The end of September is when I should be on a far flung island finding birds with stripes or touches of red and blue. Unfortunately 2025 is yet another year where that hasn’t happened but I haven’t given up on an October trip to Værøy. It doesn’t seem that I have missed that much though as September hasn't been that productive with hardly a Yellow-browed Warbler reported although Olive-backed Pipits have been more numerous than usual. A few good birds have of course been found along the coast but not enough to make me jealous, yet…
Local birding is, no surprise, rather boring. I have had three owling trips so far which have yet to pull in a Tengmalm’s (although it is still early days) but I have heard Tawnies and a Long-eared came to inspect us one evening.
My only sense of rarity hunting came with an acro at Fornebu which turned out to be only a late Reed Warbler but it did get me in island mode for a few seconds.
And some photos from a visit to Østensjøvannet in the week.
a Moorhen (sivhøne)
and up a tree
Mute Swan (knoppsvane) family. Just a single pair bred succesfully this year due to lack of food and they have done well to raise 6 young although they cannot fly yet. Bread does seem to be an important part of their diet
a Shoveler (skjeand). There are up to 4 birds present but they are masters at hiding away
My negativity towards nocturnal outings didn’t even last a
day and Wednesday night saw me out for more pain. It all started when a Great
Reed Warbler turned up in a «what is this?» posting on Facebook. It was not in
Oslo although it was close to Oslo Airport and normally I would not have gone
for it. However, as it happened Mrs OB was landing there in the evening and Jr
wanted to surprise her by picking her up and getting some driving practice in.
So a little «5 minute» detour on the way home was in order?
The bird could be heard from the car park and when I walked
the 100m to where it was the song was so loud and so constant that I seriously
considered the whole thing was a wind up and someone had placed a loud speaker
in the reeds! This thought was only strengthened when I was able to walk to
what must have been only 5 metres from the bird and it just carried on singing
and remained invisible! Eventually though it did clearly change position and
then finally flew into a bush where it could just about be seen.
It
is a while since I have heard a GRW (this is my third in Norway) and I had
forgotten just how loud their song is. In the video you first hear the song and then get a glimpse of the bird
Great Reed Warbler (trostesanger) - a screen shot from the video
Buoyed by this I then decided to do just one more Oslo night
singer trip. Maridalen had nothing new to offer but in Sørkedalen the Blyth’s
Reed, Oslo #186, that had been quiet in the afternoon was now singing his heart
out in the garden of a farm at midnight. Add to that multiple Marsh Warblers
and a Reed Warbler and I had a four acro night. I do think this will
be my last trip though unless of course someone else finds something for me to
twitch.
the Reed Warbler (rørsanger) that is singing in the video above. As can be heard teh bird had a very varied song and I also do not think it looks completely right for a Reed. Could it have some Marsh genes?
In
Maridalen I feel I must have found the Hobby nest although am still to see a
bird on it (this was also the case for a long time last year).
Hobby (lerkefalk) presumably the male
I
could only find two Lapwing young with their parents yesterday and saw no other
birds although the crop has become so high that the incubating bird would be
hidden if it still present.
mum Lapwing (vipe) on the left and what seem to be now the only two remaining young which as can be seen are soon fully grown and were both frequently flapping their wings
I had high expectation yesterday (but then again
when don’t I?). A combination of a fresh southerly wind and rain showers meant
there could be seabirds, shorebirds, raptors and who knows what. I was not sure
where to go in the time I had available. Should I be unfaithful to the Dale? Should
I visit Svellet? Or what about the fjord for seabirds and if so where? In the
end circumstances meant I had to stay close to home so chose to look over the
fjord from Fornebu. I was thinking skuas, scarce terns and the like but after
30 minutes had to accept that wasn’t happening although 4 Red-throated Divers
did migrate purposefully north.
Storøykilen was equally devoid of interesting waders
(it is time for a Broad-billed Sandpiper) although my first Rosefinch of the
year sang and when I finally saw it it was a 2cy male. A Cuckoo also sang.
