SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // August has just passed and with the arrival of September summer is coming to an end, unfortunately… From my point of view, however, autumn represents a season with many photographic possibilities, not only because it is already slowly starting to paint forests with amazing colours or because the migration of birds towards the south has also begun, but also because it will give me the possibility of offering another unforgettable experience.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Do you remember the two eagles that passed right over my head?
Well, I was able to read all 4 digits of the identification ring and I received the response from the Swedish Bird Identification Center (Ringmärkningscentralen).
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Stunts in the sky by the osprey. Perfect day from the photographic point of view: a couple of hours in Nature, to get away from the computer, and I brought home a more than satisfactory result, with 4 ospreys coming and going all the time.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Autumn on the doorstep has made the air electrifying, not only because the skies are more and more busy (the migration to the south has begun), but also because it seems that all the animals are busy trying to snatch the last precious moments of the summer.
So many things happen, every day, to be overloaded with memories, emotions and, in the end, hundreds of photos to work on.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // I had already photographed this buzzard from afar, and many other times I had seen and admired it. Knowing where animals live is also this, returning to the usual places and see what’s gonna happen. Who knows, maybe she recognised me as I learned to recognise her.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // The summer heat has given up and even if the temperatures sometimes reach 24-25 degrees, a cooler wind is already announcing the change of the season. The milder temperatures, now, not only bring relief to those like me who do not like the sultry heat, but, obviously, also to the ungulates: if, in fact, when temperatures reached and exceeded even 30 degrees it was much more difficult to sight them during the day because hidden in the shade of the forests, now they are back to being more active.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // So close to almost touch them. So close to not knowing which one to choose to take a picture of.. So close to hear the flap of their immense wings. So close to look them straight in the eyes.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Among all the birds of prey present on Swedish territory, one of the smallest is the common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and is certainly also one of the most characteristic and easy to spot. Of small dimensions (up to 36 cm long, 78 cm of wingspan and a weight up to 220 grams which can become 300 for the females before the laying of the eggs) the kestrel differs from all the other raptors for its special technique of hunting: instead of circling in the sky like buzzards, kites, eagles and other hawks, for example, the kestrel manages to remain suspended in a single point, quickly flapping its wings and opening its fanned tail to exploit the wind and keep the stability.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Another bird of prey very present on almost all the Swedish territory (with the exception of the more northern mountainous areas) is certainly the buzzard (Buteo buteo): medium-sized bird of prey with wide wings and regular body structure, short neck and medium-length tail, the buzzard measures 45-58 cm with a wingspan of 110-140 cm and can reach a weight of about 1 kg for the male and 1.3 kg for the female.
CKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN //Spring and summer are not the best times to see large birds of prey, it’s much better in the late fall or winter. Yet the meetings are not entirely impossible and, as in this case, sometimes completely unexpected.
I was in an area I know, but this time I was driving along a new small road between cultivated fields and forests; I had just photographed a male roe deer from the cockpit of the car, when I saw something big and dark moving over the trees. I drove toward it, I crossed a small strip of forest and, on the other side, I saw a Red Kite flying.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // It is true, lately I have “specialised myself”, or at least I am putting more effort, into the birds of prey photography,perhaps because they are more difficult, both to sight and to photograph, or perhaps for that sense of infinity freedom that they manage to evoke with the their flights. The fact is that I’m devoting myself to that kind of photography with so much passion now… and quite good results.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // As promised, here is how Mother Nature decided to surprise and amaze me last week. After admiring and photographing my first osprey, I continued my tour to reach strategic places for the sighting of large birds of prey, especially to try out the Nikon D500 borrowed from a photographer friend of mine.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // What I love most about Nature is its ability to give wonderful surprises over and over again, and a few days ago She managed to make me wonder with two wonderful gifts. I went out mainly to try a new camera body, a Nikon D500 that I received on loan from a friend and that seems to be very good for birds photography.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Thanks to the Storkprojektet (Stork Project) which in 1989 released a couple of these beautiful birds, after their disappearing since 1954, it is not difficult nowadays to see them in the Skåne County countryside. I already had the chance once to watch a wonderful show offered to me by a stork while it was looking for food.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Today I show you another migratory bird that has been returning to Sweden for some time already: the Northern Lapwing(Vanellus vanellus). Medium size (High: from 28 to 31 cm; Wingspan: from 70 to 76 cm; Weight: 150 to 300 g) in English is so called because ofthe “lapping” sounds its wings make in flight, while in Italian is called Pavoncella (little Peacock) because of the green colours of its plumage on the back.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN //Through other photographers I got to know about the permanent presence of the Eurasian eagle-owl (bubo bubo) in a place a few minutes drive from Malmö. Since I have never seen any kind of owl in Nature, I could not miss this opportunityand so last week I went to watch it.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // I had already mentioned how patience often repays the hours spent waiting.
