Hazelhen with chicks

16:th of June 2011
A close meeting with a female Hazel Grouse with at least 3 chicks along the track to Bertejaure is a good one. Here we also see Siberian Jays, Rough-legged Buzzard and we hear calls from what I believe are Hawk Owl chicks, but we can´t find them in the forest.

Short-eared Owls parade

15:th of June 2011
En route we see at least 4 Owls, the 2 we can identify are short-eared Owls parading with high wingbeats above us in the light midsommer skies. Magical!

Lapland sunset

15:th of June 2011
After a 2 hour domestic flight to Arvidsjaur we drive through amazingly vast forests with beautiful, calm lakes towards Ammarnäs, as the sun sets in a lovely quite evening.

Lynx at Lake fläcksjön

14:th of June 2011
Visiting filmmaker Malcolm Rymer and Ann Trangmar gets lucky to see and film a 1-year-old Lynx at Lake Fläcksjön tonight. I know; it´s distant, it´s blurry, but it´s an unmistakable profile.

Hairy Hawker

13:th of June 2011
A good day for Dragonflies. Plenty of 4-spotted Chasers, Downy Emeralds and a Hairy Hawker (Brachytron pratense).

Yellow-spotted Whiteface

13:th of June 2011
Yellow-spotted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia pectoralis) is a good Dragonfly-species that I today find at least 5-6 individuals of in a water where I haven´t seen them before. Especially positive since I have not found them on two previously known sites this year.

Marsh Fritillaries

9:th of June 2011
Marsh Fritillaries seem to have just started their flight season, since I encounter more than a dozen really fresh individuals today. This one really striking and well contasting with dark parts and white spots. Male?

Marsh Fritillary female

9:th of June 2011
The Marsh Fritillaries vary quite a bit in plumage, this individual is a bit less contrasting with less white in the markings on the hindwing. Compare with previous! Could it be a female?

Marsh Fritillary under

9:th of June 2011
And a great underside as well.

Purple-edged Copper

9:th of June 2011
A great day for photographing butterflies. Male Purple-edged Copper ( Lycaena hippothoe).

Capercaillie female final

8:th of June 2011
On the final morning of the Rockjumper group´s visit, we come across a female Capercaillie with chicks. An amazing encounter. (Fast moving bird in poor light)

Honey Buzzard

The Honey Buzzards are in by numbers and always a nice bird to see.

Rockjumpers set record

8:th of June 2011
Our first group from South african tour operator Rockjumper left today after two weeks in Sweden and a list of 208 species(!). The last three scored in Svartådalen was European Bittern, Spotted Redshank and Capercaillie.

Ortolan Buntings

1:st of June 2011
On the last day of the trip we close the birding with visiting a good site for Ortolan Buntings. At least 3 singing males appear.

Green underside Blues

1:st of June 2011
Some Blue butterflies turn out to be the non-british species Green-underside Blue.

Lemming abundance

31:st of May 2011
Lemmings are abundant in the Scandinavian mountains this year, hence a good year for all predators. We saw a dozen or so on every mountain walk. Really difficult to get pictures on though, constantly moving as they are.

Dotterel in fog

31:st of May 2011
The last summit on the trip awaits us with fog, but since it was pouring with rain 2 hours before that, we are happy and Dotterels have the good taste to show up against all odds.

Squirrel and Jays

31:st of May 2011
Red Squirrel, Willow Tits and Siberian Jays are the stars of 2 excursions in the forest. A female Capercaillie on the path and fleating glimpse of a Hazel Grouse adds to it.

Tengmalm´s appear

30:th of May 2011
A good tip brought us to a site where a single Tengmalm´s Owl male´s been heard calling a lot lately. We see a glimpse of something the right size but we have to wait a while before we suddenly get´s attackad by 2 Owls(!) perching up right in front of us, obviously nesting.

Tengmalm´s magic tree

30:th of May 2011
And they even perch in the magic shaman tree.

Tengmalm´s Owls on the make

30:th of May 2011
As if this wasn´t enough, they start mating in front of us. Worth a blurry picture isn´t it.

Sylarna massif

30:th of May 2011
The Sylarna massif is the highest summits in the area. With it´s 1.695 meters it is actually the highest alpine area in Sweden south of the Arctic Circle. From this viewpoint we enjoyed Rough-legged Buzzards.

Great Snipe performance

29:th of May 2011
The night calms down and we head out for leking Great Snipe. Around 15 birds entertain us in magnificent display. I am sure everybody got better pics than I did. Maybe this can qualify for a word record in blurry bird picture. Adding a new dimension to the word record-shot.

Hawk Owl encounter

29:th of May 2011
The wind drives us down in the valleys and good that because that´s where we find a pair of Hawk Owls.

Hawk Owls on top

29:th of May 2011
And with their and our excitement not a single setting is right on the camera of course. But 2 Hawk Owls in the same treetop and with such grim faces... just needs to be shared, regardless the quality.

Obliging Phalaropes

29:th of May 2011
The first real mountain birds on the high plateau Flatruet includes Red-necked Phalaropes, always such obliging birds.

Waterfall birding

28:th of May
Birding by one of Sweden´s most spectacular waterfalls is always a thrill. Ring Ouzel singing, Gyr Falcons seen on the 2.nd visit.

Owl by the road

27:th of May 2011
A good morning´s birding in Färna ekopark results in Grey-headed-, Three-toed– and Black Woodpeckers but the most unexpected find was a young Ural Owl sitting just by the roadside in the forest.

2 Great Greys simultaneously

26:th of May 2011
For the first time this season we are able to clock 2 different Great Grey Owls hunting simultaneously over 2 different meadows not far from each other. Meaning male and female are out hunting both of ém. I suspect this is the female. If there re chicks they should now be more than 10 days for shure.

Focused on Thrush Nightingale

26:th of May 2011
Today we received a group from Naturetrek which started off really well. On the first 2 stops they saw Red-backed Shrike, Wryneck, Pied Flycatcher, Icterine Warbler and Slavonian Grebes in full summer plumage. Here they are focused on a Thrush Nightingale singing right in front of us.