Even more in Maridalen

Maridalen showed off an even better side today. I had all the same species as yesterday in greater numbers plus Hobby, Rough-legged Buzzard, Crane, Cuckoo and Great Snipe!

There were now 2 Bluethroats and 7 Shrikes and I had a minimum of 5 different Honey Buzzards! I even managed (finally) close views of a male Honey after having seen him twice appear from the same area with food. I had the Beast in tow but still managed some decent pictures as he briefly appeared low over us in a clearing.

It is not often I get close views of a Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk)

the inset is of the same bird seen 20 minutes later at great height but it can be identified as the same bird by the double feathers (due to moulting) in both wings which look darker plus missing secondaries

and then he was gone

During a sky gazing spell of 2h 10 minutes I had 6 sightings of Honey Buzzard of which there were definitely 4 different birds

one bird sky danced when the wings look to clap above the body

I also had three Common Buzzards (musvåk) including this young bird 

and this older bird 

Two Goshawks (hønsehauk) including this adult, 3 Sparrowhawks and a distant migrating Rough-legged Buzzard

The pair of Cranes that have been here all summer were feeding in the morning but appeared to fly off in the afternoon and have presumably started their migration

an adult Hobby (lerkefalk)

9 adult Black-throated Divers (storlom) together is not necessarily a good sign as it suggests they are failed breeders

2 Bluethroats (blåstrupe), The top bird is a 1st winter female and the lower bird a 1st winter male

Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)

there are still lots of butterflies although not too many species and thistles that are still in flower attracted lots of them. Here Queen of Spain Fritillary (sølvkåpe), Brimstone (sitronsommerfugl) and Painted Lady (tistelsommerfugl)

and here a Red Admiral (admiral) and a Comma (hvit-C)

I struggle knowing how to separate Large and Small White but believe this is a Small

and here a Golden-ringed Dragonfly / kongelibelle / Cordulegaster boltonii

and here a Common Hawker / starrlibelle /  Aeshna juncea

Maridalen in mid Agust

Maridalen showed off its best side today with most of the mid/late August goodies showing themselves with Bluethroat, Red-backed Shrikes, Honey Buzzard, Nutcracker and Black Woodpecker topping the bill.

This Bluethroat (blåstrupe) is a 1st winter bird (it still has some white juvenile feathers on the head plus a broad wing bar) and the colourful throat suggests a male

the diagnostic red tail feathers

but they quickly disappear

one of four young Red-backed Shrikes (tornskate) which were together

and another perching bird - a Whinchat (buskskvett)

adult Common Buzzard (musvåk) and Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk). The Honey is a male and I saw it a few times in the same area including skydancing suggesting it had found a wasps nest in the area. I also had 3-4 Common Buzzards, a Saprrowhawk and an Osprey

Two male Yellow-winged Darter /gulvingehøstlibelle /  Sympetrum flaveolum suggest this species has established itself in Maridalen after I had the first record only last year

Oslo island birding

It rained all day on Saturday and with it came some waders to Oslo. I was able to twitch my first Oslo Turnstone on the Galteskjær skerry at a range of 900m in pouring rain – doesn’t get more satisfying than that….. and afterwards I found a young Knot seeking refuge on a field on Bygdøy. A Common Sandpiper had previously flown up from a puddle by the side of the road so I had an idea that there might be some more waders to find.

Today I went out with Jules Bell to do the islands although we had to contend with the summer timetable and my inability to understand it. There wasn’t a great deal to see although we did have another Knot and it was pleasing to see many Common Terns including young.

Knot (polarsnipe) in the rain on Bygdøy on Saturday

and one today feeding on Hovedøya

a young Common Tern (makrellterne) begging for food 

a group of adult and young Common Terns

just one youngster in this group

there were still a few Oystercatchers around but most have already moved off

young Goldfinch (stillits) begging for food

surprisingly on the island of Lindøya there were three broods of still small Mallards. I saw an ill fox on here in the spring and this may have taken earlier broods and caused the birds to try again (their later success perhaps a result of the fix dying or having been killed)

a Ringed Plover (sandlo) on the same skerry (picture taken from the ferry) where I twitched the Turnstone on Saturday

a young Starling (stær)

and a young Wheatear (steinskvett)

My first Migrant Hawker in Oslo was the pond on Lindøya. Although this is the first observation here I was hoping to find one

and another from Fornebu on Sunday - this time a flight shot using autofocus

and there was also mating to be witnessed

And here pictures of three of the four red darters (høstlibeller/sympetrum) that can be seen in Norway (the fourth is the extremely rare, but definitely possible, Red-veined Darter). They all look quite similar don't they?!

Common Darter / senhøstlibelle / sympetrum striolatum from Maridalen yesterday

Vagrant Darter / sørhøstlibelle / sympetrum vulgatum from Fornebu yesterday

Ruddy Darter / blodhøstlibelle / sympetrum sanguineum from Lindøya today

Peacock butterfly (dagpåfugløye) has been very scarce this year