Simon Rix

Great Grey Owl feeding time. Whereas an adult swallows a vole whole in the blink of an eye the young need to be fed by mum. She spent nearly 20 minutes ripping tiny strips of flesh to feed to each of her ca. 1 week old young. Close to Oslo this weekend.

Just north of the Arctic Circle in Norway near Bodø one can, if lucky, find some pretty cool northern butterflies. I have not been lucky before but on Sunday the butterfly gods blessed me and gave me my first ever Lapland Fritillary, Arctic/Glandon Blue and Freija Fritillary 🦋🥳

A Rough-legged Buzzard in Valdres, southern Norway today. This year isn’t a lemming year and there are very few raptors to see. Lemming years used to occur every 3-4 years but are now very irregular and I only remember experiencing one good year in over 20 years visiting Valdres

I’ve seen a few Violet Coppers but never before one that so lives up to its name. This is a very scarce species in Norway but where it is found can be quite common on road verges.

A century ago Ortolans were commoner than Yellowhammers in some areas around Oslo. Declines started in the 50s and a nest I found 2 years ago may well be the last ever of this species in Norway. This year there is only 1 known singing and seemingly unpaired male, and here he is.

One of those evenings 😊🦉

We all know how small Temminck’s (and Little) Stints are but seeing one next to a Greenfinch really hammers it home. The third week of May is prime time for migrating Temminck’s around Oslo and there were 5 of my patch this morning.

Thrush Nightingales are barely annual in Oslo although small numbers are regular nearby. A pair did breed last year and a male is back singing in the exact same spot. Hopefully a mate will turn up again this year.

Great couple of days in Norway 🇳🇴 and the main target performed well. Guided by @si_rix . Photos by @______r_b also in the company of @Mikeilett

A 1st summer female Red-footed Falcon (aftenfalk 🇳🇴) has taken up residence on a golf course south of Oslo where it walks around on the fairways eating worms and beetles. It ignores both golfers and birders and was a joy to watch at ridiculously close range.

In Oslo fat balls in the garden attract sparrows and tits. Drive 3 hours north and you might be lucky enough to have a Siberian Jay visiting them😊

Tengmalm’s Owl singing from a nest hole in Norway last week. It starts with normal hooting but switches to «engagement hooting» after a female calls behind me. @SoundApproachUK have a recording of something very similar on their website and I have longed to experience it live.

Hawk Owl removing the head of a Bank Vole and eating it. I have noted that (this) Hawk Owl likes to eat the head first, then the entrails before swallowing the rest. Video is at half speed. Full sequence can be seen here: youtu.be/jDpUlMPhig0?si…

Whilst most owls are singing or already breeding the wintering Hawk Owl in Oslo is doing neither. Food is easy to find at the moment though so it may not be in a hurry to move off yet. When it catches a rodent it eats the head first, then the inners before swallowing the rest.

Great Grey Owl hooting. They are such an impressive 🦉 that I cannot resist another video. This is the same bird as in my last post. Close to Oslo 🇳🇴

Tonight I have mostly been listening to Great Grey Owl, and Ural Owl and Tengmalm’s Owl😊 Only the GG was close enough for thr iphone