Ten days in Oslo during early spring proved quite pleasant despite taking things very easy and missing out on the "incidental" birding available back home in Øygarden where turning my head from the computer or a trip to the shops can produce something.
On 08 March I visited my Oslo favourite of Gressholm where a second year Goshawk hønsehauk, a flock of Ringed Plover sandlo, Skylark sanglerke, 20 Velvet Scoter sjøorre were present. During the boat trip there and back I also picked up some newly arrived Shelduck gravand and Stock Dove skogdue.
The next day a late and lazy stroll around Østensjøvannet gave the first Reed Bunting sivspurv of the year along with Coot sothøne, a male Wigeon brunnakke, a Pintail stjertand and more - including a few Whooper Swan sangsvane and plenty of newly arrived geese in the fields. The east of Norway is still in the grips of winter and the lake was mostly frozen - we even saw someone pull a nice Pike gjedde out of a hole in the ice - there were a lot of people ice-fishing:)
During the week work commitments meant it was impossible to get out but a pair of Woodpigeon ringdue turned up in the back yard where Blackbird svarttrost numbers also increased (along with the level of song).
Next time I was out and about was 15.03 when a late and lazy trip to Gressholm was again on the cards. A couple of Rock Pipit skjærpiplerke were without doubt the highlight in an Oslo context. Ringed Plover sandlo numbers had increased and there were 40 Velvet Scoter sjøorre feeding close by.
The following day in fantastic sunshine we went for a walk at Bygdøy. Here there were obscene numbers of people around which obviously scared most stuff away. We managed to find some trails with fewer people and this resulted in a nice Lesser-spotted Woodpecker dvergspett along with Stock Doves skogdue and the usual suspects.
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