Great tit (Parus major)

 One of the most overlooked birds, I think, is the Great tit. It is so common in Sweden and Svångemåla that it is easy to not notice what a wonderful, cute bird it is. I put this on a Facebook group in Sweden called "Birds around the corner" (Fåglar runt knuten) and within 24 hours more than 1250 had reacted positively to it. That is a large portion of the group !

Click on the picture to enlarge it !

Great Tit (Parus major)

It is a male and he sat down in our old apple tree enjoying a bit of sunshine. 

Christmas Day

 Still no snow but the wind is coming from the north and the temperatures are around 0 C. 

The sun came out for a very short while and to see it I went to the Field and used the lone tree to be able to take a picture of the blue sky.

Merry Christmas !

 We have no snow in Svångemåla but the silence and the darkness makes it a wonderful place to be when celebrating Christmas ! 

There are not many birds or other animals around but a blue tit came to our bird table to enjoy a sunflower seed.

Marsh tit (Poecile palustris)

 The Marsh tit has become one of my favorites !  In the summer time I don't notice it very much but it has lately been one of the most noticeable and cutest of the birds around our house. As always click on the picture to enlarge it !

Coal tit

 The coal tit or cole tit, (Periparus ater) is very similar to the big tit and even if it has been around, and I am sure it has, this is the first time I have taken a photo of it. Unfortunately the light was not the best so the colors and the sharpness is not the best. Still fun to introduce a new bird to the blog !

November III

 It has been another very windy and grey day and you don't see much to report. The Blue tits are, however, always cute and fun to watch. This one was sitting in a tree not far from a big oak behind which I could hide :)

I saw one more animal that really surprised me!

You have seen this one several times before but ...

Finally a small sign that the black current bush is ready for spring already!

November II

 Some more pictures from a cold but sunny day.

November

 Svångemåla in November is a somewhat different place to what we experience in the summer.  Much darker, less colors, cooler but still fantastic! Many birds are still around, a few flowers have survived the frost and the air is as fresh as ever!

We have not yet had any real storms but the wind was strong enough to break off the top of a fir that is one of six that has died due to spruce bark beetles. It fell not far from our small glasshouse and landed on our electric fence. Nothing was damaged though. 

A couple of birds to finish today's report :)

First a Blue tit...

and then a Marsh tit.

Spring feelings ?

October, ice cold winds and frost every night but some goldcrests seem to have spring feelings.

 

Common treecreeper

 Today I was lucky to come very close to a treecreeper. It is very well camouflaged and you can easily miss it.

Stars

 The night sky in Svångemåla is absolutely amazing right now. No light pollution, no dust, just millions of stars as a cascade of confetti in the dark. You feel very humble and small.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them!!!

Last bouquet of the year?

We have had frost several nights and there are not many flowers to be picked, but my wife found some and made a beautiful bouquet. 

 

More nuthatch pictures :)

 The nuthatch was my father's favorite bird and it is slowly becoming mine as well. It is good looking, active and fun to watch when it walks up and down trees. 

Blue tit

 There are at the moment a lot of blue tits around our house in Svångemåla.  I have posted pictures of them many times but I cannot  refrain from doing it one more time  :) They are simply too cute !

Common treecreeper

 The Common treecreeper is not so common in Svångemåla.  Or maybe it is but I have not seen it before due to how well it blends in when it creeps up a tree trunk :)

Nuthatch

 The nuthatch is a common bird all year round in Svångemåla. It is one of the few birds that can descend a tree head first. I spotted this one on the ground which is not so common.