Öland 170601 Going home again

Öland 170529-170601

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© NF Photos 170601

Today it was time to go back home. I woke up rather early, as expected. I went up, packed my belongings and cleaned up the room. Had the last breakfast and prepared something to eat during the day. Coffee, bread, boiled eggs and fruit. Enough to bring me home.

Leaving the hostel I first went down to South Point. And was greeted by some beautiful Fallow Deer.  They are free and wild animals but this morning they stayed close to the cattle. A little mist was still in the air.

Arriving at the Lihgthouse Långe Jan I spotted a Mute swan with three young. What a treat! Loved to see them. Behind them were a person from the staff carrying cages for catching waders for examinations.

A last look at Långe Jan seen from the beach.

And good bye to the House Martins. All the Swifts I had seen yesterday was all gone again.

Common Shelduck and Redshank

Cormorant
Leaving Ottenby I went to a place I had not visited yet. In Grönhögen there are a golf course and the beach alongside it are great for birding.

Pied Avocet

Continuing north I made a stop t Eckelsudde to see the Avocets one final time and was greeted with beautiful and clear weather and a few birds not too far off.

Now it was almost lunch and time to go up to the bridge that would take me to the mainland.

An hours drive and then, at Emån time for lunch and a short nap.

Four more hours of driving and I was home around 17.30h  Tired, but happy with the trip.


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Öland 170531 post2 Birds and animals

Öland 170529-170601
Day 3 post 2, © NF Photos 170531, evening around Ottenby
This post is an additional post  for some of the animals and birds from this day. 

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Fallow deer

Oystercatcher

 The lighthouse Långe Jan with three kinds of swallows, Swifts, House Martins and Barn swallows.
But most of them were swifts this evening.

It was rather late and the sun was low. The Common Swifts had a hard time in the hard wind from the Baltic sea.  For a moment they actually stood still in the air,but then they angled slightly and went off with great speed.

Sheep on the road

A horse close to the hostel. 

 © NF Photos 170531

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Öland 170530 A misty day

Öland 170529-170601
Day 2.  © NF Photos 170530

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When I woke up and looked out the window I saw nothing! Nothing but a grey world outside. No need to rush then.

Around 9 a´clock it started to lift a bit and I went out.  Just outside the hostel area there was a lot of cars and people standing along the road.


 I stopped and asked a person what was going on. Out on the other side of the field a rare eagle was almost hidden in the fog. A Greater spotted Eagle (större skrikörn). My 400 mm lens gave me this image. (Below!)

In Sweden there is a system where birders can alert each other about rare birds and where to find them, hopefully! That is why a bunch of people visit the same place. The Eagle seemed to have been in Öland for a couple of days so I continued down to South Point. I took some misty shots of horses, cows and sheep. But hardly even saw the lighthouse Långe Jan (Tall Jan). I had to get rather close before I could actually see it.

Sheep

Långe Jan and Ottenby Bird Station, one of the best places in Sweden to watch migrating birds. Well, not a misty day like this though :)

Done with Ottenby I headed for Eckelsudde, where the Pied Avocet (skärfläcka) are. Now there are mist over the Baltic Sea but just little over land. It was interesting to watch the mist rolling in over land from the sea. As I live inland I never see that.

But there is a lot more to Öland then birds. If you have not seen a windmill, you have probably not visited the island.

 Not to mention rape fields.  With poppies at the edge.


After having a lunchbreak I headed to the east coast of the island. Up to Stenåsa where the birding community has it´s center and a bookstore.

 I found a little old-fashioned house at a campingsite at Stenåsa.

A lot of artists live on Öland, This is one of them close to Stenåsa who has a gallery and creates glass art. And paintings as well. In the old style buildings.

In  the evening, back at Eckelsudde, the mist was finally gone and I found some Red Knots (kustsnäppor).

To finish off the day I went back to Ottenby just in time to see a group of Oystercather´s putting on quite a show.

On Öland there are a lot of limestone so that was the main builing material in the old days. They try to keep the old style on the south half of the island. And that is classified as a World Heritage Site.

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Going to Öland 170529

Öland 170529-170601

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© NF Photos 170529

Öland is an island in the Baltic Ocean outside Swedish mainland in the south. Not far though, a bridge connects the mainland with the island.  The name Öland actually translates as island-land. :) .

To get there I have to drive about 350 km. Takes about 5-6h.  I arrived on Öland at 14.00h
 And from there went south along the coast facing the main land. I visited three places that was good for birding. One with a specific bird in mind. The Avocet!

I stopped once at Emån for a break and something to eat. I went down to the stream and found that the Banded Demoiselle was flying. Early I thought but I was more south then I usually am.

I visited two birding areas before I got to the Hostel where I got a room. After having some dinner I went out again to the south point and the Lighthouse Långe Jan (Tall Jan) and Ottenby Birding station.  A NatureReserve and scientific station. Great place for migrating birds.

Emån, Taking a break from driving. Finding Banded Demoiselle! Male and female.

 View over the bridge and the city Kalmar on the mainland, to the left.

View south. Baltic Sea
Beijershamn and the Öland bridge

  Avocet - Skärfläcka,
the bird I wanted to see.

