Q1

The first quarter of the year is now complete and an ice free Østensjøvannet is sure sign that spring is here as was the sound of singing Chiffchaff today. The ice has gone very quickly at Østensjøvannet – on Wednesday when I saw the Smew there was just a small ice free area where all the birds were concentrated but by Saturday all the ice was gone. The period when there is just a small ice free area is a good time to be at Østensjøvannet because it is possible to get good views of many species so it is a shame that it was so short this year. The Saturday visit was to see a Pochard that had been found and another visit today revealed both the Pochard and Smew to still be present. There must be a lot of small fish as there are good numbers of Goosander but there are few dabbling ducks and unfortunately the Black-headed Gulls look like they have already decided they are not nesting here for yet another year. The lake has previously had up to 2000 breeding pairs and lots of work has been done to ensure there are suitable nesting sites but something else, which I believe is a lack of food, has put the gulls off the lake.

In Maridalen the first Meadow Pipits have arrived and Twite remain in very good numbers but there is little else and definitely no raptor passage which I hope to see each day with sun….

female Pochard (taffeland) at Østensjøvannet

and a male Tufted Duck (toppand)

I scanned all the gulls for something rare but reading colour rings was the most exciting thing in the end. Here three different types of colour ring on Black-headed Gulls. The white and green are Norwegian and the red is from the UK (I have yet to receive details on it)

J88E was the oldest bird and was ringed as an adult female at Østensjøvannet 31st May 2015. It has been seen many time since but only in the Oslo area and it wintering grounds are unknown

J0280 is the bird that has travelled most. Ringed in Oslo 9 June 2022 it has been seen in Milton Keynes, England in January of both 2023 and 2025

Whooper Swans (sangsvane) are still moving through and this group was in Maridalen yesterday

Adders can be found sunning themselves in the same places each (sunny) day and it is still only males that are out

Black Woodpeckers (svartspett) are excavating a new hole after using the same one for the last 3 years

Goosander (laksand)

Great Crested Grebes (toppdykker)

spot the Meadow Pipit (heipiplerke)

and an easier to see Skylark (sanglerke)