Memories

I’ve long been itching for a seagaze. It didn’t need to be a particularly good one just as long as there were a steady passage of birds. Over 10 years ago I had for a few years the habit of driving the hour to Brentetangen, just south of Moss in Østfold and seawatching from there before visiting nearby Kurefjorden. I cut some of my Norwegian birding teeth doing this and had some good birds and company doing so. Brentetangen used to attract quite a gang on good days but these days seems to get little attention. Serious birders are become a scarce species not just in Oslo but it would seem all over Norway.

I’d been looking at Windy.com for a few days and had highish hopes that yesterday would deliver some north bound passage over the sea. After a long period of northerly winds they were finally going to swing south on Thursday afternoon so by Friday there should be loads of birds. The winds did not end up being quite so southerly as initially forecast and it was quite cold but I still think that I should have seen more than I did which in terms of migration was pretty much nothing. Gannet and Kittiwake were good birds for me and are both species that usually need a real southern storm to end up Akershus waters but just 20km further south are fairly regular no matter the weather.

the view from Brentetangen looking 10km across the fjord to Vestfold

 

Kurefjorden was also disappointing with 18 Dunlin being the only calidris waders although I was sure I heard a BbS.

and Kurefjorden. I was expecting waders to be dropping out of the skies

 

Question now is how many years will it be before I try the Østfold combo again?

 

Thursday was another of those religious public holidays that Norway loves «celebrating» but for which 90% of the population have no idea why - it was of course Ascension Day and if you also don’t know what that represents then I recommend Google…

The winds may have been from the north in the morning but finally it was raining and the clouds heavy and low. Surely this would draw all the remaining serious Oslo birders out of their warm beds? Fat chance but as there seemed to be little to find maybe they were just birding smart.

I decided to keep it local. Maridalen early doors was just wet but Østensjøvannet had ca.300 Swallows and martins. I promise I looked at every single one but a red rump was not to be seen. Such a large congregation was a joy to see as the last couple of years have not seen scenes like this and means the lake again must have good numbers of insects.

just a small fraction of the Swallows (låvesvale) and a single Sand Martin (sandsvale)

Back in the Dale around 11am there was a very brief period when the rain stopped and waders flew over: a flock of Wood Sands, a couple of Greenshank, 3 Whimbrel then 160 Golden Plovers. And then it was over.

most of the Golden Plover flock (heilo)

I allowed Jr Jr to have some driving practice and drive me to Svellet but despite water levels not having risen and rain having fallen there were hardly any waders. This is strange given the passage I had over Maridalen and also a fall of arctic bound waders reported at Øra but I have noted this before that when other places experience fall like numbers of waders that Svellet can be nearly empty of birds.

 

Maridalen has had some exceptional days in late April and May always when there is rain and heavy, low cloud but they are not happening with the regularity I remember although I am sure that they didn’t happen quite as much as rose tinted memory tells me. Looking at the numbers it is actually seven years since the last big day which was 10th May 2019 but that will perhaps be a day never to be repeated.

 

This morning’s pre breakfast Maridalen visit was no less uninspiring that the last few days except for one bird that was totally not on my radar - a Taiga Bean Goose. This was my first record in the Dale although there is a previous record (but I remember seeing that bird and choosing not to put it on my list as such).

I finally found nesting Black Woodpeckers although they were still excavating which is very late. Three Great Spots were also drumming which again is late - both these species should be on eggs by now. Two Wryneck singing in the same area were to be more expected at this time of the year but no less exciting for that.

I nearly didn't pay these geese any attention but with the nakes eye thought that the bird second left looked a bit like a young White-fronted Goose (tundragås) one of which was found yesterday at Østensjøvannet. Through the bins it proved to be a Greylag but I continued looking at the other geese and the one of the top was a Taiga Bean!!

here the head and bill shape leave me in no doubt

just based on this picture though I am sure you could rgue for both Tundra and Taiga although I think the bill shape can only match Taiga and the extensive orange is also a very pro Taiga feature

It was also a large bird with a swan like stature

I would not say this bird is a classic Taiga but believe that most features are pro Taiga. I also must say that I do hate single Bean Geese and it would be much more convenient if the two species were lumped again

in the river it was also upending which I also view as pro Taiga

I had been hearing Black Woodpeckers (svartspett) and was sure they were nesting so went looking for a suitable tree and hole. These huge splinters on the road! gave away where they were.

Mid April and expectations are rising

It is the middle of April and the next six weeks are the most exciting of the year (in the Oslo area at least). In addition to many new birds for the year there are also new birding sites to reacquaint myself with and I have now competed my first walk to the end of Årnestangen for the year as well as my first grilling of the mighty Svellet.

Conditions today at Svellet were magical and I have a small but growing hope that this will be one of those Svellet springs that are entered into the history books, or at least get remembered on this blog. Today the water level (3.61m) was perfect and there were enormous areas of shallow water and wet mud. 2000 Teal and 234 Curlew were both good counts and the quality came in the form of a male Garganey, a Bar-tailed Godwit plus two very early Ruff and a Redshank. The weather over the coming weeks will be key to whether conditions remain perfect and we need just enough rain such that the mud doesn’t dry up but not too much rain (or sun that causes lots of melt water to flow down the river) such that water levels do not rise too quickly. I hope every birder in Oslo and Akershus is praying to the Birds Gods.

