territory and at Kirkeby a flock of 10 Snow Buntings. These showed a lot better than the ones at Fornebu although pictures are poor due to the appalling light early today. Snow Bunting seem to me to be becoming commoner or at least more obvious on spring migration around Oslo and whereas a few years ago I would not see any I now expect to find them at this time of year. They are still a great bird though everytime I see them.


Snow Buntings in Maridalen

the whole flock

this male was coming into breeding plumage



 

one of the Snow Buntings at Fornebu

my first Linnets of the year



one of the 6 Whooper Swans in Maridalen

Oslo islands

With lots of rain forecast for the end of the week I thought I would get out today. Easterly winds had me thinking I needed to be on an island. Islands work well with rare birds because of location, location, location. Therefore an island in a narrow fjord just offshore from downtown Oslo is unlikely to deliver that much.

However as I got off the boat at Gressholmen this morning and within 30 seconds had Wheatear (steinskvett) and Chiffchaff (gransanger) then you might forgive me for thinking it was game on. Well the excitement finished exactly when it started and neither the island or the sea around it had anything more of interest to offer me.

Once back on the mainland I even walked around the harbour hoping for gulls - desparate times call for desperate measures. Even here I failed but a close Guillemot (lomvi) was a small consolation. I even also visited drug dealing central but had nothing more exciting than a couple of latish LB-b Gulls (sildemåke).

Taking the Metro home fate played me a good card when i realised I was on the wrong line. Rather than just take the next Metro back I went to a small lake near the station - Smestaddammen. Here amongst the bread eating Mallards (stokkand) was a proper wild duck - a Gadwall (snadderand) and a proper Oslo rarity. It was always nervous of people and will presumably not stay longer than today although the two Teal (krikkand) alongside it are most certainly birds that spend the winter in nearby Frognerparken. The swan family that breeds on the lake consisted of a single adult and three youngsters all of which were ringed.  I wonder what has happened to the other adult? (having entered the ringing data I see that the swan family consisted of 10 birds in September so one of the adults has presumably already left with 5 of the young which seems to be interesting behaviour).

In Maridalen a pair of Whooper Swans (sangsvane) are hopefully just the first of the autumn and we can look forward to some numbers of waterfowl over the next two months.

although this Gadwall (snadderand) looks like a female the reddy brown bar in the wing is a male character so this must be a 1cy male

sparkly

Gadwall and two Teal

Two Teal and a Gadwall

Guillemot (lomvi)

this female Mallard had managed to get fishing line around its wing and in it bill - nasty

Moorhens (sivhøne)

I don't think I have photographed Feral Pigeons (bydue) before but they can be quite smart