Friday 16 January 2015

Skating

With yesterdays snow turning into rain, temperatures today at around +3C and the forecast for tomorrow of a return to freezing temperatures Oslo is starting to resemble one enormous ice rink.

I did get out briefly today to Bygdøy where I was hoping that southerly storms further down the Oslo Fjord would have pushed something interesting up. A single adult Kittiwake (krykke) was definitely a result of the winds but I only had one Little Auk (alkekonge) today when I was expecting an increase in numbers. The wintering Oystercatcher (tjeld) was still present but highlight was a group of 4 Long-tailed Ducks (havelle) including one male although they were a bit distant. This species seems to have become a regular overwinterer in the inner fjord in recent winters at the same time as its total population is apparently declining.

In the garden the warmer temperatures and probably most importantly lack of falling snow caused a serious reduction in the number of Blackbirds (svarttrost) with only 3 males and a female noted. Rather than them having left the area I think they feed in other gardens when ever possible.

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