After what I consider to be good blog posts I am
always hesitant to come with a new post that is just worse pictures of the same
birds but when there is nothing else to write about then that’s how it has to
be.
I can also come with some corrections to information
I gave in my last post. Regarding the Hawk Owls the apparent reason they are
now hunting within the forest is not that there is less snow there which makes
it easier for them to hunt (as I had previously thought). They hunt by sight
rather than hearing so do not take rodents under the snow in the same way that
Great Grey Owls do. They have been hunting Field Voles (markmus) in the forestry
clearings but when the snow comes these live under the snow and become unavailable
for the Hawk Owls. But Bank Voles (klatremus) which are smaller and therefore
not normally at the top of the menu are much more likely to run over the snow
and these live in the forest rather than in the clearings. Therefore, the snow
causes the Hawk Owls to change prey and they have to go where the prey is which
is within the forest. Very interesting and thanks to Jan Olav Nybo for
enlightening me.
I have also discovered that TWO Common
Buzzards are hanging on and they seem to have favoured areas within a kilometre
of each other but are individually identifiable with one bird being a lot paler
than the other.
The Pygmy Owl seems to have made itself at home and
was singing mid-morning on Friday when the temperature was -16C and I was having
problems with my fingers and the camera.
When the sun is shining the Hawk Owls and Pygmy Owl
sit nice and exposed in tree-tops which makes it easier for me to find them but
also passerines and Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been particularly angry with
their presence. The strongest response comes though when the Pygmy Owl sings
and then all the tits in the area converge on the bird to scold it as can be heard
in this video taken with my phone.
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)
here it is singing and puff out its throat and pumps its tail which can be seen better in the following video
Pygmy Owl and an angry Great Spotted Woodpecker (flaggspett)
and a Great Tit (kjøttmeis) joins the party
possibly the same 'pecker giving the Hawk Owl (haukugle) grief
the owl didn't seem that bothered though
this Jay (nøtteskrike) got in on the action
the feathers sticking out on the side of the head look very unnatural
The Great Grey Shrike (varlser) wonders around the whole valley and is difficult to find
Buzzard (musvåk) #1
#2 a much paler bird
the late afternoon skies have been very pink recently
Yesterday was one of those glorious winter days that
I just wish we had all the time – blue skies, no wind, 30 cm of crisp snow and
temperatures a very refreshing -15C! As long as you are dressed correctly,
which I do not always do, then it is just lovely to be out. If, on top of this,
the birdies play ball then we are talking dream like conditions and yesterday
was indeed a dream!
Quantity of avian biomass was low, very low, but
when I had close encounters with two Hawkies and a Pygmy Owl plus a couple of
Moose then I am very pleased. The snow that has fallen is so deep (and
especially so just a little higher up) that it is affecting the wildlife:
1.The Hawk Owls are now feeding
within woodland where there is less snow rather than in the clearings and are I
believe finding it harder to locate rodents
2.The Pygmy Owl was my first
sighting in Maridalen since Dec 2018 and is a sure sign that the species is recovering/returning
to the area due to the good rodent numbers and also that the conditions further
in the forest are becoming unsuitable so they are moving to lower more open
areas.
3.A mother Moose and her calf
feeding by the side of the road in the middle of the day is a sure sign of animals
that have had to flee the thick snow and look for easier pickings closer to people.
4.There seems to be just one
Common Buzzard left in Maridalen and when I saw it today its wings were
drooping and it didn’t look to be coping so well with the snow and cold (there
is a reason this is the first time they have tried to spend the winter in Oslo)
Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) - my first in Maridalen since Dec 2018
one of two Hawk Owls (haukugle)
and the second bird
I think this is the only Common Buzzard (musvåk) that is left
I only avoided hitting this Moose which suddenly crossed the road because I had already started braking after having noticed the Buzzard
