On Thursday I had to drop Jr Jr off at Bygdøy so afterwards decided
to see if the fjord at Huk had anything to offer. I don’t normally visit there
at this time of the year unless it is blowing a gale which it wasn’t but it was
blowing from the south and raining so there was always the chance of something.
The rocks and skerries here attract Purple Sandpipers in winter but I have seen
few other waders over the years other than Oystercatchers and those I have seen
have generally stopped just briefly before continuing on their journey. Yesterday
was a bit different though as first a Little Sint and then a Dunlin showed themselves
and seemed quite happy searching for food in exactly the same way the Purple
Sands do. The stint was only my third in Oslo and is a genuine rare species
here with just 6 other records this century.
I also visited Østensjøvannet for the first time in a good
while and there were worryingly few birds. Even if there was a lack of quantity
then it was compensated so some extent by some quality with a male Pintail
coming out of eclipse, a Shoveler, a Peregrine and most surprisingly a Common
Scoter. This is a surprisingly scarce species on the lake with only 6 previous records
ever and these have either been on spring passage or in late October (which
matches when birds turn up on Maridalsvannet). A record in mid September is
therefore unusual (and I had seen none on the fjord) and the bird was an adult
female which is also an unusual record with records later in the autumn being almost
exclusively 1cy birds.
Another unusual trip for me was a walk all the way out to
the tip of Årnestangen. Water levels have kept on rising and the mud flats were
gone but it was a relatively good day for raptors with 9 species noted including
a hunting Hen Harrier at relatively close range.
Little Stint (dvergsnipe) with Eiders (ærfugl) - they are small!
and the Dunlin (myrsnipe)
this Herring Gull (gråmåke) made short work of a starfish
Østensjøvannets male Pintail (stjertand) coming out of eclipse. Hopefully it will hag around until it has acquired its full breeding plumage. Male Pintails that have turned up in Oslo have often, for some unknown reason, lacked the long central tail feathers that give this species its name and it looks like this bird (which could well be a returning individual) will also lack them
Shoveler (skjeand) with Tufted Duck (toppand)
adult female Common Scoter (svartand) with Great Crested Grebe (toppdykker). There was a brood of 2 less than half grown grebes which still had stipy, downy plumage and one of which was sat on a parents back. This is very late and it will be interesting to see how things go especially if we have an early cold snap
Great Grey Shrike (varsler) at Årnestangen
and a Great White Egret (egretthegre)
hunting Hen Harrier (myrhauk)
with a mouse
and a Merlin (dvergfalk)
Cranes (trane) are starting to head south now
2 Shoveler and 2 Wigeon (brunnakke) at Merkja
The Beast accompanied me to Årnestangen and I finally discovered who the viewing shutters were designed for...
I have been drawn back to Nordre Øyeren daily now in
the hope of uncovering something rare. The numbers of geese are just enormous
and you can see them either feeding on stubble fields or resting on the water
at Svellet. There are at least 2000 each of Barnacles and Greylags but probably
a lot more as well as 400 Canadas. Finding something scarcer amongst all these
has proved tough going but I have now found a single White-fronted Goose,
single Bar-headed, single Pink-footed and 3 Greylag x Canada hybrids. I have
only found one bird with with a collar - a Greylag ringed in Germany in 2021
and since either close to Oslo or in Germany.
I have spent too long looking at the Canadas and have got a
headache at the amount on variability amongst them with some birds definitely
looking «wilder» than others but all probably within the variation of size and
plumage of a feral population that probably has little genetic diversity.
White-fronted Goose (tundragås)
Bar-headed Goose (stripegås)
neck collared Greylag (grågås) D780 and its history below
this Canada looked very interesting from afar
but closer up I wasn't s sure
and this one while not being so dark also looked quite different
enormous numbers
Water levels have risen a lot due to heavy rain and there is
no longer mud in Svellet so waders and dabbling ducks have vanished but there
are now 4 Little Gulls and also 4 «commic» Terns (I remember as a child hearing
the term Commic Tern and not being able to find it in my bird book. It caused
me lots of confusion for a long time until I finally plucked up the courage to
ask an older birder what it was and found out it was from COMMon and ArctIC and
referred to unidentified birds of the species pair. I also remember very soon
after calling out “Commic Tern” and it being a white dove….). I initially
thought there were 2 Common and 2 Arctic but with better views have now come to
the conclusion that there are at least 3 Common and the fourth bird is also
most likely a Common. It has been quite a learning experience where I relied
too much on jizz and behaviour to start with.
