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During the Bird Race on Saturday we had a strange black & white duck. First seen asleep with Mallards we hoped it was a Shelduck which we needed for our list but when it eventually showed more of itself it clearly wasn’t. We dismissed it as a domestic duck type although when we saw it again on Monday I began to think that a hybrid Mallard x Common Eider was more likely and took some footage. There are not many people who share my interest in hybrid ducks and I don’t think anyone else has spent any time on it (I also suspect it has been around a while). 

A hybrid between Mallard and Common Eider sounds an unlikely combination and indeed it is with only one report of a possible female fromNorway (although I would say that bird is another hybrid combo) and just a few documented birds to find on the web although a male at Seahouses, Northumberland is well known.

Based on my photos I feel confident the bird is indeed this hybrid combo with body shape, head and bill shape matching other reported birds.

 

not a great photo but I am confident this is a male hybrid between Common Eider (ærfugl) and Mallard (stokkand). The jizz of the bird especially head shape and the rear end short wings are closer to Eider than Mallard and match photos on eBird. The bill pattern with a black nail also matches other birds as do the light grey tertials (visible in the video). Plumage varies greatly between hybrids but this birds plumage also looks good for a mix between the two species even though it does not match other birds. It would have been nice to document it in flight and also out of the water.

The Pallid Harrier we had was seen migrating past the lighthouse, first flying NE and later migrating out to the SSW. It was scope views only and wasn’t photographed but a hunting Hen Harrier was and this of course led to some confusion and suspicion…. Two Bird Theories are always good but as the Hen Harrier was seen again after the Pallid disappeared out to sea then I think it was a Two Bird Fact 😇. I managed some photos of the Hen.

 

Hen Harrier (myrhauk) -  a 1st year male if I am not mistaken

Back home I have looked for the Taiga Beans a couple of times. On Tuesday I found only 72 on a different field to previously (but again one that has been used in previous years) but on Wednesday found none so perhaps they have moved on already after only two weeks but if that is the case then it will be 2-3 weeks earlier than normal.

I counted 72 Taiga Beans but despite the field looking flat they were difficult to count and birds could disappear so there may have been more but definitely not 129

Water levels in Svellet are still low with lots of mud and shallow water and many thousands of ducks and geese. There were very few waders today but two Marsh Harriers and a White-tailed Eagle may have been responsible for that. A single juvenile Little Gull, 2 Arctic and 2 Common Terns were nice but I always feel there should be far more terns here.

this male Kingfisher (isfugl) was a nice surprise along the Glomma River

this colour ringed Common Sandpiper (strandsnipe) would appear to have been ringed in Norway as the combination of yellow flag on left leg and red ring on right is a Norwegian thing. Finding out more details though is proving hard work though... We also saw a Greenshank with the same red and yellow ring combo but were unable to read the code

we came a bit late to the lunar eclipse and missed the blood moon

part of a flock of 19 Nutcrackers (nøttekråke) that headed out to sea

some also landed in the bushes by the lighthouse. I am unsure whether they were of the slender-billed siberian subspecies or the resident thicker billed subspecies that we have around Oslo

distant Red Kite b(rødglente) being pursued by Hooded Crows (kråke)

we had a few Stonechats (svartstrupe) and the species has bred at Lista this year.

Jack Snipe

The cold spell we are having has resulted in shallow lakes such as Østensjøvannet and Bogstadvannet and marshes to freeze over as well as making the ground rock hard. Maridalsvannet which is much deeper is still ice free although ice is forming at the edges. This weather means that any remaining snipe or Woodcock are going to have a hard time. My nocturnal trips into Maridalen with the thermal have not revealed any Woodcock for a week and Jack and Common Snipe have gone from Fornebu. However, this is the time when any birds that have not fled south can be found seeking refuge on suitable streams and ditches and a visit to one such stream revealed singles of Jack and Common Snipe this week. With the forecast being for a temporary return to warmer weather next week these birds may have made a good decision to remain although to survive the whole winter here will be exceptionally tough for them.

