This
was a family holiday with my wife, Bridgette and son, Michael, on my first visit
to Sweden (although Bridgette had been before) I planned to watch birds and
wildlife whenever I could. We stayed at Youth Hostels (which were all excellent)
and with friends in Stockholm and at Ragvaldsträsk. The season presented little
opportunity for owls or woodpeckers and this choice of dates was governed by the
school holidays. This report concentrates on the birding I did on the trip. Over
the fortnight we drove 1200+ miles.
Itinerary
S
22nd July Quedgeley, Glos to Dagnall, Herts
DAY
1
Su 23rd July Dagnall, Herts to Harwich to North Sea
DAY
2
M 24th July North Sea to Goteborg, Sweden to Huskvarna
DAY
3
T 25th July Huskvarna to Stockholm
DAY
4 W 26th
July Stockholm (Visit Gamla Stan and the Palace)
DAY
5
Th 27th July Stockholm (Visit the Vasa and
Dalaro)
DAY
6 F
28th July Stockholm to Uppsala to Skalbo (via Enaker and
Kerstinbo)
DAY
7
S 29th July Skalbo (Visit
Furuvik)
DAY
8
Su 30th July Skalbo to Ledskar to Sundsvall (via
Gavle)
DAY
9 M
31st July Sundsvall to Ornskoldsvik to Ragvaldsträsk (via
Mosjön)
DAY
10 T
1st August Ragvaldsträsk to Luleå to Umeå
(Visit Gammelstadsviken)
DAY
11 W
2nd August Umeå to Skuleskogen to Hudiksvall
DAY
12 Th 3rd August Hudiksvall to Borlange to Orebro
DAY
13 F
4th August Orebro to Kungalv (Visit Kvismaren and
Brunnparken)
DAY
14 S
5th August Kungalv to Goteborg to North Sea
DAY
15 Su 6th August North Sea to Harwich to Dagnall to Quedgeley
DAY 1 Su 23rd July Dagnall, Herts to Harwich to North Sea
Weather
: Dry, sunny and very warm
We
set sail from Harwich on the ‘MV Princess of Scandinavia’ for Sweden at 4pm.
As we waited to set sail the boat was besieged by a plague of ladybirds, there
must have been thousands. In the sea we were surrounded by a couple of shoals of
small jellyfish which numbered in hundreds. I don’t know the reason for either
of these irruptions, hot weather maybe? There was little to note in the way of
birdlife. In Harwich harbour all five common species of gull were present, as
were up to six Common
Terns
and a single Canada
Goose.
The
only other species of bird seen in the North Sea before nightfall were two Fulmars.
DAY
2 M
24th July North Sea to Goteborg, Sweden to Huskvarna
Weather
: Cloudy at first but sunny later
I
arrived on deck at around 7:30am to be greeted by a cloudy, blustery day with a
Force 4 wind. Seawatching through the morning was much more productive. There
were thirty Fulmars,
five Guillemots,
three single Great
Skuas,
a party of six Arctic
Skuas,
which were my first of the year, and five Common
Terns.
As we started to pass the rocky islets marking the way into Gothenburg
(Goteborg) there were small parties of Eider,
mainly females and young birds of both sexes, there were fifty in all. Also here
were large parties of Mute
Swans,
a single Oystercatcher
and a Cormorant.
The
first notable bird once ashore was a Hooded
Crow
at Borås, the first I had seen since 1989 in Scotland. This far north there
were no Carrion Crows. The only other notable birds on the way to Huskvarna were
a pair of Ravens
near Gullered.
Once
we had settled into the Youth Hostel at Huskvarna we went for a short walk along
the shore of Lake Vattern. There were two White
Wagtails
outside the hostel and two more on the shores of the lake. Here they replace our
more familiar Pied. Other notable birds were a female Goldeneye,
a female Goosander,
a Tree
Sparrow,
a juvenile Pied
Flycatcher
and four Fieldfares,
which were nice to see out of season.
DAY 3 T 25th July Huskvarna to Stockholm
Weather
: Sunny and warm
I awoke at 4:30am and left shortly afterwards to walk the shore of Lake Vattern. Birds were everywhere and it soon became sunny and warm. Magpies and Hooded Crows were common, Tree Sparrows outnumbered House Sparrows and White Wagtails were everywhere but there were no Starlings.