The bay with windmills in the background. The growth on the water is floating with the wind. Quite strange, What you think is ground is not.
Eckelsudde

 Ottenby lighthouse Långe Jan

Redstart, male sitting on the net that was supposed to catch him for banding. But not this day.  :)
Ottenby

Evening at the Hostel

Arrival day over.

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Birding on Öland 120505, Saturday

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120505 Saturday, going home day

I woke up too early to be good for anyone. At 4.15 in the morning, I tried to sleep a while longer but at 5.30 I was in the kitchen for a cup of coffee and the boiled egg I´m getting used to.  Then I went to Ottenby at 6.40. It was mist over the land and I took some shots on my way down.

I arrived at the Garden at 6.20 in time to see the young staff releasing the first batch of birds from the nets. Then they took them inside for checking their condition and to ring those who had no ring.

There was some small birds in the gardens but at the point it was almost empty. A mute swan was spreading it´s beautiful feathers in the rising morning sun. Seems like it enjoyd it. :) A few minutes later I discovered it´s mate sitting, or rather sleeping, on a nest. Some Eiders flew by.

It was a chilly morning, not more then +5 ° C and windy. A few birders gathered at the wind shelter. Not daring go out watching the few birds still on the shore. Just me walking around.

At 7.45h when I left Ottenby for the last time I got a nice go away present. I finally saw some newly hatched Northern Lapwings. Not cute, but so charming. :) You find images HERE.


Back to the Hostel to pack and a cup of coffee. I also took a short nap before leaving for Bejershamn up at the bridge to the mainland.  


At Bejershamn were about the same birds as when I arrived so I took the forest way back to the parking lot passing the nice old cottage.


Then I went to a surfing beach close by to eat my lunch and enjoy the ocean for a while before leaving.

Ölandsbron - Öland bridge

12.20 I headed north. Passed the bridge and turned north. After leaving Kalmar I was seeing a Red Kite above the road. Last bird for this trip. Took me 5h to get home. And I had a hard time with the windy weather.

I counted 75 different species and 4 lifers from them.

To see the birds from Öland go HERE

To see Öland Photography go HERE

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Birding on Öland 120504, Friday

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120504 Friday

I woke up just before 6 in the morning, I went up and had a cup of coffee and an egg and then I went to Ottenby at 6.40.

When I arrived they had just spotted a Glaucous Gull (vit trut) so I spend some time with getting a shot of it. It was far out,of course, but I managed to get a shot where you can see it is that bird. A new one to me so I did really want a shot I could idenify the bird.  So it was nice that I saw it too. A new species on my list. Then I asked Göran and another about the ID of the vader I had shot the first day. And they could not give it to me. Somehow I felt good about it. Even the experts don´t know it all. :) When I was about to leave there was a peculiar light on the Baltic sea side of the Observatory area. Had to take some shots of course.

Some birds this morning; Glaucous Gull (vittrut), Merlin far away (stenfalk),   flying Red-Breasted Merganser (småskrake), flying Tufted Duck (vigg), Wood Sandpiper (grönbena), Canadian goose(kanadagås) and the the Common Scoter on a frame (sjöorren på bild). OK just like dots, but still. 

Ottenby bird obs and Långe Jan

Then I was supposed to go to the hostel and eat something. Instead I went to Södra Lunden to check out the new tower. It was cold and a little rain now. As I went on the path I heard some noice I could not recognice. Later on, at the tower, I met a couple and I heard the noice again. They knew it. It was the sound of the wings of the Common Snipe (enkelbeckasin). Nice to know. :) Not much birds but I had some photo session in the Lund also. A woman need to have some fun.

Back at the Hostel I made lunch, coffee and bread that is. And then I slept for 40 min. Tried to find a bird at Artportalen but was not succesful. I thought it was silkeshäger but it turned out to be an Egret heron that was seen some 50 km up north. Well, if it is still there tomorrow I might try to see it on my way back home.

Instead I went to find the closed damm, kalkstensbrott in Albrunna, where there was supposed to be gråhakedopping. I found it but it took a while and a long walk in a national park, Albrunna Alvar, and among cows. There were many Northern Weahtear (stenskvättor) in the area, It is Ölands Alvar, somehow looking like a thundra in the northern part of our world. 

The entire sothern part of Öland is a World Heritage area. It is a special ground made of chalk and it is also a very old cultural ground. Lots of Kings lived here.

Now my legs and feet don´t like it anymore but I had to get back to the car. My back is painful too. But at least the sun started to come out again. It was now about 16.30 and I was getting hungry.

Gråhakedopping - Red-Necked Grebe

Back at the car I headed to the next place. A small birdlake south of S Möckleby. That one too a remnant from an old factory. It was quite nice but I did not see much more then swallows. :)

Now it was dinnertime but on my way south the mist was coming in from the ocean as the sun shoen through the clouds.  So, I took a short additional trip to Ottenby. Not much to see though so I went for dinner.

After dinner the mist was still there so I took a new trip to Ottenby. Now it was cold and windy again. Not much of either birds or birders, So I took some shots and went back. Now I am writing and tomorrow I ´ll be going home.

To see the birds from Öland go HERE

To see Öland Photography go HERE

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