All snipe have a very similar plumage which is a very effective camouflage however they rely on this camouflage to varying degrees. Common Snipe will freeze when they spot a potential predator but will then fly up at 5-10 metres range and often then fly a fairly long distance. A Jack Snipe on the other hand will usually freeze against the ground and trust that it is invisible to such an extent that it doesn’t fly up until it is almost trodden on and will then often fly a relatively short distance before landing. I have often wondered why the species have such different strategies but feel like I have had a breakthrough in my own understanding now.

When I found a Jack Snipe it was as usual frozen to the spot. I know from experience that it will do nothing whilst it can see you so I decided to continue along the stream to see if I could spot anything else. About 50 metres further along a Common Snipe flew up before I had even seen it and headed along the stream without me seeing if it landed. I then returned to the Jack which was of course frozen to the spot but it wasn’t exactly the same spot so it had clearly moved when I wasn’t there. I decided to set up my camera on the tripod and operate it via my ipad from a safe distance. This allowed me to see that once I had moved out of view the bird remained frozen for a couple of minutes before it gently started bobbing before then really coming to life and preening and then feeding. If it heard a threatening noise it would stand still before resuming bobbing once it was sure there was no threat. I tested how it would respond to me moving into its view and it could be seen to shrink, flatten itself to the ground and freeze. All this can be seen in the video I took.

the camera in place by the stream

and using an ipad to control the camera

So, what is my breakthrough insight? Well, Jack Snipe often try to exploit quite marginal habitats and if they were to fly off when disturbed or threatened then they would not necessarily find another suitable habitat and would miss out on lots of feeding time and use up energy unnecessarily. By freezing to the spot and waiting for the danger to pass they can resume feeding in their chosen spot more quickly. Of course there is a risk that the predator will locate them and grab them before they chose to fly off at the last moment but I guess evolution has resulted in that risk being small enough. But why do Common Snipe not do the same? Well they are larger and therefore it is not as easy for them to just blend in and disappear as well as the Jack does so presumably they have learnt that they face a higher risk of being spotted and taken? This is just my musings but I feel there is some truth in it.

The edited video is 3 minutes 14 seconds long but in my own humble opinion is well worth watching all the way through. I posted a 17 second snippet on Twitter and it has become my most popular posting ever.

Oslo is having its first cold spell of the winter and shallow lakes and marshes are now frozen. Any remaining snipe have either had to flee south or seek refuge on suitable streams.

This Jack Snipe has chosen the later and allowed itself to be filmed bobbing and feeding today. pic.twitter.com/F5gqFTMnWI

— Simon Rix (@si_rix) November 21, 2024

as usual I ask the question - can you spot the Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin)?

this was my clue to the fact there was a snipe on the river - probing beak marks in the mud and a white dropping

And now for something completely different - some picture of the supermoon taken with the superzoom in Maridalen on 16 November. The pictures are all taken from the same spot and it is only a minute between the first and last picture but note how much the moon's position changed in that time so anyone who had been planning any specific pictures of the moon rising over a specific location has extremely little time to get their desired picture. I on the other hand had no idea there was going to be a super moon and just happened to be there at the exact time it came over the horizon. There were lots of people taking pictures and at first I thought there must be a bird but then realised their lenses were not big enough 😉

Beardies

On Sunday an Eastern Yellow Wagtail was found at Nordre Øyeren which is a first record for the Oslo area. I of course waited until Monday to go look for it and of course did not see it but that is the sign of a very good bad twitcher, of which I am one. I do however have a picture showing the piles of rotting corn where it was successfully twitched by the good good twitchers the day before…

Today I dropped into Fornebu and enjoyed a flock of 10 Bearded Tits feeding in the reeds at close range and that is pretty much all I have to report since my last post except that it had got bitingly cold now and I really should start wearing gloves and a hat (I have stopped wearing shorts at least).

8 of the 10 Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis)

the Maridalen Great Grey Shrike (varsler)

and a post at the moment wouldn't be complete without at least one pic of a Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)

female Teal (krikkand). There is always a bird or two wintering a Fornebu and always females. The same birds year after year?

a trip out on Sunday night to look for the Northern Lights revealed only a very bright and very nearly full moon

Summer holidays 2021

Summer holidays have started! As usual we are spending the first week just south of Oslo before hopefully we head north to our cabin above the Arctic Circle in Bodø (although plans are fluid).

