NatureFootsteps Resor / Travels

Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, , Sverige, Sweden, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, Malta, Bugibba, diving, dykning, anchordiving, divers licence, PADI,,Azure Window, Gozo, fotograf

Bougainvillea

2012-02-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

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NF Photo 110203, La Ensenada, Costa Rica
Ett vackert träd i La Ensenadas trädgård. Förmodligen flera träd planterade tillsammans för att skapa färgvariationen.
A beautiful tree in La Ensenadas garden. Probably several planted together to create this fine variety of colors.

Floral Fridays NF Flowers 39 Todays Flowers
Flowers on Saturday 60

Mer om CR här:

Costa Rica Birdblogg
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Öland, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, ,La Ensenada, costa rica, Bougainvillea, flower,

Ökenros - Desert rose

2012-01-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

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NF Photo 120118

I sept 1994 var jag i USA. Jag åkte med några geologer till Klippiga bergen bla. Nere i Arizonas öken hittade jag denna Ökenros som jag fotat idag. Rosen formas i öknen då den rullar med vinden och samlar på sig kristaller. Den här har en diameter på 30mm.

In sept 1994 I was in USA. I was travelling with a couple of geologists to The Rocky Mountains. Down in Arizona desert I found this Desert Rose I took a shot at today. The rose is formed in the desert as it is rolling with the wind and collecting crystals in the process. The diameter is 30mm.

Desert Rose Gallery at Mindat.org

NF Macro 70

Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Öland, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, ,USA, klippiga bergen, Arizona, ökenros, geolog, rock, mountain, sand, macro, NF Macro

La Ensenada bridge

2012-01-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

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NF Photo 110203 La Ensenada, Costa Rica
Fåglar gillar verkligen det folk bygger. Eller hur? :)

Birds really like the things human builds. Don´t they? :)

NF Winged 27
NF Waters #11

La Ensenada red critters

2011-12-15T10:44:00.000-08:00

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NF Photo 110203, La Ensenada and salines

NF Photo 110203, La Ensenada on a country road

Ett par av de små jag såg i Costa Rica när jag var där.
Two of the small ones I spotted in Costa Rica when I was there.

If anyone know the names I´d like to know it. :)
.NF Winged 25
Camera Critters 193

Mer om CR här:

NatureFootstep
Bird blog / Fågel blogg

Costa Rica Birdblogg
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Costa Rica, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, ,La Ensenada, butterfly, dragonfly, fjäril, trollslända

111005 Falsterbo, wednesday

2011-12-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

Translate? See Google translation in the sidebar!

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111005 Falsterbo, wednesday. Going home day. :(

Breakfast at 7 as usual. But no lunch to collect today. But I did take some coffee and juice. We will be birding our way back to Lund and the central station. We left Falsterbo at 8 as usual and headed in north east direction. Our first stop at "Gröna Lund" close to a well known area for raptors called Börringe. We have a We have a very bright buzzard named after that area. But we did not see it today.

But we did see 7 sea eagles when we were birding at Havgårdssjön. Not bad. Some Red Kites also presented themselves. A lot of geeze of course. At place called Punkten ( the point) we had aRough-legged Buzzard showing off it´s beauty for a long while. And, then, for the first time some cranes.

There was not much today and I guess we felt low as we were actually on our way home.

In Lund, as we reached about 11.30 we went to the station and a luchbar. Some paople was hungry and wanted food. We also went through the last birds on the list today. Then we separated.

I had 3 h to my train so I walked around Lund for a while. It is an old college town so lots of it remides of school and libraries. Not really my kind of town. But found a store for magazines where they had a lot of photo mags so I spent some time in there. And then I had some fun photographing a womens hairdo throu some bush. :)

The last shot, a Rough-legged Buzzard

Then almost 4h on the train before I was home again.

Avslutningsdagen blåser det ytterligare något och vi lägger vår sista förmiddag i Börringeområdet. Häftigaste obs är 7 havsörnar som kretsar tillsammans över Havgårdssjön. Ett gäng med 16 glador vid Näsbyholm är heller inte fy skam. Nya resarter är bl.a. duvhök, korp, sädgås och gråsiska. Dessutom 2000 vitkindade gäss även här, denna extrema gåshöst.
Thaimat + artgenomgång på centralstationen i Lund innan vi kl 1300 far var och en åt sitt håll.

Magnus Ullman

More on Falsterbo here:

Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, Avi Fauna, Falsterbo, Lund, Börringe, fjällvråk, Rough-legged Buzzard

111004 Falsterbo, tuesday

2011-12-03T03:59:00.000-08:00

S O O C Sunday Except for the frame they are all SOOC shots. Enjoy!

World Bird Wednesday LV
Watery Wednesday
NF Waters 8

Click to enlarge All photos

Tuesday oct 4th
Breakfast at 7 as usual. Crossing the lawn on my way to the restaurant I saw some wood pigeons that I took some shots of. It is a misty morning as usual and my shoes get wet. Everyone was there already so I had to hurry a bit. I could not eat all that great stuff on the buffé as I am allergic to milk. To bad as the youghurt was very good. :(

We left at 8 to go to the lighthouse again. We spent good time to study the Common Kestrels (tornfalk) that surrounded the tower. They had a nest there so it was great to see them.

Then we headed for Nabben and spotted some different ducks along the way. Among them there was two Common Shelducks (gravand). But I wonder, why is it so impossible to get a shot of them with the heads up?? At that place we also spotted one Dunnock (järnsparv). It was nice to see one free. Maybe the one we studied two days ago.

At 10.30 the sun came out. I took my camera and went for a stroll alongside the shoreto Måkläppen. I wanted to come closer to the ocean. There were lots of ducks and some swans. And beautiful sand banks to take good shots at. :)

Bläsand - Eurasian Wigeon, Måkläppen

At lunch time we headed back to the car and Kolabacken. We went the other way along the sanddunes and we were lucky to see a Short-eared Owl (jorduggla) passing above our heads. That´s a treat. :) A couple of butterflies, storfläckig pärlemorfjäril, also liked the warm, white sand. A new species for me too. And again we could enjoy some raptors when we had our lunch-picnic at Kolabacken.

At 13.15h it is time for our second guiding by Karin in the lighthouse and birding center. Our guide was not aware of the fact that Karin was about to let us up in the lihgthouse tower so that was a pleasent surprise for all of us. We learned some of ut´s history of course and Karin pointed out some spots of interest. For me, as a photographer, I was intrigued of all refltected rainbows in it. Not to mention the view when we went out to the balcony on the top. In the sunshine it was gorgeous. I could have stayed there all day. Karin told us a bit of their plans for a system to alert birders of interesting birds coming in. They will try to get monitors at the birding places like Nabben so they can tell people whats going on with a system of Live TV.

After the session on the lighthouse we went down to the building beside it. That is where they band (or ring) the birds. The garden is filled with nets among the trees so the first thing we did was to go a rond to catch whatever bird was in the nets. That is being done every 30 minutes during the day. We had to wait a little while so we were invited to coffe and "kanelbulle" as somebody call this day "Kanelbullens dag". Then we took the tour to see what was in the nets. We got a few birds and went inside to see what was done to them. They were checked for health, fat and weight beside gender and species. If they had no ring they were ringed as well. And everything recorded in books and then filed in the computersystem. To finish of the visit we had a shorter lecture about the migration pattern of some birds.

