Red Kite

Yesterday was the first day with some passerine migrants flocking, if in small numbers, on the fields in Maridalen with 10 Mistle Thrushes, 6 Fieldfare, 10 Skylarks, 20 odd Chaffinch and the first Brambling all together. And this is just the start of things to come! The first Lapwings are also back with two reported on Saturday and then I had 5 birds yesterday and they were even displaying giving their evocative calls whilst Skylarks sang overhead – things cannot sound more springy than that!

Maridalen’s best bird of the year, and one which may be, although I hope won’t be, hard to beat, came on Friday when a Red Kite flew in front of the car. It was flying low and into a strong head wind but unfortunately never stopped and heard south over the lake and I was able to watch it for over 10 minutes. When it got to the southern end of the lake it then started soaring and was in sight for so long that I decided to drive down there but of course couldn’t find after the 5 minutes it took to get there. This is now my fourth sighting of the species in Maridalen and the second best views I have managed. I often proclaim that a day will be a great day for raptors and talk about Falsterbo Lite but very rarely do my predictions come true. On Friday I would definitely have proclaimed that the day was absolutely awful for raptors and we wouldn’t see any - bar maybe a local Goshawk – just shows how much I know!

Saturday had me guiding Paul and Ann from Connecticut and a very enjoyable day it was but for a bird guide it was a nightmare with, despite my utmost efforts, none of the three target species revealing themselves. I had communicated that it would not be easy to find them given the time of the year but that all three didn’t play ball was a major disappointment. We did see a lot of other birds though...

when I first spotted the Red Kite (rødglente) from the car it was close and flying at tree top height clearly looking for food but it kept flying south into the strong wind and never came closer

it looks as though it had recently eaten as the crop seems full

flying over the lake with appartment buildings under Grefsenkollen as the background

and here flying over Storøya

this years must count as an average date. Given how low cold it was in Jan and Feb then I had expected a late arrival this year but the thaw has come suddenly and without nighttime frosts the snow has melted quickly and most importantly for Lapwings the ground has thawed

once you find the eye then you also just about make out there is a Long-eared Owl (hornugle) in this picture

the video of the Long-eared Owl may be pants but I did manage to take a quite nice video of a Badger at the same place:

Mistle Thrush (duetrost)

there has been a steady passage of Whooper Swans (sangsvane) heading north

The Fabulous Four

Just minutes after I posted last (and predicted a new yank would be found) a Black & White Warbler was found on the west coast. Two firsts for Norway on the same day will probably not be repeated again! The BWW was found in the field and was an awesome bit of a birding. The finder, Sigmar Lode, got some good pictures and then a twitch ensued with people who had been on their way to Utsira rerouting (and avoiding having to take a ferry) and converging on the woodland where the BWW had been seen. I understood that nobody else had seen it and there are definitely no photos other than from the finder but a number of listers have subsequently and without any fanfare added it to their lists. A number of other birders saw a Coal Tit…. 

The Cape May Warbler though has hung around and is still present today allowing it to be twitched.

All this has happened over 7 hours drive away and there is little chance of a yank turning up around Oslo although birds do do amazing things.

Yesterday, and for the first time this autumn we had strong winds from the south and I decided to sea gaze. There was a lot of rain aswell and I frequently had to retreat to the car but I did get some proper seabirds for my troubles. There was never going to be a lot to see on the sea as the southerly winds had developed too quickly but 6 Fulmar and 2 Kittiwakes was something to get excited about. The Fulmars were really enjoying the wind and arching high up in the air before disappearing into the waves.

Today was windless and felt like a good day to take the Beast for a long walk in the forest and that proved to be an exceedingly good choice! Hawk Owl, Pygmy Owl, Hazel Grouse and Three-toed Woodpecker all allowed themselves to be admired and admired well. At one stage I could hear (although not see) the last three species all at the same time. These four fabulous species are great for guiding but with 10 days quarantine for people arriving from overseas there is not likely to be anyone rushing over for a while…. 

There were also finally some finches although they were all heard flying over rather than being seen. Singles of Crossbill and Bullfinch were my first records for a while.

The Hawk Owl (haukugle) showed very well

The Hazel Grouse (jerpe) also showed well :-)

The Pygmy Owl (spurveugle) didn't disappoint either

male Three-toed Woodpecker (tretåspett) was also quite cooperative

he had a deformed bill so it will be interesting to see if I come across him again

Some videos:

The Pygmy Owl taken with the iphone

and a video of two badger that I ran into last night