The Beast turns 8 in September which coincidentally means
that according to all that dog/human year malarkey he and I are the same age
(at least for now). I guess there have been a few thousand morning walks he has
taken me on over the years and we have seen a few interesting birds in the area
where we live with Pine Grosbeak probably being the best. Yesterday morning
though we added a new species with a Wood Warbler singing in the local wood.
Although the oak dominated wood may be suitable as a breeding locality I am
sure the bird was a migrant. As such I think it is only the second time I have
come across a singing spring migrant (not that I have come across any non
singing ones either). And that got me thinking - why do I hear many singing
migrant Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers but not Wood Warblers? Is it because
Wood Warblers don’t often sing on migration or is it just because there are so
many, many more Chiffs and Willies that you are so much more likely to
encounter one of them?
Svellet was the subject of my attention yestday and whilst
water levels have only risen by 2cm since yesterday and 4cm since Monday there
was a considerable reduction in the number of birds. And I was able to watch
that number more than half when a young Peregrine had a go at some Wood
Sandpipers which of course all flew off but also never returned.
Over the past couple of weeks I have seen the waders
frequently flying around due to a raptor (most often unseen) but always landing
again but what I observed today clearly shows that migration awaits and the
birds clearly have an unavoidable urge to keep heading north.
We have a couple of days of rain ahead of us and also
southerly winds after aperiod of cold northerly winds so we may still have some
mighty experiences at Svellet but it will definitely be a question of quality
rather than quantity now.
I also walked out to the end of Årnestangen which was a
rather quiet affair on the bird front with not a single waders at the tip but
there were two butterfly surprises with my first Swallowtail and Painted Lady
of the year which were not what I expected on a quite cloudy and not that warm
day.
Svellet from the east
and from west looking north 13 May 2026
and looking south
and Årnestangen
In Maridalen the Lapwings continue to surprise positively with 3 broods seen - 4 and 1 were on open ground and fully accounted for but another single youngster popped out of long grass and there could definitely, and hopefully, have been more there. Two females are also on new nests and a pair were displaying so there may be yet another nest to come. They all still have to survive more farmer activity and foxes and crows but I think we are in a surprisingly good place.
my first Painted Lady (tistelsommerfugl) of the year. A faded but otherwise undamaged individual
whereas the colours of my first Swallowtail were perfect it had clearly already been attacked by birds and had chunks missing from the back of its wings
Today I decided to leave Svellet alone and instead visit the
Oslo islands. I cannot see that anyone else has visited Svellet today so don’t
know if my decision was the right one but I can see that water levels have only
risen by 2cm so conditions will still be
very, very mighty.
The islands gave a perfectly acceptable account of
themselves even if the fjord contained not a single duck, diver, grebe or tern
of any interest what so ever. Before I had even got to Gressholmen I saw a
massive 4 species of waders (but only one of each) in the tiny muddy bay by the ferry stop at
Lindøya Øst (Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher) and this
did increase expectations rather considerably. Gressholmen’s muddy bay disappoints
(me) more often that otherwise but mid to late May is probably when it is at
its best. There had been no rain or southerly winds (they are from the north at
the moment) so I did not expect too much but a Bar-tailed Godwit that has been
present a few days was still there alongside the same species, but in greater
numbers, as I had seen at Lindøya.
A singing Thrush Nightingale in exactly the same scrub as
the last two years was my first of the year and a joy to listen to.
A worrying aspect of the trip was quite how few Black-headed
Gulls there were. I only found two colonies and the largest was considerably smaller
than it has been in previous years. I have also seen that Oslo’s normally
largest colony on an islet off Bygdøy is empty this year so unless there is a
large colony somewhere else then it looks like a crisis for the species (the inland
colonies at Sognsvann and Østensjøvannet are small in relation to the number
that normally breed on the fjord).
The absolute highlight and a slight headache came when I was
getting on the ferry at Lindøya. I heard angry Hooded Crows and Swallows behind
me and turned expecting to see a Goshawk. What I did see was something smaller
but after a second I realised it was an owl and must be one of the earded ones.
I raised my bins whilst walking and saw the face and was sure it was a
Short-eared. I then got on board and reached for the superzoom and filmed
whilst the ferry left the dock but only managed 20 seconds before the deckhand
said I had to move inside. I was quite happy that I had managed to document
only my second ever Oslo Short-eared and decided to look at the video to see if
it was any good and of course to see if I had actually pressed record… Well
this time I had but the owl proved to be of the longer eared variety. Still a
very good bird in an Oslo context. My still only ever record of Short-eared Owl
was an equally difficult experience although then I assumed it had to be a Leo
and it was only the pictures that allowed me to see it was a Seo…
a clip from the video showing the grey face and under wing tips that have fine baring and not a particularly black tip all of which say Leo (hornugle)
and here it disappears to the north over Hovedøya and towards the city
The sound of the Thrush Nightingale (nattergal) and a Willow Warbler (løvsanger)
the Bar-tailed Godwit (lappspove) on Gressholmen
The Black-headed Gull (hettemåke) colony on Nakkeskjær where I counted 65 nests although there were undoubtedly more out of sight on the far side
a close up of some of the nests
and here 9 nests on the main part of the island where they do not look to be so safe
a female Wheateat (steinskvett)
In Maridalen it was again difficult to be certain what was happening with the Lapwings but I did see more today. There were 10 adults and five young in broods of 4 and 1. There was also another female acting as though she had young in the long grass and probably two females that were on new nests but that will have to firmed up as a bit more time passes.
