Beautiful but bleak

The 40 odd centimetres of snow in Maridalen have certainly made it beautiful but birding wise it is now pretty bleak. There are very few birds to see at the moment even common ones and we are in that mid winter period when birding becomes a bit of a depressing hobby.

The Hawk Owl is still in Maridalen but the deep snow has caused him to search for food in the forest where I believe it is bank voles (klatremus) that are his target as these have more of a tendency to run on top of the snow. This makes finding him far more hit and miss but with a bit of work and luck he is still possible to find most days. Pine Grosbeaks though are now only to be found through luck with rowan berries pretty much finished off and the birds either having moved on (I had a flock of six flying south over Østensjøvannet) or else they are eating spruce buds in the huge forests surrounding Oslo.

The Snow caused a real influx of birds into my garden with upto 45 House Sparrows and 9 Blackbirds feeding on or under the feeders. A couple of hours of empty feeders though one afternoon was enough for 30 of the Sparrows to move on though to search for a more reliable food source and they are yet to return.

 

with there being so much snow I have had to content myself with watching the Hawk Owl from afar, if I manage to find him

although when they choose a electricity pylon as a lookout then they are a bit easier to find

the bird suddenly flew from the pylon and into the forest where I think it is doing most of its hunting now

Pine Grosbeaks (konglebit) may have gone awol but Bullfinches are still finding rowan seeds to feed on

Crested Tit (toppmeis)

Crossbills (grankorsnebb) are now the commonest bird in the forest and much song and courtship feeding suggests nesting is just around the corner

a male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett) at a usual spot