The Goldfinches (stillits) are back. They are winter visitors here and, as far as I know, it isn’t known where these birds breed, perhaps in the Baltic states /Finland, moving westwards to overwinter in our warmer weather!
These beautiful birds started appearing in my garden some 15 years ago as I grew and saved seed of vegetable burdock (borre) or Arctium lappa, their main food here in winter. At that time my garden was the best place to see them and I had several visits from bird photographers and birdwatchers to see them. It must be a bad year for burdock (there’s not much in my garden) as they’ve gone straight for the bird feeder, something that doesn’t usually happen until later in the winter.
Part of a flock of 29 goldfinches in the garden today!
I see long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) (Norw: stjertmeis) in the garden usually only once each winter. Unlike most tits, they wander during the winter…and a small group of 8 birds passed through the garden today. I usually “spot” them when I hear their characteristic call. I was planting garlic in the garden and rushed inside for my camera! I was surprised to see them foraging on the ground under the bird feeder. I can’t recall seeing them taking food from my feeder before, nor seen them on the ground. However, they had gone again after about 15 minutes. It’s the white-headed rase (ssp. caudatus) we have here!
Long-tailed tits was one of the few birds I recognised in Japan in the spring!
I was pleased with the pictures despite it being very dark!
Proof that swifts (tårnseiler) can stay in the air without landing for 10 months at a time has been announced and they can live for 20 years which means a single bird can fly 4 million miles in its lifetime! Astonishing! Below the link, a short video of birds divebombing my house responding to me playing swift calls to attract them to my nestbox!
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2110650-swifts-break-record-by-staying-aloft-for-10-months-at-a-time/
Today there were around 200 waxwings / sidensvans in the garden most of the afternoon and I saw them eating berries on Sambucus nigra, Viburnum opulus, Berberis, Crataegus and, in this video, a white berried rowan, received as Sorbus fruticosa! I’d planted this tree right outside my front door to try to attract waxwings….I was able to sit right outside the front door in full view of the birds and make this little film only about 2-3m away:
In this video we see a bird feeding on a rotten apple still hanging in the tree, a second bird, presumably this year’s young, is seen begging for food, and when a second bird turns up it actually feeds it…a bit late in the year for this!
…and waxwings on hawthorn and Berberis before they are scared up by a passing bus!
…and waxwings on Viburnum opulus (guelder rose / krossved)
Waxwing on Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose / Krossved)
Waxwing on Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose / Krossved)
Scandic Nidelven hotel (background in these pictures) Trondheim has won an award for Norway’s best breakfast 10 years in a row…no wonder when the guests have this bird’s eye view at breakfast over the river ;)14th November, view from Scandic Nidelven hotel and a flock of around 520 Eider duck
14th November 2016: Scandic Nidelven in the background with a smaller flock of 380 eider!14th November 2016: Scandic Nidelven in the background with a smaller flock of 380 eider!
Jackdaws (kaie) fly every morning to breakfast which is served in the fields to the east of here…standing on my bedroom balcony, there’s suddenly a pressure wave as a small group of birds fly at breakneck speed right over the roof above my head…must try to film it one day…but this morning they and I also had a glorious view too…dreaming of coming back as a jackdaw…they have so much fun it seems!
Two flocks of pink-footed geese (kortnebbgjess) passed over the house today…on the way south from the stopover area just north of here…this morning it was -8C and the same is forecast for the next two nights…
Beautiful morning, cold at about -8C…the sun doesn’t now get very high in the sky and the shadows are long all day long like this Betula pendula (Silver birch) shadow in the field below the houseFlock of pinkfeet arriving from the north…they swung round to the west and passed directly over the house. See the videoThe second and largest flock of around 130 birds also passed directly over flying westwardsThe flight speed is impressive and turning round this was the only shot I managed as they disappeared westwards
