A week in Switzerland for Christmas with my brother and his family.
So absolutely not birding but had bins and camera with me just in case. A reminder that, although birding may control many things in life, there are things that are far more important.
Species noted in and around Chateau-d'Oex included Alpine Chough, Golden Eagle, Common Buzzard, Dipper, Nutcracker and more. Mostly from the terrace of my decidedly non-birding brother:)
The following pictures were taken with a glass of champagne in my hand on Christmas Eve:)
Alpine Chough, from an altogether different terrace than normal:)
A last look at the Botanic Gardens (my neighbour when in Oslo) gave more or less the usual selection of stuff but a Nutcracker nøttekråke gave good views as it did something which (for me at least) was a rather unsual - it landed on a frozen puddle and ate pieces of ice - obviously very thirsty!
A short week back home gave few opportunities to get out so same same on that score. However, even this late in the year new species were found for a number of localities.
On Saturday 13th I did my usual round at Herdlevær followed by quick visits to a number of other localities.
Herdlevær gave little other than a Red-throated Diver smålom, Rock Pipit skjæpiplerke, a Velvet Scoter sjøorre, a couple of Kittiwakes krykkje and the ever present White-tailed Eagles havørn.
A number of Whoopers sangsvane were at various locations with at least 5 adult and two first years, probably more. Two adults with two young flew north over Dåvøy - the first for this locality this year and later the same combination were seen at Alvheim.
Two Little Grebe dvergdykker fed at Dåvøy.
Little Grebes dvergdykker at Dåvøy
Female Teal krikkand on Husvatnet, Tjeldstø
Whoopers sangsvane heading north over Dåvøy
...and the same combination further north at Alvheim shortly afterwards
A Jackdaw kaie at Tjeldstø was the first there in 2025 and hung around at least a few days. Also a flock of over 30 Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt, a Teal krikkand and seven Greylag grågås at this locality.
On Sunday I took a family walk at Skogsøy which resulted in very few birds indeed but very nice views of three Otters. A flock of 15 Greylags grågås and a lone Starling stær were at Breivik on my way there.
After this Hellesøy gave a distant Great Northern Diver islom and small flocks of Redwing rødvingetrost and Fieldfare gråtrost were seen here and there.
On Tuesday 16th December I only checked Tjeldstø very briefly, two Teal krikkand, the Jackdaw kaie and seven Greylag grågås still present along with some Whoopers sangsvane.
Greylags grågås at Tjeldstø
In conjunction with a quite successful fishing trip in the evening I headed home in the dark where I heard the "duck" call of Eagle Owl hubro repeatedly before seeing one glide out of the woods to hunt:)
The next day a few drive-bys gave 12 Greylag grågås at Breivik and seven at Tjeldstø, several White-tailed Eagles havørn, a small flock of Fieldfare gråtrost and excellent views of a Little Grebe dvergdykker at Dåvøy.
Little Grebe dvergdykker at Dåvøy
On 18th December it was much the same story although a female Common Scoter svartand on Husvatnet was an unusual freshwater observation along with a lone Lapwing vipe on Rotevatnet.
Female Common Scoter svartand, Husvatnet, Tjeldstø (photographed 19.12.2025)
Some Oslo birders are becoming disheartened about the lack of birds in the Oslo area this winter. As I have no (or low) expectations I didn't suffer as badly. For me the disconnect from nature is worse - there is no "incidental" birding in Oslo for me like there is back home when I can turn away from the ever present Teams meetings to watch a White-tailed Eagle havørn fly by, or pick up interesting birds on the way to the shops. Another advantage I have in Oslo is that there are some birds there that I don't see so often back in the west of Norway so it takes longer for the tedium to set in.
On 29th I predictably headed to Gressholm and for a while wondered why I made the effort, but then a White-tailed Eagle havørn flew over. Yes, daily back home but this was the first I'd seen on Gressholm and the closest I've seen this species to the city centre. Result! Generally fewer birds about that last time I was there with most wildfowl numbers dropping, just several each Velvet Scoter sjøorre and Common Scoter svartand and small numbers of auks (the proportion of Razorbills alke to Guillemot lomvi seems to be increasing). On the way back to the ferry I initially thought my ears were playing tricks on me, I swore I heard Waxwings sidensvans but each time I stopped moving to listen all I heard was Wren gjerdesmett. This happened a few times until I found a lovely flock of 8 Waxwing feeding on a variety of berries, including rosehips. There were also two Wrens gjerdesmett close by:)
A couple of Great Tit kjøttmeis were very tame, landing on both me and my scope whilst I watched the Waxwings sidensvans
A few Robin rødstrupe still on the island, this one (with a tick behind it's eye) fed on the shore
Waxwings sidensvans
White-tailed Eagle havørn
I followed this up by popping into the Botanical gardens which, in contrast to my previous visit, were almost devoid of birds - possibly due to the presence of one of the few birds I saw there - a nice Goshawk hønsehauk. All in not a bad dull day out in the city:)
It was a full week before I managed to leave the house with my binoculars. On 6th December I took the bus to Huk where five Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt performed nicely. Otherwise just small numbers of seaduck and good numbers of Herring Gull gråmåke catching masses of starfish.
Purple Sandpipers fjæreplytt
In Øygarden I rarely see 100's of Herring Gulls gråmåke feeding these days (not for years really) and always thought that they only ate starfish if there was nothing else available. Eating starfish is an important ecological function - starfish prey on shellfish and despite the media hype that Oslofjord is dead there are LOTS of mussels - far more than I have seen in Øygarden for MANY years. Perhaps the gulls are contributing to this? Mussels = Eiders ærfugl + other seaduck and Eider numbers in Oslofjord are higher than they are back home (where a couple of decades ago 800-1000 could be seen!). Maybe we should be saying that the waters along the west coast are dead....
The next day it was back to Gressholm. Very much the same story again but without the eagle or the Waxwings. A Little Auk alkekonge showed well instead. Red-throated Diver smålom, Goshawk hønsehauk and Goldcrest fuglekonge were among the other sightings.
Little Auk alkekonge at Gressolmen
The boat ride home produced three Common Seal steinkobbe which to me is a good sign:)
On 11th December I went back to the Botanic Gardens which were full of birds again. Great views of Nutcracker nøttekråke again, a nice Hawfinch kjernebiter and plenty of Fieldfare gråtrost. Unusually two Grey Heron gråhegre flew over very low and very vocal.
Hawfinch feeding on yew berries. The video below shows how it discards the flesh and eats the seed in the centre:)
Interesting to see how the flesh is discarded and only the seed itself is eaten
Bathing Fieldfare gråtrost, one with "cold feet"
I then popped down to Bjørvika (i.e. right beside the opera house). Here 15 Guillemots lomvi and a Coot sothøne were present along with a few hundred Herring Gulls gråmåke - one of which had yellowish legs but nothing else fit with YLG.
One of the 15 Guillemots lomvi (no Razorbills alke here!) present had a data logger attached to it. I was surprised how large it was.
Guillemot lomvi with datalogger
In the evening I met a bunch of birders in a pub. SEVEN birders present - haven't seen that many in one place since the Pallas's Gull steppemåkeby the opera house all those years ago!
