Farewell January you will not be missed

The last week of January has been quite like the preceding three, i.e uninspiring, with the exception of reacquainting myself with my Hazel Grouse. We can now look forward to February with hopefully some cloudless, freezing cold, nocturnal trips interrupted only by the sound of trees cracking in the cold, owls of various sightings hooting and northern lights flickering overhead. By the end of the month the very first spring migrants will also with luck have arrived and then we can really look forward to the spring and all the bounties it brings.

I have had a few walks in the forest but it is incredibly quiet there with, other than the HG, hardly a bird to see or hear. There are ZERO finches in the forest and even in more suburban areas with feeders there are hardly any so a flock of 18 Hawfinches that I came across at Østensjøvannet one day was quite a surprise.

A noisy Nutcracker (nøttekråke) was one of only a handfull of birds seen on my forest walks but it is always a good bird to see.

the Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) has become harder to see again and when it does give itself up it is usually high up as here with a Magpie (skjære)

Mallards (stokkand) at Østensjøvannet

where this female Teal (krikkand) is still hanging around

and where with some patience Water Rails (vannrike) can be seem

an unusually large flock of Hawfinch (kjernebiter)

Woodpeckers are not really making themselves known yet although I have heard a drumming Great Spotted and this female Black Woodpecker was making a lot of noise hacking away at a dead tree trunk

these are still entertaining me