It is dire at the moment and if things don’t change tomorrow
when the weather forecast looks very good then I think I may just hang up my binoculars
for the spring.
The weather the last two days has been really good to be out
birding but there just hasn’t been anything on the move. It has not helped that
water levels in Nordre Øyeren have risen really fast such that there are no mud
banks left and therefore hardly any waders or dabbling ducks remain. Maridalen is
also equally quiet although four Whimbrel feeding on a field today was a
welcome sight.
In Maridalen employees of the water company were on their
annual boat trip to remove eggs from geese eggs. This is a practice that is
supposed to help reduce organic pollution of the drinking water but is a
completely futile exercise. Today whilst it looked like they removed eggs from
a handful of Greylag and Canada Geese nests there was a flock of 170 Pink-feet
resting on the lake and a similar number of gulls many of whom have probably
come from the recycling plant and are now washing themselves in the drinking
water. Most worrying for me though was that I think they have taken the eggs
from the swan nest. The swans were definitely not on the lake and I later found
a (the) pair of Whoopers feeding on a field away from the lake. Edit: at 1915 the Whoopers were back on the nest..
Highlights have come in the form of Blue-headed Wagtail(s)
and really good views of a stoat at Årnestangen.
a classic male Blue-headed (yellow) Wagtail ssp flava (sørlig gulerle) at Årnestangen. This was in exactly the same spot as last years bird and is, I assume, the same
same bird
a second bird. This one has a much more reduced sub ocular patch but I believe still ticks the boxes for a (near) pure flava although in southern Norway there are probably more intergrades with thunbergi than pure flava
the first bird with his mate
the dark necklace suggests this is a thunbergi. She seems to lack any yellow in her plumage which is odd for any race though
the curious stoat (røyskatt). It is a long time since I have seen one so this was a real pleasure
the dark tip to the tail which seperates it from weasel is very obvious from behind
a male I believe
a Green-veined White (rapssommerfugl)
keeping the drinking water clean (apparantly) by removing geese eggs
at the same time 170 resting Pink-feet are undoubtedly lightening the load
two of four Whimbrel (småspove) on the deck in the Dale
and here is a video of the male Three-toed Woodpecker from 30 April when he was on his own (before my last sighting on 2 May)
This spring and early summer has been very hot and
very dry in southern Norway and there have recently been news reports that
farmers already fear failed crops and bankruptcies. So a forecast of lots of
rain yesterday was certainly greeted by farmers but also by myself and
like-minded birders because as we all know rain in the summer can bring down
lots of otherwise high flying migrating waders. Now mid-June is not exactly peak
migration time and in fact there is a possibility that some birds are still
migrating north (e.g Ringed Plovers) whilst others are definitely going south
already (Curlew, Ruff and Spotted Redshank being obvious examples). Rain at
this time of the year is perhaps most likely to result in an interesting tern
though but either way Årnestangen and Svellet are the obvious choice of
locality to visit. A walk out to Årnestangen on a humid summers day is not to
be treated lightly. The plagues of mosquitos mean that one has to dress in long
sleaves and trousers and spray liberally with mossy spray. This means that ones
gets soaked (by sweat) even if it doesn’t rain (which of course you hope it
does).
Yesterday I arrived at the end of Årnestangen before
it rained and chalked up a singing Corncrake on the way (this species has become
VERY scarce in the last couple of years). At the tip there were a few waders:
Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, a Ruff, Curlew, Snipe, Lapwing and
Wood Sandpiper but no big numbers. Whilst I waited for the forecast rain to
arrive I checked out a pair of breeding Yellow Wagtail which Erling H had
suggested I do as the male looked very much like a Blue-headed. And indeed it
was, for me it ticked all the boxes and could be safely called a flava: it had
a bluey grey head, a very bold white supercilium and a very obvious white
subocular patch. The female appeared to be a thunbergi based on having dark
smudges on her breast although females are not straightforward. A mixed subspecies
pair would explain the many intermediate birds that are seen in lowland,
southern Norway.