Now it was time for Annas bakery. And then north to Hammarsnäs where we were yesterday but to the far end of the peninsula. It is lowland and rather wet. The place was fenced and a lot of cattle were in there. As yesterday it was a lot of geeze around. We did not stay that long as dinner was coming up.

After dinner and the general birdtalk and spieces count I went for a walk. Hoping the stomach would keep quiet. (They used some spice I am not costumed to.) Well, I went in the other direction today as I wanted to see the canal when it darkened. And the old ship that is docked there. It was beautiful and I had a great time.

Getting back I took a shower, was online for a while and uploaded all the shots for today and then got to sleep.

More on Falsterbo here:

NatureFootstep
Bird blog / Fågel blogg

Links/Länkar

NF Waters #6
Watery Wednesday

Från kortrapporten:
Blåsigare idag, mulet men betydligt klarare luft. Sikten förbättras dessutom under dagen samtidigt som vinden tilltar något från väster.

Vi startar på Nabben och med de förutsättningar som råder hoppas vi på ett bra finksträck. Några rekordnivåer uppnås inte, men den officiella siffran slutar på 14 200 bo/bergfink så vi är inte missnöjda. Inte särskilt många bergfinkar involverade utan, det är mest bofink idag. Dessutom ovanligt gott om hämpling, samt diverse grönsiskor, steglitser och annat. En hel sparvhök idag också men knappast några vråkar eller glador. En brun kärrhök och en blå kärrhök snurrar över västsidan.

En jorduggla flyger ett varv runt oss och försvinner ut i riktning Måkläppen. Fin obs!
Kl 1315 är det dags för nästa muntration, dvs. guidning nr 2 av Karin på fågelstationen. Det börjar med att hon berättar om fyren, dess historia, funktion i gångna tider etc. Därefter får vi klättra upp allra högst upp, där vi fascineras av utsikten åt alla håll. Här kan man verkligen tala om fågelperspektiv på tillvaron.

Efter kaffe och Karins goda kanelbullar (det är trots allt 4 oktober, kanelbullens dag) får vi gå med en av de yngre ringmärkarna på dagens sista runda i fyrträdgården för att vittja näten. Det resulterar i summa tre fåglar, alla redan märkta.

Karin avslutar så med att visa diagram över olika arters trender innan vi tar adjö och tackar för två urtrevliga guidningar.

Till sist går vi en runda längst ute på Hammarsnäs och förbluffas över den kopiösa mängden vitkindade gäss överallt – på själva näset, i Inre Foteviken, på Vellinge ängar, överallt gäss på marken tätt, tätt som packade sillar eller i böljande moln som drar fram över himlen. Vi gör inget seriöst försök att räkna, men det kan mycket väl röra sig om 25 000 vitkindade gäss. En stenfalk jagar länge efter en ängspiplärka men tvingas ge upp. Och vi åker hem för middag.
Nabben 4 oktober.
Magnus Ullman
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Öland, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, Falsterbo, Falsterbo fyr, Måkläppen, sooc, lighthouse, Common Shelduck, gravand, Common Kestrel, tornfalk, Bläsand, Eurasian Wigeon, Måkläppen, Hammarsnäs, reflex, reflection, ship, båt

Vattenfallet i Handöl - Waterfall in Handöl

2011-11-21T02:58:00.000-08:00

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NF Photo 110614 at Handöl, Värmland

Ett fint minne från fågelskådarresan till Storulvån jag var med på i juni.
A nice memory from the birding trip to Storulvån I attended last June.

Mer om Storulvån/ More on Storulvån :

Storulvån on Birdblog
Storulvån on Photoblog

Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Sverige, Sweden, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, Handöl, vattenfall, fors, waterfall, regnbåge, rainbow, NF Waters, Storulvån, Jämtland, hike

111003 Falsterbo monday

2011-11-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

Sky watch friday Himmelsk 60

World Bird Wednesday LIII

Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo 111003 Falsterbo

Falsterbo 111003 Monday

Woke up at 6.40 to have breakfast at 7.00h.

We left at 8.00 to go to Nabben at the south point of Falsterbo. We passed the lighthouse and walked down to the point. We stayed there for most of the morning. It was a misty morning again but a bit better then yesterday. And it cleared up around 10.30. A lot of small birds took off for crossing the water to Germany. One group after another headed south. The water fowl was still out on the shallow banks. Vaders and ducks mostly. A few gulls, cormorants and sparrowhawks. (photo)

At 11 aclock it was sunshine and starting to get warm. Then we had an appointment with mr Nils Kjellén who is responible for the bird counts at Nabben. They have been doing that for about 40 years. Using a special rutine. That is quite unique and can be used for scientific research.

For lunch we went back to the car and Kolabacken. We ate our lunch sitting on the old hillock where they in old times used to burn the lighthouses light. Kol means coal. :) During our meal we were entertained by rather many birds of prey. Hawks, Buzzards, Harrires and Red Kite were quite common. But they did not really go out. Most of them turned around and flew back inlands. Acc to our guide the yneed very clear weather to start the migration. They don´t like to fly over water. Most of them also needed warm upwinds to sail on. I learned a lot. :) (Common Kestrel to the left)

Later in the afternoon it is time again for Annas bakery and the coffe everyone was longing for.

After the coffe break we headed a bit north. Passed the location of our lounge and took to the left later on. We parked hth car at a farm and went down to n inlet of the Baltic Sea. Here at the parking place I finally could get some shots of the, for the area common bird, Rook. I had been afraid that I would have to go home without getting a shot at them. That would have pissed me off. Really! Rook on the Birdblog (Rödglada - Red kite)

We walked along a field of corn to get down at the little Gröna Boden (Green barn). There were a lot of geese and a lot of vaders and ducks. But, as usual, you could not get close to them. The field-scope was needed. And then it is hard to shot also. At least closeups. Some harriers were also sailing the skies. It was a nice afternoon. One real treat is to see the huge flocks take off and fill the skies with waves after waves with birds. Mixed flocks of geeze, ducks and vaders. It is amazing.

We estimated a no of at least 5000 Barncle goose alone.

Dinner at 17.00 and then we looked at some of the shots taken by our guide. He is also a good teacher. And we went thro the birds we seen today.

After that I went to the beach on the other side of the road. But not for a long time as my stomach was telling me to go back. Uploaded my shots for today and took a shower and was online for a while before hitting the sack.

The Golf club at Nabben in the misty morning

And close to the club at the shore was these

We were also introduced to the Migration counts that are performed at Falsterbo. You can find the link on this URL:
MIGRATION COUNTS - DAILY TOTALS

Links/Länkar

NatureFootstep
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Falsterbo kortrapport

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Disigt idag också, men betydligt bättre väder – och dessutom kommer vinden just från sydväst, vilket är idealiskt.

Vi startar på Nabben och kan direkt konstatera att det är mer fågel i luften idag: grönsiskor, bofinkar, hämplingar och dessutom en del bergfinkar och steglitsar samt enstaka trädlärkor, skärpiplärkor och inte minst en varfågel. Sparvhökar piper dessutom förbi hela tiden.