Two
female Goosanders
were on the lake and later I saw a female with seven juveniles. The air was
alive with Sand
Martins,
at least 200, from a colony on the cliff-like bank of the lake’s shore.
Then
came the best birds of all, a pair of Black-throated
Divers,
not thirty yards away from the shore and in pristine black, grey and white
summer plumage. I watched them for a long while enjoying this superb wild
encounter. The are surely the classiest of all water birds in my opinion.
Rounding
the corner from the divers I found a flock of 38 Great
Crested Grebes.
The both Sparrowhawk
and Kestrel
made unsuccessful passes through the swirling flock of Sand
Martins.
On the sports field above the lake I found three Oystercatchers.
In a nearby copse I found three Nuthatches
which were somewhat different in appearance to our British race in that their
breasts and underparts were white but still having chestnut vents. Also in and
around this copse was a Marsh
Tit
and four Siskins.
On
my way back to the hostel I found a Hobby
in a large tree which had successfully caught a Sand
Martin
and was eating it clutched in one taloned foot like an avian lollipop. This was
probably some of the best close views I have ever had of a Hobby.
Two juvenile Pied
Flycatchers rounded
off the walk and I headed home for breakfast and the northbound trip to
Stockholm.
The
only birds of note on the journey were several Hooded Crows, two Common Buzzards
and a Yellowhammer singing at the services. Other wildlife seen today was six Brown
Hares,
two Roe
Deer
and ten Fallow
Deer.
DAY
4 W
26th July Stockholm (Visit Gamla Stan and the Palace)
Weather
: Hot, bright and sunny
On
a day spent at Helena’s in the suburbs of Stockholm and visiting the city
itself, opportunities for birding were few and far between. Birds of the local
park included two more ‘white’ Nuthatches,
a Great
Spotted Woodpecker, another three Hooded
Crows and a Tree
Sparrow. It was also a surprise to find three Brown
Hares running along the pavements in a suburban
area with little grassland.
DAY
5 Th 27th July Stockholm (Visit the Vasa and
Dalaro)
Weather
: Hot and sunny
Another
day spent in Stockholm with a visit to the Vasa (a wooden sailing ship recovered
from the depths in immaculate condition, highly recommended!). NB, Retyping my
notes six years on I should have paid more attention to the Lesser
Black-backed Gulls
in Stockholm Harbour.
In
the evening we drove out to the coast at Dalaro. On the way a flock of 100 Greylags
at Stegsholm may well have been wild birds. Good numbers of Hooded
Crows
seemed to be everywhere. Near Dalaro Roe
Deer
crossed the road with reckless abandon, we saw seven in all. In England we have
the wild animal road signs and never a sign of deer or anything else, here the
signs really need to be heeded.
At
Dalaro itself notable birds included two Fieldfares,
a Spotted
Flycatcher,
fifteen Eiders,
six White
Wagtails
and lots of Common
Gulls.
DAY
6 F
28th July Stockholm to Uppsala to Skalbo (via Enaker and Kerstinbo)
Weather
: Hot and sunny
Today we left Stockholm and headed north, first to look for birds in the Uppsala area, before meeting Helena and her children, Barzan and Evin at Osterbybruk to travel on together to her family’s summer house at Skalbo near Klintbol.
The
highlight of the journey north was a Honey
Buzzard at Knivsta. I later saw singles at Enaker and Kerstinbo. A Starling
at Uppsala was surprisingly the first we had seen in Sweden. We headed on out
towards Enaker and despite a detailed map I was frustrated that we could not
find the entrance to the Tinaset reserve. The local people did not speak English
and did not know Tinaset anyway.
Nevertheless
the area around here was beautiful with meadows full of flowers, a river, lakes
and quite a few birds. The best of these was Red-backed Shrike, a life tick for
me, and two together here were males. I noted a blue-grey cap, black mask over
the eyes, white below the mask, rufous back and wings, dark legs,
pinkish/off-white breast and belly, black tail with white sides and a hooked
beak. By the end of the day I had seen five males and two females, which
included a pair on the edge of the garden at Skalbo. What an incredible garden
bird!
Other
notable birds included two Ravens,
two Common
Buzzards, two Whinchats, a Redwing and a Green Woodpecker at Skalbo. I also
saw two Foxes
and a Brown Hare.
