The annual early spring outing to Gressholmen

Yesterday saw me watching some big owls very well in Hedmark and I will come back to them in a day or so but first an update from a good days birding in Oslo.

Every spring the car needs its service and I use this carless day to go out to the islands and today was that day. I only visited Gressholmen but it was a good trip even though it is still way too early for anything that exciting. However 3 Slavonian Grebes at close range were, as always, a treat and they even displayed a bit. These, a Green Sandpiper and a Great Grey Shrike which even sang a bit were all Oslo’s first records of the year..

After this a trip to Middelalderparken failed to reveal anything rare among the few hundred gulls bathing there (although turnover is clearly high so things can always turn up). A very pale mantled Lesser Black-back and a yellow-legged and slightly dark mantled Herring Gull got some attention. I also managed to fit in a trip to Østensjøvannet before the car was ready to be picked up and thankfully didn’t need any additional work doing to it.

Slavonian Grebe (horndykker) pair

This video has lots of display and interaction between the birds

And this short extract shows some interesting display with what seems to be the unpaired bird trying its luck before being chased off. Note how it dives under water and then starts penguin displaying which gets a positive response from the other bird before its mate turns up

look at the reflection of the black head feathers

all 3 birds which were a pair and I believe a male

the pair of Smew (lappfiskand) still at Østensjøvannet

the yellow-legged Herring Gull that isn't a Yellow-legged Gull...

this pale backed Lesser-black Backed Gull (sildemåke) is ringed and its life history and other pictures suggest is an intermedius with some pigment problems (note that the primaries are not black) rather than a graellsii

Great Grey Shrike (varlser). It was intently staring at the ground in an area with lots of Water Vole holes but I did not see it catch one which would also have been a large prey item

I only discovered this Greylag Goose nest when it hissed at me as I almost stood on it

this young Herring Gull looks to have got some paint on it

there were 6 Ringed Plovers (sandlo) on Gressholmen which probably represent the entire Oslo breeding population

And a video of a drumming female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from earlier in the week

Blizzard!

The weekend has been spent in Edinburgh with Mrs OB and good friends. Birds were obviously not on the agenda and I travelled without bins or camera! A walk on Sunday up to Arthur’s Seat revealed how much further spring has come around the capital of Scotland when compared to the capital of Norway. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap were singing and Swallow and Kestrel flying overhead. Leaves were out on the trees and I got quite a serious (even by my standards) case of sun burnt forehead. Waking up this morning in Oslo to blizzard conditions really rammed home the differences!

I went out birding today anyway, although had to drive very carefully, but did not find the big fall of birds that I had hoped for. The snow was so thick in Maridalen that there were practically no passerines on the fields although 13 Lapwings were gathered together. If this represents the breeding population for the valley this year, then it is good news as it is double the number of birds I had previously noted but birds from further away may well have taken refuge here.

If Maridalen had little to offer (there was no arrival of ducks either) then I thought that Svellet or Merkja may offer more. Here again though there was little except for my first Redshank of the year and a very large congregation of White Wagtails (ca.800) on the mudflats of Svellet alongside around 200 Meadow Pipits. Curlew numbers have fallen to 57 although I suspect that the birds that have continued north to breeding grounds may well be regretting their decision.

I also checked out Østensjøvannet and Bygdøy hoping for a swallow or martin but apart from many hundred Fieldfares at Bygdøy there was nothing exciting here either. 

MAridalen this mornging - only a week until it's May!

13 rather desperate Lapwings (vipe)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (sildemåke) in Edinburgh. This bird was typical of the LBBGs in Edinburgh and must be of the subspecies graellsii. For me the birds appeared quite dark mantled and I am not sure that I would react if I saw this birds amongst a group of intermedius in Oslo