Vi går ut till vindskyddet längst ut på Nabben där Naturvårdsverkets sträckräknare Nils Kjellén ger oss en intressant introduktion i sträckräknandets konst och de resultat som en snart 40 år gammal Falsterboserie renderat. Uppåt för många dagsträckande småfåglar och rovfåglar – det är kul. Samtidigt pekar Nils ut höstens första större korsnäbb för oss – det är också kul.

Enstaka ormvråkar dyker upp på himlen trots diset och sparvhökarna matar ju på, så lunch intages på Kolabacken där vi får en hel del fina obsar, inte minst av ett antal juvenila röda glador samt en d:o blå kärrhök.

När det blir för glest mellan fåglarna intar vi Annas Bageri för varsin latte med blåbärsbröd. Osannolikt att man kan sitta utomhus och gotta sig på detta vis i oktober.

Dagen avslutas vid Gröna boden med utsikt över Foteviken och tusentals fåglar. Överallt gäss, änder, vadare, och en och annan brun kärrhök som stirrar upp krickor, ljungpipare och annat. Fint eftermiddagsljus, behagliga näravstånd och ett kontinuerligt liv och kiv bidrar till att göra Gröna boden till en härlig lokal så här års. Vi räknar inte gässen noggrant men gör bedömningen att även här finns över 5 000 vitkindade gäss.
Magnus Ullman

More on Falsterbo here:

NatureFootstep
Bird blog / Fågel blogg
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Öland, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding,sparvhök, sparrowhawk, Tornfalk, Common Kestrel, Rödglada, Red Kite, Falsterbo, Nabben, Gröna boden, Foteviken

111002 Falsterbo sunday

2011-10-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Translate? See Google translation in the sidebar!

A post for
Our World Tuesday , World Bird Wednesday L , Watery Wednesday 160

Click to enlarge All photos, Falsterbo 111002

111002 Falsterbo sunday

I woke up at 6.30 and ready for breakfast at 7.00h.

It was a very misty morning and becuse of that we did not really hurry. At 8.00 we left for Falsterbo. Close to the Lighthouse we parked the car. Because of the weather we walked among the old houses in the area. Some was abandoned with a lot of spiderwebs and a bit spooky. The mist made them full of waterdroplets. And quite beautiful. There was not many birds.

Spidernet with droplets in the mist.

We passed the old ruin of Falsterbohus on our walk. Heard a few birds in the mist but didn´t really see them. But a lone gull was standing at the shore looking out to the misty ocean.

At 10 we was welcomed to a presentation of Falsterbo Lighthouse and the Bird Observatory situated there. It was very interesting and we was also shown a few birds that had been caught in the nets for banding. A lot of research is done at the Observatory and Karin Persson, one of the management, explained a lot. We are coming back tomorrow for another session. Some birds are HERE

Karin Demonstrated that the beak is not that sharp as one can think. And, this is probably the closest to a Sparvhök / Sparrowhawk I will ever come.

We had our picnic lunch at a small hillock, close to the observatory, that normally was a great spot for watching migrating raptors and other birds. But not today.

As it was still foggy and no weather for birding we left to see a museum in Kämpinge. A lot of the areas marine history was displayed and also a lot of amber products. It was quite interesting. Outside of the building I spotted a few pheasants and some Rooks. The Rook was new to me as they only live in that southern part of Sweden.

In the afternoon the others decided that a visit to a local café was in order. And the, finally, the sun came out. We left the café and went to a place called Knävången. We walked along a dirtroad and saw a huge amount of Barnacle Goose. And a couple of raptors too.

At 17.00h we were back at our Falsterbo Kursgård i Höllviken for dinner. Followed by checking the birdlist for today.

Gluttsnäppa - Common Greenshank

After dinner I took a walk along the coast as it was just on the other side of the road and easy to go to. There was some vaders and some ducks. And also a few illuminated statues I wanted to see.

Then I got the computer online and wrote a bit and checked my mail. And then....sleep!

More on Falsterbo here:

Links/Länkar

Falsterbo kortrapport

Från Kortrapporten:

Frukost kl 0700, avfärd 0750. I total dimma. Det är så dålig sikt att vi över huvud taget inte bryr oss om att gå ut på Nabben. I stället går vi en runda vid Falsterbohus – och noterar att det är överraskande fågeltomt. Så småningom lyckas vi få kontakt med några gransångare och kungsfåglar.

Vid Falsterbo fyr hälsas välkomna av Karin Persson som ger oss en mäkta intressant tvåtimmars föredragning om fågelevolution, flyttning, ringmärkning och allt vad där till hör. Illustrerat med kartor, fågelbilder, diagram, spybollar, fågelbon, ringar och inte minst fåglar som ringmärks framför våra uppspärrade ögon. Rödhake, järnsparv, kungsfågel, gransångare och sparvhök är bland de fåglar Karin plockar ur sina påsar och visar oss. Suverän fågelpedagogik! Dessutom osedvanligt välplanerat i den täta dimman!

I dimman passar vi så på att göra bärnstensmuseet i Kämpinge, en naturaliesamling av guds nåde och en klart udda institution. Vackra bärnstenar finns det hur som helst och en gammal totalblekt skrattmås får stå för fågelpedagogiken.

Kaffe på Annas bageri och nu börjar solen titta fram från en allt blåare himmel. Vi kör ut på Knävången och tröskar igenom 5 000 vitkindade gäss utan att hitta någon med röd hals. Vi deppar inte för det utan njuter i fulla drag av de svartvita, vackra gässen framför oss. Några unga och gamla prutgäss ingår i flockarna.
Magnus Ullman
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Öland, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, Falsterbo, Falsterbo hus, sparvhök, sparrowhawk, Falsterbo fyr, spindelnät, spidernet, mist, dimma, gluttsnäppa, common greenskhank,

Dragonfly in Costa Rica 110202

2011-10-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge All photos

NF Photo 100202 In Solimar, Costa Rica
.

I have no idéa what dragonfly this is, but it was large and I found it in the kitchen, where the lunch was served, of the ranch Solimar.
Jag har ingen aning om vad detta är för trollslända. Men den var stor. Jag hittade den i serveringsrummet för vår lunch i Solimar.
.
NF Winged #18

Mer om CR här:

NF Waters #1
Watery Wednesday

Costa Rica Birdblogg
Labels: Resor, travel, trip, journey, vacation, Venedig, Venice, Camargue, Frankrike, France, Costa Rica, Sverige, Sweden, airplane, flygplan, sky, photo, photography, Monica Johansson, NatureFootstep, nfphoto, NF_photo, nature, natur, fågelskådning, birding, trollslända, dragonfly, Solimar

My Watery World - Falsterbo

2011-10-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge All photos

NF Photo 111003, Falsterbo Lighthouse in morning mist

NF Photo 111004 view from the Lighthouse Tower

NF Photo 111004 Ducks at the sand-reef
Det här var min lilla värld för några dagar i början av oktober. Allt från kall dimma till solsken fick vi uppleva.
This was my world for a few days in the beginning of oct. We had everything from cold heavy mist to summer sunshine.

