An Easter not to remember

I have often written that Easter is my favourite time of the year for birding in Maridalen and indeed it still is even if that doesn’t necessarily mean it is always as productive. The timing of Easter of course varies from year to year and a late Easter will always be better so this year’s relatively early Easter which has coincided with lots of fresh snow has unsurprisingly not been one for the birding memory books. I have been out early every morning but there have hardly been any new birds of signs of viz mig.

The absolute highlight on that score being three Red-throated Divers flying in high up and then circling the lake calling before landing and displaying on the lake. This is one of the earliest ever records in the Dale but in most years the lake would still be frozen until at least the middle of April so the conditions aren’t normally conducive to any water birds this early. In addition RtDs have only recently established themselves as local breeders so we didn’t previously have birds using Maridalsvannet for more than a day or two whilst on migration (and birds heading further inland will not come through for a few weeks) whereas now they are an expected sight through the whole breeding season.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast does actually look quite promising so I may have written this downbeat post a day too early.

In the absence of any interesting bird photos I will chart the changing weather conditions.

me scoping the lake on Wednesday 1st April when it was till sunny

lots of snow at 8am on Friday 3rd

the fields at Kirkeby on 4th April at 07:18

and the fields at Nedre Vaggestein also on the 4th which unsurprisingly held hardly any birds

Kirkeby again on the 4th but now at 0852 when at least the sun had come out but stil no birds

and Kirkeby at 0822 today the 5th. Not a pleasant morning

and looking over the lake from Nes at 0829. There may have been lots of grounded waterfowl out there but the fog meant their presence or not will remain one of earths great unanswered questions

 

And a video of a drumming Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from before I went to England. A pair is now well established and with luck I will find their nest hole.