Last Lapwings finally hatch plus plus

I haven’t finished going through all my pictures from my memorable 24 hour trip last week so here is an update from Oslo.

The last Lapwing nest in Maridalen finally hatched yesterday. The female was still sitting in the morning but late afternoon she was off the nest and two tiny young were crouched there and she soon returned and sat on them and the remaining two eggs. I wonder if I will see them again. In the same field was one more half grown young and 4 other adults who may have had child care responsibilities.

A nocturnal trip around the Dale with Jr on Friday night revealed begging Tawny Owl young and a visit the next day found them with a watchful mum nearby. A single youngster was still in the nest but two much older ones were sitting together high up in a spruce watching us.

I had 3-4 Marsh Warblers and also heard the beautiful tones of a (Thrush) Nightingale but in the end concluded it was a mimicking Marsh Warbler as there was only ever a short element of song and it came from exactly the same area as a Marsh W was singing. It was however quite a way away and there were loud parties going on at seemingly every farm that evening so hearing birds was quite a challenge.

On the bug front I have two (for me) significant observations. First, I finally paid a visit to the only known locality in Oslo for the rare Lilypad Whiteface dragonfly (vanlilljelibelle) which was successful with 3 males sitting on…lilypads and on the way to their favoured forest pond a large shadow passed over me and my first proper views, and eventually photos, of a Poplar Admiral (ospesommerfugl) were a factum. This has been a long time coming but was an all too brief encounter.

I have also discovered a large population of Broad-bodied Chasers (blåbredlibelle) which shows that the species has colonised Oslo and done so very quickly when you consider there were only 10 records before this year. In addition to having the species in Maridalen an area of marshland that the council restored in 2021 in the forest of Lillomarka had at least 17 when I visited on Thursday.

mum and a more than half grown Lapwing (vipe), let us hope all the other young and well hidden in long grass which is why I can't find them

Tawny Owl (kattugle) mum on watch

two fairly large young which clearly can fly/climb well enough to get high up a tree

but one young hadn't left the nest box yet

Lilypad Whiteface dragonfly (vannliljelibelle)

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and with a Large Redeye damselfly (rødøyevannymfe)

and my first proper sighting of a Poplar Admiral (ospesommerfugl) flying along a shady forest track

before briefly stopping

and on my return I found it or the same one perched high up in a tree

Broad-bodied Chaser (blåbredlibelle)

a far more eye catching beast from above

the restored march where the chaser and may other dragons and damsels were. This original marsh had been drained and commercial spruc planted many decades ago but the council removed all the trees and dammed up the drainage ditches and a great marsh is redeveloping. Green Sandpipers also breed here

judging by the noise this Green Sandpiper (skognsnipe) was making there must have been young nearby