More about Falsterbo here:

Falsterbo on NF Photo

Our World Tuesday

111001 Falsterbo, Saturday

2011-10-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Translate? See Google translation in the sidebar!

Falsterbo kortrapport på Svenska
Bird Photography Weekly 163

Click to enlarge All photos

111001 Traveling day - Resan ner

I am tired after yesterdays work with my daughters move. But I woke up at 5.50 instead of 7.00. So, I turned the computer on and posted a bird on the Costa Rican blog.

As there are no busses at that time on a saturday morning I had to walk to the station. So I left at 8.00. I got some cash at ICA supermarket and then went down town. I was down in good time so I had time to check on some people sitting in the square.

The train arrived as sceduled. I had met one of the ladies on the platform. She was coming from Karlstad and should go on the same trip as I. We made company to Norrköping where we had to change train and then had different seats the rest of the way to Lund. There were a lot of mist along the way but as we arrived at Lund it cleared up and became a summers day so I was too warm clothed.

We all met and it turned out that my roomate was not coming so I got a single room. I don´t mind about that. So, we was only 5 persons with the guide. M Ullman. We headed south and stoped at a parking lot at Skanörs Ljung. It was still not clear but there was raptors in the sky. We found some rare ones and everyone was happy. Soon after we went out of the car we spotted a Greater Spotted Eagle (större skrikörn). I can´t say I really saw it because it was too far away. A Short-toed Eagle (Ormörn) was also in the air as was Red Kite (rödglada). Not a bad start for the trip.

Ormörn - Circaetus gallicus - Short-toed eagle

NF Photo 111001 at Skanörs Ljung and I really wished I had a lens with stabilizer. Our guide had one and I was envious of him. Well, at least I got a shot of the bird.

Around 15.00 some of us were thinking a lot about a coffee break so we went looking for some place to get it. We found Annas bakery and everyone was happy. Then we headed for the ocean at Ängsnäset. We birded for a while and then strolled back. A Common Kestrel (tornfalk)sat in a treetop far away. Looking great in the light of the setting sun. There was a lot of birches with peculiar shapes and then sand dunes. The sun was setting as we headed back it had become misty here and there. Quite beautiful.

Then we went to Falsterbo conference center to get the rooms. As it was saturday the staff was not there so we had to find the rooms and install ourselves. At 17.00 we headed for the restaurant and was served a good dinner. Then we did the first bird list for this trip. When we left the restaurant it was getting dark but I took a walk at the beach. There was some lighted statues I wanted to check out.

Back to my room I connected to Internet with my laptop, there was no problem doing that, but it is slow.

Went to bed at 23.00h and have to go up at 6.40 for breakfast at 7.00.

Links/Länkar

Falsterbo kortrapport på Svenska
NatureFootstep Photo 2

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Malta captive birds

2011-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

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Probably Green-winged Amazon

Scarlet Macaw, a Costa Rican bird

unknown Macaw

unknown Macaw
All photos 110425 in Mediterraneo Park, Malta.

These guys and gals were the artists in a birdshow I visited in Malta last spring.

Midweek Blues

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Storulvån 110617 Friday Last day

2011-07-14T01:22:00.000-07:00

My World Tuesday

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NF Photo 110617 at Storulvån in Jämtland, Sweden. :)

Storulvån 110617 Last day
Today we should meet a little later as we had to pack and clean the rooms before we left for the last hike on the mountains.

We woke up at 7 and started to clean up and pack. Then I had time for a short walk to see if I could get another look at the Blue throat.

When everyone was done with breakfast, packing and making lunch package we gathered outside to leave for the last hike. While waiting I spotted a man doing some welding work. Had to take a shot of course.

We headed halfway upside the mountain. Stoped at one place where Johan showed us how to see the normal snowlevel in winter on the trees. The trees were "marked" with a special kind of dark lichen at that point. It was as high as I am tall. :) Interesting to know.

Then we turned left to follow the river downstream. But we were higher up of course. :)

Todays walk was more on the same level, not much more ups and downs. Except for when we came to the hanging bridge.

Water stop

In places like these you don´t need to carry that much water, you can drink from the streams you pass. It is clean good water. Really good actually. You never get that at home. Not even bottle water. Really, I skipped all wine to dinner this week and only had drinking water from the stream. Well, back to hiking.
.

We passed the hanging bridge and enjoyed the scenery and rested a while. Beside the river was, still, lots of ice and snow left. It was beautiful and made some great shots I think.

We continued a bit and came to an area with small ponds. We chosed a place with a big stone to be our "camp" and left our gear there and went to explore the surrounding area. Not that much birds but nice anyway. We had our lunch at the "camp". And I took some shots of some plants.

NatureFootstep alias Monica

Then we left and after a while we had a shower coming down at us. I checked out some finches I spotted at a patch of snow. It turned out to be gråsiska - Carduelis flammea - Common Redpoll. And then I had to run after the others.

Then the highlight of the day. We were spotted by a Short-eared Owl - Jorduggla. It obviously had a nest on the ground because it tried to lead us off in other directions. It was fun to watch when it landed on the ground and played wounded. The right wing was very badly wounded I think. :) It was really fun to watch.It was quite a show it put on And so our guide thought too. He had never seen this behaviour before. Nice! :)

Jorduggla - Short-eared Owl

Soon after that I spotted a Meadow pipit - ängspiplärka flying over some bushes. I managed to get some decent shots of it flying.

We came back to the Lodge around 16.00 and dinner should be at 18.00 so I made another walk alongside the river. Today we had a lot of bread to choose from as they had had a bakery class for some people. Most of the bread was good.

After dinner we met at the balcony for a last birdlist and to write the usual note about how the stay had been.

Then we were picked up by a car at 19.30 that drowe us to the station. This time I had the bed at the ceiling. But it was OK.

In the morning the train passed my city and stoped at Hallsberg where I had to waite a while for a train to go back to Katrineholm. I was home around 10.00 Saturday morning with aching legs. And lots of nice memories.

räknare

2011-07-05T10:49:00.001-07:00

jag lade till en landsräknare igår. :)

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Storulvån 110616 Storulvåfjället

2011-07-02T02:10:00.000-07:00

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Outdoor Wednesday

Behind the Camera #7

Click to enlarge, All photos NF Photo 110616 on Storulvåfjället

Storulvån 110616 Storulvån

Today I woke up at 6. A bit too early so I stayed in bed for a while. Then I dressed and went out to find the Bluethroat again. And so I did. And got some good shots at it. I think I also managed to get some video too, but I have to check that out.
At breakfast I heard that a Redtail was singing outside so I got back for the camera and took some shot of it too.

At 8.45 we gathered outside and started the hike. We crossed the river and went up the hills.

It was sunny and rather warm. The hike turned out to be rather difficult. But that was expected.
After a while we came to a spot with snow. And there was two European golden plover (ljungpipare). It started out good. :) The shot to the left shows me with all the gear I carry. It is quite heavy. But so far I manage. That point was the highest point we were at.

Then some of the guys found a Dotterel (fjällpipare) and close to that one I found a Rock Ptarmigan (fjällripa). But after that it was not much birds. On the other hand there was a lot of nice tiny mountain/alpine flowers up there. When we were rather high up we took a break and our first coffee. Then we continued and it had gotten cloudy and started to rain. We walked throu a kind of marsh land, very wet but not so hard to walk on. There were mosses and lichens without the slippery mud beneath.