In
the evening as we dined on reindeer meat and lots of wine it was both exciting
and frustrating to hear many Common
Cranes coming in to roost beyond the forest but being unable to see
them.
DAY
7 S
29th July Skalbo (Visit Furuvik)
Weather
: Sunny and warm but cloudy
I got up at 3:45am to explore the forests and lakes surrounding the summer house. The birding was good with some of the less common species seen but none of the really rare target species, the time of year was just wrong.
Two species shared top billing for the morning, the first being Crested Tit of which I saw two. These were the first I had seen since Scotland in 1989. Their soft trilling was easily picked up and led me to them.
The other star bird was a female Parrot Crossbill seen in a low pine at a range of only about six feet. The huge bulging bill, large head and flat crown together with its bulky build distinguished it from Common Crossbill of which I saw a fine red male later. In a small scrubby area near a farm the birds were excellent with as well as the crossbills, Siskins, fifteen Fieldfares, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher and five each of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker as well as many commoner species.
Back at the summer house a male Black Redstart in the garden was excellent as were three Whinchats.
During the day we visited a pleasure park at Furuvik. The wildlife highlights included an adult Elk, with full ‘hat rack’, at Lövastabruk, ten Tree Sparrows at Furuvik and also here a female Goldeneye on the Baltic with five ducklings. If you ever visit Furuvik don’t swim in the outside pool here, it may look inviting in high summer, but it is absolutely freezing. The Swedes are hardier than us Brits.
A
Common Sandpiper
and two Common Terns were on a lake near the
summer house on our return.
DAY
8 Su 30th July Skalbo to Ledskar to Sundsvall (via
Gavle)
Weather
: Hot and sunny
I rose early again at around 4:30am, on what was to be probably the best birding day of the holiday. A low mist hung over the fields prior to the hot sun burning off the mist to bring a scorching day.
As
I left the house a singing Redwing
was the first bird I saw but I could immediately hear a loud yelping call, which
I did not recognise. It did not take all my powers of identification when a
black crow-sized bird flew up out of the mist and landed on the side of a
telegraph pole in the middle of the field where it drummed loudly. It was a Black
Woodpecker,
one of my top target species. Its head was hammer shaped in profile but I was
not able to detect red on the crown because of the poor early morning light. I
watched it for a minute or two before it flew off into the woods calling loudly.
A major life tick for me!
Still
ecstatic about my success I walked about 100 yards around the corner and was
pleased to see two Common
Cranes
in the next field. I watched them for a while until they too flew off. I also
heard others calling.
I
threaded through the trees of a pine copse and was startled when a large bird
took off and crashed off through the branches. Thinking about this in retrospect
and reading about this crashing take-off I am certain that it must have been a Capercaillie.
It was large and dark and probably a male. I didn’t tick it though!
When
I arrived in a clearing at the edge of the wood I looked up to see what I nearly
dismissed as a gull approaching. However I was amazed to find on closer
inspection that it was an adult Long-tailed
Skua
complete with tail streamers. It flew over my head fairly low and I was able to
note its dark cap, narrow wings, pale breast darkening towards its belly and its
long tail streamers. Wow!
Birds
were everywhere, as were mosquitoes, I got over 100 bites in two days and ended
up sweltering in hat and coat done up to the neck. I think mosquitoes love the
smell of repellents.
The
birds included Fieldfare,
Tree
Pipits
and White
Wagtails.
A
small forest lake had two Common
Sandpipers,
a Common
Tern
and a female Goldeneye
with five juveniles. Also near here was a pair of Whinchats
and a single male. A Siskin
flew over followed by a Common
Crossbill.
At the farm was a superb Red-backed
Shrike
family, male, female and two juveniles. Many other birds were around this area
including juvenile
Pied Flycatcher,
Spotted
Flycatcher,
Marsh
Tit,
Willow
Tit,
a pair of Bullfinches,
the male of this northern race much brighter than our British race, and both Green
Woodpecker
and
Great Spotted Woodpecker.
After breakfast we packed up, said our goodbyes to Helena and the children, and headed north for Sundsvall.
