School, and university, summer holidays have begun and we are once again privileged to be allowed to use the wonderful cabin at Hulvik. A week of sun, the odd butterfly and maybe some Nightjars awaits plus late nights watching football - Norway vs Senegal at 2am tonight anyone?
Yesterday, I guided Ian from Perth (the one in Australia) in the morning and Maridalen provided a number of lifers during a very fun morning. We discovered a new (and second) Wryneck nest as well as watching feeding time at the very late Black Woodpecker nest, Red-backed Shrikes, Hawfinch, Marsh Warbler and lots more.
Here is a video from the Wrynecks which I took early this morning. Make sure to listen until the end to hear the strange noises the young make.
More successful breeding stories are the Ringed Plovers at Fornebu where both young are now so good as fully grown and still being well cared for by both parents who run distraction displays. This video from Saturday was taken with my phone from the car and may, or may not, show the youngsters.
And in Maridalen today I saw 7 basically fledged young Lapwings - they look fully grown and can fly - but still had adults watching over them. They seemed to be broods of 4,2 and 1 which tallies well with earlier observations. The fate of the two late nests and any young that hatched remains unknown with the crop so high that I cannot see any birds that may be there and I am not sure the adults would bother to fly up to chase off a passing crow either. A minimum of 7 fledged young from 5 nests is probably enough to maintain the population as long as they don’t fly to France for the winter and get shot…
Some pleasant surprises in Oslo and Maridalen regarding
breeding birds means I am not completely over into the butterfly world just yet.
On the lake there was suddenly a single adult Mute Swan with
5 small young! This is just like last year in that they suddenly appeared but
this year I was better prepared and had discovered the nest on 26 May. After
that discovery of the nest though I had been unable on subsequent attempts to
see any birds on it (although it was very difficult to see) and had only a
record of single adult on 1 June and then a pair flying over the lake (not near
the nest) on 9 June. I therefore assumed that the nesting attempt had failed
and the birds had moved off. To suddenly see an adult with young was therefore
a shock and it was equally surprising that I could not find the other adult
anywhere on the lake. Has the male died or moved off? And if so how did the
female managed to incubate and feed without me ever seeing her? And the pair I
saw on x June – were they visitors? Perhaps the other pair that started nesting
and then gave up? An answer to the first question is that P578 who I saw on
Maridalsvannet on 29 April, and his ring was again read on 24 May, who is the
male of the pair that bred last year and I assume the father of this years young
was seen on 16 June at Fornebu where he and his mate had spent the winter – so
it looks like he has left his mate to fend for herself! Did this happen before
the eggs hatched?
Mute Swan (knoppsvane) - presumably female PC79 who bred here last year - with 5 small young but not with her mate (P578) who has flown down to Fornebu!
The Black-throated Diver pair (one of perhaps two on the
lake) still have a single youngster and have moved quite a way from the nest
with it.
Black-throated Diver (storlom) family
The ever growing cereal crop on the Lapwing field makes seeing
the birds very difficult but yesterday I could see 3 (2 + 1) almost fully grown
young which is a great relief but the fate of the two last nests remains unknown.
a nearly fully grown Lapwing (vipe) young
And finally, I had Red-backed Shrike in the Dale this year
and it seems to be a nesting pair so fingers crossed for their success.
pair of Red-backed Shrikes (tornskate) in Maridalen
and the male on his own
A visit to Østensjøvannet today also revealed lots of young
birds. Best of all were the Black-headed Gulls which have had their first successful
breeding season (at least as a colony) for a few years with many large young on
two islands. Great Crested Grebes, Coot and Mute Swans also had young (the
later no larger than the ones I saw on Maridalsvannet) and surprisingly a
female Goldeneye had 11 quite large young with her. This raises two questions –
are they all hers? Perhaps unlikely. And how have so many survived so long? Normally
the vast majority get eaten either by gulls or pike.
Black-headed Gulls (hettemåke) have had a successful breeding season at Østensjøvannet
and a male Gadwall (snadderand) which once again seems to have chosen Østensjøvannet to moult although this year there were no records earlier in the spring
Not so much to report from the last few days with perhaps my
first male Red-backed Shrike of the year the highlight. This late migrant seems
to be later than normal this year or perhaps we are just going to get fewer
than normal for some reason. Time will tell but Marsh Warblers that have also
been scarce up until now seem to now be arriving in force.