Østenjovannet ducks and Friday Maridalen videos

I didn't expect to be do any birding today but a report of Garganey (knekkand), Gadwall (snadderand) and Shoveler (skjeand) at Østensjøvannet tempted me into a flying visit there mid-afternoon. I failed to find the birds and was despondently making my way back to the car when I fortuitously bumped into Anders Simonsen who had also struggled to find them but from the right viewpoint they all were just visible and all remarkably in the same frame of view. Also here I heard my first Willow Warbler (løvsanger) of the year, had a Peregrine (vandrefalk) dash past and a Ring Ouzel (ringtrost) fly over. Amongst the gulls I noticed a 2nd summer Lesser Black-backed Gull (sildemåke) which is an unusual age class to see here. I fired off a couple of shots but only on looking at them at home did I realise how pale the mantle was and were it not for the yellow legs it could almost have been a Herring Gull (gråmåke) with Yellow-legged Gull (gulbeinmåke) being ruled out based on small size). This paleness indicates that it is of the British subspecies graellsii.

male Shoveler, female Shoveler, male Garganey, male Gadwall and female Gadwall. An exciting trio of ducks in Oslo

This 2nd summer (3 cy) Lesser Black-backed Gull has such a pale mantle that is should be of the British sub species graellsii

yellow les and grey mantle

A couple of videos from Friday in Maridalen. The first shows Black and Red-Throated Divers (storlom and smålom). After 40 seconds there is a sequence with two pairs of Red-throated Divers displaying.

The second video is of a male Parrot Crossbill extracting seeds from small pine cones.

 

Photos from Nordland

Here are a selection of photos from around Bodø and Værøy.

11:55pm looking north from Værøy- the sun shines strongly

midnight. The sun sets (real midnight sun is restricted to a few days at the end of June at this latitude)

First some of the different Lesser Black-backed Gulls (sildemåke). First off, the fuscus from Valnes, notice the dark wings without any real border to the black wing tips.

presumed fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gull

presumed fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gull - notice how the light can change the appearance of the upperparts

Some from Værøy:

A fairly easy graellsii

An obvious graellsii in the middle with a Herring Gull (gråmåke) on the right and a darker LBBG on the left which I take to be an intermedius.

A difficult bird which could be dark graellsii or pale intermedius.

Another difficult bird which was quite small and cute so probably a female. The flight shot shows significant contract between the wing and wing tips so this is a graellsii I reckon. Also the photo was taken at 10pm so the grey back probably looked darker than it would have looked in the middle of the day.

I’ve read that the intermedius types in northern Norway might be the result of hybridisation between fuscus and graellsii. I don’t know about this but I can say that LBBG’s come in the whole range of colours up here. I also saw one dark graellsii type seemingly paired with a Herring Gull which could result in some even more difficult looking offspring.
EDIT: of course I had not considered the possibility of HEUGLINI when I wrote the original entry. I don't believe there are proven records of this sub-species in Norway but it is probably just as likely at this latitude and longitude as Graellssi

Some other pictures:

Killer Whale (spekkhogger)

3 Killer Whales including a youngster

Otter

Common Seal

Also some scenic botanical shots from Værøy

A pale Whimbrel (småspove) – Slender-billed Curlew look alike

A group of five young Pintails (stjertand)

1k Pintails - the green on the wing of the right-hand bird shows it to be a males

The lack of green shows this bird to be a female

Gannet (havsule)

Gannet and Fulmar (havhest)

Juvenile Herring Gull

Værøy

We are on the island of Værøy now at the end of the chain of Lofoten Islands. The ferry journey from Bodø gave me Storm Petrel (havsvale), Great Skua (storjo), Artic Skua (tyvjo), Gannet (havsule) and Fulmar (havhest).  On the island there have been no big surprises yet but 5 young Pintail (stjertand) indicate local breeding and a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls (sildemåke) are of the race graellsii with one intermedius. Graellsii is the race breeding in the British Isles and Intermedius the race breeding in southern Norway. So with the fuscus i saw a few days ago I have seen all three of the European races. Passerines are scarce here but Ring Ouzels (ringtrost) breed and are always a nice sight. Razzorbills (alke), Puffins (lunde) and Black Guillemots are common around the island and breed but have I yet to see Guillemot ( lomvi) which is becoming a very scarce breeding bird. Three White-tailed Eagles (havørn) and a Kestrel (tårnfalk) are the only raptors we have seen.