A full mornings birding was the order of the day. Started at 5am at Årnestangen. With a brisk northerly breeze it was quite chilly despite the sun. By the car park were 2 singing Marsh Warblers who were interacting quite a lot and a third bird present was presumeably a female. I walked all the way to the end and was not really rewarded for my efforts. A ploughed field held a Little Ringed Plover and Curlew and on the water a flock of 14 Wigeon and 4 Teal (all males) was a sign that autumn is just around the corner. Snipe were still displaying over the wet fields though and 2 pairs of Yellow Wagtails were collecting food. 150 Starling the majority of which were young birds also gave a distinct summer feeling. 2 singing Reed Warblers and a distant singing Sedge Warbler gave me 3 species of acro. Driving away from the site I stopped in at a small Sand Martin colony which had 10 birds buzzing over it and at least 20 holes although it is difficult to know how many are in use.
Next stop was Hellesjøvannet. As I pulled up in the car a male Marsh Harrier was quarting the reeds and I saw three birds in total. 2 were the pair I had seen previously with the female returning to the same area of reeds where I had seen them carrying nesting material. In addition there was another male which may just have been moving through as he soon disappeared but not before being mobbed by a nice Hobby. Also here was a male Pochard which is a good bird and was a year tick for me and an Osprey was circling over the lake.
Heading back to Oslo I stopped at an area called Storfelten (I had meant to go to an area called Midtfjellmåsan but had not paid enough attention to the map and chose to explore the wrong side of the road!). Here I had breeding Wood Sandpipers with the adults very vocal and giving a distraction display, a singing Cuckoo and 2 family parties of Crossbills. If I had chosen the correct side of the road I would have seen a lot more judging by recent reports!!
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