While most of the citizens of Europe and its plants are “cooking” in the heatwave, we are struggling to reach double figures up here and me and the […]
Birds / wildlife friendly plants
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Greenfinch eating goatsbeard seed
Tragopogon pratensis ( Goatsbeard; Jack-go-to-bed-by-noon / Geitskjegg) is allowed to self-sow in my garden as it’s not only edible, it’s decorative when the seed head opens and is […]
Birds / Sun
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Double wave reflections at 11pm sunset
25th June 2019: Sunset double reflections at just after 11 pm accompanied by singing robin (rødstrupe) in the garden and oystercatchers (tjeld) in the bay :) Post Views: […]
Birds
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Woodpigeon at dawn
Late May: Early morning cooing from the resident woodpigeons (ringdue)… I don’t hear this call very often (is it associated with courtship?) Post Views: 92
Birds
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Treecreeper at Tøyen
On my visit to the botanical gardens in Oslo (at Tøyen) last week, a treecreeper (trekryper) landed right next to me on a tree trunk and I made […]
Bees / Birds / Dandelions / Edible flowers / Insects / Perennial vegetables
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Dandelions for bees, beetles and birds
Before my D.A. (Dandelion Awakening) I would religiously remove and cut down as many dandelions as I could, but nowadays my garden perennial beds are full of them. […]
Birds
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Brambling song in the garden
I was woken to the simple single-note song of a brambling (bjørkefink) atop a spruce tree in the garden! This is such a characteristic sound of Norwegian wilderness […]
Birds / Fruit
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Bulfinch visit at Apple blossom time
Bullfinches (dompap in Norwegian) have an unique biannual appearance in the garden. They feed from autumn to early spring on natural food and on the bird feeder. Of […]
Birds
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Female Pied Flycatcher
Sat in the garden this evening and I noticed both male and female pied flycatchers (svarthvit fluesnapper) having a bath in a bucket planted up with the water […]
Birds / Conifers
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Eurasian siskins on pine
There’s one Norwegian pine tree in the garden (Pinus sylvestris) which has grown slowly over the years since we moved here and is now approaching the height of […]
Birds / weather
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15 Swallows don’t make a summer!
I was woken this morning to the sound of swallows (låvesvale) outside and a flock of some 15-20 birds were feeding low over the tree tops encouraged northwards […]
Birds
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New arrivals
These little fellows arrived back in the last couple of days! Post Views: 153
Birds
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Red Throated Divers
I can now hear red throated divers (smålom) calling and displaying on the fjord every day! A couple of videos from yesterday. They breed on small lakes inland […]
Birds
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Today’s performance
who became the third species in 3 days to sing to me! Sat under the old gnarled birch tree in the garden having breakfast this morning and I […]
Birds
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Today it was the blue tit!
Today it was warm enough to sit outside and work for the first time this year (with a thick jumper)….and today it was the resident blue tit (blåmeis) […]
Birds
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My friend Robin redbreast!
I was in the garden most of the day, sawing up firewood and storing it for the winter. I was followed around by my friend the robin (rødstrupe) […]
Birds
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Robin is back
Not my son Robin, but Erithacus rubecula returned this week. European robins (rødstrupe) are now classified with the flycatchers. A joy to hear their bittersweet song! Post Views: 205
Birds / Snow
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Hoodies and pussy willows
Hooded crows (kråke) and goat willow (selje) coming into flower! Post Views: 130
Birds
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Large pinkfeet migration ongoing
It’s been raining all day here, but there’s been good flying conditions for the geese flying here today from their start point in the Netherlands and Belgium! This […]
Birds
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Yellowhammer song
Despite the deep snow, a yellowhammer (gulspurv) was intent on defending its territory against a second singing male behind me (stopped just as the video starts) Post Views: […]
Birds
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Great spotted woodpecker territory
For the second year running, a pair of great spotted woodpeckers (flaggspett) have set up a territory including the garden. I’ve heard drumming several times recently! Post Views: […]
Birds
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Pinkfeet migration
Despite the heavy snow all day, flocks of migrating pinkfooted geese (kortnebbgås) have been passing over all day. Spring is here, much earlier than it used to be! […]