Back to Svellet

The Beast turns 8 in September which coincidentally means that according to all that dog/human year malarkey he and I are the same age (at least for now). I guess there have been a few thousand morning walks he has taken me on over the years and we have seen a few interesting birds in the area where we live with Pine Grosbeak probably being the best. Yesterday morning though we added a new species with a Wood Warbler singing in the local wood. Although the oak dominated wood may be suitable as a breeding locality I am sure the bird was a migrant. As such I think it is only the second time I have come across a singing spring migrant (not that I have come across any non singing ones either). And that got me thinking - why do I hear many singing migrant Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers but not Wood Warblers? Is it because Wood Warblers don’t often sing on migration or is it just because there are so many, many more Chiffs and Willies that you are so much more likely to encounter one of them?

 

Svellet was the subject of my attention yesterday and whilst water levels have only risen by 2cm since yesterday and 4cm since Monday there was a considerable reduction in the number of birds. And I was able to watch that number more than half when a young Peregrine had a go at some Wood Sandpipers which of course all flew off but also never returned.

Over the past couple of weeks I have seen the waders frequently flying around due to a raptor (most often unseen) but always landing again but what I observed today clearly shows that migration awaits and the birds clearly have an unavoidable urge to keep heading north.

We have a couple of days of rain ahead of us and also southerly winds after aperiod of cold northerly winds so we may still have some mighty experiences at Svellet but it will definitely be a question of quality rather than quantity now.

I also walked out to the end of Årnestangen which was a rather quiet affair on the bird front with not a single waders at the tip but there were two butterfly surprises with my first Swallowtail and Painted Lady of the year which were not what I expected on a quite cloudy and not that warm day.

Svellet from the east

and from west looking north 13 May 2026

and looking south

and Årnestangen

In Maridalen the Lapwings continue to surprise positively with 3 broods seen - 4 and 1 were on open ground and fully accounted for but another single youngster popped out of long grass and there could definitely, and hopefully, have been more there. Two females are also on new nests and a pair were displaying so there may be yet another nest to come. They all still have to survive more farmer activity and foxes and crows but I think we are in a surprisingly good place.

my first Painted Lady (tistelsommerfugl) of the year. A faded but otherwise undamaged individual

whereas the colours of my first Swallowtail were perfect it had clearly already been attacked by birds and had chunks missing from the back of its wings

Butterflies 2025 and beyond

2025 gave me 10 new species and was the year when I finally saw the northern specialities close to the cabin in Bodø that I have been hoping to see since 2019.

The northern specialities were:

Lapland Fritillary (idun’s rutevinge) 

Arctic Blue (polarblåvinge) 

Frejya’s Fritillary (frøyas perlemorvinge) 

Away from specific trips/stops added three rare species:

 

Large Grizzled Skipper (alvesmyger)

Silvery Argus (kileblåvinge)

Chequered Skipper (gulflekksmyger) 

whilst closer to Oslo I finally got to grips with 3 species I could have seen much earlier had I just made the effort:

 Scarce Heath (heroringvinge) 

False Heath Fritillary (mørk rutevinge) 

Meadow Brown (rappringvinge) 

Finally my first butterfly twitch gave me a vary rare vagrant Clouded Yellow (vandregulvinge)

The Bodø mountains also gave me the other northern specialities that  I have previously seen and I had all three of the resident Clouded Yellow Species at the same mountain locality which in itself is I imagine a unique experience but with the “normal” Clouded Yellow I saw later in the year I definitely became the only person to see all four species in the same year in Norway and who knows maybe Scandinavia.

This photo of Violet Copper (fiolett gullvinge) made me very happy as for the first time the violet colour was really obvious

I have now seen 82 of the 101 species recorded in Norway (or at least those in Artsobservasjoner) and saw 74 of these in 2025. With Jr now studying in Tromsø I can hope that visits to her in June/July will allow me to add some of those northern species that don’t occur as “far” south as Bodø but even with Tromsø as a base I will have many hours drive and walking to get to most of these species. BUT, it looks like there are enormous areas of mountain that have never been visited by someone who has any interest in butterflies so there may well be opportunities to discover new species in new places.

