Pygmy close-up

As we stop by lake Fläcksjön to hang up some new birdfood, a Pygmy Owl turns up in a birch just in front of us. To our surprise it remains seated for a while, enough to get a few pictures. Cute little bugger!

Radio recording

Lena Näslund from Swedish Radio P1 is visiting the feeding stations to get some good recordings of Bird sounds as well as interviewing me for a broadcast next saturday morning.

Yellow-browed Bunting twitch

A new bird for Sweden – a Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys) – was discovered yesterday, on a feeding station just outside Stockholm. Being sunday and all, today became a major twitchday with hundreds of people from all over Sweden and even Denmark joining up to see it. Despite being very resident it skulked a lot on the ground, showing mainly short periods and behind grass and twigs and did not produce very satisfying views. In the afternoon many seem to have left with just short glimpses of it. Stunning little bird though with a bright yellow super. Hopefully better pics will be taken the coming days but so far here´s an example.

Hawk Owl morning

Great, cold day and we get lucky to see this year´s first Hawk Owl. Always a great bird to see. Just forgive me for not having better equipment than this. You´ll probably do better when you come over to watch it. Bienvenidos! Welcome!

in this environment

... and this was the environment it sat in. A big forest clearing (or felling area) with a lot of dead trees to perch in. You can almost see how cold it is, – 15° C.

Red & White

Ain´t it just great with a redpainted, wooden farmhouse covered in glistening snow and sunshine? Not far from here a flock of 20 Pine Grosbeaks and as many Bullfinches where seen just before this picture was taken.

Ural in daylight

3:rd of January 2009
It doesn´t happen that often but this winter seems to produce exceptional amounts of Owls sitting perched out in the open and hunting in daytime. As far as I know, it´s a sign of lack of food, or even starvation. Today a Great Grey Owl was taken care of not far from here and eventually died.
This Ural Owl sat by the roadside north of Sandviken just before dusk and I got a record shot.

Siberian Jay encounter

3:rd of January 2009
After a good walk, some work and effort, a fire is burning, great-tasting sausages are being grilled and birds are turning up one by one around us. First out is a Black Woodpecker male, turning to the fat put up in a basket on a tree trunk. Normally Great-spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers feed on that, but a Blackie!!! I´ve heard about it happen before but never seen it with my own eyes in my entire life.
A good, lively, little bunch of Coal–, Willow– and Crested Tits are coming real close and finally... what we all where waiting fore... a family group of 4 Siberian Jays. These charming, reddish little fellows really know how to light up a winter´s day.
My oldest son Leon took the picture.

Frosty´s forest

3:rd of January 2009
A two hour drive north into Gästrikland makes a great difference in snow depth. Up here it´s always a bit more snow and a bit colder, today it feels like –10° C and everything in the forest is covered with frost.