a commic tern and 2 Little Gulls (dvergmåke)
3 f the 4 Little Gulls. All were 1cy
this 1cy tern with grey secondaries must be a Common (makrellterne)
I have had 10 species of raptor which is a good showing and
my first Great Grey Shrike of the autumn.
my first Great Gre Shrike (varlser) of the autumn which I saw eating a mouse
a very distant, but very smart, male Hen Harrier (myrhauk)
Peregrine (vandrefalk) and a pale Common Buzzard (musvåk)
this immature White-tailed Eagle (havørn) flew over Svellet
and a bit later I found it on a field that had previously been covered in geese with just a few crows for company
Merlin (dvergalk)
I have also had a couple of attempts to locate the Taiga
Beans but have failed. I assume they are still around as it would be record
early if they have already left and I remember that in previous years the GPS
tagged bird(s) have shown they have often used one particular field that is
very well hidden and that I have never tried to get to as I am certain it will
just result in flushing the birds – they may well be using it again.
I have only had a couple of quick visits to Maridalen but a
perched and then hunting White-tailed Eagle was a very good sighting.
the Crane (trane) family is still feeding in Maridalen
it is very unusual to find a perched White-tailed Eagle in the Dale
I think we may be up for a very good autumn around Nordre
Øyeren. As I wrote yesterday there are lots of ducks and geese using Svellet –
the ducks (mostly Teal) are feeding there whilst the geese come into rest but
are feeding on nearby harvest fields. Yesterday I discovered one of the fields
that the geese (primarily Barnacles) are using and here there were also many raptors
and Cranes. I assume there is lots of spilt corn which the geese and Cranes
like but also rodents because the raptors (3 juvenile Marsh Harriers and at
least 9 Common Buzzards) seemed to have no problem finding food. The harriers
were quartering the field but the Buzzards were mostly just walking around and
pouncing on prey. At least one juvenile Peregrine and 2 Hobbies were also in
the area and it was particularly birdy. Amongst the geese was an interesting
Canada Goose that I first noticed flying in when it was noticeably darker and
slightly smaller than its compatriots but once on the field it was more difficult
to find and the raptors, and my search for something rare, took my attention
and I never formed an opinion on the goose. I was hoping to find a harrier
other than a Marsh but failed although I am sure that with regular coverage
something else will turn up. I also expect that Rough-legged Buzzards will soon
discover the field as they migrate through the area.
There are rather surprisingly still some unharvested fields
as well and one of these clearly also had a lot of rodents as another two Marsh
Harriers were constantly hunting over it. Both these birds were second calendar
birds – a male and a female.
If the stubble fields remain as stubble (i.e they don’t get
ploughed this autumn) then they could continue to attract both geese and
raptors until November or December depending on the weather. The passage of
proper wild geese has yet to start and if Pink-feet discover these fields then
there could be many thousands of geese still to come.
Numbers of waders using Svellet have fallen dramatically but
a Black-tailed Godwit was briefly present as was the Little Gull and terns so
there is still non-waterfowl potential. A Great White Egret was also present nearby but only visible very distantly.
2cy male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) with a Hooded Crown (kråke). The dark secondary feathers are remaining juvenile feathers whilst the grey feathers are adult feathers
2 1cy/juvenile Marsh Harriers in the birdy field having a rest from their quartering
2cy female Marsh Harrier. Two generations of secondaries are clearly visible
the 2cy male quartering the unharvest field
many hundreds of Barnacle (hvitkinngjess) and some Greylags (grågjess) on their way from the field where they had been feeding to Svellet for a rest
this Common Buzzard (musvåk) was hovering over the unharvested field whereas those using the stubble field were mostly just walking around
the interesting Canada Goose. It has a dark breast and darker flanks compared to the normal feral Canadas and is also slightly smaller. It is possible that it is a wild bird but there are also feral birds of other subspecies and strange hybrids knocking around in Holland so it is impossible to know especially with only these grainy photos