Birding normally takes a real back seat this week and my nature interest focuses on butterlies. There are of course always birds to see and with southerly winds I thought something may turn up on (or over) the sea and I usually manage a nocturnal trip or two.

Butterflies seem to be in short supply this year although the season may just be delayed. Fritillaries are definitely scarce and I have only noted one species so far (have seen 8 species in total here previously). I have again noted Green-underside Blue (kløverblåvinge) which was new when we visited a month ago and a female was laying eggs. Not quite a butterfly but actually even better was my first ever broad-bordered bee hawk-moth (bredkantet humlesvermer). I was quite sure I saw one buzzing past me last year but this time got to see a nectaring individual really well. I’ll come back to the butterflies once the week is over and will concentrate now on the birding and nocturnal action.

A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest was difficult to avoid with very hungry and noisy young hanging out of the hole. Only one pair of Red-backed Shrikes has revealed themselves (the area here has previously proven to be good for the species) but a pair of Spotted Flycatchers nesting in the gutter of the cabin have provided entertainment. Over the sea there was one special sighting with an enormous flock (at least 750) of Common Scoter that flew around late one evening like a murmuration of Starlings continually changing the shape of the flock before heading north. I assume they are non breeding birds but it is difficult to explain this behaviour in the second half of June.

A necessary trip back into Oslo on Tuesday allowed me to hear a Spotted Crake at Østensjøvannet was followed by a late return trip once the football was finished on TV. Sightings from the car of moose, fox and many roe deer enthused Jr and she joined me the next evening for a proper nocturnal trip. 

The moon was as good as full making conditions ideal and of mammals we noted 16 roe deer, 2 moose, a fox, 2 cats… and (only) 3 bats and a heard only singing Quail and best of all a roadside Nightjar topped the avian list. The Nightjar was fantastic and flew along and even landed on the road - a return trip is already planned. One of the moose also crossed the road just in front of the car.

Nightjar (nattravn) taken at 00:21 with ISO 25600. The red eye is reflecting the autofocus light

The Common Scoter (svartand) flock

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (dvergspett)

Spotted Flycatcher (gråfluesnapper) nest

Adult flycatcher with food for young

The broad-bordered bee hawk-moth (bredkantet humlesvermer)

Spring takes a pause

Signs of avian spring have pretty much dried up at least in Maridalen. Today was a nice sunny, warm, and nearly windless day and I had high hopes. The birds are clearly reading the weather forecast though and know that snow is forecast tomorrow and Thursday so are not getting ahead of themselves. I had hoped that today’s weather would encourage woodpeckers to drum throughout Maridalen but that just goes to show how little I understand what makes a woodpecker tick. I had just a single drumming Great Spot (flaggspett). Cleary it is still too early for much activity or at least I hope that is the reason. A flyover crossbill today had a deep call and was quite possibly a Parrot Crossbill (furukorsnebb) but did not allow itself to be viewed.

A couple of long-tailed Tits were acting rather strangely and being uncharacteristically quiet and gave the impression they were prospecting for a nest site – one bird kept going into a bush and looked like it was trying different places out for size. A bee of some description was a first for the year and my sinuses are detecting pollen but this in no way makes up for lack of birds! And where were the raptors? A single high flying, thermalling Raven was not what I was searching the skies for.

A trip out to Nordre Øyeren revealed great looking mudflats at Svellet which held two species of wader: Oystercatcher (tjeld) and Lapwing (vipe) so wader season has arrived! The next two months will be very exciting as long as the water levels do not rise too quickly. Teal (krikkand) and Mallard (stokkand) numbers have risen with the Teal being very vocal and groups of males chasing unpaired females around as they try to pair up before continuing their migration to the breeding grounds.

montage of the same Long-tailed Tit (stjertmeis) in Maridalen today

and now for something different. The moon last night taken from the house. Jupiter and two of its moon plus Venus were also visible although we couldn't min Mars which should have been visible but was probably to close to the horison