An Arctic Tern at Maridalsvannet was a close second and a
scarcer bird in a local context. Terns have become a regular feature of
Maridalsvannet in recent years with both Arctic and Common exploiting good
hatches of insects. I have been waiting for them to appear this year after the
insects have started hatching and Black-headed Gulls, and a single brief Little
Gull, have been exploiting them for a week. It was therefore satisfying to see
an Arctic on Friday once a rain storm had eased enough for me to look over the lake.
The invasion of Painted Lady butterflies that has made the
national press in the UK is hitting Norway as well and even though numbers are
currently below those in the UK it is now turning up in all habitats, including
my garden, and has already breached the Arctic Circle.
Otherwise breeding birds are hanging on. In Maridalen there
are at least 3 Lapwing youngsters from 2 broods that are now large enough to
resemble their paretns and the two replacement nests are still being incubated
and should hatch any day soon. At Fornebu the Ringed Plovers seem faithful to
their corner of a building site hemmed in by a road but they have attentive
parents that still brood them when it rains or they perceive danger.
male Red-backed Shrike (tornskate) - here you see how it gets its name
and his mate
female Ringed Plover (sandlo) protecting 2 young during a rain shower. I am viewing from a car and despite being close to them they act naturally and react more to people walking along the road than any cars or lorries that pass close by. The young can also be seen in the video:
2 young Lapwing (vipe) in Maridalen. There was hopefully one or maybe two others from this brood in the long grass
this single surviving youngster from its brood is now looking quite adult like and will hopefully fledge making its parents hard work a success
Even though the weather today was quite challenging with rain
storms I am actually talking about the bird seasons.
I ended up at Fornebu this morning after having had to drop
Jr Jr off nearby. A report earlier in the morning of a small flock of Brent
Geese flying over the suburbs and the fresh southerly winds had me thinking a
sea gaze may give something although this late in the spring (or summer as it
officially is in Norway now) there was never going to be much but it could be a
case of quality over quantity.
My first scan revealed a Brent Goose standing on an islet –
very nice - and then whilst watching it in a scope a Sandwich Tern flew over –
very, very nice! The tern quickly moved off and I managed no pictures but this
was only my second ever Norwegian record so the day was definitely delivering.
Further scans of the fjord did not reveal any skuas or large divers but I did
pick up a flock of 20 Brent (which tallies with the flock seen over the suburbs)
resting on the fjord, then 5 Common Scoter (late migrants) and 5 summer
plumaged Guillemots that looked to be displaying to each other. The Brents were
Pale-bellied hrota on their way from wintering areas in Denmark to
breeding grounds on Svalbard. They are traditionally one of the very latest
movers and normally fly up the west coast of Norway but a few always take a
wrong turn and fly up the east coast before always and obviously getting confused
when the fjord narrows and then stops in Oslo. Sometimes the birds carry on over
land but other times seems to turnaround and go south again. Today’s birds were
still to make a decision.
So two species – Brent Goose and Common Scoter – that were
still on spring migration.
part of the flock of 20 Pale-bellied Brent Geese (ringgås). Later in the day a single Dark-bellied was found with them. I did not see this bird or am able to find it in my photos so it presumably arrived some time later
and the initial single bird. The lack of an obvious neck collar ages it s a 2cy
A visit to Storøykilen had me hoping for Broad-billed
Sandpiper but instead there was a Greenshank and Green Sandpiper. The sandpiper
would definitely have been a returning so therefore on autumn migration
but I am unsure about the Greenshank which I think could have been on either.
And summer? Well, there are loads of breeding birds but best
of all was seeing the Ringed Plover family again. I was able to watch them
closely from the car and the male was sheltering and guarding the two young
whilst the female was nearby and calling and running in the opposite direction
trying to distract me. I don’t know how usual it is that the male takes responsibility
for the young in this way but see from my photos the other day that it was also
the male caring for them.
