The hot sunny weather continues often with northerly winds
and cold nighttime temperatures. This sort of weather means no falls or mass
arrivals of birds and numbers and variety at Svellet suggests few birds are
arriving or leaving at the moment. Some birds do of course arrive though and a
trip out to the tip of Årnestangen on Tuesday resulted in me hearing a
Citrine Wagtail. Despite my best efforts I could not find the bird but
hopefully it will be last years bird returning and will therefore be refound soon
holding territory. There are a few Yellow Wagtails back but none are singing
yet and the very dry conditions and cold nights are probably not favourable for
them or any other insect eating species.
A Great Snipe that flew up from long grass was also a good
bird and a nesting pair of Long-tailed Tits are something to marvel over. I encounter
a Kingfisher every visit, normally just hearing him or glimpsing him flying
away from me up the river. The only time I have seen the bird well it was a
male but I do not know whether it is the same bird I see each time. I assume
though that there is breeding nearby of a species that has definitely benefited
from a series of warmer, shorter winters.
Svellet continues to hold the same species and same numbers
every day with the Little Gulls remaining although there is probably quite a turn over of birds. There are still no calidris waders
but they will turn up any day soon and then the real fun starts.
In Maridalen one of the Lapwing nests survived the plough
which I suppose is good news but it is of course tragic that despite the
farmers good intentions that the other nests did not survive the plough.
this Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis) with a mouth full of insects led to me a nest. I do not think they have young yet but rather it was food for the mate who was incubating
the nest is a remarkable construction
incubating bird. Note how the tail is sticking up through a hole in the nest. This reminds me of one of my earliest ornithological observations and which led to a letter in British Birds (for a teenager this was big!) when I found a nest building LtTits and one of the birds had woven its own tail into the nest construction and was stuck.
taken with the mobile. The nest is large
male Kingfisher (isfugl)
he is often hidden away in bushes away from the water where he calls occasionally but there is no suitable mud banks for a nest site here so I do not understand why he chooses to be there
a stick marking a Lapwing (vipe) nest but the plough went far too close. The pair were hanging out close to their old nest looking a bit forlorn
this nest survived though
a female was in the grass and both her and her mate chased away gulls that came to close. It is possible that they have young (from the first nest I saw) that hatched before the plough. I first noticed a bird sitting on 8 April and with an incubation period of 28 days it is therefore possible that the young have hatched - hopefully i will see some soon
my first Garden Warbler (hagesanger) of the year
and my first Thrush Nightingale (nattergal)
Black-throated Diver (storlom) with a crayfish in Maridalen.
Osprey (fiskeørn)
this male Smew (lappfiskand) that is in love with a female Goldeneye (kvinand) was on the oxbow lake at the duck hot spot of Stilla. This is surely the same bird that has summered to north east of Oslo since 2019 and was at Østensjøvannet last spring and turns up at different lakes depending on where his chosen Goldeneye choose to go. Here he is in 2020
yet another singing Wryneck (vendehals) in Maridalen
water levels in Svellet continue to be perfect. Let us hope that we have no big rises in water levels but rather slow increases
It’s so hot and sunny now that I have almost given up
on birds for the year and started on butterflies.
If
I am to break my Oslo year record of 191 species, let alone smash the 200
barrier, then some rain and falls of migrants are necessary.
My
Oslo list is ticking along with yesterday giving Garden Warbler #165 and Scaup
#166 whilst today gave Whitethroat #167, Red-backed Shrike #168, Cuckoo#169 and
Kingfisher #170. I have never reached this total so early so things should
be looking good. Problem though is that I reckon I have only another 4 species
that I can consider certain: Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Common Rosefinch and
Honey Buzzard whilst all others will bonuses and this includes species like
Redstart, Sand Martin and Bluethroat which I would have expected to see by now
and fear I may have missed my chance with. So, I will need to find a lot of
Oslo rares😊
Yesterday’s
Scaup was a bonus bird and was a pair on Maridalsvannet which is only the third
spring record here. Today’s Kingfisher was even more unexpected but could well
indicate breeding which I need to follow up on.
pair of Scaup (bergand) on Maridalsvannet - a rare species on spring migration
Wood Warblers (bøksanger) are now back. Although it is never to be found in large numbers I had 5 birds today
Wryneck (vendehals)
male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett). I had both these species in the same tree "singing" but did not mange to record it
female Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)
Black throated Diver
Blackcap (munk) have been back a while
but Garden Warblers (hagesanger) are only just arriving. As usual I need to see them to tell them apart as I usually don't hear a difference in their song
an unexpected sighting was this silent flyby Cuckoo (gjøk). I was alerted to its presence by alarm calling White Wagtails
a singing Pied Flycatcher (svarthvit fluesnapper) in the garden is probably last years bird
a couple of Slavonian Grebes (horndykker) I bumped into at a breeding site
whenever I see an old Black Woodpecker hole I scratch the tree trunk hoping a Tengmalm's Owl will stick its head out. That never happens unfortunately but today this Goldeneye (kvinand) did
she had a bit of down stuck to her head
interestingly she has a hole in her beak. I can't imagine what caused it
a Grizzly Skipper (bakkesmyger) was my earliest ever and first unusual butterfly of the year. I have now seen 12 species so far in 2024
So my first full day on Værøy has come to an end and I am a happy man 😊. At 13:28 I heard Yellow-browed Warbler and then at 13:31 I saw one (of eventually 3) so my Værøy trip is already a success and anything else is pure bonus. One of these bonuses turned up before the YbW with a Hawk Owl on a roof top being mobbed by two Hooded Crows - regular readers of this blog will understand that this sighting alone is enough to give me the shakes.
Other than these species the big event has been an unprecedented influx of Rough-legged Buzzards with over 40 being seen yesterday before I arrived. I have had to make do with around 10 birds but given that I have only seen two single birds here before then this was quite something.
Jack Snipe have also been incredibly numerous and I have seen 10 of over 20 recorded on the island.
I eventually took the helicopter out yesterday rather than the ferry because it has been VERY windy and I figured a short but expensive helicopter trip would beat a free but 3 hour long bumpy boat trip.
The wind has made birding very difficult today but tomorrow it is forecast to be much less wind so we have high hopes.
Yellow-browed Warbler (gulbrynsanger)
Hawkie getting fed up with Hoodie
White-tailed Eagle (havørn) are numerous
Snow Bunting (snøspurv)
Golden Eagle (kongeørn)
Rough-legged Buzzard (fjellvåk) with a rat which is the only rodent on Værøy
Arctic Tern (rødnebbterne)
Garden Warbler (hagesanger). I had 5 species of Warbler with Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap in addition to the two whose photos grace this post
A Dipper (fossekal) my first on Værøy and only the second record here - as rare as White’s Thrush!
Real, wild Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås) on their way from Svalbard to the UK
All the Rough-legged Buzzard that I looked closely at were 1cy. They must have had a good breeding season and the strong easterly winds have brought them out here
