July
means summer holidays. This year we didn’t visit Beitostølen and had two weeks by
the coast at Hulvik before heading to Bodø. Our time at Hulvik revealed a number
of breeding Red-backed Shrikes and lots of butterflies which are becoming more
of an interest in the summer months (but I doubt I will ever get an interest
for moths). Whilst at our cabin near Bodø
I try to visit the fjord close to Fauske as much as possible. This year I was
rewarded with Norway’s eight ever Pied-billed Grebe plus finding for the 4th
successive year the returning Asian White-winged (Stejneger’s) Scoter. A
fishing trip in foggy conditions also resulted in an unprecedented 150 adult
Long-tailed Skuas which indicates a failed breeding season.
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| a well marked (old) female Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) |
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| a Swallowtail caterpillar |
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| a High Brown Fritillary (adippeperlemorvinge) |
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| Norway's 6th Pied-billed Grebe (ringnebbdykker) |
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| and the Asian White-winged Scoter (knoppsjøorre) back for its 4th summer and getting more and more distant every year |
My
birthday on 10 August resulted in some very good birds but none seen well with
Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red Kite and Med Gull. As the month progressed Black
Redstarts, Bluethroats, Honey Buzzards and Hobbies became apparent around Oslo
and the last day of the month was a red-letter day with King Eider and Red-necked
Grebe on a boat trip around Bygdøy and the islands.
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| Hobby (lerkefalk) in Maridalen |
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| a recently fledged Black Redstart (svartrødstjert) in Oslo |
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| migrating Bluethroat (blåstrupe) in Maridalen |
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| Swallowtail butterfly |
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| Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) in Maridalen |
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| young male King Eider (praktærfugl) in Oslo |
The
Red-necked Grebe stayed through September and allowed some very close views. At
Årnestangen there were regular Hen and Marsh Harriers and a Great White Egret
to keep me entertained. Just before I headed off to Værøy a great days birding
gave Great Skua, Fulmar and Gannet from Bygdøy (all v.rare in Oslo) and a
Yellow-browed Warbler at Fornebu. Værøy of course produced lots of
Yellow-broweds but the weather was against us and a fine Red-flanked Bluetail
was the only really decent bird we had although Blyth’s Reed, Iceland Gull and
Grey-headed Woodpecker were also nice.
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| Great White Egret (egrethegre) Årnestangen |
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| juvenile male Hen Harrier (myrhauk) Årnestangen |
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| a very pale (old) male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) at Årnestangen |
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| a far from shy young Dunlin (myrsnipe) |
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| Yellow-browed Warber (gulbrynsanger) |
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| juvenile Red-necked Grebe (gråstrupedykker) |
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| unusually good views of a Fulmar (havhest) from land |
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| juvenile Iceland Gull (grønlandsmåke) |
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| The highlight of Værøy 2018 was this Red-flanked Bluetail (blåstrupe) |
In
October we had a few days with good winds from the south which resulted in some
half decent seabird sessions but never anything too scarce. 9 Guillemots ended
up on Maridalsvannet with 2 surviving into December. Just after I returned from
Værøy in September I saw a 2nd winter Med Gull in Maridalen but
never got any photos of it. Luckily it hung around Oslo and in mid October I
was able to catch up with it eating worms with Common Gulls on a playing field.
Some twitching saw me bag a new lifer in the form of an ultra skulky Brown
Shrike which others were ticking based on a shadow in flight but which I was
lucky enough to get photos of. Best bird of the month though was a Siberian Tit
at Fornebu which must go down as the most unexpected bird of 2018.
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| this Gannet (havsule) was blown in to Oslo by the strong winds |
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| and these Guillemots (lomvi) ended up on Maridalsvannet |
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| 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull (svartehavsmåke) in Oslo |
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| October is always a good time for seeing Long-tailed Tits (stjertmeis) |
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| Brown Shrike (brunvarsler) |
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| the (presumed) long staying Red-necked Grebe in nearly full winter plumage |
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| and bird of the year - Fornebu's Siberian Tit (lappmeis) |
In
November I got a glimpse of a Great Grey Owl but more than good views of a
Golden Eagle at the same site were a very good compensation. The highlight of the
month, and probably the year, was a spur of the moment trip to stay with Kjell
in Jæren. We started off by twitching a Buff-bellied Pipit (there has been some
discussion as the sub species ID but I feel confident it is an American bird),
then finding two Firecrests and then finding Norway’s 6th ever Great
Spotted Eagle! Next day we found a Water Pipit and twitched a Desert Wheatear
as well as seeing Two-barred Crossbill and Short-eared Owl, so the trip was a
resounding success!
Back
home I eventually found some Bearded Tits after they had failed to turn up at Fornebu
and a Marsh Tit in Maridalen was surprisingly my first ever there. A Pygmy Owl
also showed very well in Maridalen.
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| a Little Grebe (dvergdykker) at Østensjøvannet |
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| Golden Eagle (kongeørn) making a Goshawk (hønsehauk) look tiny |
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| Smew (lappfiskand) at Østensjøvannet |
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| Norway's 6th ever Greater Spotted Eagle (storskrikørn) |
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| Firecrest |
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| (American) Buff-bellied Pipit (myrpiperke) |
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| male Desert Wheatear (økernsteinskvett) |
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| Peregrine (vandrefalk) chasing a Snipe (enkeltbekkasin) |
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| Short-eared Owl (jordugle) |
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| Bearded Tit (skjeggmeis) |
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| Marsh Tit (løvmeis) finally in Maridalen |
December
rarely brings much new but there were still Chiffchaffs at Fornebu, Pygmy Owls
were easy to find and Smew and Water Rail showed well at Østensjøvannet. A
Glaucous Gull gave me the run around but I finally got to see it at the 9th
attempt.
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| photogenic Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) |
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| Water Rail (vannrikse) |
