Farewell winter, good (tomorrow) morning spring

A final post before the first migrants arrive and all hell breaks lose (in my dreams).

 

If the weather forecast plays out then today marks the end of this winter’s big freeze and from tomorrow positive temperatures, some rain and southerly winds will hopefully kick start the first wave of spring migration 2026.

 Winter had a final gift in the form of a big dump of snow on Sunday night and this extra snow will, I hope, ensure we get some good spring flooding that hopefully will last many weeks. I really hope that Hengsenga on Bygdøy will have flood water until at least the beginning of April as I believe there is the potential for something very good here.

I have seen some signs of spring despite the weather not yet having changed. A Wood Pigeon heading north on the early morning dog walk on Tuesday will be the first of very many and a Greylag Goose looked a bit forlorn on the ice at Østensjøvannet but today provided another two and better species. In my last post I listed three early migrants that I hoped to find soon and all had names beginning with S. After writing it I realised I could have added another S species to the list, namely Stock Dove. When visiting Bygdøy today hoping to find the first Oystercatcher of the year I stopped off to see if any Stock Doves had returned to their usual spot and sure enough one was sat atop a usual tree which is Oslo’s first in 2026. Huk didn’t have an Oystercatcher yet but a flock of 8 Twite flying over were also Oslo’s first of the year but rather than being migrants may be birds that have wintered on islands close by taking a bit of a fly about. 17 Guillemot on a flat sea was a notably high count for the time of the year but I couldn’t find any divers or grebes which should soon appear.

 

I am really looking forward to the coming week and have high hopes for both Bygdøy and Østensjøvannet but think Maridalen may have to wait a bit longer as there is still so much snow.

a total of 4 Little Grebes (dvergdykker) at Kongshavn on Saturday. This is a joint highest count for Oslo and I would love to know where these birds breed

they acted as though they were two pairs and called a bit but are not yet in summer plumage

Østensjøvannets female Pintail (stjertand) now with bling

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) in Maridalen on Sunday

Greylag Goose (grågås) at Østensjøvannet on Monday

my first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett) of the year. It was not drumming or "singing" but gave itself away through its weak tapping

Maridalen at its wintery finest

distant Pygmy Owl on Tuesday

and much closer

here, it had just visited the old woodpecker hole which I photographed it in in my last post and flew out with this mouse! I have assumed that this particular bird is living off its larder at the moment as when I see it in tree tops it is just looking as though it is enjoying the view rather than hunting

The first Greylags at Bygdøy Kongsgården but I bet that in a weeks time there will be triple figures here and hopefully with some smaller, scarcer cousins in their midst

Oslo's first Stock Dove (skogdue) of the year

Water Rail (vannrikse) still going strong at Østensjøvannet

and Jacky Boy is also still going strong. The upcoming thaw will be good news for them but will also, I fear, make them more difficult to find

Getting fed up of the freeze

Back in Oslo I am now getting tired of winter. We have had one of the longest cold spells in Oslo for many, many years and there is no indication of it stopping. Temperatures have not risen above zero since 20 Jan and since 1 Jan we have only had plus temperatures on 16 – 19 Jan. Although I always say that I like “proper” seasons it does get a bit boring when nothing changes. One possible upside from this long winter is that we will get a much more noticeable beginning to spring migration when the thaw finally comes. One thing for sure is that we will not be seeing an early arrival of the Taiga Beans this year.

On Tuesday I had my first owling trip of the year, a year and a day since the first trip of 2024 which produced 11 singing Tengmalm’s. Owling conditions were good with no wind and temperatures of -14C but there was no moon which may or may not (depending on who you speak to) be an important factor. The result of the evenings endeavour’s was just a single Tengmalm’s which sang constantly and could be heard at over 2km range but which was not close to the road. It is still early in the spring but this disappointing result is I believe due to a collapse in the rodent population but there is still time for things to change and there are always local variations.

In Maridalen I have seen Pygmy Owls in three different locations over the last three days and all sat high and were easy to see which is how it should be.

 

I am guiding this weekend and on Sunday we will drive up to the taiga areas in Hedmark with the hope of Hawkie, Piney and Sibe Jay. It is forecast to be sunny with little wind but very cold but these should be good conditions.

