Nest box intrigue

In the garden we have three nesting boxes. Two are for tits and one is an open box. The open box has only ever been used once when Robins used it but the other two are used most years by either Great or Blue Tits although it is rare that both are used each year.

This year the one with the smallest hole has very surprisingly been taken over by Nuthatches. It amazes me that they get through the hole but they do. They have no need to mud the hole up though and have instead mudded up inside the nest box and outside under the roof. There is a but of mud placed on the rim of the hole though almost as though they have to do it. It is no longer possible to take off the roof to inspect the nest due to the mud but I have seen them taking bark in which is what they make the nest of. Blue and Great Tits have been looking at the other nest box and a few days ago Great Tits were taking nesting material into it. Then on Sunday I saw the Great Tits hanging around the Nuthatch nestbox and eventually going in. It took a long time before a Nuthatch turned up but the tits quickly moved off although returned later. Judging by the late response of the Nuthatch it is unlikely they are incubating although I have often seen one of them staying in the box. A Red Squirrel also showed an interest in the box and will take eggs if it gets the chance.

 

A trip into the forest yesterday revealed my first Three-toed Woodpecker for a long time. I could only find a female but may have found a hole that was being excavated but am unsure and it may also have been the handiwork of a food seeking Black Woodpecker. My sightings of Hazel Grouse were limited to droppings but the day active Tawny Owl was again singing and being scolded by Nutcrackers. The forest floor is covered in mouse holes in the grass so there is obviously lots of food here but I cannot find any nest hole and reckon this is an unpaired male who has been unable to find a territory and attract a mate. I managed to film him singing which was cool.

the nestbox. The Nuthatches (spettmeis) have placed mud inside the hole and have sealed up the crack under the roof both on the inside and outside. They have also placed some mud on the bottom of the rim.

Great Tit (kjøttmeis) on the nest box

and inside

A Nuthatch (spettmeis) returns

and a Red Squirrel shows an interest

Hazel Grouse (jerpe) poo

an angry Nutcracker (nøttekråke)

female Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett)

this hole was in the same tree the pecker was feeding in. Time will tell whether it is the start of a nesting hole for Three-toed or a hole made by a Black pecker looking for food

Bobbing Jack Snipe

After Monday’s snow I was excited to see what new birds had turned up yesterday. There was a thick layer of fog hanging over Maridalen that made viewing difficult, but it was clear that there were more birds around as I could hear and sometimes see lots of Redwings and Fieldfares in the air. A male Merlin was a real highlight and a species that I barely see annualy in Maridalen. A late Buzzard was also noteworthy as was a single Twite. There were quite a few Yellowhammers on the fields and I kept thinking I heard the “tick” of a Little Bunting but it always turned out to be a Yellowhammer. This autumn must represent the best chance of finding a Little Bunting as there have been lots of records in the country.

Moving to Fornebu the light was much better and I had intended to work the whole site. In the end I got no further than Storøykilen where I flushed a Jack Snipe and saw where it landed on the edge of a reedbed. I then spent an hour watching it in the scope. It did not do as much as I had hoped but every now again started bobbing. This is only the second time that I have observed this behaviour (and I was a teenaner the last time) and it bizarre and without any apparent purpose. It is unusual to see a Jack Snipe that is not frozen or in flight and I had really hoped to see it feeding and doing a but more than I witnessed but it was still a very exciting hour I spent with it and I managed some grainy, shaky video at full digital zoom.

Also here were two Siberian tristis Chiffchaffs that showed very well.

Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) - it was much easier to see in the scope, I promise

a male Merlin (dvergfalk) in Maridalen

and a late Buzzard (musvåk)

Twite (bergirisk) are scarce autumn visitors in Maridalen

a shoal of fish had attracted a flock of hungry gulls at Fornebu

and 5 Razorbills (alke) joined them, I saw in total 25 Razorbills on the sea which is a very high count and surprisingly there were no Guillemots to see

A Common Snipe (enkeltbekkasin) in Maridalen

Red Squirrel

Siberian tristis Chiffchaff at Fornebu

they do look so "rare" but have become an expected species in the late autumn at Fornebu

Autumn

I spent the weekend in England on a strictly non birding trip to London and Cambridge but did notice no less than 50 Red Kites on the journey between the two cities including a group of 30 following the plough right by the M25 motorway. Whilst punting along the river Cam I also heard what I believe must have been young Kingfishers calling from inside a drainage pipe which had a big stream of brown bird poo running down the wall underneath it. This would seem to be late for nesting and a very public place for it but the breeding birds just outside Oslo are still seemingly visiting their nest.

In England it was very warm and summery but Maridalen this morning felt distinctly autumnal. It was sunny and still pleasantly warm but there was a big change in the bird life from last week with no Tree Pipits, Swallows or White Wagtails anymore and in their place a noticeable increase in Meadow Pipit numbers.

I had to pick up Jr from the airport in the afternoon and took a detour to try to locate the Beans. I found them at the first stop on the river where I counted 142 from my photos. They flew off whilst I was there and split into two groups with half going to the nearby fields and half flying north but returned about 10 minutes later although did not go to the same field as the others. It is always interesting to see behaviour like this which shows the flock is not just one big happy family but consists of a number of sub groups.

Just three days to go until I hit Værøy and real autumn birding of the rarity filled, remote island type starts. I am going for 6 nights this year which is my longest ever stay but the weather forecast unfortunately doesn't suggest it will be the most successful trip I've had.

Two flocks of Long-tailed Tits (stjertmeis) livened things up in Maridalen

still a few butterflies left but little variety with Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell being it

I must have discovered this Red Squirrel halfway through lunch

this young Goshawk (hønsehauk) was especially small meaning it was a male

the Taiga Bean Geese (sædgås). There don't look to be that many at first glance but I have come to 142 (down from 144 last time)

Urban Hawkie

 More birding lite yesterday with a trip into Maridalen and then a walk with the Beast in the neighbourhood. There were a few birds to see and a moose right by the road was a treat. The day ended on an unexpected high with a very urban Hawk Owl. At 8pm I got a message saying a Hawk Owl was sitting in a tree in a park after having been reported earlier in the day sitting on the pavement (having presumably collided with a car or a window). I had to pick up Jr from volleyball at 8:30pm which would give me 10 minutes on the way. I did not find the owl in those 10 minutes but did meet Knut Wagan and 10 minutes later he reported he had refound it and another 10 minutes later myself and Jr were watching it 😊

Initially perched high up on a spruce it then moved into a tree right by the road before then moving to a tree only 4 or 5 metres high in the in the middle of the road and only metres away from apartments. It was clearly looking for food and maybe there are rats in the area. This might also explain why it was found on the pavement earlier if it had plunged down into the gutter chasing a rat and had been hit by a car. I had taken the superzoom with me and given how dark it was I think it performed remarkably well. Later on in it was seen on top of the apartments, hunting from car roofs and ripping the head off a dead feral pigeon! Unfortunately it was not present again this morning.

this picture is taken with a shutter speed of 6/10 second at 20:45 and has transformed a dark park into a sunlight park!

here I was using the flash at too long range

this is with the flash at just a few metres range. Unfortunately the flash reflects off the snow flakes in the air

daylight picture. The preceeding two pictures are taken in the tree in the middle of the road to the left of the red car

Blue Tit (blåmeis) in Maridalen

male Bullfinch (dompap)

 

Coal Tit (svartmeis)

female Great Spotted Woodpecker (flaggspett)

Jay (nøtteskrike)

Moose (elg)

note that the left eye is an icy blue whilst the right eye is the normal brown colour. Note also the shape of the iris in both eyes

Red Squirrel (ekorn)

Teal (krikkand) in Frognerparken