Here are the 19 species I am missing and where I intend to see them (this is for my own planning purposes but anyone who wants to join me in the search is welcome to contact me)

 

1.      Essex Skipper (timoteismyger) - a trip around one hour south or east of Oslo in July should easily give this species

2.      Reverdin’s Blue (lakrismjeltblåvinge) – this species occurred on islands close to Fornebu but was last seen in 2014 so that looks like an impossible species and a huge blocker for the older crowd who saw it (and in many cases collected it…)

3.      Chequered Blue (klippeblåvine) - occurs only around Halden, an hour and a half drive away - where it is very local but is also being reintroduced. It is an early flier so I will need to visit in the middle of May or earlier if it is an early spring.

4.      Niobe Fritillary (niobeperlemorvinge) – not recorded since 1997 although with its similarity to High Brown Fritillary and the variety of places with historical records there may be a chance it is rediscovered.

5.      Arctic Fritillary (arktisk perlemorvinge) – a trip is needed to Alta at the beginning of July although as there is one site where everyone goes to see this species it wouldn’t surprise me if they can be found elsewhere. There is for example a record close to Oslo although there is no photo so who knows if its good or not,

6.      Bog Fritillary (ringperlemorvinge) – a not too scarce species this species can be found within an hour of Oslo but should be easier to find in Hedmark along with Lapland Ringlet in the Osen area in the middle of June

7.      Dusky-winged Fritillary (Dvergperlemorvinge) – a super rare species that I will use Tromsø as base to see in the first half of July.

8.      Polar Fritillary (polarperlemorvinge) – has a very similar range and flying time to Arctic Fritillary so will be searched for at the same time.

9.      Map Butterfly (kartvinge) – only 6 records in Norway but 5 of these are in the last two years and all are in the far north with Finland the likely source of an expanding species. All have been first generation in the first half of July. So it will be pure luck to see one but in a decade or so they might be established including in the south where the species is expanding north in southern Sweden.

10. Glanville Fritillary (prikkrutevinge) – now only occurs now on a military island of Rauer with other populations last recorded in 2009. Access to the public is as far as I know not possible for civilians. The beginning of June is the time to see them.

11. Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell (seljesommerfugl) – a rare vagrant which did occur widely in April 2014 but since there have been 4 records although one in Oslo on 15 April 2022 does show that I need to be have it on my mind when out early in the year and check all Small Tortoiseshells I see.

12. Arctic Ringlet (disaringvinge) – a trip to Alta is again the place but for this species end of June/beginning of Juy is the time. There is a recently discovered population close to Tromsø though which I will look for (and already did half heartedly in 2025) if I have a chance.

13. Lapland Ringlet (emblaringvinge) – a trip to either Osen or the south end of Femund around mid June should do the trick or if I am birding in Pasvik then I should also see it

14. Arctic Woodland Ringlet (polarringvinge) – also an Alta species but does seem to be fairly widespread in all of Finnmark. A recently discovered population closer to Tromsø could be visited in conjunction with Dusky-winged Fritillary. End of June to mid July.

15. Rock Grayling (svabergringvinge) – a southern European species with a relict population a couple of places in southern Norway. A 3 hour drive to Treungen in the middle of July should do the trick.

16. Arctic Grayling (tundraringvinge) – another Alta species at end of June/beginning of July.

17. Clouded Apollo (mnemosynesommerfugl) – only known from a handful of sites in the west of Norway but a population discovered as recently as 2017 in Vinje, Telemark is only around a 3 hour drive away. Flies from Mid May into July with a visit at the end of June looking to be best.

