Wednesday 11 December 2019

Time for more Grosbeaks


I am guiding again for Grosbeaks tomorrow and of course to make things interesting they are now getting a bit more unpredictable. I am seeing them every day but in smaller numbers. Today, I had only 3 in my local carpark but did have a flock of 8 in Maridalen which looked to be migrating purposefully to the south. It might be that birds that have been in Oslo are moving on but hopefully they will be replaced by new birds from further north. There are still lots of berries and forests full of spruce buds so there is no real reason for them to leave but the local Sparrowhawks are undoubtedly making a dent in their numbers.

Today’s rarity was an adult Mediterranean Gull which I finally caught up with. This bird which is most likely a returning bird (was a 2nd winter last year) has been seen 3 times previously this autumn / winter but has not been pinned down. I had it at long range with a couple of Common Gulls flying over the fjord and it was too far for even a record shot. There were very strong winds last night and I hoped this would result in some storm driven seabirds but apart from more gulls than usual there was no sign of a displacement.

Pine Grosbeak  - probably an adult female 
adult male






a very warmly coloured female / juvenile

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