I bagged a Blyth’s on a night of acro

My negativity towards nocturnal outings didn’t even last a day and Wednesday night saw me out for more pain. It all started when a Great Reed Warbler turned up in a «what is this?» posting on Facebook. It was not in Oslo although it was close to Oslo Airport and normally I would not have gone for it. However, as it happened Mrs OB was landing there in the evening and Jr wanted to surprise her by picking her up and getting some driving practice in. So a little «5 minute» detour on the way home was in order?

 The bird could be heard from the car park and when I walked the 100m to where it was the song was so loud and so constant that I seriously considered the whole thing was a wind up and someone had placed a loud speaker in the reeds! This thought was only strengthened when I was able to walk to what must have been only 5 metres from the bird and it just carried on singing and remained invisible! Eventually though it did clearly change position and then finally flew into a bush where it could just about be seen.

It is a while since I have heard a GRW (this is my third in Norway) and I had forgotten just how loud their song is. In the video you first hear the song and then get a glimpse of the bird

Great Reed Warbler (trostesanger) - a screen shot from the video

Buoyed by this I then decided to do just one more Oslo night singer trip. Maridalen had nothing new to offer but in Sørkedalen the Blyth’s Reed, Oslo #186, that had been quiet in the afternoon was now singing his heart out in the garden of a farm at midnight. Add to that multiple Marsh Warblers and a Reed Warbler and I had a four acro night. I do think this will be my last trip though unless of course someone else finds something for me to twitch. 

 

the Reed Warbler (rørsanger) that is singing in the video above. As can be heard teh bird had a very varied song and I also do not think it looks completely right for a Reed. Could it have some Marsh genes?

In Maridalen I feel I must have found the Hobby nest although am still to see a bird on it (this was also the case for a long time last year).

Hobby (lerkefalk) presumably the male

I could only find two Lapwing young with their parents yesterday and saw no other birds although the crop has become so high that the incubating bird would be hidden if it still present.

mum Lapwing (vipe) on the left and what seem to be now the only two remaining young which as can be seen are soon fully grown and were both frequently flapping their wings

Great Reed Warbler

Whilst Norway’s keenest twitchers were making the overnight journey to Sør Trøndelag for the country’s first Sandhill Crane (kanadatrane), Maridalen was witnessing its own mini-twitch with five birders listening to the Grasshopper Warbler (gresshoppsanger) when I was there around midnight. For one short moment we were able to listen to the Grasshopper Warbler and Corncrake (åkerrikse) simultaneously although the Corncrake only sang very intermittently. The River Warbler (elvesanger) was also singing earlier in the evening.

I discovered that "my" Tawny Owls (kattugle)  are not the five that had been ringed. These birds were in a nest box only about 500m away which seems to be incredibly close and is evidence that there is a very healthy population of prey be that rodents or small birds. Even more surprising though that I haven't heard any hooting owls earlier in the year. A youngster sticking its head out of the nest box today but no sign of any adults or uesterdays youngster - hopefully everything is well with them.

Young Tawny Owl contemplating leaving the nest box. Something morbid about this look with the red skin around the eyes

As the female Tawny Owl begins to incubate when the first egg is laid and lays a new egg every two days there is a large difference in the development of the youngsters so it takes a few days for them all to leave the nest.

Today I went to see the Great Reed Warbler (Trostesanger) discovered in Østfold last Thursday at a site Rune and I had been to only the previous day. It was calling and singing loudly from the reedbed when I arrived and showed in flight and perched a few times although was being chased rather a lot by an angry Reed Warbler. Also here a couple of singing Marsh Warblers.

Great Reed Warbler peering through the reeds

 

At Øra nothing of any interest to see after the last couple of weeks of excitement there. Nothing of any real interest at Kurefjorden either although a late Dunlin (myrsnipe) was on the mud and an Osprey (fiskeørn) flew over with some eel like fish.

Osprey with dinner