2023 coming to an end

Christmas preparations and a Covid sick family (although we should all be healthy by Christmas itself) has meant little activity from yours truly but I have for my sanity had to fit in some fresh air and birds.

A trip to the waterfront by the Opera building was supposed to give me a 1st winter Iceland Gull but that did not happen although I do get a good Shag. The gull was first found on 2 December and then was not seen until 18 December (despite people including myself looking) when it had a piece of bling on its leg. The reason for that absence was that unknown (to me at least) blingers had captured the bird and taken it in for care after deeming it to be ill. Once again this was done on a need to know basis where apparently nobody needed to know.

If you are lucky enough to get a Shag in Oslo then they will probably not get better than this (toppskarv)

here with a Razorbill (alke)

close up of a male Wigeon (brunnakke)

notice a few green feathers behind the eye

this Nutcracker (nøttekråke) in Maridalen struck me as having a long, narrowish bill which is a sign of the siberian, macrorhynchos, subspecies which I have never knowingly seen.

but I think it is probably just one of local breeding birds