A good week with Monica and Pelle up from Stockholm. A lot of time spent in the forest with Ake visiting nests for three bird of prey species: Osprey, Rough-legged Buzzard and Kestrel.

 

On the 1st July we spent some time at one of the new sites we had found for Siberian Jay, baiting the area with sausage. Two birds came down with one caught, an adult female. These are a splendid looking and gentle bird, with a soft call and silent flight; one minute the forest is empty and the next the Jays are there! This species is a northern specialist of old forest, and is hard to find, so to get one as a ringing tick was a real treat for Chris - still got a week to catch one for Kay!!!

 

The area we were working for the Jays proved to be a real hot-spot for birds. On site or within a few 100m we had pairs of Whinchat, Red-backed Shrike, Green Sandpiper, an Elk (at last for Chris), a pair of three-toed Woodpecker, Rough-legged Buzzard, a Kestrel brood, Adder, Honey Buzzard, Crested and Willow Tit. Leaving the area one day Monica spotted an adult Great Grey Owl sitting in the forest a few metres in from the track. A search found a well-grown youngster and the other adult. While we were watching, one of the adults brought food to the youngster, all caught on film (well partly hidden by a tree, but that's life!!). Fantastic that these huge owls sit there and allow such close views. Mind you we did get warning grunts and lots of bill-clacking from the female when we tried unsuccessfully to catch the youngster, which simply flew to the next tree!!! An absolute thrill to be in the forest with these birds.

 

Went to another Rough-legged Buzzard nest, making that four in total, with Pelle ringing both youngsters. It underlines how lucky we are with Kay and I already having done 3 each, while for Pelle, who lives here, these birds were only his 2nd and 3rd!!!

 

More Kestrel nests visited with good brood sizes and some very well grown young, a total of 58 young out of 12 nests. Some of these birds have hardly any downy feathers left and are ready to leave the nest.

 

We re-visited a Woodcock nest Kay and I had found a week or so ago. The female lifted off four youngsters, just hatched that morning, so well camouflaged, with two of them still having the egg tooth they use to open the egg.

 

Highlight has to be, without any question, going to Osprey nests to ring the young. On the 5th we went to three nests, the first had three well grown young, ringing ticks for Chris and Kay, with the third done by Monica. A fantastic experience and one of the many highlights of the trip, certainly one of the species we hoped to ring, but thought we probably would not!! Second nest had two young, ringed by Chris and Kay, while the third nest was sadly found at the base of the tree, having been blown out by the wind; poor reward for birds that travel from Africa!

 

Today we went to a fourth nest which had three very large young, again Chris & Kay ringing one each with Pelle doing the third.

 

A HUGE thanks must go to Pelle and Monica for allowing us special treatment on species which you can never tire of ringing and which they have not ringed that many of. Also to Ake, who is so fit and capable in climbing trees it is hard to credit his age. Climbed three trees in one day, plus good walks into the sites carrying all his climbing kit!!! Without his commitment and love of all things to do with birds of prey up here, very little could be achieved.

 

So, Pelle and Monica have headed off to Stockholm, where we will join them on the 13th for a day or so before heading over to Landsort to start our work there mid-July. Looking forward to it, but first there is the question of catching a Siberian Jay for Kay, more walks and filming and a final session running Pelle's ringing site.