On
the way we stopped at the huge wetland area of Ledskar. This was wonderful, it
was hot and sunny now, and the sky a cloudless azure blue. The birds here were
terrific too. Immediately I found a flock of seventeen Caspian
Terns,
fifteen adults and two juveniles. Another much wanted lifer. I noted that they
were a large, almost Herring Gull-sized tern with a large red ‘banana’ bill
that was dark at the tip. They had black caps, shaggy at the neck, forked tails
and pale grey back and wings with white underparts. In flight the wings were
long and pointed with dark undersides to the primaries. The flight consisted of
slow measured wingbeats. They had a deep raucous call. The juveniles had
speckled caps.
Next
to the terns was a party of twenty Common
Cranes,
which drank, bathed and preened in the hot midday sun. Beyond them was a flock
of 200+ Greylag
Geese.
Waders milled about amongst the terns and included six Wood
Sandpipers
(the most I had ever seen together), a summer-plumaged Grey
Plover,
six Redshanks,
a Greenshank,
two Spotted
Redshanks
and Lapwings.
A male Marsh
Harrier
quartered the reed beds and shimmered silver in the heat haze. In a small copse
I had good close views of a Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker,
the kind of views you rarely get in Britain. A nasal ‘chep’ alerted me to a
large greenish warbler in a hedgerow feeding on berries. It was my first Icterine
Warbler.
I noted the following points : a large warbler, long-billed, dull
olive-green/brown above and pale below, no eye-stripe and a square-ended tail,
often standing tall, a nasal ‘chep’ call and gave one or two brief song
notes. Finally two Hooded
Crows
were here, also on the way to Sundsvall, two were at Gavle and twelve at Gharp.
We
spent the night at a Youth Hostel at Sundsvall.
DAY
9 M
31st July Sundsvall to Ornskoldsvik to Ragvaldsträsk (via Mosjön)
Weather
: Hot and sunny
I
got up early and took a stroll around the wooded hills of a rather smelly (wood
pulping factory) Sundsvall. I again had excellent views of a male Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker.
The other important sighting I had was of a summer-plumaged Brambling
in the woods among Chaffinches.
Other notable species were a Fieldfare,
two Hooded
Crows,
four Siskins
and two juvenile Pied
Flycatchers.
After
breakfast we continued heading north for Ragvaldsträsk, noting on the way six Hooded
Crows,
six White
Wagtails
and a female Goldeneye
with three juveniles at Mosjön. On our arrival at Helena’s parents’ house a
flyover Redpoll
was notable.
I
spent the evening being gripped off by two delightful elderly people who told
of, not only Wrynecks in the garden in May, but also an adult GREAT GREY OWL and
three young on the garden fence!!!
DAY
10 T
1st August Ragvaldsträsk to Luleå to Umeå (Visit Gammelstadsviken)
Weather
: Hot and sunny
Unable
to sleep I arose around 3am and took a walk around the surrounding woods and
fields. It was broad daylight and had not been dark all night. Immediately as I
entered the woods I spotted a Red
Squirrel
on the path in front of me, it quickly raced up a tree and vanished. I saw a few
notable birds on my walk, which included three Fieldfares,
two Willow
Tits,
three Redpolls,
nine White
Wagtails,
four Siskins,
two Hooded
Crows,
two Whinchats
and a Redwing.
Taking
our leave of Erich and Maria we set off on the drive north to Luleå. After
lunch in Luleå, a quiet town only about 80 miles from the Arctic Circle, we
drove to the nature reserve at Gammelstadsviken.
The
paths here were crawling with baby toads and you had to be careful before each
footstep. We climbed up a tower hide with excellent views across the lakes. Both
male and female Marsh
Harrier
were hunting over the reed beds. A lone Whooper
Swan
was at the water’s edge. Out on the lake were six Pintails,
a female Goldeneye
and some Wigeon.
A Ruff
fed at the fringes and three Arctic
Terns
fed over the lake. Returning to the woods I could hear the thin whistle of a Hazel
Grouse
(which I recognised from my birdsong CD – All the Birds of Britain &
Europe) and I was lucky enough to see one briefly as it flew across the path in
front of me. I noted a fairly small brown grouse flying on down-turned wings. I
could not relocate it despite extensive searching.
Unfortunately
we decided we would not have the time to continue north to the Arctic Circle,
much to my disappointment, Bridgette had been before, so we set off back south.
DAY
11 W
2nd August Umeå to Skuleskogen to Hudiksvall
Weather
: Hot and sunny
After
nearly running out of petrol, finding all the petrol stations shut at nine, and
spending an extremely uncomfortable night in the car at Umeå, we headed south,
stopping at Skuleskogen for breakfast.
