Tyresö Slott; 22nd April 2013

 Great Crested Grebe; These birds are now returning to the breeding grounds after the thaw, a late winter here has seen them arrive a little later than usual..

 The birds have wasted no time getting down to breeding, plenty of displaying and nest prospecting going on today...

 A few pairs of Coot also in evidence today...

 Mink. I have seen three of these in the past fortnight, not good news at all for the local waterbirds. This foreign invader is wreaking havoc withing the ecosystem here and is a very real problem for breeding birds such as Coot and Great Crested Grebe.

 Above and below; White Wagtails are now returning en masse. One of the earliest birds to return...

Also today I managed some video footage of diplaying Great Crested Grebe, click here on the link to view this footage;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKJrhLma6CI&feature=youtu.be

A casual trip today to the slott today saw plenty of waterbirds. The ice has melted at this site and Goosander, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Mute Swan and Greylag Goose were all busily preparing for breeding. A handful of Green Sandpiper were better, though I was suprised at the absence of Osprey, having had one here already a few days ago. A pair of Common Buzzard floated past, whilst Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted woodpecker and Black Woodpecker were all in evidence. A very nice day out, time for some more serious birding I think..


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Iceland Gull; Blecktornsparken; Sodermalm; Stockholm; 11th April 2013

 Finally caught up on this northern beauty today, Iceland Gull. A Swedish tick!

 Present on arrival at the site, a cracking Iceland Gull in its 2nd calender year....

 Here foraging in the snow, where there were oats scatted to feed the birds, which seems to be the reason the bird is attending this small park in Sodermalm...

 Note the rather long wings here, typical of the species. In size was slightly larger than common gulls, yet much smaller and slighter than the local Herring Gulls and Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

 Looking for food in the newly exposed grass. The spring thaw in now underway after a very late winter cold snap...

 The bird was very tame and generally unconcerned by the presence of birders...

 On occasion the bird went for a stroll around the crazy golfcourse in the park...

 The bird dropping in after a short flight. note the white primaries, with concolourous outer webs on the primaries. The bill can be seen to be diffusely tipped dark, the bill itself rather slight and of delicate build.

 Another flight shot here from further away...

 An image here in black and white, which works rather well...

Click on the link here to view video footage of the bird, shot in videomode through the Nikon D90;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yrza_DzT7c&feature=youtu.be


Having made several trips at this stage to try and see this 2nd calender Iceland Gull, without success, I had more or less decided to give up on it. The bird had last been searched for a few days ago at Brevik Hamn an few days ago, for the second time, with no sign of the bird. Having also been checking at skeppsbron regularily, as well as narrowly missing the bird at Riddarfjärden on another occasion and it seemed this far roaming bird had slipped from my grasp...

Yesterday afternoon came a report that the bird had been seen at a small park not far from my apartment here in Sodermalm. Details were scant and it was assumed a flyover sighting by a single observer. Then this morning came another report, this time the bird being reported as being on the deck for an hour at least, right in the middle of an urban area. I quickly dropped eveything and got there promptly. On arrival there it was, sitting right in the middle of the small park, which has started to thaw. The bird was very tame indeed and a model to photograph, as can been seen from the shots above. Until now there have been few good images obtained of this bird, which is an exremely rare bird in Stockholm. I stayed with the bird for a couple of hours until I got a decent flight shot, before leaving. I would be a little concerned for this birds safety, it seems rather confiding and not very 'sharp'. There is at least one Goshawk active in the area that I know of and it would seem this bird could easily become prey to this bird, should their paths cross, which seems inevitable should the bird stay here for a few days, hopefully the bird will revert to roaming widely, as it has before now..

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Gulls; Lilla Blecktornsparken; Sodermalm; 11th April 2013

 A displaying adult summer plumaged Black Headed Gull in full sunlight...

 A newly returned pair of Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also present today at the small park, here is the smaller billed of the two, perhaps a female bird...

A second calender year Argentatus Herring Gull came down onto the deck for my biscuits...

I couldn't resist posting a few nice shots of the other gull species taken today whilst watching the Iceland Gull. The light today was superb. the gulls were in immaculate, full plumage. Here is the best of the shots taken...

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Fieldfares and Blackbird; Acrylic on Canvas

Fieldfares and Blackbird, Acrylic on Canvas(60cmx40cm)

Still pushing to get some painting done over the end of the winter, which has returned here in earnest. Fresh snowfalls have seen a jump in numbers in Fieldfare locally, no doubt early returning birds. There are several in my back garden as a result and there is much squabbling going on with the resident Fieldfares. Though common birds here, they make good subjects and I though a group scene would look well. On the day I fancied using acrylic paint and getting plenty of it on to the canvas. In keeping with recent work, this piece was drawn and painted quickly, with a minimum of fuss.



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New Watercolours

 Spring Return; Woodlarks

Yellowhammers

A couple of new watercolours here. Both on Arches 200g paper, both around A3 in size..