In Maridalen there was only one hybrid Canada x Barnacle
Goose today, the dark one but another small goose looked like a pure Canada or
Cackling but I am unsure and it is almost certainly a backcross hybrid and
perhaps a mixture of three different species. Whatever it is it will certainly
have a feral origin, probably in Holland.
the dark breasted hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose and a new bird which would also seem to be a hybrid but one without a white forehead or a dark breast
here the chest looks pale
in this shot there is maybe a shadow of a dark chest
the obvious hybrid has (in this picture at least) a very stubby bill and steep forehead suggesting Cackling rather than Canada Goose genes
A hunting 1st summer male Marsh Harrier and
possible a new and second singing Sedge Warbler were also notable in The Dale.
1st summer Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) - note the new grey feathers in the wing and tail
Well, it seems birding still has something to offer so
butterflies can wait just a bit longer which is just as well given the wet and
cloudy weather we are forecast to have.
Just after I wrote my last post an evening trip to Fornebu
allowed me to first hear and then see a Gropper that had been found earlier in
the day. Grasshopper Warbler remains a very scarce and not even annual special around
Oslo and was unsurprisingly the first record of the year. This is the second
time I’ve heard one at Fornebu with the first being a bird that arrived at the
end of April in 2019 and hung around for a month. An April arrival fits in with
the small regular Norwegian breeding population that are mostly found on the
west coast whereas an arrival at the end of May/beginning of June (that is the
normal fare in south east Norway) which often occur during warm periods with
southerly winds may well be a bird that has already tried its luck somewhere
else in Europe and has then decided to move north looking for more joy.
Grasshopper Warbler (gresshoppesanger) Fornebu
Last night I was about to go to bed but then looked at the
weather forecast and realised that even though conditions were not perfect (it
was cloudy and damp) it would be quite a few days before there were any better
conditions for some night singer activity. Maridalen started very quiet with
just two Woodcocks for my troubles as I got to the end of the valley. A distant
Tawny Owl had me trying to drive closer to locate it as amazingly enough this
was only my second record this year. Early spring nocturnal sorties had
resulted in just one very distant singing Tawny Owl which must have been a sign
of how little food there was. Vole numbers may be picking up though as in
addition to the two Tawnies I now heard a GGO was photographed in the forest just east of Maridalen last week. Maybe Oslo will have an owly autumn and
winter?
As I drove with the window open I heard a noise that I
thought was from the car but after turning off the engine (an electric car
would be very good on these trips) I realised I was listening to my second
Gropper in two days and only my fourth ever in Maridalen - and boy did it sing!
I was able to see it quite well using my head torch and whilst doing so I
thought I heard a Nightjar call. A bit later it called right over me and I then
got to see it really well as it hunted moths around me and even sang briefly
from a fence post.
I set about trying to record this unforgettable experience….
but as usual my phone has far fewer videos than I thought I took plus a good
number of videos of the ground…. I thought I was seeing a
red light showing I was filming but surprise, surprise things were not as I
thought. I wonder if there is a support group for people like me? I also had
the superzoom with me but despite use of the head torch it really struggles in
the dark. I did get some documentation though:
First a video of the Grasshopper Warbler with a bonus Sedge Warbler at the end:
Pictures of the Nightjar
Nightjar (nattravn)
here we can see the white wing patch showing it to be a male (as confirmed by it singing)
And video of the Nightjar which does have a sequence of it moth catching from a fence post and then briefly singing with the sound of the Gropper all the time in the background:
On the way out a Sedge Warbler was in full song and this was
a Maridalen tick for me🥳. I had first heard it
in the middle of the day but only a couple of snatches of song which were not
enough to confirm the ID. The ID was later confirmed though by Jon Andrea, an
up and coming teenage birder who gives me hope that birding in Oslo has a bright
future and by the evening it was not holding back.
There are now two Barnacle x Canada hybrids in Maridalen and
both are different to last week’s bird so we really are talking about an
influx.
both of the Canada x Barnacle (hvitkinngås) Geese hybrids
paler bird with a white forehead and hardly any hint of a darker chest
the darker bird
this bird is I am sure the paler bird but due to its posture it is showing off a white neck collar which doesn't show in the other photo
the darker bird really stands out
here the darker bird, a Canada with too much white on the head and a Canada x Greylag hybrid
I went looking today for a retrospectively identified (heard
only) singing Red-breasted Flycatcher found last week and which is the first
record in Oslo since the last bird in Maridalen in 2019. The area where I believe
it was heard looked just like the areas where they have previously been found
breeding in Oslo but I heard nothing which either means it has moved on, or he
is mated up and breeding as in my experience they go silent as soon as that
happens and only start singing again once the eggs have hatched. The area was coincidentally
one I have frequently visited for butterflies especially Northern Chequered Skipper
and a brief period of sunshine did wonders and in addition to the skipper I
also had a couple of Wood Whites which is a species I have seen even less often
than the skipper.
