I have just come back from a couple of nights with
Per Christian at his cabin in the mountains where both good company and good
birds made for a superb and much needed weekend away. We went owling on the way
up and it all started very well when at 8pm (just before sunset) we heard three
singing Pygmy Owls and I was very excited as to what we would hear once it got
dark but amazingly enough we did not hear any other owls in that area. It seems
that the occurrence of Tengmalm’s and Great Grey Owls is very local this year
with clearly good vole numbers in only certain restricted areas.
We were listening for owls quite away from the cabin
and when we finally arrived there just after midnight we were amazed to hear a
Long-eared Owl singing! This was right on the tree line at 950m above sea level
and not where I was expecting to see one. We were able to see it flying in the
torch light and also heard wing clapping and bill snapping. We had a late night
as we stayed up chatting and having a beer or two but I was awake at 0730 with
a need to get rid of some of that beer. The cabin is a proper cabin with an
outside toilet. I am perfectly OK with this but when the temperature is -10 C
then you don’t want to spend too long doing your business 😉 The
sound of displaying Black Grouse not too far away made me forget the cold for a
bit though.
Birding during the day revealed two young Golden Eagles
together although not the Siberian Jays or Hawk Owl which PC has often seen in
the area. We were really just waiting for it to get dark again though so we
could search for owls again. This time we heard Tengmalm’s and then got to see
the Long-eared Owl really well as he sang in our torch light. I have only heard
them sing twice before and never like this. It is a deep hooting (similar to
Great Grey Owl) and whilst it travels a long way it sound quiet no matter how
close you are to it which makes it difficult to pin point where the bird is.
It really was a magical experience and I nearly didn’t
notice how cold my hands were.
Today we had snow in Maridalen (although it fell as
rain lower down). This was the first precipitation for weeks and I was hoping
that it would mix up the bird scene. Things originally seemed very quiet but I
then found that all the birds were on one field. There was a huge finch flock
of about 1000 birds split 60:40 Chaffinch and Brambling with a few Twite, Greenfinch
and Linnet thrown in.
Before the weekend I had fun with Snow Buntings in
Maridalen with a flock of 13 feeding on the ice on the lake and seemingly
finding lots to eat. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers continue to be numerous with
three birds (seemingly a pair and additional female) making a lot of noise and
performing display flights with a lone female in another area drumming away.
Two pairs of Black Woodpeckers included one mating and the other nest building.
A flock of 52 Twite was the largest I have ever seen there and a migrating
Rough-legged Buzzard was an early bird.
My first visit of 2022 to Nordre Øyeren produced an
early Green Sandpiper but a couple of Rooks flying over was a big surprise as
this species is very scarce around Oslo.
In this video the hooting of the Long-eared Owl can be heard quite well. Notice also how it puffs its throat out when singing
Long-eared Owl (hornugle)
And a video taken with my phone where you can hear a couple of Pygmy Owls (spurveugle) duetting, a Tengmalm's Owl (perleugle) and the Long-eared Owl who you can also see in flight. The sound is quite low so you may need a speaker to hear everything
Golden Eagle (kongeørn)
The two birds together. We assumed there was a carcass nearby
Snow Buntings (snøspurv) in Maridalen
nest building Black Woodpeckers (svartspett)
and another pair mating
an unexpected Rook (kornkråke)
Twite (bergirisk)
a quick visit to Fornebu today revealed three pairs of Ringed Plover (sandlo) that looked like they are intending to breed
the previous picture showed the male of a pair and this one the slightly less marked female
The last two days have been promising in Maridalen:
the first flocks of Pink-footed Geese have migrated north and on the fields I
finally caught up with Snow Buntings (others have been seeing them for a few
days) as well as having my first Linnet and Reed Bunting of the year.
Chaffinches are now all over the place, 3 Lapwings are back and with
temperatures reaching double figures in the afternoon spring feels like it has
sprung.
Last night I took Conor owling and we heard Pygmy
Owl, Tawny Owl and Tengmalm’s Owl although activity was very low which
surprised me as conditions had seemed perfect although it did cloud over which
may have been the nail in the coffin.
male Snow Bunting (snøspurv)
the same male in the front and a presumed female behind
Goldfinch (stillits)
my first Lizard of the year
Two Buzzards (musvåk) in Maridalen
A flock of Pink-footed Geese (kortnebbgjess) heading north with 6 Barnacle Geese amongst them. These are probably proper will Barnacles on their way to Svalbard and it has become more common over the last few years to see Barnacles amongst the Pink-feet although the normal migration of Svalbard Barnacles is much later.
3 of the Barnacles
and a close up of one of the Barnacles with 3 Pink-feet
a caterpillar of Ruby Tiger Moth (rustvingespinner). The species overwinters as a caterpillar and they emerge early in the spring and then look for a suitable place to pupate
Yesterday saw my third and final day of guiding Angus and Denise and a
very good day was had. No Bean Geese hunting this time and we were blessed with
blue skies and a warm sun although a cold northerly wind had to be contended
with at times.
We started the day with fantastic views of a pair of Lesser Spotted
Woodpeckers. They were initially displaying high in the trees but we later had
cracking views of the male drumming low down.
At Fornebu we refound the Stonechat which hadn’t been seen since Sunday
afternoon despite people looking and the Black Redstart was also present alongside
many Twite, Linnets, Skylarks and a couple of Wheatear. A sit down for lunch was
very well timed with migrating Rough-legged Buzzard, Buzzard, Kestrel, Merlin,
Sparrowhawk and Goshawk on the raptor side, three large flocks of Pink-footed
Geese and a very unexpected flyby Woodcock.
Maridalen still has far too much snow but we saw Snow Bunting
appropriately enough and Willow Tit. A Lizard sunning itself was the first for
the year and when I took Mrs OB there in the evening to show her the Lizard we
failed but the first two Adders of the year were good compensation.
male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)
young Goshawk (hønsehauk) with Crow
a unique picture from Norway? Black Redstart (svartrødstjert) left and Stonechat (svartstrupe) in the same frame
Lizard taken with the bazooka
and with my mobile
Adder
and a black Adder
also taken with my mobile. Both the lizard and the adders were freshly emerged from their winter hibernation and were very lethargic