the single young Lapwing (vipe) with mum and a "singing" Snipe (enkeltbekkasin)
While I was away from Oslo The Mighty Svellet has just carried on getting mightier and mightier. On Saturday a new Norwegian record count for Wood Sandpiper was made with 1800 birds counted (the previous record of 1395 birds on 11th May 2021 was of course also from Svellet) and then yesterday the record was smashed again when 2200 were counted!! Today I estimated a minimum of 1750 birds but there were new flocks regularly arriving from the south and others looking like they were leaving to the north so the true numbers were probably a lot higher. Surprisingly no other species passed 100 and whilst the peak passage of Greenshank has clearly passed, the numbers of Ruff, Dunlin and Ringed Plover may still increase. My list can be seen here.
I had been hoping for these sorts of numbers (and conditions) but last week really feared it would not happen as water levels rose however they have since then only increased by around 5cm a day and it must be said things are perfect now. It surely cannot last for that much longer so we always have to enjoy it whilst we can. It is a surprise that nothing rare or to be honest scarce has been found but with the distances and lighting being as they are it would need to be something rather obvious like a Black-winged Stilt.
Svellet from the east. Water levels have risen a bit but there is still lots of mud and shallow water
from the west looking north
and looking south. Most birds were to the right of the picture as can be seen in this video:
In Maridalen I recorded my 150th Oslo species of the year with Common Crossbill. That it should take so long to see the species (it was also my first in Norway) is because all the cones that caused last year to be so good for the species are now empty of seeds and all the many thousands of Crossbills that were around Oslo 12 months ago are now somewhere else in Fenno Scandinavia where there is a good crop of fresh spruce cones. Today’s birds were a pair though and I heard song so maybe they are thinking of breeding?
Regarding the Lapwings I saw a single brood of 4 today which it would be natural to assume is one of the broods I saw last week but as they were so small I am not sure if they are a new brood. There were 8 adults in total with none other seemingly guarding young in the grass but a pair was displaying and nest scraping and another female looked to be sitting on a nest (but not the same nest from 2 posts ago which now seems abandoned).
This weekend was spent with non birding friends at a cabin
in the mountains. Saturday was spent watching them play 18 holes of golf which
for me, a non golfer, became a 10km, 6 hour birding walk. I recorded 64 species
which for an inland location in the first half of May was far more than I
expected. The list can be seen here but a very distant Hen Harrier and three much
closer Ospreys were probably the highlights. They were also the only raptors I
saw and this must mean there are no rodents in the area which does not bode
well for future trips to Valdresflye.
Valdres Golf is by a lake which makes for some exciting
holes and also allows one to watch Black-throated Divers as can be seen in this
video.
Getting home mid afternoon allowed me a chance to combine
giving Jr Jr driving practice and a mini twitch for a Dotterel which eventually
showed very well although took a long time to find as it had left the company
of the Golden Plover flock it had originally been with and was alone on a large
undulating field.
I frequently am accused of being overly optimistic in my
bird forecasts and expectations but I see that my predictions in my last post
for Svellet were actually very pessimistic. The wader fest is far from over as
the water levels have stopped climbing (at least for now) and there clearly is
enough food available as wader numbers which fell on Wednesday rose sharply yesterday
(when I did not visit) and were still high today. Viewing conditions are far from
great which is par for the course there but today I was able to pick out a Temminck’s
Stint although another one on nearby Merkja was much easier to view (as were
two yesterday evening which I twitched at Fornebu).
Yesterday gave me a non-wader mass bird event and a quite
unique one at that. Very large numbers of Willow Warblers have been seen
crossing the fjord from Nesodden and they have been then concentrating at Østensjøvannet.
It would appear that frost nights to the north (temperatures were under zero on
Tuesday evening as we drove home form owling) are stopping the nocturnal
migration of the Willow Warblers and they seem to be stopping their northward
journey in the Oslo area and then continuing northwards during the day and moving
whilst also searching for food. There is not an overabundance of insects yet in
Oslo but Østensjøvannet clearly has good numbers. There were over 1000 Willow
Warblers as I walked around the lake and every tree and bush was dripping with
them. They were also feeding in long grass, on the short grass of playing fields,
on a newly ploughed field, on the paths and many were sallying after insects in
the manner of a flycatcher from any available perch including fence wires. It
truly was an amazing experience both visually and orally as birds were also
singing everywhere. There were not many other species that had clearly arrived
with the WWs except for Blackcaps which were more common that normal but not in
exceptional numbers. That there were lots of insects to eat though was shown by
House Sparrows that were flycatching and Bramblings taking insects alongside
the WWs in bushes.
