Is it really winter?

A grey and damp weekend is behind us and we are now in December so there is no denying it is winter but the birds would suggest otherwise. Yesterday it was +9C and all traces of ice and snow were long gone in Maridalen and in their place were Oslo’s first ever December records of Mistle Thrush and most excitingly Hen Harrier which stole the show. Hen Harrier is rare enough in Oslo as it is (but I had already seen one in April so it was not an addition to #Oslo2024) so to see one quartering a field in December was quite a sight. It was in fact hunting in exactly the same area as the Hawk Owl had been the day before but I was not lucky enough to see the two together.

Hawkie was not seen on Friday and I had a hope that it had moved on to more secluded hunting grounds but I saw it again on Saturday and due to where it was I did have a hope that it could avoid mass attention. On Sunday though it chose to hunt from roadside wires with runners, roller skiers, cyclists, cars and the bus passing just metres away so it was of course also spotted by the long lenses.

There were even more surprises yesterday though when a gull flying over the lake turned out to be an adult Kittiwake which then proceeded to head north over fields and the forest. Clearly a confused bird it was a strange sight and difficult to understand what had caused it to be so far out of range although some fresh southerly winds overnight and low cloud presumably played their part. This is only the second Maridalen record of what is otherwise a pelagic species.

Whilst watching the gull a message pinged in on my phone of a Puffin seen close inshore at Lindøya. This would of course be a new species for #Oslo2024 but I had to be at a birthday party in three hours and although it could perhaps have been done I decided that this was one bird where I couldn’t be in it…

hunting Hen Harrier (myrhauk) in Dale... in December...

adult Kittiwake (krykkje) which is an even more unlikely record in the Dale... in December...

the upper circle is the Kittiwake and the lower circle shows where the Hawk Owl has previously been

still quite a few Grozzas to find in the Dale

roadside Hawkie