Guess who’s back? - and not a butterfly in sight! 😊
Autumn is really upon us and the cereal fields in Maridalen
are being harvested as we speak. This always causes the first flocks of Meadow
Pipits to appear and there is also a big flock of Greylag Geese so it is nice
and birdy. A fine 1st year male Bluethroat was today’s bird of the
day but not quite as good as a Kingfisher on Wednesday and there are also good
numbers of Whinchats, Nutcrackers flying back and forth from the city where
they are collecting Hazel nuts and raptors to see including Honey Buzzards and
Hobbies.
Yesterday I needed to go to the airport to pick someone up
so made a day of it with a stop at Svellet and then a look for the Taiga Bean
Geese which have already been seen. I failed to find the geese and with no GPS
tags still functioning it has become a bit more hit and miss especially in the autumn
when they do not use the river. I did find feathers and droppings at a favoured
loafing site so can personally confirm their return
Svellet gave me my first Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper
of the year but I am till missing three common waders for my year list – Grey Plover,
Sanderling and Great Snipe – and fear there is a real risk they remain as
absentees.
Maridalen has had a good autumn for waders and that is despite there being nearly no mud showing due to high water levels. Today 2 Ruff were on an island and over the last couple of weeks I have had flyover Curlew, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank and Greenshank aswell as Common Sandpipers along the rocky shore. The Lapwings look to have moved on sometime in July though and I saw no evidence that the two late broods produced any fledged young.
If my photos are looking even worse than usual then it is because
the bazooka has now gone into complete lock down and I cannot get any life out
of it so all pictures are with the superzoom which itself is suffering with
age.
Bluethroat (blåstrupe) in Maridalen. The colourful throat shows it to be a male
and the wing bar shows it to be a bird of the year
Whinchat (buskskvett) and Meadow Pipit (heipiplerke) very typical birds for the end of August
although this Whitethroat (tornsanger) is getting a bit late
spot the Kingfisher (isfugl)?
a bit easier here
some of the Greylag Geese (grågås) and a Whooper Swan (sangsvane)
12 Curlew (storspove) migrating over Maridalsvannet earlier in the month
and two Greenshank (gluttsnipe) that flew around looking for somewhere to land
A video of a Mink eating a Crayfish and you can see the remains of many others. Otters have recently been seen in Maridalen and if they establish themselves then they will hopefully result in a reduction in Mink numbers
Yesterday saw me watching some big owls very well in Hedmark
and I will come back to them in a day or so but first an update from a good
days birding in Oslo.
Every spring the car needs its service and I use this carless
day to go out to the islands and today was that day. I only visited Gressholmen
but it was a good trip even though it is still way too early for anything that
exciting. However 3 Slavonian Grebes at close range were, as always, a treat
and they even displayed a bit. These, a Green Sandpiper and a Great Grey Shrike
which even sang a bit were all Oslo’s first records of the year..
After this a trip to Middelalderparken failed to reveal anything
rare among the few hundred gulls bathing there (although turnover is clearly
high so things can always turn up). A very pale mantled Lesser Black-back and a
yellow-legged and slightly dark mantled Herring Gull got some attention. I also
managed to fit in a trip to Østensjøvannet before the car was ready to be
picked up and thankfully didn’t need any additional work doing to it.
Slavonian Grebe (horndykker) pair
This video has lots of display and interaction between the birds
And this short extract shows some interesting display with what seems to be the unpaired bird trying its luck before being chased off. Note how it dives under water and then starts penguin displaying which gets a positive response from the other bird before its mate turns up
look at the reflection of the black head feathers
all 3 birds which were a pair and I believe a male
the pair of Smew (lappfiskand) still at Østensjøvannet
the yellow-legged Herring Gull that isn't a Yellow-legged Gull...
this pale backed Lesser-black Backed Gull (sildemåke) is ringed and its life history and other pictures suggest is an intermedius with some pigment problems (note that the primaries are not black) rather than a graellsii
Great Grey Shrike (varlser). It was intently staring at the ground in an area with lots of Water Vole holes but I did not see it catch one which would also have been a large prey item
I only discovered this Greylag Goose nest when it hissed at me as I almost stood on it
this young Herring Gull looks to have got some paint on it
there were 6 Ringed Plovers (sandlo) on Gressholmen which probably represent the entire Oslo breeding population
And a video of a drumming female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from earlier in the week
A final post before the first migrants arrive and all hell
breaks lose (in my dreams).