here showing the underside of the wing and with a Green-veined White (rapssommerfugl)
and here with a Brimstone (sitronsommerfugl)
At Fornebu it was also great to find a Ringed Plover family. The species only regularly breeds around Oslo only on Gressholmen and at Fornebu. A couple of pairs have tried breeding at Gressholmen this year but seem to have failed despite two attempts whilst at Fornebu the available habitat is getting smaller and smaller. Finding this adult with two young about a week old was therefore heart warming. They were close to a road and two young have also most likely been lost (they lay 4 eggs) and the odds are against these two but fingers crossed that they make it.
here the adult is sheltering one young whilst another runs away. I was watching from the car.
this is the one that was being sheltered. Note that the legs of the young look already to be fully grown
1st June marks the start of summer in Oslo but on a rainy
day with southerly winds I still had my thoughts on late spring migrants. This
is the time of the year when really unexpected rarities can turn up but there
are also more predictable ones such as rare terns or waders that you can hope
to find at Svellet or Årnestangen. That was where I was headed today and
Svellet still has some exposed mud. A good number of gulls and a few Common
Terns were resting here but nothing rare or scarce and single of Red- and
Greenshank were the only waders.
The walk out to Årnestangen was mostly dry (I chose the
umbrella rather than rain coat option which worked out well) and mercifully
free of mosquitoes although I am sure they will come soon. There were attractive
looking mudflats and pools at the tip but they were all rather birdless
although a heavy rain shower but an end to my scanning and I had to seek cover
sitting down pushed against the wall of the hopefully inadequate but typically
Norwegian viewing platform. Most counties equip nature reserves with «hides»
where you can sit down and escape the rain whilst also being hidden from the
birds such that you enjoy closer views and the birds are less disturbed. Norway
of course has to do things differently and at Årnestangen the choice is a
slightly raised open platform that offers no real shelter from the elements and
definitely doesn’t hide you from the birds. Rather curiously, viewing slats
have been put in the low walls which I was able to use today when on my knees
and flattened against the wall with umbrella over me although I doubt that was
there intended use.
Whilst sheltering I did hear a few waders and when the rain
stopped enough for me to look properly I found three Turnstones with a small
flock of Ringed Plovers. It is very rare for me to see Turnstone in summer
plumage so this was a nice if distant encounter. Not a single calidris
wader was a disappointment although a Red-Backed Shrike was the last of the non-nocturnal
breeding migrants that I had yet to see.
Maridalsvannet has had a hatch of insects which in recent
years attracts terns. None have turned up so far this year but a Little Gulls
hawking insects with the Black-headeds today was nice. Yesterday evening a
large flock of Canada Geese flew over the house and today what must be the same
birds were in Maridalen. Amongst them was a hybrid Canada x Barnacle but
surprisingly not the same one as in Sørkedalen last week. What is causing this
sudden influx of presumed dutch birds?
On Friday butterfly watching in Maridalen was interrupted by
news of a Little Egret at Fornebu and I quickly drove down to enjoy it. This
species is still very rare around Oslo with this being only the 5th record
whilst Great White has become annual and sometimes in small flocks.
the knee high viewing slats at Årnestangen allowed me some slight protection from the rain
during a pause in the rain. It was the exact weather conditions you hope for out there and in mid to late July could have resulted in hundreds of waders of many species.
Little Egret (silkehegre) at Fornebu on Friday
hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose in Maridalen. It lacks the white forehead that last weeks bird in Sørkedalen had (see previous post) and also had a much darker breast
three young Lapwing (vipe) being looked over by mum
and here are 4 young. There was another adult closeby and the 4th young may have been from another brood. None of them was the single large young that I saw flapping its wings last week so things are still looking good. Two nests are still being incubated and have at least another week to go before we see any young.
Skjerven - the geese and Lapwing field in Maridalen
