Wood Nuthatch

There is an old European Aspen (Populus tremula) at the far end of our plot. It has provided shelter for several different bird families during the years as I have reported in previous posts on the blog. 

http://svangemalanews.blogspot.se/2012/04/easter-week-2012. 

html http://svangemalanews.blogspot.se/2009/05/new-tennant.html 

This year one of the two "apartments" is once again occupied by a couple of Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea). It is an interesting little bird that supposedly is the only one that can go head first down a tree! When I saw them a week ago it they had just started to clean out the nest and I hope they are still there when I get back in a couple of weeks.

More about the Long-tailed tits !

As you saw in a previous post, there are several Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) on the plot this year. It is a very cute little bird with a very long tail. The body is just about 6 cm while the tail is 10 cm!  

Looking out from the nest.

Nest building is a joint effort among most birds. 

Smart woodpecker

The Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Leiopicus medius) is common in and around Svångemåla. When the wind is not too strong, you can hear when they are looking for worms and insects in old trees. This time I was very surprised when I saw that it had put a conifer cone in a small pocket in an old tree to hold it. Wonder how common that is?

The air is full of butterflies!

It is early April and the temperature is above 20 C. Birds and butterflies go crazy and so do I :)
Here are some of the butterflies that managed to find food in the few flowers that are in bloom now.
Click on the picture to see all the details!!!

Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

 European Peacock (Aglais io)