A change

We’ve finally had a positive (for birders) change in the weather but it really hasn’t been enough to make the difference we all hope for. Yesterday evening there were a few local showers (but they were a lot less than had initially been forecast) and today was cloudy (but the winds were northerly). It is important to remain optimistic though and remember that you have to be in it to win it.

Svellet continues to receive daily visits and today tringas were in triple digits for the first time (220 Wood Sandpipers and 110 Greenshank) although if that was due the change in weather or just the passing of time is open for discussion. The water level is now almost too low and the mud flats risk getting bone dry such that when water levels do rise that they will be covering lifeless mud and therefore be of little use for waders. Ideally we will see daily increases of a couple of centimetres over the next two weeks but what we risk is little change until suddenly around the middle of the month levels are risen by 25cm a day.

Twelve Ruff today included only 4 males but they were lekking a little bit and one of them was a very striking white bird which I would have loved to see at a place where photos were possible.. Yesterday also saw the first Little Gull and Yellow Wagtails of the year so we can now look forward to Black Tern and Citrine Wagtail (as I said it is important to be optimistic).

Maridalen has not hit the same highs offered by the Pochard which was a one day wonder but a little twitch was required today to see a Shore Lark. Only the fourth ever record and in exactly the same spot as the previous three records which have occurred in the time period 26 April to 4 May it is clear when and where to look if you want to find one in Oslo which does make it a little galling that I had indeed looked at the exact same field only 2 hours prior with the said species in mind and had failed to spot it.

Shore Lark (fjelllerke) in the Dale. Only the fourth record following those in 2013,2016 and 2021. There are surprisingly few records of migrating birds in southern Norway but when they are on a field like this (and there are MANY of them) then they are not easy to find.

an slightly aberrant female White Wagtail (linerle). There is an excess of black on the throat and breast and grey instead of white cheeks but I cannot make it into another rarer subspecies. It looked to be paired up and in breeding modus

Migrants and lingering Hawk Owl

We have now had two nights without frost and along with southerly winds I have been expecting a flood of migrants. Of course, that has not been the case and viz mig has been a particular disappointment with just a few flocks of Pink-footed Geese, 2 Cranes and a Kestrel. I had a real hope for a few raptors but it is clearly still too early still (and I have this “surprise” every year at this time….).

 

Despite the lack of viz mig there has been an arrival of new birds. Dunnocks and Redwings are suddenly back and singing from woodland, White and Grey Wagtail are suddenly wagging away and there are considerably more Lapwing, Mistle Thrushes, Chaffinches, Bramblings and a large Twite flock in Maridalen. Surprisingly though there are no Robins back yet but that must happen soon.

The Hawk Owl has been showing very well as it exploits a rich source of Bank Voles (klatremus) and I was very happy to be able to film it dismembering and then eating one.

 

A trip to Østensjøvannet was very birdy with lots of noisy gulls and various wildfowl with a pair of Smew being the absolute highlight.

The video I have long wanted to capture showing the beheading, entrails removing and swallowing of a vole

Hawkie on a wire

and on its way down for what ended up being an unsuccessful vole hunt

this video has a few sequences with it giving its call that I also heard frequently when it first turned up in November

male Smew (lappfiskand)

pair

and with a Grey Heron (gråhegre)

3 male Teal (krikkand)

and a close of up another bird

the Heron was not at all popular with the Black-headed Gulls (hettemåke)

Goosander (laksand) are also back

3 species of returning gulls on the ice and 2 male Goosander

Grey Wagtail (vintererle) is back in the Dale

as is Dunnock (jernspurv)

and Redwing (rødvingetrost)

and a large flock of Twite (bergirisk) is having a stop off on its migration

and the first White Wagtail (linerle) of the year

not in Maridalen and not a good picture but I cannot remember capturing Parrot (furukorsnebb) and Common Crossbill (grankorsnebb) together before

Canada and Greylag Geese in Maridalen suddenly became very alert when this fox appeared

A quietness that cannot be explained (by me at least)

Sunday came and went but where were the birds. The weather forecast was correct with cloudy skies, no wind and some showers – surely the sort of stuff to make May 5^th a dreamy day. Well clearly not. There must be something blocking northward passage further south because this lack of birds doesn’t make sense. Today was equally quiet so I am now pinning all my hopes on Thursday when cloud and southerly winds are forecast and surely the dam will break.

Yesterday I was in the Dale by 0530 and a migrating and calling Red-throated Diver from the doorstep at home had me expecting great things. Well that was just a cruel tease and I had left Maridalen already by 0700 to go to Østensjøvannet which was if anything even worse with just a pitiful collection of the expected birds and nothing of any interest on either the lake, the fields or in the sky. My day was sort of saved by then going to Huk, Bygdøy to twitch a Red-necked Grebe that Andreas G had found from his boat but even here the view was so distant that it gave no real satisfaction. New Oslo year species did arrive during the day though with the following added: #152 Yellow Wag, #153 Spotted Fly, #154 Black Grouse (a very distant bird heard displaying), #155 House Martin and #156 the grebe.

An update on the swan saga is that the Whoopers continue to sit on the Mutes nest (and eggs?) and there were still two pairs of Mutes yesterday although only one today. Yesterday the male Whooper flew around the lake and attacked both sets of Mutes. He sent the original pair packing and they decamped to the other side of the lake (and are the ones who seem to have left today) but the new pair put up a much better fight. The female managed to hide (see photos) and the male did have to flee but he soon returned acting quite triumphantly. The male Whooper was joined by his female who flew across the lake calling and the two then celebrated their supremacy with whooping and wing flapping. I have managed to read the rings of the new Mute pair but the ringing website is currently down so have yet to find out their stories.

Further checks of the Three-toed pecker wood have drawn a blank so it definitely looks like something fatal has happened.

my first Spotted Flycatcher (gråfluesnapper) of the year

a female White Wagtail (linerle) at Maridalen's best birding spot

the male Whooper Swan (sangsvane) on his way to beat up the second Mute Swan (knoppsvane) pair

the male Mute did initially adopt his territorial posture and looked like he was going to put up a serious fight

but was soon fleeing

and the female Mute hid

the male Mute returns

he acted very tough although I believe had not seen the female and she did not immediately leave the safety of her retreat. He was ringed at Frognerkilen in March 2023 as 3cy so making him a 4cy now.

he had a good wing flap

here the head of the hiding female is visibly as the male cruises past

the female Whooper had come to join her mate and here they are noisily, and triumphantly returning to the nest as the undisputed heavy wight swan champions of Maridalen

the female ring on the female Mute who appears to be a young bird due to her pale orange bill. She was ringed as a chick at Smestaddammen in Sept 2020 making her a 5cy and a year older than her mate. Previous ring readings do not suggest that either her of her mate have tried to breed before.

05:45 on May 5th looking from Kirkeby over the lake to Skjerven