Svellet from the eastern side. Even though I describe conditions as perfect the distances are very long and a scope is essential and even then not always enough to identify all the birds out there

and some of the Teal (krikkand) and also the Garganey (knekkand). As I said they are a long way away

Årnestangen has also delivered with another very early wader in the form of a Whimbrel, an early Swallow and a good selection of raptors including a Red Kite which flew low over my head without me seeing it but that I then caught up with in the scope at about 6km range…

Taiga Bean Goose and Greylags at Årnestangen today. This is a relatively late bird as were the 4 Tundra Beans I saw yesterday

the bird was close to the Geylags in size and had a long slender neck and long thin bill with thin lower mandible.

I had a very enjoyable and successful morning guiding Barbara from Canada on Monday and we saw 60 species including Jack Snipe, Black and Red-throated Divers, Lesser Spotted and Black Woodpeckers. And if you don’t believe my description then read Barbara’s 😊

one of three Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin) at Fornebu. This bird has been regularly feeding in the open and to me looks very much like a Broad-billed Sandpiper...

and a more expected shot of a Jack

and a Common Snipe (enkeltbekkasin)

male Kestrel (tårnfalk) in Maridalen

and a Mistle Thrush (duetrost) in The Dale

Little Ringed Plover (dverglo) are back at Fornebu and will hopefully breed again this year

and Ringed Plovers (sandlo) are also back at last years nest site although they have less and less space available to them

Stock Dove (skogdue)

A weekend in the mountains with memories for life

adult Golden Eagle (kongeørn)

Siberian Jay (lavskrike)

This weekend I was so lucky to spend with Per Christian at his cabin in Ringebu. This is my third visit after trips in 2022 and last year. This year’s trip was about 10 days earlier than the previous two and an absence of many of the early passerine migrants that we had seen on previous visits was explained by this but otherwise conditions felt similar. There has been little snow in these mountains this winter and at the sides of the road the depth was no more than 50cm and areas of rock and lichen were already exposed. Down in the valleys the snow was completely gone but there was still a lot of ice and apart from Whooper Swans, geese and some Cranes there were few migrants.

Muen mountain at 1424 m was still covered in snow but even here rocks can be seen sticking out

here we are at around 760m and looking eastwards over Gubrandsdalen. The eastern slopes are fertile farmland and as can be seen spring comes early

Owls of the both the day and night active varieties were completely absent and raptors were also thin on the ground except for eagles. We started Saturday off with a young Golden Eagle and an adult White-tailed Eagle flying over it and then in the afternoon came across a couple of Goldens that appeared to have been a pair and which flew very close to us for many minutes and called lots. We were on a road and close to cabins so if we had come across a nest it would be rather amazing that they had chosen to be so close to human activity. From what I can make out they also do not normally make themselves so obvious if disturbed by a nest but I cannot think of another reason for their behaviour. 

One of the birds was in its 6th calendar year and only just old enough to breed. Perhaps this pair is newly formed ot even still forming which may expain all the noise?

I have never previously seen Golden Eagle so well and it was an experience I will never forget. Unforuntely though it was quite challenging documenting them as the sun was behind but I managed some video and photos I am pleased enough with.

In this video you can hear them calling very well. Apparantly as a species they call infrequently but this was not the case for us

a video grab of the pair

the other bird was clearly fully adult

I did not manage to get as good photos of the younger bird 

I have asked Facebook how old this bird is and have got an answer that it is in its 5th plumage meaning it is a 6cy. It is (just) old enough to breed even if its plumage is not fully adult. 

the Golden Eagle seen earlier in the day which is I believe still in juvenile plumage and therefore a 2cy

the upper tail of the same bird as it goes into land

the adult White-tailed Eagle (havørn) that was above it

At the cabin the Siberian Jays did not show at all on Saturday and even though I was worried PC was still guaranteeing we would see them and whilst enjoying coffee on Sunday morning up to six birds provided a yet again unforgettable experience as they fed within spitting distance of us.

Siberian Jay (lavskrike)

Another, for me, new experience came on the drive home when we discovered around 30 Black Grouse in a roadside stubble field. I have never come across them like this before and cannot recall seeing a picture in Norway of similar behaviour. They were equally split male and females and although one male was displaying I do not think it was a lekking congregation but rather feeding birds. When we first saw them at speed from the car I had no idea what they were and even if they were living creatures so after stopping the car and walking back to them it was a real shock to discover their identity.

two male Black Grouse (orrfugl)

and here a number of females

Otherwise, it was geese and swans that were the entertainment on the drives up and down. On the way up a stop at Starene revealed Tundra Beans and White-fronts amongst 2500 Pink feet and on the way back we came across many flocks of swans and geese along a very long stretch of the Glomma in both stubble and flooded muddy fields. We twitched a Bewick’s Swan and found more Tundra Beans and White-fronts.

Tundra Bean Goose (tundrasædgås) with Pink-feet (kortnebbgås)

and three White-fronts (tundragås) with Pink-feet

A visit to the shooting ranges at the fabled BT Banen was a strangely bird less affair apart from a showy Great Grey Shrike.

Great Grey Shrike (varsler)

All in all a weekend that will last long in my memories.

a normal Willow Tit (granmeis)

and a very distinctive bird with a white tail

these four Cormorants (storskarv) heading north over the mountains were a surprise