Central Sweden.....

11-14 May - A short trip with Naturetrek, and a very successful one it turned out to be, to the Black River Valley with Daniel Green. From our base at Satra Brunn, we explored the forest and wetlands of this scenic and sparsely populated area. The first evening we set off in search of one of the main targets of the trip, to a quiet forest clearing at Skagersta - where after a wait, a shape silhouetted on a spruce materialised into a superb Great Grey Owl, a magical bird with a mesmerising stare, giving a feeling of tremendous privilege in sharing its world. We spent 2 evenings in total watching this bird, a huge owl floating around the clearing on silent wings yet surprisingly inconspicuous at times. The hotel grounds themselves held an extremely obliging pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, as well as Pied Flycatchers and nesting Fieldfares and Redwings - interesting to see and hear singing on their nesting grounds. A male Black Woodpecker was seen well in the nearby forest, where Cranes were calling, and we also had the chance to see Ural Owls at 2 nestboxes, with good views of the adults perched nearby, at times blending well into the birch trees - less impressive than the Great Grey, but with a strangely hypnotic gentle stare. Other highlights included a Hazelhen seen well in flight, as well as the highlight of the last morning, a rogue male Capercaillie which we watched displaying at close range, and which decided to see me off in no uncertain terms. The lakes and adjacent marshes and wetlands were bursting into life for the spring - migrant Barnacle Geese on their way north were alongside arriving summer visitors such as Whinchats and Black Terns. The lakes were a superb spectacle - highlights included Ospreys and an adult White-tailed Eagle, smart adult Little Gulls with summer plum Black Terns - Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes in breeding plumage - and migrant waders including numerous Wood Sandpipers alongside Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper. Other passerines seen included Brambling, Wryneck and a singing Thrush Nightingale, Grey-headed Wagtail and other highlights such as Hobbies and a flyby Montagu's Harrier. The last stop was a breeding site for Ortolan Bunting where 2 males were singing, and a garden feeding station with up to 4 feeding Hawfinches! A very successful trip.