During the day I got some new spices. Long-tailed Skua (Fjällabb), Ring Ouzel (ringtrast) and Short-eared Owl (jorduggla) at StorUlvåfjället/Stuore Viekejalla. On the way back we passed the little lake Ulvåtjärn. A great place for fishing and swimming it is said.

European Golden Plover (Ljungpipare) to the right.

So I was happy. The entire hike was hard work and my feet and back are very tired. But it was beautiful and nice. We walked about 15 km in rough terrain. And went up to about 1000m above sea level. It is good to walk in a group like this. You see much more then you would if you were on your own.

Photo of Fjällabb - Long-Tailed Skua in action. Trying to chase us of the nesting area

The dinner was quite good but fish again. I am not that good at fish. I don´t know what they do to it because the fish is slippery. :(

We went throu todays birds list at dessert as it was not so many today.

At 21.45 we did meet again. This time to go out and watch some Great Snipes dancing in the night. (dubbelbeckasin som leker). I am tired but I will go anyway. It might be the only way I can ever be able to se anything like that. I would never have found that place without Johan to show us. We were in the end of the season so it was not that intense. But we did see and hear a few male birds singing and dancing. There is a science project about this spieces as we were informed of yesterday.

Dubbelbeckasin/Great snipe projekt
Back at the Lodge at 01.00.The sun is still up. And tomorrow is the last day. :)

View over Sylarna at 22:25, 110616

Storulvån 110615 Wednesday, Ånnsjön, outdoors

2011-06-27T01:21:00.000-07:00

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Outdoor Wednesday

Click to enlarge All photos, NF Photo 110615 at Ånnsjön

Storulvån 110615 Wednesday

I woke up once during the nigtht but went to sleep again. Then I woke up at 6.30. I dressed and went out to see if I could see some blue throat. I walked to the other side of the river but had little luck. Two of the guys were also out in the same business. We heard, but did not see, the Whimbrel (små spov). When I turned around to walk back for breakfast, I did see the Bluethroat, but only for 2 sec in the binoculars. Then it flew away.

Breakfast at 7.30 and I asked if I could borrow a thermos. I did not recieve the second letter and had noone with me as that letter suggested. Well, I got one and fixed my lunch. They offer a great breakfast. Good bread, eggs, juice and everything you need. Then I went down to look for the Bluethroat at another spot as I had some time to spare. Somebody had seen it at the litter station behind the Lodge . And I did see it again and even got some shots.

We left for Ånn´s trainstation at 8.45. It took a while to get there. The distance about 30 km. It was not that far to the first hidings we visited. I emediately spotted some Red-necked Phalarope (smalnäbbad simsnäppa). There were 3 of them in the pond. 2 were a pair as they started to mate. I got some great shots I think. :) That is the highlight of the day. As was the Siberian Jay (lavskrika). A very cool bird. We saw it several times and it kept us company for a while. It seemed to like pieces of ham and steeled whatever it could. :). It was fun. It was following us to the tower. At least I think it was the same one.

There was a lot of wetland to pass during the day. Walkboards were in place but sometimes in a bad shape. Slippery and tilting. But we managed. We stoped at several hidings and towers and saw quite a lot of birds. I think I had 4 new species and some that I got better shots of. I´ll try to get some maps to show where we walked.The weather turnd out to be better then we hoped for. Cloudy all day, but no rain until we headed for the cars to go back to the station.

My feet is not used to rubberboots and start to hurt a bit. But No blisters so far.

Back at Storulvån some of us went to see if we could find the Bluethroat again, but no luck this time. I went back to take a shower before dinner and to load the shots into this computer.

Me, in the wetland

Today I have no clue of what we had for dinner except for dessert that was blueberry mouse. ? . I think the meat was thin slices of lamb meat. The frst-course was some thick soup that was very spiced. Rather good actually.

Then we gathered at the conference room to go throu todays birds, 65 I believe. :) And then Johan had a lecture about the Great Snipe (dubbelbeckasin) we are to visit tomorrow evening. It was great.

My room mate is sleeping by now and it is 22.35. It is still rather light outside. Up north like this it is closing in to midnight sun.

The map to Ånnsjön area.

Tomorrow we shall walk Storulvån Mountain, above the tree line. On "kalfjället"
Sleep tight.

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NatureFootstep Birdblog

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Storulvån 110614 Tuesday

2011-06-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was My World last week. The Mountain Range in Northern Sweden. :)

Outdoor Wednesday 128

Click to enlarge All photos

NF Photo 110614

Storulvån 110615 Tuesday, Hostel Jämtland - Storulvån Mountain Lodge

I arrived at Enafors train station as sceduled. A lot of people went of and we met the Guide Johan inside the station. It turned out that we were 17 people in the group. 18 with Johan.

After presentation and introduction we headed out. We went to Ånnsjöns Bird station in Handöl. We had a introcuction to the work on the station and then spent some time birding before having some picknic lunch. It was rather cold so having the lunch sheltered inside the tower was great.

One of Ånnsjöns birding towers overlooking the lake/wetland

After lunch we left for a hike up to the waterfall. It was beautiful. We did not see many birds but heard some as we went through some dense bush area to the river. We did pass the little cottage they used for ringing birds. As seen in the photo the river eats up the side so soon the little house will have to be moved. We did see some a lot of mountain flowers and other stuff while hiking.

The waterfall in Handöl

After the waterfall we went down to the lake again. To see some waterbirds. Some terns was there and one duck. (bläsand) as we could see. It was now beginning to warm up. It had been rather cold during the morning. So People started to remove clothing.

We took the cars and drove the 11 km to Storulvån. Saw a bird of pray along the road.

When we arrived to Storulvån it started to rain a bit. But I went for a walk none the less.

Storulvån Mountain Lodge

Several of us want to see the bluethroat. But today we did not.

At 18.00 we was served a 3 course dinner. Very nice even if it was not my kind of food. (jordartskocks soppa m korv av någon fjällfår tror jag, inkokt röding och hallonsorbe.)

Then we sorted out todays birds and Johan told us a bit of the history of the station. My room mate is probably sleeping by now as I am sitting in the lounge writing this.

Tomorrow breakfast is served at 7.30

Then off to some hidings and hoping for no rain.

Todays birds seen or heard of the group: 50. And then some rare flowers. :)

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Storulvåns fåglar / birds

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On route to Storulvån 110613 Monday

2011-06-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

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Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo 110613

Stockholm on route to Storulvån, 110613 Monday

As there are always trouble with comunications I decided to go to Stockholm with an earlier train. Lately there has been trouble with delays due to suncurves and runover cows. :) Yea, the news said so.

I took the train at 15.23 from Katrineholm and, actually, got to Stockholm at 16.40 as sceduled.

I walked around town to see if there were something interesting to shooot. But found very little. The city is not interesting in daylight I suppose. I wanted some shots of the castle and City hall for the blogs but.....I had to settle for sunshine and nice weather.

