Category Archives: Birds

Goldfinches back on their winter holiday

A small number of goldfinches spend their winter holiday in the lowlands around Trondheimsfjord, a very good choice I would say! I’ve never seen them in summer here .  I heard the characteristic twittering flight call this morning for the first time this winter and then saw 4 of them this afternoon on burdock (borre) seed heads next to my outhouse (see the two videos below). Goldfinches have long and thin bills allowing them to extract seeds from burdock, other thistles, sunflowers and teasel /kardeborre (Dipsacus), although they have never shown any interest in the teasel I’ve grown for them.
You can read how my growing burdock as a vegetable attracted them to my garden , at that time a rare bird in this area:
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=8810
T
he map below shows the concentration of sightings of flocks of goldfinches in Malvik in my garden and elsewhere nearby from Malvik to Midtsandan, on the southern shores of the fjord (only flocks of more than 20 birds are plotted).

Goldf_map_over_20

Waxwings everywhere

Part of the biggest flock of waxwings (sidensvans) in the garden today, around 350 birds!….seriously distracted all day by these photogenic arctic “parrots”! Feeding on yew (barlind), hawthorn (hagtorn), elderberries (svarthyll) and guelder rose (krossved) berries…

1. Waxwings in flight

2.  Waxwings on the yew tree by the kitchen window

3. Waxwings on yew berries in the neighbour’s garden

4. Waxwings and sunrise

5. In this film you can hear waxwing poop falling to the ground…I thought it was raining!

Autumn bird song gives hope

I’m full of hope!
The autumn songs of the European robin (rødstrupe), heard in the video from the garden this morning and wren (gjerdesmett) always puts me in a good frame of mind despite everything 
It’s still very mild here and still no proper frost (just a slight ground frost one morning) and no frost forecast either in the next 10 days! Just as well as I’ve hardly started harvesting and preparing for winter! On my bike ride to town yesterday I heard 4 singing robins, and in Bakklandet (central Trondheim) a singing wren on my way into town and with the full moon accompanying me on the way home, all the signs are good!