But, apart from the final prize, which in my case was seeing the sea eagle again, there is another magical thing that happens when you remain, still and in silence, in Nature: you completely become part of the surrounding.
Between the end of the winter when the vegetation is still bare and before the sparkling green covers everything again, there is another sudden color that breaks the monotony of the Swedish landscape: they are the rapeseed fields (Brassica Napus) , endless and fragrant expanses of a bright yellow.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // I’ve already told you about the beauty of the Red Kite.
A few days ago I was lucky enough to find myself in the visual of a curious specimen that passed over my head three times … and I didn’t miss the opportunity!
SOUTH SWEDEN, SWEDEN // One of the reasons why in 2010 I decided to move to Sweden from Denmark, it was certainly the need and desire to discover a wild and boundless Nature.
Tired of Copenhagen and its nightlife, and tired of the monotony of the Danish landscape, I chose to have the opportunity to live where I can get in the car and drive endlessly through an immaculate nature, even if just a few kilometres from towns and villages.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Usually, when you think about photographing the forest, you imagine the warm autumn colors that set the forest on fire and warm the soul.
Yet there is another particular moment, in my opinion, that has almost the same beauty and magic: the explosion of spring.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // A couple of days ago I went to “hunt” eagles, I reached the area where both sea eagles and imperial eagles are present, I stopped by a small lake and I stayed about an hour waiting for something to happen.
I admit it, I was starting to get bored and other photographers, who in the meantime had given up and if they had gone, had almost convinced me to give up. Then, just as I was getting into the car, a group of geese started to squawk and flee, flying like crazy: something was happening!
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // This is the feeling I had when the sky filled with thousands of Barnacle goose in flight: a sense of infinity and freedom at the same time, Mother Nature that, with its immensity, still knows how to surprise.
And I felt so little, under such a sky…
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Yesterday, while with other photographers and birdwatchers we were waiting to see if the ospreys would come back, a South African Shelduck (Tadorna Cana) made its appearance. To tell the truth, nobody knew this species and was not even present on a Swedish bird book, but a lady, after some research on the web, identified the species.
What’s it doing in Sweden?
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // During one of my last “spring” walks, even though the weather was still cold and sunny days seemed to be pure utopia, I was lucky enough to make my first encounter with a specimen of Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius).
He was at the edge of the forest road that I was following, and for a while he just fluttered from tree to tree, and then in the undergrowth, thus giving me a way to be able to get some good shots.
After a good 5 minutes of “posing” it decided it had enough and flew to more secluded places.
And I continued my walk smiling …
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // Every year, in the period between the last two weeks of March and the end of April, hundreds of thousands of Eurasian (or grey) cranes (Grus Grus) return to Sweden and gather into large groups before splitting again when they hatch the eggs in May.
This year I decided that I could not miss the opportunity and, taking advantage of a sunny day, I went to a nature reserve about a hundred km from Malmö: here, the farmers of the area are feeding
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // The period of great migrations has finally begun even in Sweden and, already, thousands of birds are in transit towards the North.
Last week, with great patience despite the bitter cold, I was lucky enough to witness the enchanting ritual of courtship, also know as “nuptial parade”, of the Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus).
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // After about ten days of clouds, grey and rain, seeing a “luminous sphere” in a blue sky left me somewhat amazed and puzzled. And so, overcoming the fear of the unusual atmospheric phenomenon, I went out for a photo tour.
As usual so many animals, now more than ever excited in a Nature that finally wakes up, still stealthily after the long winter, almost ready to explode soon: the mere fact of hearing the chirping of birds that breaks the winter silence, made me hope, and believe, that it will not rain forever.
Morale rised, like the rebirth of a smile.
INTO THE WILD, SWEDEN// Usually, and mostly for those whom loves Nature, talking about Scandinavia one can only think about uncontaminated environments, endless open landscapes, fjords and wild forests.
And talking about the animals living there, one think straight away to reindeer, bear, moose and so on.
And the moose, knows as the king of the forest, is maybe the more mysterious and legendary of all, for its size and prominence, and still its elusive way to avoid human closeness.
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN // The Skåne region, the southernmost of Sweden, is a real paradise for bird-watchers, both because here you can find 192 of the 250 bird species that breed in the country, and because it’s a very important point – probably the most important in Europe – of the European migration route and 359 different bird species have been spotted here during their passage.
TIVEDEN NATIONAL PARK, SWEDEN//
There were only three weeks left before the beginning of my trip and there was still something very important I have to do: sleep in the tent, alone, into the wild.