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Snow Buntings; Watercolour and a Common Gull study..

 A watercolour painting of Snow Buntings, completed from fieldwork done at Hammarby. The piece is around A3 in size and turned out quite well...

Common Gulls. Here is a study done at home on the couch, this one off the top of my head after seeing some roosting birds yesterday as Skeppsbron. This piece may well be developed further at the studio..

Some recent watercolour work, very nice to work with this medium again...

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Watercolour Sketches; Snow Bunting and Kestrel

 Kestrel Hovering; A quick watercolour sketch made whilst the bird was hovering above the hillside. The bird was often on view...

A few watercolour sketches of male Snow Buntings made in the field, the birds feeding in typical habitat, a rocky hillside on the sunlit side of the ski hill in Hammarby. Very nice to get such good views, though the cold was a problem and the brushes had to be heated in the hands after begining to freeze and turn rigid...

A few pages of watercolour fieldwork from a recent trip to Hammarby. A small group of snow Buntings was a very nice suprise on the day...

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Mute Swans; Skeppsholmen; March 2013

A few images here of Mute Swans from Skeppsholmen, where these birds were close by in dappled light. They made great subjects...

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Rough-legged buzzard; Painting

Rough-legged Buzzard; 30 M Kärret

Acrylic on Canvas; 140cmx40cm

A rather long canvas of a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard completed yesterday. This was done from a field sketch of a bird seen well a few winters ago at 30 M Kärret, Norra Järvafältet. My old sketchbook are now helping greatly with ideas for paintings in the studio, quite amazing how they jog the memory...


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Hawk Owl Painting

Hawk Owl; A portrait of the bird currently present at Sandemar, judged to be an adult due to the dark on the face, prominent breastband and moult on tertials..

Acrylic on Canvas; 80cmx60cm



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Yellowhammer in Song; Acrylic on Canvas

 

 

The latest painting from the studio here...

Yellowhammer in Song

Acrylic on Canvas(40cmx40cm)


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Hawk Owl; Sandemar; 3rd Febuary 2012

 The bird flew over my head quite soon after my arrival, soon it was actively hunting in the area..

 The bird settled in a corner of Hoggarn eventually and was oblivious to the many birders who came and went during the day. The views were quite incredible as the bird hunted voles constantly. Having eaten it's fill it began to hoard food as it was caught...

 The light was incredible today, a little cold perhaps. but there was not a cloud in the sky and the bird seemed to enjoy the sunshine. It sat out in plain view, giving breathtaking views throughout the day...

 The bird was something of a shapeshifter, often changing pose. Here it is looking over it's shoulder after something drew it's attention whilst preening...

 The dark markings framing the face give this species a stunning appearance, a fabulous bird...

 Another close up shot. The bird often sat very close to the birders present, totally unconcerned..

 Note here the dark upper breast band and beautifully barred underparts...

 Very reminiscent of a huge Shrike, due to the long tail and habit of sitting out on prominent perches, scanning the ground for prey...

 The bird in a conifer, having just hoarded a vole which it caught moments before. Several voles were hoarded in this manner, all in different trees in the area,..

 

 

 

 The bird looking directly downwards after hearing a Vole underneathe it's perch. Moments later it plummeted to the ground to snatch a meal...

 Here the bird is hoarding a vole in a birch tree, the rodent being just visible on the branch under the breast. A remarkably efficient hunter, in six attempts the bird caught no less than five times..

 The bird on the deck having just caught yet another vole...

 Perched with prey, just prior to hoarding it. With bad weather and snow forecast, these caches of food will help the bird through harder times, when hunting may be more difficult due to deep snow or reduced visibility..

 After catching a vole the plumage was invariably carefully preened...

 Another shot of the bird with prey...

 Having a scratch...

 Again, the bird hoarding prey. Remarkable to be able to observe such behaviour at close quarters...

 At this point the bird was just a few metres from me, having caught a vole and then landed on a birch beside me, before hoarding it..

 Having located prey the bird would launch itself into the air and take the shortest, most direct route towards it. The flight is rapid and very fast...

Another flight shot here...

An image here of the bird taking off after catching food, the Vole can clearly be seen in the birds talons...

On a day of stunning light and blue skies, Sandemar was the venue for a second day out to search for the still present Hawk Owl. As on the first occasion, it was immediately on view. The bird would remain on view throughout the morning and afternoon, often at close range and it gave mind blowing views as it hunted voles at the back of Hoggarn. It was nothing short of remarkableto watch this bird stopping from the trees on it's prey and hoarding it's catch in the suroounding trees for consumption at a later date. The bird caught five times out of six, an amazingly efficient predator, seemimngly perfectly adapted to taking it's unfortunate food source. I spent five hours watching the bird today, an unforgetable experience which will live long in the memory. Many photos were forthcoming and I even managed some sketching despite the cold, drawing with thin gloves on!

Here a little record video footage;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMmGtoWYMs&feature=youtube_gdata

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