Skuleskogen
was a rest place by the main road where wooded cliffs rose from the roadside to
the ‘Viking’s Cave’ near the top. We scaled the cliff following rocky
paths to the top where a café served welcome ice-cream and cold drinks. The
temperature was about 30°. There were plenty of birds here including a swirling
flock of twenty Hooded
Crows,
a bright male Bullfinch,
two Fieldfares,
a Willow
Tit
and as we descended the other side by cable car (worth every penny) two Ravens.
As
we returned to the car park three Honey
Buzzards
showed well in the blue skies above us. We spent the night at the beach-site
Youth Hostel at Hudiksvall. Here a Caspian
Tern
flew noisily amongst the bathers. Note/ paddling in the Baltic, even in high
summer is freezing.
DAY
12 Th
3rd August Hudiksvall to Borlange to Orebro
Weather
: Cloudy and mild , showers then heavy rain
A
bad day spent entirely on the road in order to make up time and cover a huge
distance while the weather was inclement. On the way to Orebro notable birds
were few but included six White
Wagtails,
five Hooded
Crows,
a Sparrowhawk
and a Honey
Buzzard
at Sandvikken. We stayed the night at Orebro youth Hostel (a converted hospital,
we had a ward to ourselves). In the garden were three juvenile Pied
Flycatchers
and a Green
Woodpecker.
DAY
13 F
4th August Orebro to Kungalv (Visit Kvismaren and Brunnparken)
Weather
: Cloudy but very warm and sunny
I
rose early and headed out for the wetland reserve of Kvismaren. On the way to
the reserve I saw two Common
Buzzards
and a couple of Hooded
Crows.
There were also many White
Wagtails.
When I arrived at the reserve I headed for a large tower hide. On the top floor
a group of Swedish birders were ringing. They invited me to watch while they
fitted three very noisy juvenile
Red-backed Shrikes
with rings and later took me on a tour of the nets. The most interesting catch
was a juvenile Pied
Flycatcher.
There
was excellent birding to be had from the hide. First was a superb adult
summer-plumaged Red-necked
Grebe
close to the hide. I noted its chestnut neck, grey cheeks and bright
yellow-based bill. Then a Bittern
flew up from the reeds and across the reserve. Apparently this small reserve
supports twenty pairs and yet a similar reed-filled reserve in Britain is lucky
if it has a single pair. Why?
A
female Sparrowhawk
fly low over the reed bed and four Wood
Sandpipers
fed around the reed bed fringes. Many small birds were around the car park
including my second Icterine
Warbler,
six Tree
Sparrows,
a juvenile Yellow
Wagtail and
a Fieldfare.
After
breakfast we walked around Brunnparken where notable birds were two Tree
Sparrows,
a Nuthatch
and two White
Wagtails.
We
then left for the long drive to Kungalv on the outskirts of Goteborg
(Gothenburg) where we would spend the night at the Youth Hostel before catching
the ferry back to England. There were several notable birds on the journey, at
Vretstorp a female Marsh
Harrier, at Solle a super male Red-backed
Shrike and on small lake at Livered fourteen
female/juvenile Goosanders,
a single Snipe,
ten Wood
Sandpipers (eclipsing the six at Ledskar) and a Black-tailed Godwit.
DAY
14 S
5th August Kungalv to Goteborg to North Sea
Weather
: Hot and sunny
I
walked around the village and castle before breakfast. Notable birds included
ever-present Hooded
Crows
and White
Wagtails,
a female Goldeneye
on a small pond, three Nuthatches,
six Fieldfares
and a juvenile Pied
Flycatcher.
After
a couple of hours exploring Goteborg and taking a boat trip around the harbour
we caught the ferry home.
Leaving
the harbour there were fifty Mute
Swans,
twenty-one Eiders
(all females/juveniles), a Common
Tern
and a Cormorant.
During the first hour of the voyage there were 284 Fulmars
and a young Gannet,
which went past the ship, then I stopped counting.
DAY
15 Su
6th August North Sea to Harwich to Dagnall to Quedgeley
Weather
: Hot and sunny
Nine
Fulmars
were the only notable birds seen on the journey home.
©
Mike King 2001