This is the journal of my first time
SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN //
Winter snow in South of Sweden is not common at all, even if one may think the opposite, especially in Malmö and along the coast. Secondly, having the snow and then a sunny day it’s something extremely extraordinary.
So, when I came back from Poland and I found a snowy Sweden, after I had a little taste of it just after the landing (then we went home to rest after we woke up at 3:30 am…) and after I checked the forecasts, I decided to entirely spend the day after for a photoshoot.
MÖLLE & KULLABERG NATURE RESERVE, SWEDEN //
Last Saturday (11 March 2017) has been the first real hint of spring, at least for us living here in South Sweden: bright sunshine, clear sky, almost no wind at all (something very rare here) they all made the temperatures around 9-10 degrees even more bearable and pleasant.
Probably the winter is not done with us yet, and cold, rain and maybe even snow will return to disenchant us; but the heat of a warm ray of sunshine while enjoying a coffee on the balcony at home, with the birds chirping in the background, it can change completely the mood for those who, like us, are used to endless months of gray and cold.
ÖSÖDERÅSEN NATIONAL PARK, SWEDEN //
We had an unusually heavy snowfall last week here in Malmö, not because unexpected, but because, from a driving rain and in just a few minutes it managed to whiten everything, accumulating more than five centimeters.
During the night then, the temperatures must have fallen below freezing point, so the next morning we had a clear and deep sky, bright sunshine and sparkling snow waiting for us and spurring us to get out.
We could not miss that chance!
INTO THE FOREST, SKÅNE COUNTY, SWEDEN //
We decide to leave Malmö, by car, and go for a walk in Nature. Just outside town little snow begins to fall. Lara falls asleep almost immediately: she skipped the morning nap and she is particularly tired.
We decided to just drive around than, to let her sleep; furthermore, the snowfall is increasing while getting more and more far from the coast. So we drive around, we get lost in small side roads, getting deep in a landscape that slowly begins to dress itself in white: first it’s just a veil, which delicate begins to cover those dull winter colors; then it increases, grows, embraces and holds everything in its innocent and candid grip.
Really?BOSJÖKLOSTER (BOSJÖ ABBEY), HÖÖR, SWEDEN //
On a weekday cold afternoon, we decided to visit the Bosjö monastery/castle (Bosjökloster), on the banks of Östra Ringsjon (literally “Eastern Ring Lake”), in the municipality of Höör.dsc_4001
Benedictine abbey founded in 1080, is now a private property which, however, opens door to the public, behind the payment of a symbolic offering for the maintenance of the structure since it does not receive any public funding, the old part of the castle, the gardens and the adjacent park with its centuries-old oaks.
And this captured our interest today.
SNOGEHOLM LAKE AND FOREST, SWEDEN //
It has been a while since we have been closer to Mother Nature, a bit because of the last holidays in Poland, and for the time spent doing Xmas shopping before.
We needed it, both of us and even our little Lara, which seems to prefer to look at trees and a blue sky over her stroller, than lights and people in some shopping center.
So, despite the cold, we came back for a walk in the well-equipped area of Snogeholm, about fifty kilometers east of Malmö, which has trails suitable for disables and so very good for our stroller.
…LANDSKRONA CITADEL, SWEDEN //
Last Saturday we had a trip to Landskrona Citadel, around 40 km north of Malmö.
The weather was not the best, cloudy and maybe little bit too windy to go by the coast, but we are always trying to get another possibility to go out with our daughter before the long, dark and cold Swedish winter will finally settle down.
After a short walk in the quiet park around the castle, with its channel to protect it, we came back by the sea to enjoy another spectacular sunset.
…YSTAD, SWEDEN //
Last Sunday (13-11-2016) I was in Ystad with my family, to take a walk by the sea while waiting for the Moon-rise.
I set my tripod and start shooting, bewitched by an amazing “red-dressed” Moon.
Then I turned to discover a fantastic sunset.
And then us, caught in the middle, enchanted from such a beauty.
Mother Nature, once again, delivered an astonishing surprise…
MÖLLE & KULLABERG NATURE RESERVE, SWEDEN //
Know how to wait … Always.
In the belief that the best is yet to come.
In the belief that as it can not rain forever, so no darkness can prevent the light from returning to shine.
Waiting!
Being confident that great things and little great miracles are waiting for us, though if everything around us now is trying try to tell us the opposite.
Knowing how to wait … despite everything!
(whiStrange Sunday, yesterday.
Slim and rare snowflakes that slowly try to stick around, put on a thin veil that then disappears and reappears, or create only glossy whiffles on the grey asphalt.
And so I take the car to wander without direction: the fantasy, the intuition or a song will decide it for me. It does not matter.