Limosa Holidays & Travelling Naturalist Trip Report Sweden: Scandinavian Spring Thu 16th Sun 19th April 2015 Nutcracker was one of the special woodland species we saw on this tour Judy Taylor Report compiled by tour leader: Daniel Green 1 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist
Trip Diary Leader: Daniel Green with Mike Blease, Andrew & Suzette Peake and Bill & Tonya Woods The forests of Central Sweden are outposts of the great belt of taiga forest that stretches in a vast swathe between the arctic tundra and temperate forests of Eurasia. These forests are clearly different to almost all in the UK, and an echo of the original Wildwood that covered much of Europe before the arrival of man. Our tour focused on a small and very picturesque part of Sweden, checking for some of the special birds like grouse, owls and woodpeckers that make this forest their home. Early arrivals such as Common Crane add to the unique atmosphere of spring in Scandinavia. Thu 16th April Safely arrived late morning, the group meets & greets at the airport. On our way, a tiny wetland just by the road attracts Mute Swans, Goldeneye and Coot plus among the gulls, at least eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls of the race fuscus, a.k.a. Baltic Gull a possible future split. After a 30-minute drive we stop at Hjälstaviken, another good wetland spot usually with lots of birds and also a good place and time to grab a coffee and a sandwich. Among plenty of Greylag Geese, we also see dozens of Taiga Bean Geese and c. 100 Barnacles, but also a few White-fronted Geese. It is a picturesque Scandinavian scene, with at least 150 Common Cranes gathering out in the marshy area; Marsh Harrier and Osprey hunt over the lagoon; a group of 16 Curlew stand statuesque on the water meadows. The lakeside is lively with hundreds of pairs of noisy Black-headed Gulls and with loud Coots and elegant Great Crested Grebes among them. After an early dinner we head out in the evening to a site where it's good for Great Grey Owl. Excitingly, it doesn't take long until we find one, and soon after another of these charismatic birds perches on a fencepost in a forest clearing. It allows reasonably close approach and some good pictures are taken. We also get to see the second bird fly between perches, moving silently along the meadow side to hunt for voles. Superb! Song Thrush, Redwings, Robins, Dunnocks and Blackbirds are giving atmosphere to the evening together with roding Woodcocks. Fri 17th April At the Hotel Salbohedgarden, the feeders outside the guesthouse kitchen window attract quite a few Siskins, Bramblings, and the odd Bullfinch among the regular Tree Sparrows, Nuthatches, plus Great and Blue Tits. A Great Spotted Woodpecker is hammering on the bit of suet nailed to the wooden construction. We start the morning excursion after breakfast by checking some flooded wetlands in the valley farmland. Here we find plenty of Taiga Bean Geese (c. 250) and among them Pink-footed and White-fronted Geese. Several pairs of Common Cranes are joined by lingering flocks of a hundred or so Whooper Swans; Yellowhammers are also feeding with the cranes and swans on stubble fields. The forest is not as easily charmed. In the search for grouse and other forest birds we find mostly small birds like Goldcrests, Crested and Willow Tits. Delightful little fellows but not quite what we're after. We work our way to the other side of the valley and a male and female Black Grouse are spotted. Suddenly a female Capercaillie walks alongside the track and shortly after a stunning male stands not far away in the semi-open forest with it's tail fanned and in lekking position! This proves to be a rogue male that gives us really close encounters and fantastic photo opportunities. Though it might seem an "easy target", in fact there hasn t been a rogue Caper here for 18 years, so it's not at all a frequent sighting. 2 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist
After a nice picnic lunch we head east to meet up with a group of ringers focusing on Ural Owls. Unfortunately, all the nest boxes we check are empty. In summary, this season was the poorest breeding year for Ural Owls in 30 years: altogether we only found five breeding pairs in 50 nestboxes. It's only the second time ever a visiting group doesn't get to see this bird. Reluctantly, we have to admit we're defeated and head back to the guesthouse for dinner. The evening excursion gets a bit better, starting with an Eagle Owl on a nest a handsome bird. Then we head out for Pygmy Owl and just before dusk the cheeky little beggar appears in a dry pine tree, whistling it's fluty little call in the cold spring evening. Oh yes, on the way back from the empty Ural Owl boxes, a soaring Black Kite was spotted from the van by one of the group, asking, "Do you have Kites here?" Since none of the kites are common, we quickly turned around to see that this bird was in fact a Black Kite, a scarcity, although annual, around here. Sat 18th April Today we head west with a local guide Michael to Färna Ekopark. Migrating flocks of Cranes are soaring above, calling loudly adding atmosphere to the day. A Hazel Grouse is spotted running across the track in front of us. When we try to call it out of the vegetation it keeps calling back but stays in cover, despite us waiting patiently for almost half an hour. Another glimpse of the flying bird is obtained by some of us but that's how these birds are - notoriously unpredictable and often skulking. Today we struggle to find the rare Three-toed and Grey-headed Woodpeckers. Despite lots of very good habitat at regular sites and plenty of searching we fail to find them. At least a female Black Woodpecker shows well, while in the woods Crested Tits, Willow and Coal Tits, Treecreepers, Dunnocks and Wrens are all singing. Mistle Thrushes, Redwings and Fieldfares all appear along the tracks we drive. Scanning some lakes in the area gives Black-throated and Red-throated Divers in summer plumage. Suddenly a pale-looking raptor flies past us and, such excitement, it proves to be a majestic male Pallid Harrier! Although increasing in Scandinavia it is still a scarcity, especially in spring and a great find. Wow! In the evening we go out again to the site for Great Grey Owl and get more excellent views of one bird out hunting over the meadows. What a stunning creature! Woodcocks are roding above us. When we've had our fill of this lovely Owl (if that is at all possible?) we move to the river bridge to look for Beavers, and are we lucky? Soon we find ourselves amidst a veritable Beaver bonanza (?!) with up to five beavers showing at the same time on both sides of the bridge we don t know where to look. Some swimming past under us and two even on terra firma foraging on leaves and branches on the shore of the river. As we stand watching the Beavers, suddenly a Long-eared Owl flies past totally soundless. Magical! We also take a little detour to look for mammals on our way back to the guesthouse. When we get out of the bus on a little hill overlooking a small meadow surrounded by forest, the majestic call of a Ural Owl is reaching out in the starry, calm night. Beautiful, and what a fantastic finale to a lovely evening! Among mammals we find are Roe Deer, Red Deer, Brown Hare, Red Fox and Moose. Sun 19th April This, the last morning, and the feeders at our hotel offer the regular tits and Nuthatches, but also still some nice Bramblings and Bullfinches. A last attempt to get some forest birds proves luckier than the last time. On the very first try a Nutcracker appears in a treetop as the guide imitates the call. Next, two Hazel Grouse are found walking by the roadside, showing at least a little more than the day before. Crested and Willow Tits are singing, a Black Woodpecker is 3 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist
heard drumming, and in the damp Birch and Willow forest we find a quite obliging male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, drumming and calling repeatedly. Fläcksjön is just a few minutes from the guesthouse and always a nice place to be at this time of the year, often with some interesting birds to see. Today a couple of really nice looking Smew (a male in pure white breeding plumage) and two White-tailed Eagles are among the best birds. A fine Rough-legged Buzzard is another highlight. At the next lake we get views of plenty of wildfowl, including Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Goldeneye, but also some really nice grebes. Several pairs of handsome Slavonian Grebes are breeding here and on the second stop we also find a Red-necked Grebe - all of them in perfect summer plumage of course. Marsh Harriers and several pairs of breeding Cranes are showing by the wetlands. On the way to the airport, the regular Kestrels and Common Buzzards are seen from the bus. And that was sadly that for this time... Daniel Green BIRD LIST (96 species recorded) Bird Species Scientific name Trip 16 17 18 19 Black-throated Diver Gavia arctica X X Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata X X Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus X X X X X Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena X 1 Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus X 5 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo X X X Grey Heron Ardea cinerea X X X Mute Swan Cygnus olor X X Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus X X X X X Taiga Bean Goose Anser fabalis fabalis X X X Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchos X X X White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons X X X Greylag Goose Anser anser X X X X X Canada Goose Branta canadensis X X X X X Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis X 100 s Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope X X X X X Eurasian Teal Anas crecca X X X X X Gadwall Anas strepera X X X Mallard Anas platyrhynchos X X X X X Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata X X X Tufted Duck Aythya fulicula X X X Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula X X X X Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus X 1 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus X 1m Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus X X X X Common Buzzard Buteo buteo X X X X X Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus X 1 White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla X X 2 Black Kite Milvus migrans X 1 Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus X 1 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus X X X X Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus X M+F X Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix X M+F Hazel Grouse Bonasa bonasia X 1 F 2 4 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist
Pheasant Phasanius colchicus X 1 Eurasian Coot Fulica atra X X X X Common Crane Grus grus X 150 X X X Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus X X X X X Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata X 16 1 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago X X Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola X X X Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus X X X X X Common Gull Larus canus X X X X X Herring Gull Larus argentatus X X Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus X 8 Woodpigeon Columba palumbus X X X X X Stock Dove Columba oenas X X 2 Feral Pigeon Columba livia X X X X X Long-eared Owl Asio otus X 1 Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo X X Ural Owl Strix aluco X 1 H Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa X 2 1 Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum X 1 Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius X 1 F 1 Green Woodpecker Picus viridis X X X X Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major X X X X X Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor X 1 Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis X X X X X Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis X X X X X White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba X X X X X Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea X 1 Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes X X X Dunnock Prunella modularis X X X Robin Erithacus rubecula X X X X Common Blackbird Turdus merula X X X X X Fieldfare Turdus pilaris X X X X X Song Thrush Turdus philomelos X X X X X Redwing Turdus iliacus X X X X Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus X X X X X Goldcrest Regulus regulus X X Marsh Tit Poecile palustris X X Willow Tit Poecile montanus X X X X Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus X X X Eurasian Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus X X X X X Great Tit Parus major X X X X X Coal Tit Periparus ater X X Eurasian Treecreeper Certhia familiaris X X X Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea X X X X X Eurasian Starling Sturnus vulgaris X X X X X Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius X X X Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes X 1 Eurasian Magpie Pica pica X X X X X Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula X X X X X Northern Raven Corvus corax X X X X Hooded Crow Corvus cornix X X X X X Tree Sparrow Passer montanus X X X X House Sparrow Passer domesticus X X X Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs X X X X X Eurasian Siskin Spinus spinus X X X X X Eurasian Greenfinch Chloris chloris X X X X X Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea X 10 5 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist
Northern Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula X X X X Common Crossbill Loxia curvirostra X H X Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella X X X X X Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus X X X X Brambling Fringilla montifringilla X X X MAMMALS Roe Deer Red Deer Brown Hare Red Fox Moose Beaver Red Squirrel 6 Limosa Holidays & The Travelling Naturalist