Feeding the birds

It has been a very tough Winter for the non-migrating birds in Sweden. I read a report this morning where they listed a 90% loss of some species because of the cold weather. Here at Norrström in Stockholm the city have fed the birds all Winter.

The swan family

Often when cycling to or from Stockholm I will do a few pit stops. This is one of them. A circular pier at Lake Drevviken near the beach at Hökarängsbadet. A nice place to just sit down for a few minutes. Lots of construction going on here at the moment, or since a few years, really. Roads are sometimes moved or closed off because of that, and don't get me started on the bike path. Anyway, on this recent Autumn visit it was just me and a few swan families enjoying the silence. I have shown you the house and the lake before both is Spring, Summer and Winter in case it looks familiar.

Pecking

I visited Sickla in Hammarby sjöstad a while back. I mostly photographed modern buildings and reflections. There is a place there called Lugnets terrass that I always try to visit when I am in the area. A wooden terrace down by Hammarby sjö. A great spot for people watching, especially during the warmer parts of the year. On this visit I was the only one on the terrace and the first photo I took was this one. Two birds out on the ice. One of them busy pecking, obviously there was something interesting under the ice.

The Yellowhammer and the siskin

I will remember this last Wednesday for a while. We had a couple of hours with sunshine! I took these bird photos near the old tree.

Counting Crows

Out walking at the old farm at Nedersta I decided not to do that.

Birds of prey

Birds of prey circling overhead yesterday as I stopped for a photo of the combine harvester. I counted around eight birds in all.

In a row

I heard them before I saw them. Three cranes flying overhead as I made my way to the old tree earlier today.

Migratory Birds

On my way to the old tree yesterday I stopped at a field belonging to the Nödesta farm to photograph these migratory birds. They have been there for a couple of days now. Looks like Whopper Swans and Canada Goose. Probably heading for the Netherlands or even Spain.

The Birdographer

The first thing I noticed at Slätmossen on my most recent visit was this photographer. And I even recognized the lens she was shooting with. Because I am thinking about buying it myself. Would be a nice tool for bird photography. It's the Tamron AF SP 150-600/5,0-6,3 Di VC USD. Didnt get her name, but I found her via Facebook as she showed me some of her photos, so hello Annika!

Bird of prey

The weather improved a bit today. We had a blue sky for a few hours, but it is still cold, maybe 6C. I stopped at the nature park Slätmossen in Handen where I spotted a sparrow-hawk up a birch tree. Next to it sat a great tit. I hope the bird of prey didn't eat the "talgoxe" after I had left.

Bird Migration

These birds are heading south for the winter. Shot this scene on a rainy day at Stav in Tungelsta. Whooper Swans and Canada Geese on a field. They stayed for two days before flying south. Update, it is Greylag Geese.

Garden Bird Watch

I'm often out shooting birds. Sometimes the talking type and sometimes the winged version, and here are a few recent snaps for you to enjoy. All photos taken in the garden at home in the last week or so. The first one is a Chaffinch. Or as we like to call it a Bofink. It's a very common bird and there are around 10 million to be found in Sweden. The second photo shows a Tree Sparrow. It's a fledgling fluttering it's wings to get the parents to feed it. We call this bird Pilfink. Lastly a Greenfinch that can be found all over Europe. The Swedish name is Grönfink.

Whooper Swans

From a couple of comments, from Malin and Linda, I knew that I might find a flock of whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), close to the old tree at Välsta. And sure enough, I counted around 80 swans on the field on my visit yesterday. As I walked closer I could hear their deep honking call. And then, as I got the camera ready, I managed to scare away a flock of Canadian Geese, but I did get a decent shot of the birds as they flew away. Read more about the swans on wikipedia.

Geese

Back in the 1930ths the Canadian Goose was introduced to Sweden. Since then it has spread around Scandinavia and south. Every year the Geese fly south to Denmark and Poland and some continue all the way down to Italy and Spain. I stopped at Upper Lake Rudan yesterday and found a group of Geese there. Among the many Canadian Geese I also spotted a Greylag Goose.

Canadian Geese

Two Canadian Geese at Lower Lake Rudan in Handen. Last time I saw them there was some ninety birds on a field nearby. That was back in October when they were heading south for the winter. The Canadian Goose was first imported to Sweden back in 1930 and can these days be seen all around the country.

90 Canadian Geese

Give or take a few. Bigger photo. Heading south for the winter the birds decided to stop and rest on this field in Österhaninge. Which was nice of them me thinks.

Feeding the birds

This guy knows how to get popular with the birds. Bird feeding at the nature park, Slätmossen in Handen. He said it was his good deed of the day. These birds never leave, they stay here all year. Which I can understand because there's always someone here feeding them. Bigger photo.

7 Bohemian Waxwings

I could here the birds chatting away up the tree in Lida, and decided to stop and take a few photos. I was on the bicycle so it took a minute to get the camera ready. After I took this, I was going to zoom in and get a close-up, but the 7 Bohemian Waxwings or Sidensvansar as they are known in swedish decided that the photo shoot was over and flew away...