Sunday 19 June 2011

The hazzards of travelling

It was bound to happen. A family weekend away at a cabin by the Oslo fjord and a rarity is found in Maridalen. On Friday evening Bjørn Olav sent me a text to say he had found a singing River Warbler in Maridalen. Worst of all was that he was just there to kill time and secondly that it was in area where i had stopped twice in the early hours of Thursday morning. I've heard 2 River Warblers this spring so it is not that i need the bird but it really is not the done thing for someone else to find a national rarity on MY patch.

At the cabin Spotted Flycatchers were breeding and nearby a pair of Red-backed Shrikes showed well. A night trip on Saturday night was supposed to result in me finding my own rarity or at least a Nightjar. Instead i worked very hard for little reward. 4 Quails singing within 1km of each other at Pytt in Vestby was the absolute highlight. In the same area some Lapwings calling in alarm drew my attention to a fox they were mobbing. The fox was jumping around in high crops in an attempt to find their young. Otherwise a couple of Woodcock including one giving a particularly rich "song" which i have never heard before. Returning to the cabin a young Tawny Owl was calling.

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