I have had a chance to go through my Tromsø pictures on the computer so present a few more here.

a close Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

Moose are becoming easier to see in Maridalen but luck is still needed

the Østensjøvannet Water Rails (vannrikse) have not been that easy to see so far this winter but this one showed well

Common Eiders (ærfugl) in Tromsø

a Queen Eider (praktærfugl) with her Common cousinns

from the left: female Common Eider, 2 different looking Queens, a young male Common and an adult male Common

Jack and co. are still going strong

February no different

The first week of February is done and dusted and I cannot say that things have got better yet. A Wood Pigeon flying north may count as my first spring migrant of the year although could have just been an overwintering  bird moving between feeding sites and I did have a Greylag a couple of weeks ago that may also qualify for that distinction. Although why either of these birds would be heading north when temperatures are still constantly way below zero is anyone's guess.

A Black Woodpecker gave a nice performance on Thursday as both it and a Great Spotted were seemingly finding lots of food in some dead spruce trees. Otherwise it has really just been same old, same old. A trip to Tromsø this weekend to see Jr fills me with the promise of finding white-winged gulls and rare eiders but will probably be a failure judging by the lack of records of anything exciting on either eBird or Artsobservasjoner.

this Grey Heron (hegre) had found some open water but I don't think there were any fish for it

whereas this Water Rail (vannrikse) was happy to eat porridge oats that had been put out for it

adult male Goshawk (hønsehauk) back in a favoured tree in Maridalen suggests his mind is turning to the breeding season and we may soon see some display

And these are still easy to find and for the first time in sunshine:

Farewell January you will not be missed

The last week of January has been quite like the preceding three, i.e uninspiring, with the exception of reacquainting myself with my Hazel Grouse. We can now look forward to February with hopefully some cloudless, freezing cold, nocturnal trips interrupted only by the sound of trees cracking in the cold, owls of various sightings hooting and northern lights flickering overhead. By the end of the month the very first spring migrants will also with luck have arrived and then we can really look forward to the spring and all the bounties it brings.

I have had a few walks in the forest but it is incredibly quiet there with, other than the HG, hardly a bird to see or hear. There are ZERO finches in the forest and even in more suburban areas with feeders there are hardly any so a flock of 18 Hawfinches that I came across at Østensjøvannet one day was quite a surprise.

A noisy Nutcracker (nøttekråke) was one of only a handfull of birds seen on my forest walks but it is always a good bird to see.

the Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) has become harder to see again and when it does give itself up it is usually high up as here with a Magpie (skjære)

Mallards (stokkand) at Østensjøvannet

where this female Teal (krikkand) is still hanging around

and where with some patience Water Rails (vannrike) can be seen

an unusually large flock of Hawfinch (kjernebiter)

Woodpeckers are not really making themselves known yet although I have heard a drumming Great Spotted and this female Black Woodpecker was making a lot of noise hacking away at a dead tree trunk

these are still entertaining me

Three weeks in

This week hasn’t been so cold with temperatures around zero or just below but it has also been cloudy meaning it is dull whilst out birding and at night we have missed the fantastic show of Northern Lights that many others, and not least Jr in Tromsø, have seen.

The Pygmy Owl has been quite easy to find every day except of course on Saturday when I was guiding. It often sits high and exposed before suddenly disappearing into woodland where it can then disappear for a couple of hours before popping up on a tree top again. I believe it is now eating the rodents and birds that it spent the autumn storing in nest boxes and old woodpecker holes and is catching little new food although I have seen it clearly looking for rodents. Water Rails have also showed well including a bird feeding very out in the open and Jack Snipe have bobbed away for Norway but bird, if not photo, of the week goes to a Greylag Goose flying north over Maridalen on Thursday. Quite where it thought it was going is a mystery to me and whilst it is the only Greylag reported in Oslo this winter I was a bit surprised that when I did see an anser goose that it was not a Tundra Bean or White-front a few of which have turned up further south as a result of cold weather movements around the North Sea.

After having seen footprints and droppings in the snow for a few days it was also nice to see my first Moose of the winter in Maridalen. If the cold weather continues and especially if we get more snow then Moose should become quite reliable in the Dale.

Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) on Tuesday

changing angle - attempts at arty photos..

this female Teal (krikkand) is hanging out with the Mallards (stokkand) at Østensjøvannet but remains shy and doesn't come to bread so I wonder what she does eat

the Pygmy Owl on Wednesday

Water Rail feeding in the open

bird of the week - a Greylag (grågås) heading north

Moose

And there will be lots more of this in a later post: