Garganey has always been my favourite dabbling duck.
It is a beautifully plumaged bird although in a subtle way; it is scarce which
always increases ones interest in a bird and I was always fascinated by the
fact that in Britain, at least, it was the only duck that was a summer visitor
whereas most of the other ducks I saw were primarily winter visitors.
When one was found on a small pond on a golf course
on Friday evening I hoped it would stay until the next day and when I heard it
was still present I hatched a plan to visit it in the evening when I thought it
would be nice warm light. The only problem with this plan was that such a bird
risked being swamped by photographers and pushed off. Surprisingly though there
seemed to be little interest in it – maybe its beauty is so subtle that it is
only a birder’s bird. When I arrived though I was unable to find it and after
checking all the ponds on the golf course which held Teal, Goldeneye, Moorhen
and Coot I decided to check the large pond again. No joy but then it flew in
with 4 Teal and seemed to have come from a small stream (which I hadn’t
checked) where some dog walkers were.
After that we had over half an hour of fantastic views
when it fed at close range. It was frequently chased by the local male Coot
which led to it flying short distances and giving me the chance to practice my
flight photography – a skill I have yet to master. The results are promising
though… 😊
Earlier in the day a walk in Maridalen revealed a
flyover adult White-tailed Eagle – will this species one day breed in Oslo?
I am writing this on Sunday morning whilst the
others sleep having chosen to go through yesterday’s photos rather than visit
the Dale. If I had visited the Dale I may well have seen Red Kite which was seen
to the east and flying in the direction of the Dale. Maybe the lesson there is
take fewer pictures and bird more - or to put it more bluntly be more birder and less togger 😂
male Garganey (knekkand) - one of my better flight photographs
the cause of it flying was this territorial male Coot (sothøne)
golf course
with a female Goldeneye (kvinand)
I became a bit obsessed with taking photos with the reflection of the red pole..
my first frog of the year
I'm not sure what long legged bird this Sparrowhawk (spurvehauk) has caught
and first Camberwell Beauty (sørgekåpe) of the year
adult White-tailed Eagle (havørn) over Maridalen. Presumably a non breeded but a bird that is looking to find a suitable territory. Seems to be ringed
I have not been on any proper “night singer” trips
yet this year but went out briefly last night in the rain. I managed to get
point blank views of a singing River Warbler that has been around for a few
days and was able to take pictures and video despite it being nearly 22:30 and
barely light.
Today I visited both Sørkedalen and Maridalen and
finally found my first Red-backed Shrikes of the year with two pairs in the
same place in Sørkedalen and a pair in Maridalen meaning that after having
feared it was a catastrophical year for the species that it now seems to be quite
a normal one! I think that they are just very late arriving this year.
In Maridalen I also confirmed breeding on a new field with a single youngster and adult seen so it now looks like four pairs have hatched young.
River Warbler (elvesanger) taken with the superzoom using flash
taken with the bazooka ISO 25600, 1/160 sec
ISO 25600, 1/125 sec
the bazooka using flash ISO 3200 1/60 sec
male Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)
a pair of shrikes - the female was wing shaking and I believe they mated
same female
this female was in Mairdalen and its appeareance is I believe because it had just bathed. I struggled at first to know what it was and was thinking sparrow
same bird
and her mate who wasn't showy
Icterine Warbler (gulsanger)
one of 6 singing Common Rosefinches (rosenfink) today
surprisingly I had Yellow Wagtails (gulerle) at 4 locations today. I only got to study them at one place and here all 5 birds were females of the (expected) race thunbergi
the variety in female Yellow Wagtails is bewildering
this Four-spotted Chaser (firflekkbredlibelle) was in the garden on Sunday and was a real surprise given it was the first dragonfly I have seen this year (plus an unidentiifed damselfly)
whilst walking on Sunday this Camberwell Beauty repeatedly landed on Jr Jr
