The Great Grey Shrike also showed well and is now gaining a
more adult like and smarter plumage. It was preening a lot so is presumably
moulting some body feathers. At one stage it flew 60-70 metres up in the air and
flew around circles. It was unclear what it was doing, maybe seeing what
conditions were like further away as it was thinking of starting its spring
migration but it eventually returned to where it had been. There were three
male Lapwings on their field but no females have yet arrived which is not
surprising as it looks like food would be hard to come by just now.
In the afternoon a family trip to Fornebu gave close
encounters with Mute Swans, Greylag Geese and Black-headed Gulls. Like all self-respecting
Norwegian Mute Swans these birds were carrying bling and junior noticed that
the female had pale feet. She wondered whether that was because she was a
female which I was pretty sure was not the case but had no good reason for why
she would have pale(r) feet. Thanks to the ringing history though I found out
she was a “Polish” Mute Swan as a juvenile and this is clearly a plumage trait that
they carry into adulthood. We also saw this pair mating which is quite an
elaborate affair as far a bird s*x goes.
female Mute Swan "27E" ringed as a chick 12 August 2008 6km away from Fornebu and now breeding on Fornebu. As a juvenile this was a so called "Polish" Mute Swan and its pale feet are a sign of this |
same bird |
its mate 64E |
here is the pair performing foreplay. The female is on the right with a smaller knob above the bill and the paler bill is probably also a sing of its "Polish" heritage |
mating |
climax has been reached |
This video of sorts shows the act
Skylark (sanglerke) in Maridalen |
the Great Grey Shrike (varsler) in Maridalen |
lots of preening |
the birds bill and lores are getting darker as it assumes adult plumage |
there were lots of Common Crossbills (grankorsnebb) in Maridalen |
close up of Greylag Goose (grågås) |
My daughter Emily's beautiful shot of a Herring Gull (gråmåke). This bird had an injured leg |
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