Northern Sweden has been experiencing warmer then expected weather over the Christmas and new year period. Temperatures of around 4 degrees are melting the snow fast and encouraging a LOT of different bird species out to feed. I prefer it to a minus 9 and knee deep snow!
Black Woodpecker, Spotted Nutcracker, Waxwing, Lapland Bunting, Nuthatch, Great grey shrike, Willow Tit, Black Grouse, Hazel Hen and to cap it off a Great Grey Owl this week have all been seen on our doorstep. Not to mention the ever present Raven, Hooded Crow, Blue and Great Tits, Tree Sparrow and Great spotted woodpecker plus others. Roe Deer, Red Fox, Arctic Hare and the odd Moose are out and about too.
No Reindeer though! The warm weather has meant that they have not needed to move down to us from their mountain grazing areas yet.
I particularly enjoyed the Arctic redpoll on a sunny clear day. The red on the forehead and chest, with their black bib and yellow beak made for a really nice show.
And here is a photo we got of a Hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia), sometimes called the Hazel hen which came to have a sneaky look at what we were up to while photographing the Redpoll! It is one of the smaller members of the grouse family. Normally shy, ours tend to be nosey!
WE OFFER GUIDED BIRD WATCHING DAY TRIPS DURING JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH WHERE YOU CAN VIEW THE WILDLIFE IN A SNOW COVERED SETTING BY WALKING SNOW CLEARED TRACKS.