Long tailed tit

 The long tailed tit is a very cute little bird that comes close to our house in Svångemåla just a couple of times each year. This time it had just rained and we could still hear thunder in the distance when suddenly four or five little birds started to sing and jump around in a tree next to where we were sitting drinking coffee. 

Butterflies

Here are some more butterflies that just love our purple coneflower. We will buy some more and hope they will thrive like the one we planted last year! One day I might find out the names of the butterflies but not now...

 

New flower :)

 Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower) is a new addition to our garden. I know it as a medicinally important and potent flower but I am even happier that it attracts a lot of butterflies  :)

The European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus)...

 is the largest beetle in Sweden. It is fairly common in Svångemåla thanks to a lot of old oak trees where they live and breed.

They are surprisingly fast and it was difficult to get a sharp picture but this one gives you an idea of how big they are. The male, like this one, is much bigger than a female but I have been told that the females are stronger!

Flax

Like most farmers in the old days my grandfather grew flax. It is still possible to see the remains of the small "cellars" (linbastor) where the flax had to be stored for some time before its fibers could be extracted from the stems. From what I understand, no oil or seeds were used, flax was only cultivated to get fibers that could be used for linen. For more details, please see Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax 

The flax flower is very pretty and even if we cannot get much fibers out of our cultivation it is still a very nice spot of green and light blue.

Gray Heron

 There are no herons in Svångemåla but I see a couple just a few kilometres away in a small village called Vänsjö and even more at Örarevet, as you have seen in a couple of previous posts.

It is a very gracious and noble looking bird that seems to be in control of its neighbourhood :)

The Linden tree

I have told you about our linden tree several times before but this time of the year it is impossible not to mention it again. It is in full bloom and thousands of insects enjoy the free meal they can find in the flowers. Bumblebees, butterflies, beetles and flies are constantly buzzing around to both my and the birds' enjoyment.

Most of them are very small and not particularly beautiful when looking at them from a distance but if you manage to get really close they can be truly spectacular.

This is just a few of the many I have seen so far and more will come this way…

If you can tell me the name of the animals, please let me know by writing a comment after the blog post. Thanks in advance!  

Usually, I use a macro lens to take these kinds of pictures but since the linden tree is too big to get close to the insects, I have used the lens I use when taking pictures of birds, a 500 mm lens but I have still had to crop heavily. 

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The Purple Emperor ...

... is fairly common in Svångemåla. It is a beautiful butterfly even when you look at its wings from this angle. Note how big the eyes are compared to the head.

 

Woodpecker

 There are many old trees in Svångemåla, partly because a large part of the area is considered to be of special value and must be protected and managed in a special way. The old trees are full of insects and a variety of woodpeckers are taking advantage as some of my previous blog posts have shown.

Right now the chickens are out and a family of four is flying around our house looking for food.

The woodpeckers are not loved by all since they destroy other birds' birdhouses in their hunt for food. (=chickens)