So, it was time to head for Maridalen and she was as
expected good to me. The waders that arrived in the rain on Tuesday were still
present and the Temminck’s Stints showed REALLY well. A singe vocal Little
Ringed Plover was also present but I think that the (2?) pairs that were
previously nest scraping have now moved on to pastures new (but why?). The 3
Lapwings were still sitting on their nests whilst others were around the lake
shore (although I didn’t check out where the young are).
A male Red-backed Shrike was my first of the year
and singing which I don’t hear often. With luck we will have another good
breeding season for this species which is one of my absolute favourites. A
Cuckoo here didn’t sing and was I believe a female and for once I saw it albeit
distantly.
I was able to fit in a short trip to Østensjøvannet
just after it stopped raining and about 250 Swifts were hawking along with swallows
but once again I failed to pick out the rare that I was sure would be amongst
them. Whilst there I received a message that someone was sure they were
listening to a Thrush Nightingale along Akerselva close to Maridalen – well I had
to check that out and sure enough it started singing very close to me. Seeing
it was something else but I did get some glimpses through the foliage. This is
only my third record of this species in Oslo and the first urban bird.
close up of a Temminck's Stint
size comparison with Redshank (rødstilk) and Lapwing (vipe) - they are TINY!
and a video where you can hear the Thrush Nightingale (nattergal)
my first Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) of the year in a favoured tree
female? Cuckoo (gjøk) in Maridalen
Garden Warbler (hagesanger)
my first Small Copper (ildgullvinge) of the year
a ringed Reed Warbler (rørsanger) at Fornebu - thr ring looked very new and shiny but I do not know if any have been ringed there this year
Time for a mid-week update, not because I have seen
anything particularly special but because I have time to sit in front of the
PC.
We are enjoying very summery weather at the moment
with temperatures in the twenties but as soon as the calendar shows it is
September then there is a real autumnal feeling to the birding - on this
morning’s dog walk close to the house I heard Brambling and Dunnock and
Fieldfares were flocking and feeding on apples.
My birding has been quite urban recently with trips
to Østensjøvannet and Frognerparken where a Shoveler was a very unusual guest.
In September I would normally be checking out the Taiga
Bean Geese and looking forward to my trip to Værøy. I fear that for the second
year running that I will not be able to travel to Værøy and I have yet to find
the time to visit the geese (and try to read collars) although the first GPS
bird arrived there on 18 August which is a very early date.
Shoveler (skjeand) in Frognerparken
this Sedge Warbler (sivsanger) at Østensjøvannet
another acro warbler then turned up in exactly the same place. My gut feeling was Marsh Warbler (myrsanger) but the pictuers give me more of a Reed Warbler (rørsanger) feeling
Ruff (brushane) and Teal (krikkand) on the floating mats of water weed
Yesterday I had a very enjoyable and succesful day
guiding Bethanne from California around Maridalen and Sørkedalen. We had great
views of Red-backed Shrike, Goshawk, Icterine Warbler, Wood Warbler, Common Rosefinch,
Three-toed Woodpecker and Common Crossbill amongst others. We also had a number
of butterflies including the first time I have taken a photo of a Wood White.
Today saw me on Bygdøy and in Maridalen where a
photogenic Marsh Warbler was the highlight.
female Red-backed Shrike (tornskate). I think this is an older female as she is quite male like
both birds
Spotted Flycatcher (gråsfluesnapper)
which was nesting where the branch was broken off
the male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett) was incubating when we went past
Wood Warbler (bøksanger)
both these pictures are of the same bird and show how much a birds appearance can change and the REAL danger of relying on single picture
Common Crossbill (grankorsnebb) feeding in a tree - not something I have seen before
I could pass this as off as a Two-barred Crossbill but the white is actually a leaf
Wood White (skoghvitvinge)
my first Red Admiral of the year
after twice having seen a Common Sandpiper fly up when I went past I carefully looked for and found the very well hidden nest
Marsh Warbler (myrsanger) - my first in Maridalen this year and another species with a late arrival this year
and a Reed Warbler (rørsanger) on Bygdøy. This species has yet to be recorded in the Dale
this 1st summer White-fronted Goose looks like it has lost its way and will spend the summer with Greylag Geese in Oslo. It was just as tame as the Red-breasted Geese that visit our parts...
Maridalen's Whooper Swans (sangsvane) whose breeding attempt has failed this year
