Searching high and low
Text and photo: Stefan HanssonBirds in the sky and moose on the ground, but also a beaver both in the water and on land. John and Eileen has had the opportunity to add quite a few new photos to their Nordic portfolio, some without having me around to show them around. I had to go home for a couple of days and in the meantime they kept on searching on their own. They managed to photograph cock capercaillie and even that illusive hen! The smew is still more illusive than they need, but they saw a lot of hares instead – it is time for the second litter and there were love struck hares everywhere. In fact, when I came back it was they who showed me the sights, not the other way around. During the week we have been lucky some mornings, also less lucky sometimes.
Our friends got one more descent greyhen shot as well and some moose shots that are not half bad, to mention a few – but what could have been the best day of all, ended in disappointment. Though: we cannot have it all!
That morning we saw a lot of moose without getting any photos. It all began with a greyhen, went on with chances of close up photos of a black cock, but all the hares were to fast for us, also the fox we saw. To make matters even worse, we had very poor light. The dark sky was our greatest enemy, but it felt unreasonably unfair when we stumbled over the beaver; yes, finally a beaver! First of all we saw it swimming and then it climbed ashore and crossed the road in front of us before it went into the water on the other side and disappeared without a trace. Tough luck, it was posing!, and the cameras rattled like machine guns – to no avail: there was not enough light to allow us even a single descent image! Those I got were not very good either, but for those who have not seen a beaver before: here they are.
Like I said last week; this spring is strange. According to tradition the capercaillie should have stopped displaying now. It happens when the birch leaves are the size of a mouse’s ear, still they are displaying. Also, more ducks and waders should have arrived by now – on the other hand: there are many more cuckoos than before. The thrushes and the other small birds have a hard time getting rid of them.
Exciting things are happening in our yard as well. Under the the roof of the house a pair of redstart (rödstjärt) is nesting and a pair of spotted flycatcher (grå flugsnappare) and a pair of white wagtail (sädesärlor) are fighting over the right to nest under the barn roof. There seems to be birds everywhere round the house.
Last minute report
When sitting here writing, John calls. Like last week I had to go home for a couple of days and John and Eileen are left to manage on their own. By now they know the surroundings quite well, so they really do not need me anymore and according to John they have had a little bit of luck with the beavers. We explored another river last week without actually seeing any beavers even though we saw signs of activity there; late last night they came across two of them and took a few nice photos. Of course they will need more, but at least now they know where to look for the beavers.
Another new discovery was the nest of a black-throated loon (storlom) and they took many good photos of the bird brooding. As we understand it, that would have been a crime had it happened in Britain. Luckily this is Sweden and we do not have these strange laws, at least not yet. We have know-it-alls screaming for new laws here too, so we have better look out for trouble caused by those determined to exploit the greed for power that drives all politicians “to show determination to act”. After all, we have a green party in this country. This is an election year and they will do whatever it takes to get more votes. Higher taxes on fuel and electricity and harder laws for the hunters of this country, are to be reckoned with. Why not heed the calls from deranged people like the ornithologists? They have been very successful both in Holland and England, haven’t they?
Well, I will join John and Eileen again on Wednesday. I know the wildlife and I know the surroundings, but I still have a lot to learn about photography and how to get in a position to take really good photos. Charing experiences with the English is stimulating without it having anything to do with spaniels!