The Royal castle

The City Hall

I visited the royal castle but there were lots of building stuff as they were working on repairs or whatever. But I did take a shot at the guards. The same with the The City town hall, lots of work going on there as well.

I went back to the trainstation to look for PizzaHut. I found it but they did not have Hawaii so I went searching for a hot dog instead. The train going north was, of course, late. We were able to embark 15 min after ordinary time but it did not leave until 23.00. Did not matter really as we were to sleep anyway.

We were 6 ladies in the room and we made the beds right away. It was quite OK to sleep on the train but sometimes I half awoke when I started to slide up or down when the train passed a curve. At 5 people started to leave the train. And after that there was no more sleep.

Tomorrow I´ll be at Enafors and Storulvån.

Malta 110428 Thursday and last day

2011-06-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo 110428

Malta 110428 Thursday and last day

Home going day. We woke up around 8.00 as we had to pack our things and clean out the appartment. So much garbage you collect only in one seeks time.And I had already thrown some away once. Made a last visit to the roof of the hotel.

Peter picked us up at 11.00 and we headed for the shop. They checked everything that should be checked for the licence and the shots we brought. When we were done we left and headed back to The Mediterranean Sea. Johanna and I stayed on some cliffs in the sun and the others went of walking. I took some cool shots of J. You can hardly see who it is. :)

At 14.30 we headed back to that chinese restaurant. We needed some dinner before going on the plane as there are no food served. The food was as good today as it was yesterday. But we arrived at the owners own lunch so it felt a bit strange. And their kids entertained us. :)

We headed back to the shop for the drive to the Airport. Everything went as planned in there and we said good by to Peter. The sun was setting as we left so I got some shots. I had the same view as before. I was hoping to see Vesuvius, but it was Johanna that did.
We arrived about 10 min early around 23.10. After getting the luggage and locating the cars it was time to say goodby to them and for us to go separate ways.

I was home around 01.00.
.

Mount Etna from the airplane, Photo: Johanna

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Malta 110427 wednesday

2011-06-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo 110427 in Malta

Malta 110427 wednesdayWe spent the morning preparing the photos for Peter.

We made the second attempt to gpo to the caves today. But as it was still windy it was doubtful. And today the man didn´t even bother to show up. :( 11.15 we went back to the hotel by making a lot of window-shopping. Well, not entierly, Janet bought herself a new bikini.

After a lunch, bread and drink, we went to Emma to get our deposit back for the tour. And then to Peters shop. I continued to the other side of the main road to see if there were any birds there. There were doves, of course, and some swallows. Apart from that, nothing. I went to the dive shop.

The others has some plans to go to Valetta, Maltas "Old Town" area. But it turned out to be cutting hair and doing a tattoo instead. Then I went to the point again for a while. Not so long as we were to look for a restaurant that Emma had recomended. Turned out to not be what we wanted so we turned back and hit the jackpot. There was a china restaurant and as Johanna had wanted that for a time we went in. And got a big surprice. Everything was delicious. We took several dishes and it was all good. Well prepared and seasoned. Why did we not find it earlier? When we were leaving I asked the lady for a card so we could remember it. She was surprised because she thought we did not like it as we did not order dessert. :) The name of the place? Leisure Time Chinese cuisine!

I started to pack as we have to leave the appartment at 11.00 tomorrow. Johanna has the computer to save images on Peters USB-memory.

Sleep tight!

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Malta 110426 Tuesday and Johannas birthday

2011-06-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

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Malta 110426 Tuesday and Johannas birthday

We awoke at 7.30 to celebrate Johanna. Then we went to the hotel lounge to have breakfast.
It was nice sitting there but the breakfast was not better then we had ourselves.

At 10.00 we were at the shop to take the shots for the dinving licenses. It was rainy and windy. Not good for the tour. Then we went to the little harbor where the boat for the caves should be. Sadly enough it was too windy with high waves so the tour was canceled. Now we hope for tomorrow.

On the way back I started to shoot some flowers so JJM left, they decided to go to Sliema for windowshopping. Myself I had a hard time seeking shelter from the rain. Despite the raincape I was wearing.

Back at the hotel I slept for an hour, had some lunch and headed out again. The rain had past over and it was sunshine again. But still windy with high waves. I headed back to Qawra Tower. Enjoying the walk out there to the rough point of land. It was very nice and I have taken lots of shots of the water beating the cliffs.

I was back at the hotel at 16.30 and the others was already there. After some rest we headed out to eat J:s birthday dinner. A struggle as usual. We went to that "ship" restaurant but it was closed so it was just to check them out again. We ended up at Pizza Hut. It was quite OK though. I orderee the Hawaii pizza. Johanna a lasagne and the other two pizzas too. For dessert chocklate cake and icecream. My pizza was so big that I got a box to take two slices back home so I have food for tomorrow. :)

It is 21.30 and the others are sleeping as usual. I am not tired as I slept an h at lunch. Now I just hope the Mediterranean Sea is calm tomorrow. Our last whole day. My daughter do not want to go home. :)

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Malta 110425 Monday, Dolphin day

2011-06-09T02:57:00.000-07:00

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NF Photo 110425 at Mediterraneo Marine Park

Malta 110425 Monday, Dolphin dayToday was "swimming with dolphin" day. We went up rather early to catch the bus at 8.20. A bit early but as we don´t know the area it is better to be sure, coming late was not an option. We were sceduled to 10.00 to meet the personal for the dive. It was sunshine but windy. The Mediterranean sea was abit upset outside the area of the park.

9.45 we were finally allowed to pay the tickets and we were given a quetionaire to fill in and to learn the rules. No jewelry or other sharp stff would be allowed, as was teh plastic tejp I has on a wound. Dolphins are easily hurt and they eat about everything. :) At 10.00 we were let in and got our swimsuits. And further instructions. At the pool we were divided in two groups. So, the four of us and two kids were in one group. Two dolphin males were working.

The first part was to introcuse us to the dolphin. Touching, kissing and taking pics. After that we were out in the water and the dolpin rotated us there. It was so much fun. :) Lastly there were a time for free swiming in the pool with both dolphins swimming around us. Cool! The water in the pool was a bit chilly, but the suit took away most of it.

Removing the wetsuit was much harder then take it on. I had a hard time getting it off. :)

Then I saw the last part of the sea lions performance. I had seen some ducks when we arrived so I went there to see if I could take some shots. They had Common Shelduck (Gravand), Eurasian Teal (Kricka) and Ferroginous Duck (vitögd dykand). The last one is new to me. Then I located some owls in cages. And a terrarium.

The Dolhin show started at 14.00. Johanna sat closes to the pool. Taking picks and writing like crazy. I too took a lot os shots. It was a good show. :) After the show we stayed a while. There were a small pool beside the main one. There was a young dolphin too. The trainers played games with them and it was fun to watch. Johanna took lots of notes and then started to ask the personal a lot of questions. She needed that for the paper she is doing in class. I´d say she got a lot. :) We bought all the shots of course. They are great. Johanna starts to talk english the entire time now and she is good at it.

The lunch was very flexible. I took my sandwich, the others I think, had icecream or whatever they could find. :)

The last show was Parrots. It was kind of cool. Some birds for my blog maybe. :)

Then it was time to return to Bugibba. And the lady with the booking. We were supposed to go to the caves tomorrow. We have an "open ticket" to that trip.
I don´t remember what we had for dinner. It is 21.20 and the others are asleep. I have to stop now as the battery is going low.

