Bluethroats

Yesterday saw a slight improvement on the autumnal front. It was cold overnight (so cold that the central heating kicked in) and this may have caused some birds to think it was time to get moving. I ended up with a double figure count of Willow Warblers for the whole of Maridalen (that I visited) although there should have been ten times that number, had my first Meadow Pipits of the autumn (and fewer Tree Pipits than the previous day) and best of all at least 4 Bluethroats which showed really well.

Red-backed Shrikes have still not turned up on autumn passage and it may be too late now and where are the Yellow Wagtails?

Raptors were visible with young Sparrowhawks practicing their hunting technique on species up to the size of Wood Pigeon. At one moment I had 3 Sparrowhawks and a Kestrel circling together with 2 Buzzards high above them.

Bluethroat (blåstrupe) - the wing bar and pale tips to tertials show this is a young bird

possibly its first ever encounter with a Tree Sparrow (pilfink)

this young Goldfinch (stillits) has nearly completed its post juvenile moult

one field held many hundrd Siskins and smaller numbers of Greenfinch (grønnfink)

juvenile male Siskin (grønnsisik)

my first autumn Meadow Pipit (heipiplerke) in a vegetable patch

This Mipit looks a bit like a Tree Pipit at first glance but I heard it call and the long hind toe is also characteristic as well as the plain face

Sparrowhaek (spurvehauk) and Kestrel (tårnfalk)

Whinchat (buskskvett)

adult White Wagtail (linerle)

this White Wag has symetrical leucism with extra white in its tertials and on the mantle

a Small Tortoiseshell (neslesommerfugl) must make a good meal

Willow Warbler (løvsanger)