Oslofjord

I decided to check the inner fjord today to see if the ice on inlands lakes such as Østensjøvannet had brought any new ducks to the (currently) ice free salt water. Ay Kongshavn there was a good flock with 250 Goldeneyes (kvinand) and 100 Mallards (stokkand). Amongst them were a couple of Velvet Scoter (sjøorre), 10 Tufted Ducks (toppand) and presumably the same Pintail (stjertand) that I saw at Østensjøvannet a couple of days ago thereby giving an indication of where many of these ducks come from (I searched for the Smew but couldn’t find him).

There were not too many gulls to be seen and certainly nothing unusual although hopefully a white-winged gull will turn up soon.

I took the ferry out to the islands in the fjord hoping that I would get to see some sea ducks and auks and did see a Razorbill (alke) and 2 Guillemots (lomvi) but not too much more.

The Peregrine was perched up on top of the Radisson hotel and this time was perched closest to where we have filmed from. Hopefully it will do the same next week when we return for some more filming.

this female Eider (ærfugl) showed well by the Opera

some of the Goldeneyes (kvinand) at Kongshavn

the view from Kongshavn with Lindøya on the right and Gressholmen on the left

ze Germans are coming! One of two German frigates moored up underneath Akershus Festning.

Hazel Grouse

Today was the first really cold day of the winter with the temperature showing -6C when we woke and not rising above zero during the day. With blue skies and no wind I decided to have another go at capturing Hazel Grouse (jerpe) on film. I located birds at both of the lower sites at Mellomkollen where I had them last week and didn’t need to slog upto the top.

At the most reliable site a male responded to playback and flew over my head before then playing cat and mouse with me and calling regularly over the course of the next half an hour but never showing itself even though it was only ca.15 metres from me.

On the way back down after having seen the Dipper (fossekall) again on the small and mostly frozen pond I then had some real luck when I saw two Hazel Grouse feeding high up in alder trees over the path. At last they were showing in the open although the light for photography was appalling as the low sun was behind the birds. I wasn’t able to get into a better position and as I tried to come closer the birds flew into the forest. I did manage some pictures though and resorted to forcing the exposure to +4.3 to get at least some detail of the bird. Well, now that I have such reliable sites for this sought after bird it is just to be patient and plan a bit better.

male Hazel Grouse (jerpe)

female Hazel Grouse - not really that easy to see but the female lacks the black throat of the male

the male eating Alder (or) catkins - a favourite food source

I made another visit to Østensjøvannet hoping that the lake would be mostly frozen such that the male Smew (lappfiskand) that I failed to see the last two days would be easier to find. Unfortunately the lake was 99% frozen and this seems to have caused the Smew to move on – it had definitely moved the Goosanders (laksand) on which I had managed to find previously. There were still a lot of birds though and the Coots were concentrated in a small ice free patch of water in the middle of the lake whilst the ducks and geese were in two areas of ice free water where they are fed. Amongst the Mallards were a male Pintail (stjertand) and female Teal (krikkand) and a few Tufteds (toppand) and Goldeneyes (kvinender).

The Mute Swan numbers had fallen slightly. Whereas on Monday I had 7 pairs plus 3, 2 & 1 youngsters, today there were 6 pairs, 3 & 1 young, a single adult and a dead youngster frozen in the ice. So one adult and one youngster were gone and one youngster dead. The single adult was stood on the ice not far from the dead youngster so it is tempting to assume that was one its parents and that the other parent and sibling have left Østensjøvannet (as all the other swans will soon be forced to do) for the fjord.

male Pintail (stjertand). If this was an adult then it should already be in full plumage with a long tail so this bird is a bird of the year (1 c.y) which is confirmed by the dark eye

the speculum should have a green tinge but presumably the angler that the light has hit it means it isn't visible in this photo

The light today was fantastic for photographing the Mallards and the metallic sheen of the head feathers looks different depending on the angle of the bird

male Mallard (stokkand)

female Mallards aren't so dull really

a bit of an Elvis look about this one

a dead juv Mute Swan (knoppsvane) lying frozen into the ice

 

this pair of Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås) had a slippery landing on the ice

Don't blame it on the sunshine

In contrast to yesterday today ended up being a gloriously sunny day without a breath of wind. The morning started though with a freezing mist which left some roads incredibly slippery after yesterday’s rain.

I had hoped that a trip to Fornebu would reveal something good but had to make do with a squealing Water Rail (vannrikse) and the male Kestrel (tårnfalk) back on his winter territory. A flock of Long-tailed Tits (stjertand) was another confirmation of the good numbers this autumn and although they would not come too close I was able to get a much better picture than my recent attempts due to the good light. A Common Seal (steinkobbe) offshore was unexpected but there do appear to be good numbers of fish around Fornebu at the moment which presumably attracted it.

I dropped into Østensjøvannet and ended up spending far too much time photographing a Goldeneye (kvinand) which really was not close enough.

long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis). Note this bird is ringed and most likely at Fornebu 2 days ago

male Goldeneye (kvinand) - the best of about one hundred pictures I took - not really worth the effort

Greenfinch (grønnfink) are feasting on rosehips at the moment

where did my head go?

male Kestrel (tårnfalk). A male has wintered at Fornebu the last few winters but is not necessarily from the breeding pair

as usual I struggled with a decent flight shot although did at least manage to get this one in focus, just a shame you can't see the head!

here is a head though

Canada Geese can sometimes look nice even if they are black listed

Østensjøvannet in the gloom

Goldfinch (stillits)

A wet and gloomy day. I managed a short trip to Østensjøvannet before the heavens opened in the hope of seeing the male Smew (lappfiskand) that was there this weekend. It unfortunately had gone perhaps encouraged on its way by the overnight frost which had left half of the lake with a thin layer of ice.

There were still a few waterfowl though but all the Great Crested Grebes (toppdykker) and Moorhens (sivhøne) that breed here have already moved south. Mute Swans (knoppsvane) though were up on the breeding population of three pairs. Today there were 7 pairs, one of which had 2 young in tow, another three young and another single youngster had already been pushed off by its parents. All the swans were keeping to themselves and one male was still being territorial although when they are pushed off from Østensjøvannet by the ice they will be forced to start co-existing with each other if they are all to get enough food.

Finches were feeding on the many seed heads around the edges of the lake and three Lesser Redpolls (brunsisik) were for once fairly easy (even for me) to identify. These three birds were incredibly small and although they were not in the company of Common Redpolls (gråsisik) were clearly smaller than their cousins which I did see shortly afterwards. Goldfinches (stillits) were feeding on thistles and some Crossbills (grankorsnebb) were in spruce trees. Just missing some Pine Grosbeaks (konglebit), Arctic Redpolls (polarsisik) or Two-barred Crossbills (båndkorsnebb).....

I had hoped to find some Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis) in the reedbeds given how many seem to be on the move but instead had to content with 12 Long-tailed Tits (stjertmeis) which are VERY numerous this autumn.

Due to the gloom I was forced to using ISO 6400 but got some OK pictures.

Common Redpoll (gråsisik) A grey and white bird

Lesser Redpoll (brunsisik) - a cr*ppy picture butthe warmer brown tones around the face are clearly different to the Common Redpoll above. This bird was also noticeably small.

Common Redpoll. Although noticeably white below note the long dark feathers in the undertail coverts which are one character which help separate from Arctic Redpoll

Goldfinch (stillits)

Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis) - this one stayed still just long enough for me to focus and take a picture

most pictures were like this...

...or like this

when you take enough though you do get some other that are OK. Looks like this bird has impaled itself on a branch

Østfold

A trip to Østfold today didn't quite deliver as planned. The plan was for 2BC (båndkorsnebb), Dick's Pipit (tartarpiplerke), Stonechat (svartstrupe) or Black Redstart (svartrødstjert) or at least one of them.
The outcome was Bearded Tit (skjeggmeis) and Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis). The Beardies were in the reeds at Sorgenfrigropa but the light was too bad for any meaningful photos even though they were close. The Long-tails were very inquisitive (both these species respond to playback) but were always moving which combined with poor light meant the resulting pictures were not as good as I had hoped and at times I had to zoom out to avoid cutting off half the tail.

We checked out the car park in Fredrikstad twice for 2BC and in between visited a few sites in Hvaler. There really was little to see though and the only interesting passerines were a couple each of Meadow Pipit (heipiplerke) and Skylark (sanglerke) which are beginning to be a bit late. A few Rock Pipits (skjærpiplerke) on the other hand were just settling in for the winter.

Looking over to Åkerøya island from Vikerkilen a pale lump on top of a pile of rocks got me going. The distance was far too far but I was encouraged by two crows that were sat about 20m away and seemed very agitated. I waited and waited for the lump to move but in the end had to accept that the lump was inanimate when one of the crows landed on it!

A few pictures of the Long-tailed Tits - they weren't so bad afterall

Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis)

"what you lookin' at?"

Wren (gjerdesmett) - it is nice to see that this species is making a real come back after suffering terrbily in the cold winters of 2-3 years ago