Sweet dreams!.

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Malta 110424 Sunday, Simar

2011-06-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge All photos, NF Photo 110424 in Bugibba, Malta

Malta 110424 Sunday, Simar

Finally a morning when I can sleep. Yet I woke up at 8.00. I had some breakfast and made myself ready for a walk. At 9.30 I left for Simar. I had figured it would take me little more then an hour to walk the distance. I took the streets closest to the water. It was quite nice, sun shining and not too hot. Took some shots along the way. I did stop to shoot a palmtree and a Maltesian gentleman run up to assist me. The palmtree was full of thorns so I appreciated the effort. :) I also made a stop at a currency machine and at the WC at the divingsite. Just to make sure. :)

When I arrived at Simar refugee I had some trouble locating the entrance. And when I found it it was closed. As I suspected. I had been walking more then an hour and they did not care to open. Despite every place I read about it said it should be open between 10 - 16h. :( Well, I circled the place but did not see much as it was surrounded by dense bushes. But some birds flew in and out so it was not a complete loss. But no waterbirds as I wanted to see. But one bird of prey and some swallows flew around. And sparrows of course. Not much for an island famous for migrating birds. I found a field of Artichoke on the back of the site. Was thinking of harversting one but they were not mature.

On my way back I found my family at the square, so we took the opportunity to sit down and eat. Tehn we had some rest at the hotel before leaving to visit Peter and Véronique. It turned out to be a homewarming party. All divers, Janet and me and some friends to P and V was there. We had some sallad and barbequed meat and sausage. It was very nice. But it got cold after a while.

They had a marvellous appartment. Large with several rooms and the biggest balcony I have ever seen. With a great view as it was the top appartment. And... the lift went directly into the appartment. Cool! Never seen that before.

We left the party at 20.30 Because tomorrow is "Swimming with Dolpins".

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Malta 110423 Saturday, diving Gozo

2011-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

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Click to enlarge All photos, NF Photo 110423

Malta 110423 Saturday, diving Gozo

Up at 6.00 as we are picked up at 7.00.
Made some bread to bring with us as we did not know if anything woudl be open a it is Easter evening (påskafton) today. At home we should have eaten eggs, but now, forget it!

We were picked up and on our way. Johanna and I went with Véronique. It was raining for a while but not much. It stoped when we were on the ferry. The Ferry left as soon as we were onboard. We were the last cars to load, so we were lucky. It took about 20 min to cross the distance between the two islands. Passing Comino on the way. We headed north through the city. This island is greener then Malta. And looks nicer, it is better taken care of. Roads are better and houses looks nicer. The harboru is named MGARR harbour.Yea, it spells like that. Arabian influence I guess.

We road along the coast and arrived at the divingsite eventually. Blue Hole - AzureWindow on Gozo. It was very hard to walk here as it was mostly holes an sharp edges all over the place. I think it is sandstone but it looks like lava. It must have been hard for the divers to walk down to the water with all their gear. I thought it was hard with mine. But they did alright, and Macke too. And Johanna photographing of course.

As they came back from the first dive it was sunshine again. And it was getting warm. I had spotted some birds flying and it turned out to be stilts. And a gull and some swallows. Finally something. :) Janet and I walking around the cliffs taking shots. Then the cars started to come. Kiosks for icecream and stuff to eat. And turists. Lots of them. And more divers.

Diving Azure Window

We headed to the other dive site. It was in what looked like a cave. There was a coffee shop and places where you could take a sunbath. And so we did, after eating something. But Véronique was still in her car so I went back up to get her. She was cold she said. She was born in an island outside south Africa so she was cold. There arrived a lot of tourists that were going an a small boat to see the Azure Window. And lots of families with kids on the side of the little lagoon. The little beach were great for children. I managed to get my back red despite the fact I did not sit long without a shirt. :(

The ferry tour back was nice and I took a lot os shots. At the shop were a lot of doves that I tried to get a shot at.

After a shower we headed out to shop some food and check the tours to the caves. Then we boiled pasta and eat. Both the divers were sound asleep at 21.00. Janet is reading and I write. The diving is over now and they shall get some photos for the certificate. I bought myself a small Brie cheese and I had about half of it. It was rather good.

Tomorrow night at 17.00 we are invited to Peter and Véronique.

Time to sleep!

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Malta 110422 friday, birding...well...

2011-06-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

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Click to enlarge All photos, NF Photo 110422 on Malta

Malta 110422 friday

Janet and I had free time today. The divers were going back t the same place as yesterday so Janet and I were going to do other things. Johanna and Marcus left at 8.15

Then Janet and I went through her photos so far and uploaded them to my computer. Then I looked at the maps to see where I should go. Janet is working out in the workout section. And I tried out the machines as well.

Then we had some lunch and went to town. They had seen some of the lipstick containers I have and I wanted to find them. We did and now I have two of them. And can finally throw away the one I got from Marcus as christmas present long ago. I also bought a calender for 2012 that I saw in the shop. Then we headed for the supermarker and bought some things for dinner tonight. Bread, chips and cheese and some fast food.

At 14.00h I left to see if I could find the Saltines. It was not that hard as I had a map. It took about 30 min to get there. But as I suspected there were no birds. Only a white ibis turned up. A world so empty of birds don´t we have even in the coldest wintertiem. Really strange. I expected a lot of birds. It is Malta the kingdom of migrating birds.

Silkeshäger - Egretta garzetta - Little Egret, alone at the Saltines

Then I did not want to go the same boring streets back to the hotel so I started to go around the coast. Figuring it would still take me back. There was another place to check out as well.

It turned out to be a rocky point, Qawra point. An area that was left wild and not built upon. It was sharp stones of chalk or maybe lava. It looked like lava. It was hard to walk on and I have a hard time thinking birds would like it. At least bigger ones. I only saw a House Sparrow. At least the sun started to shine so it was quite nice.

Back at the hotel my grandkids was already back. Marcus seemed to have had an incident at the last dive. He had started to cough and accidently throw out the mouthpiece and that was not good. Luckily Peter was close and could help out. But they had to help Marcus to shore. Now he was tired and went to bed as soon as he had taken a shower and eaten a little. But he says he shall dive tomorrow anyway.

Johanna did not want the food we bought so we started the gas stove and boiled some pasta for her.

At 20.00 Johanna is also asleep and Janet ready to do the same. Thsi island takes its tolls as it seems. Tomorrow we will be picked up at 7.00 as we are taking the ferry to Gozo so I will not be too late either. But I had some rom and cola to finish before going to bed. Och drying my hair. And a battery to finish charging.
.

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Malta 110421 thursday at Cirkewwa

2011-05-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Watery Wednesday 141

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110421 thursday

Peter picked us up at 9.30 after a small misunderstanding. We had to wait a while as he had the other divers to work with. When we met them it turned out to be the people we sat beside at the plane to Malta. :)

We were going to the northern part of Malta today. A place called Cirkewwa. Thats where the ferry to Gozo goes from. Véronique was the second driver but she went back to Bugibba after leaving us, Marcus, Janet and me, up there. This is a barren island. And a lot of buildings everywhere. Not much of a wild nature as I expected. Véronique said they are buidling a lot but most of the flats are empty. Miscalculation or what?