This video gives some idea of how it was but does not pay
the experience the justice it deserves:
Svellet 8th May as viewed from the eastern shore
and viewed from the west - still lots of mud and shallow water which clearly has more food than I expected after the water levels rose so quickly
A really heart warming sight at Østensjøvannet are the Black-headed Gulls (hettemåke) that are nesting again. There are three small colonies (including this one) and scattered single nests around the lake and the total number of nests may not be much more than 50 but this is in stark contrast to last years dire situation but also the 2000 odd pairs that used to breed here. Fingers crossed that there are lots of fledged young in a month or two. There is also a good colony at Sognsvann - it would appear that the two most visited lakes for recreational use are attractive to both humans and gulls - but I have yet to notice any nesting on the fjord so I fear that overall things are not good for the species
yesterday and today I could not see a single young Lapwing (vipe) in Maridalen but there is a new nest although as this field was only ploughed on Sunday I am not sure whether she is incubating or just in the egg laying phase
and the Mute Swans (knoppsvane) are now finished with nest building and are on the nest although I do not know whether any eggs have been layed yet
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my exceptional
ability to fail to take exceptionally good videos. I am not talking
about my videos being shaky and out of focus as that at least means I took the
video, no I’m talking about all the videos I fail to take because of
my continued inability to press the record button.
Yesterday evening saw yet another monumental f**k up and
quite possibly the all-time best video that I never took when
I had a Great Grey Owl at about 15m range with a large vole in its bill. The
vole was still alive and its feet twitching when the owl delivered the killer
bite to the head, ate the head and then swallowed the body all whilst looking
at me. The light was good, it was in sharp focus and I was holding the
superzoom steady but had I pressed record? I thought I had, I even thought I
had checked the red circle was showing in the top right corner of the view
finder. But no, of course, I hadn’t and I am still kicking myself.
We are talking about a video (that wasn’t) so incredibly
good that David Attenborough would have paid me for the honour of narrating it.
This video which was taken immediately after has me
expressing my utter contempt for myself whilst the owl looks on….
Great Grey Owl (lappugle) just after it swallowed a big vole but you'll just have to take my word for that as I FAILED to film it
This happening arose as Jack accompanied me on a trip to
deepest Hedmark to try to get to the bottom of the GGO situation anno 2026. We
checked 4 platforms and 2 old Buzzard nests without finding any incubating GGs.
At the platform that I have visited twice before in April the pair were present
and the female was very aggressive with bill clicking beginning when we were
50m away and had yet to see her. She also adopted a threat posture and looked
like she might fly at us at any moment. Her bill clicking also brought the male
in who sat a bit less open but also clicked at us. This aggression from GGO
when they do not have young to protect is most unusual (perhaps unprecedented) as
is the fact that the pair clearly remains in breeding modus but have not yet
laid eggs and it is surely too late now.
the female in threat posture
the male
the males
the pair with the female on the left
The hunting bird we saw was an encouraging sign but the fact
it ate the vole rather than flying off with it to feed a mate leaves me not
knowing whether or not it was a breeding bird. I do know of an occupied nest
but have yet to visit that site as it has been important that I find my own
birds but I may have to give up on that hope for this year.
We ruined our finger nails scratching on trunks under every
woodpecker hole we saw with only a Great Spotted pecker ever flying out but at
a nestbox we did finally find breeding Tengmalm’s although it was Jack who
scratched so I still do not know if I have a technique that works.
Other birds seen were a couple of Capers but again females,
Black Grouse, Wryneck and Woodcock but it was a cold day with temperatures
falling below zero as soon as it got dark and that probably caused less
activity than we could have hoped for.
we had two roadside sightings of Moose
Back in Oslo this morning I was faced with the realisation
that springs undoubted highlight - the wader migration at Svellet - is pretty
much over. Water levels rose another 20cm yesterday to 4.03m and whilst there is still
mud and shallow water there are clearly few remaining areas where there is food
in the mud and wader numbers were nearly halved from yesterday and many were
just roosting rather than feeding. It is a travesty that such an
internationally important staging post for shorebirds cannot be managed better
but that pretty much sums up «conservation» in the world’s richest and «best»
country.
Svellet 6th May. There is still (dry) mud but water levels have risen a lot
In Maridalen it looks like the 3rd Lapwing nest has now hatched with there being four young near it and no bird still incubating and yesterday’s brood of three is actually four but I never saw these two broods simultaneously so there remains a very small chance that one single brood of four 1-2 day old young was able to cross a ditch.
a brood of day old Lapwing (vipe)
rarity of the day was this all black corvid on the Lapwing field. I concluded with it being a 2cy Rook (kornkråke) rather than a Carrion Crow (svartkråke) but it ain't always straightforward especially at distance in heat haze. Interestingly the Lapwings which always tried to chase away any intruding Hooded Crows left this bird alone