When the rain finally came the only new waders that
turned up were a handful of Curlew and Greenshank and after half an hour I
decided to head back to the car. As I walked along the river I noticed to “gulls”
flying towards me but as they got closer I realised they were terns and terns
that large could of course only be Caspians. I had to get my camera out of the
bag but managed to record this auspicious moment but sending out a message in
the rain with wet fingers and a wet phone proved to be a task nearly beyond my abilities.
In the evening the terns were found resting at then tip and a Red-necked
Phalarope was a quality wader find.
In Maridalen the last brood of Lapwings numbers
three tiny young and on the same field a large youngster is already flapping his
wings and flying a few metres. Fingers crossed that there are still other young
hiding away and that these that decide to show themselves make it to fledging.
I have finally found the nest of one of the Wryneck
pairs and they are using the same nest as two years ago but which was used, and
walled up, by Nuthatches last year. The young have hatched and the parents are
busy bringing ants and larve and removing shit bags.
Caspian Tern (rovterne)
the 2nd bird
both birds
male Blue-headed (Yellow) Wagtail (sørlig gulerle)
wet adult Wryneck (vendehals)
food going in
shit coming out
this Sand Martin (sandsvale) in Maridalen was close to where single pairs have previously bred in holes in a wall and perhaps they are doing so again (otherwise this species seems to have disapeared as a breeding bird in Oslo)
3 tiny Lapwings (vipe) just 2 days old
and a much larger youngster probably around 3 weeks old
The drive up from Oslo to Bodø with stops in Røros
and Grong gave few birds other than the Red-necked Phalaropes and Slav Grebes
that I have already shown. One reason for this though was that I “sacrificed”
(for the sake of family harmony) two of my usual bird stops for a new butterfly
stop in Junkerdalen. This valley on the northern edge of Saltfjellet is
renowned for its flora and fauna but for unknown reasons I have never visited
before. A bit of research though had shown the possibility for a number of rare
northern butterfly species and with it being sunny with little wind I thought
the omens were good. Unfortunately, there were few butterflies and the ones
that allowed themselves to be identified were common as.
I have already had two early morning trips to the bird
rich bays at Fauske but have yet to locate Knobby. There are good numbers of
birds and it is interesting to see how species and locations vary from year to
year – for example I have not had any Long-tailed Ducks this year and at
Klungset the seaducks are much closer to land this year but at Røvika much
further out. Best birds so far have been two summer plumaged Great Northern
Divers (the first time I have seen them here), 9 summer plumaged Red-necked
Grebes, Scaup and male King Eider but of course I am still hoping to find
something much rarer amongst the over 1000 moulting seaduck (mostly males
Velvet Scoter and Common Eider) in the area. Perhaps rarest bird I have found
was a Yellow Wagtail that looks to be of the Blue-headed type (subspecies flava)
but these things are never easy and this far north it may well be something
from much further east.
Butterflies continue to
interest me and I have seen my first Purple edged Copper (purpurgullvinge) and
Mountain Argus (sankthansblåvinge). Also by looking at every single Blue in the
area I have found Mazarine, Idas and Cranberry flying together. Orchids are
very plentiful and very variable around the cabin but I still find them
extremely challenging. I'l show the butterflies and maybe orchids in a separate post
Velvet Scoter (sjøorre), Common Scoter (svartand) and Scaup (bergand)
Great Northern Divers (islom)
Red-necked Grebes (gråstrupedykker)
Velvet Scoters and a single female Common Scoter. Velvet Scoters are over 90% male whereas amogst the much smaller numbers of Common Scoter it is females that are in the majority
a single male Common is amongst this flock of Velvets
2 male and a female Scaup
Red-throated Diver (smålom)
male Bluethroat (blåstrupe)
and a female
adult Curlew (storspove) with a worm
and one of 3 youngsters it was guarding over
male Yellow Wagtail (gulerle) of the scandinavian race thunbergi
and a female thunbergi
an early juvenile Yellow Wagtail
and what appears to be a male Blue-headed Wagtail (flava)