We passed the two reserves I am planning to visit, but they were hardly even visible. Maybe it will be a dissapointment. There were not much birds in the divingsite either. Some sparrows, a gull and a dove.

This diving site was rather boring. But there were a certain wild beauty if you forgot about the buildingsite and the ferry.

While the divers got ready for diving Janet and I spent the time shooting jellyfisk and sharp rock formations. We also entered the tower look-out that was built there. But that was tricky because there were cement particles thrown from the buildingsite and that was not fun.

Johanna and Marcus started to dive before the others. So they made some shallow diving getting used to camera and some cards with speices on it and at omake notes. And Janet and me took a lot of pics of course. It looked rather nice seeing the bright colors of the foot fins in the water. It looked good to see them against the bottom in he shallow water.

When they were all diving Janet and I walked around a bit. Not much to see so we started to compare her new camera to my equipment. Her new PowerShot, SX230HS has 14x enlargement. It seems like her little camera is as good as my stuff. But probably not as fast as my 400D. Later I realised I had photographed a "turtle", a rock that looked like a turtle head. :)

There were a kiosk nearby where we had lunch and waited out the time they had to spend before the next dive.

After the next dive and the procedure at the shop Peter drove us back to the hotel.

The woman with the tour agency was supposed to leave a message at the hotel during the afternoon, but when we came back there were none. So, we went up to the agency and got it all. We are going on monday. :) Then we checked out where the bus will leave from.

Walking around a bit checking shops and restaurants. We ended up in a restaurant at the town square. I took a wrap with chicken and the others different pastas. It was rather OK.

Back at the apartment we uploaded all shots to my computer. Both mine, Johannas underwater-camera and Janets camera. And then over to a USB-memory as well. That way we have backups on everything. And we don´t have to send things by mail when we come home.

Johanna and Marcus went through all fish photos as they had to identify them till tomorrow.

I am the last one up as usual. Nighty!

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Malta 110420 wednesday

2011-05-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

Malta was My World for a week.
My World Tuesday
Outdoor Wednesday 124

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110420 Wednesday.

After a bit chilly night I woke up at 6.30. A bit early, but it was OK.

The others woke up too and went up at 7 as to planned. We made breakfast from what was on the table when we arrived. Then Peter picked us up at 8.15 and headed for the diving shop. We spent some time there, lookin around the shop. When Peter was ready to start teaching J&M I and Janet went for a walk. Janet did forgot to get Euros so we had to find a automat to get that. Peter had told us how ato walk to get to the shore and then back to the hotel. So, we walked, got the money and took a lot of shots at the shore. Janet found a lion she adored. :) At the hotel we changed to something lighter as it started to get warm. Then we headed back to the diving center. It was not that far. Now we know all of Bugibba. :)

Preparations at the shop

When we came back to the center Véronique was there. She is Peters partner and helps out in the shop when she don´t teach language classes. Now we went to the diving site at the local shore. J and I passed there before. J&M was taught to handle the compass and I got the underwater-camera in my hands. To put to good use. It was a nice place and both Janet and I was enjoying ourselves. It is so nice to hear and smell the ocean again.

After the compass training they made the first dive. And then it was late lunch.

Véronique came down at lunchtime and we all had something to eat at the kiosk.

Divers have to spend a certain time on land before they can dive again. So that was how lunch was planned. That is due to divers sicknes. It takes time for the body to adjust to the conditions over and under the watersurface.

After the next dive Peter drove the party back to the center and then drove us to the hotel.

We relaxed on the roof for a while. There are 2 small pools. and sunbeds. We also located the mini-shop. Then Janet and Marcus went out and I and Johanna took a swim in the indoor pool next to our appartment.

I downloaded todays shots to the computer and when JoM came back we left to find someplace to eat. As time was almost 20.00 we went to Mc D. Then hurried up to the lady that booked tours. We ordered the tour to the dolphins so we are going to swim with the dolhins. After all those years it is finally going to happen.

Diving in Bugibba

Back at the hotel everybody went to sleep. It is said that the sea tires you and it seems like it. Only I am up writing. and drinking a rom and cola. Yes, I bought myself a small bottle this morning.

Peter will pick us up tomorrow at 8.30. Then we are going to the northern part of Malta. Janet and I am invited as there will be room in the car. There will be 3 aditional divers tomorrow. So far I have seen no birds except for house sparrows. Not much for an island like Malta. But there might be some to see tomorrow.

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Malta 110419 Tuesday, traveling day

2011-05-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

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110419 Tuesday,traveling day

I woke up much to early. At 5 already. So Iended up with a lot of time to waste. I was
in bed for some time, then went updoing the dishes. Went online and responded to
some coments. Went to ad somemore money to my mobile phone. And packed the
rest of course.

12.25 I left the house. It was fun because Mydaughter and I came to the parking lot
gate at the same time waving to eachother. And we came from two different towns.
What´s the odds for that? Well, Ihad some trouble reading the instructions so I got a
ticket instead of justpaying with the card. But that will do. Both of us got the cars
parked and we met at the gate.

Skavsta is a small airport and very differentfrom Arlanda. But we were boarding in
time, but without my jacket. It slippedout after the security check and when I noticed,
it was to late to go back. Butwe were going to the summer so, never mind! It was old
anyway.

We had no seats but we managed to get 2seats inone row and two seats on the
other side and the row behind the first ones. Mydaughter and grand-daughter sat
on the left side and I and my grandson to theright. Which turned out to be trouble-
some with photography as we had the sunsetand it was very bright.

We arrived at Malta at 19.10 and was picked upby Peter in a really old pickup. I had
to slam the door in order to close it. It was quite a distance to Bugibba. Took about
45 min and it started to darken. Theisland looks a bit different from what I expected.
Lots of old stone buildingsand kind of dry. And not much open areas. And left hand
traffic. Kind of scary.

We went to the diving shop first. And thenPeter was driving us to the hotel. He will
pick us up at 8.15 the next morning.My daughter and I am welcome to join.

We had room no 9 in he Sunseeker hotel. It is a2 room and kitchen apartment.
There was a gas stove that looks mean. Therewere burnt holes on the biggest gas
and I will probably not cook on hat one. Afterpicking our choice of beds we went out
for a walk. We found a place to eat, notthat good food but we ate it. Then we found
a woman that offered trips. She hada small booking agency. And she has one
“Swimming with dolphins”. We have to think on that.

Time is 22.0 and the others are alreadysleeping. The Castle was shot by Johanna
from the frontseat of the car on the way to Bugibba.

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Anchordiving, Malta, dykning, scuba dive, Bugibba, certificate,

Two ways....... to spend your time in Malta

2011-05-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

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Diving...

...or fishing! NF Photo 110420 in Bugibba, Malta

The diver is my granddaughter. Diving with Anchordiving at Malta
Watery Wednesday

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Flower at Bosque de Paz

2011-04-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

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NF Photo in the garden of Bosque de Paz, Costa Rica 110128

Wordless Wednesday

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