18. Cryptic (Real’s) Wood White (enghvitvinge) – a species that is currently only identifiable through genetic examination of a specimen under a microscope. It has been recorded quite a few times in south eastern Norway but I would need to be with someone far more knowledgeable than myself if I were to see one with certainty.

19. Black-veined White (hagtornsommerfugl) – there is one well known population in Lærdal which is many hours drive from Oslo but they are occasionally reported in Telemark indicating a population there too. June would be the month.

 

Bopping geese

Tomorrow I am off to Lista for their annual Bird Race. This will be only my second ever visit to what can probably be fairly described as Norway’s premier birding locality and definitely the home of Norway’s most famous bird observatory. If I am lucky I will also win the evening quiz and be crowned Norwegian Birding Champion 2025 (after being runner up on my previous visit in 2017 although most likely I will be knocked out in the early rounds... The birding should be good though and with a bit of luck a rarity or two will turn up when we are there.

Local birding has been pretty good though this week although a hoped for rush of seabirds this morning after a night of strong southerly winds revealed not one single non-local seabird and the only real unexpected sighting was a juvenile Honey Buzzard battling into the headwind to cross from Bygdøy to Nesodden.

I have been to check on the Taiga’s a couple of times and found them to be on the same stubble field that they used for the first time last autumn and then also used this spring. This is quite typical that they will change preferred field in one season and then also use it the following 1-2 seasons and I would not be surprised if next spring they choose somewhere else. When they are on a stubble field they can be surprisingly difficult to count accurately and they have also had both Canada and Greylag Geese, and a hybrid between the two, in amongst them but in the end I concluded that the flock size was still 129 meaning no additions or depletions.

Visits to Hellesjøvannet with raptors in mind turned up trumps with a Red Kite and lots of sightings of Hobbies, Marsh Harriers and especially Common Buzzards with one “kettle” containing 18 birds.

I have only had fleeting visits to Maridalen but had a real head scratching surprise today when I discovered a family of four Whooper Swans on a field and then river (they were very shy) 4km away from where I had last seen the intact family on the lake. The young were large but not fully grown and I am sure could not fly meaning they must be the Maridalen family but I don’t know how to explain the sighting of 18 August and my subsequent sightings of just an adult pair or no birds at all.

Red Kite (rødglente) at Hellesjøvannet. Only my second in Akershus (I have had more in Oslo) and the first one I have managed to photo. Clearly not a juvenile but other than that my knowledge of moult and plumage in this species doesn't allow me to say any more

I was very lucky to come across this juv Goshawk (hønsehauk) eating what looks to be a Jackdaw (kaie) right by the road at the Taiga Bean place. 

Lots more pictures lower down

male Marsh Harrier (sivhauk) at Hellesjøvannet who was regularly bringing small rodents to two juvenile that would fly to meet him and would catch the mouse mid flight

an adult Hobby (lerkefalk) catching a dragonfly whilst brave Swallows (låvesvale) try to chase it off

the wings have been removed

a bit of nictating membrane

Taiga Bean watching

V8 and kids are in the video but when they are distant and in stubble I cannot unfortunately see any legs rings

part of the Taiga Bean Goose (taigasædgås) flock

here with Canada Geese, a Greylag and a hybrid between the two

a family of Cranes (trane)

just a single Pochard (taffeland) at Hellesjøvannet and very few other birds including only 2 Great Crested Grebes suggests to me a lack of oxygen, and life, in the water. There were 3 visits from at least 2 Ospreys and they left with a fish each time on their first attempt which I reckon means there were fish at the surface gulping air

the highlight of today's seas gazing at Fornebu was these juvenile Knot (polarsnipe) that flew in from Huk and landed on the rocks in front of me

I was not expecting to see these today in Maridalen. I will try to see if the beak patterns allow me confirm that these are the regular pair

the flight feathers of the juveniles are not yet fully developed so I am quite sure they have not flown in from somewhere else

spot the shy swans