If the weather forecast plays out then today marks the end
of this winter’s big freeze and from tomorrow positive temperatures, some rain
and southerly winds will hopefully kick start the first wave of spring
migration 2026.
Winter had a final gift in the form of a big dump of snow on
Sunday night and this extra snow will, I hope, ensure we get some good spring
flooding that hopefully will last many weeks. I really hope that Hengsenga on
Bygdøy will have flood water until at least the beginning of April as I believe
there is the potential for something very good here.
I have seen some signs of spring despite the weather not yet
having changed. A Wood Pigeon heading north on the early morning dog walk on
Tuesday will be the first of very many and a Greylag Goose looked a bit forlorn
on the ice at Østensjøvannet but today provided another two and better species.
In my last post I listed three early migrants that I hoped to find soon and all
had names beginning with S. After writing it I realised I could have added
another S species to the list, namely Stock Dove. When visiting Bygdøy today
hoping to find the first Oystercatcher of the year I stopped off to see if any
Stock Doves had returned to their usual spot and sure enough one was sat atop a
usual tree which is Oslo’s first in 2026. Huk didn’t have an Oystercatcher yet
but a flock of 8 Twite flying over were also Oslo’s first of the year but
rather than being migrants may be birds that have wintered on islands close by
taking a bit of a fly about. 17 Guillemot on a flat sea was a notably high
count for the time of the year but I couldn’t find any divers or grebes which
should soon appear.
I am really looking forward to the coming week and have high
hopes for both Bygdøy and Østensjøvannet but think Maridalen may have to wait a
bit longer as there is still so much snow.
a total of 4 Little Grebes (dvergdykker) at Kongshavn on Saturday. This is a joint highest count for Oslo and I would love to know where these birds breed
they acted as though they were two pairs and called a bit but are not yet in summer plumage
Østensjøvannets female Pintail (stjertand) now with bling
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) in Maridalen on Sunday
Greylag Goose (grågås) at Østensjøvannet on Monday
my first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett) of the year. It was not drumming or "singing" but gave itself away through its weak tapping
Maridalen at its wintery finest
distant Pygmy Owl on Tuesday
and much closer
here, it had just visited the old woodpecker hole which I photographed it in in my last post and flew out with this mouse! I have assumed that this particular bird is living off its larder at the moment as when I see it in tree tops it is just looking as though it is enjoying the view rather than hunting
The first Greylags at Bygdøy Kongsgården but I bet that in a weeks time there will be triple figures here and hopefully with some smaller, scarcer cousins in their midst
Oslo's first Stock Dove (skogdue) of the year
Water Rail (vannrikse) still going strong at Østensjøvannet
and Jacky Boy is also still going strong. The upcoming thaw will be good news for them but will also, I fear, make them more difficult to find
This week hasn’t been so cold with temperatures around zero
or just below but it has also been cloudy meaning it is dull whilst out birding
and at night we have missed the fantastic show of Northern Lights that many
others, and not least Jr in Tromsø, have seen.
The Pygmy Owl has been quite easy to find every day except of
course on Saturday when I was guiding. It often sits high and exposed before
suddenly disappearing into woodland where it can then disappear for a couple of
hours before popping up on a tree top again. I believe it is now eating the rodents
and birds that it spent the autumn storing in nest boxes and old woodpecker
holes and is catching little new food although I have seen it clearly looking for rodents. Water Rails have also showed well
including a bird feeding very out in the open and Jack Snipe have bobbed away for Norway but bird, if not photo, of the week goes to a Greylag Goose flying north over Maridalen
on Thursday. Quite where it thought it was going is a mystery to me and whilst
it is the only Greylag reported in Oslo this winter I was a bit surprised that
when I did see an anser goose that it was not a Tundra Bean or
White-front a few of which have turned up further south as a result of cold
weather movements around the North Sea.
After having seen footprints and droppings in the snow for a
few days it was also nice to see my first Moose of the winter in Maridalen. If
the cold weather continues and especially if we get more snow then Moose should
become quite reliable in the Dale.
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) on Tuesday
changing angle - attempts at arty photos..
this female Teal (krikkand) is hanging out with the Mallards (stokkand) at Østensjøvannet but remains shy and doesn't come to bread so I wonder what she does eat
the Pygmy Owl on Wednesday
Water Rail feeding in the open
bird of the week - a Greylag (grågås) heading north
Moose
And there will be lots more of this in a later post:
