The white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) ???

Help !  Is this the very rare White-backed Woodpecker or the more common Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor) ? A friend, who is also far more knowledgeable than I am, has concluded that it is a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and although it would have been exciting to have a White-backed in our region, I am still happy to have this one around! 

Marsh tit (Poecile palustris)

I am so happy to have this little bird in my garden. Its song is so wonderful and makes me smile every time I hear it. Click on the pictures to see the details!

Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) ?

I am confident that this is some sort of thrush but there are so many of them and I am not sure which one this is. If  you know, please let me know in Swedish or English!

Marsh tit (Poecile palustris) ?

As all followers of this blog know, I am not a bird expert but I just love them!  This time I have spotted a small, friendly looking bird that I am now almost sure is a Marsh tit (Poecile palustris) . As most small birds, it is not easy to find, focus and take a shot of them, but I hope you can still identify the bird.

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)

Easter in Svångemåla

Easter is early this year and spring has not had the impact it will have had a couple of weeks from now. The early signs are, however, there....

The crane (Grus grus) couple has arrived! I only saw them from a distance so the picture is not very sharp :(

The Anemone hepatica are in full bloom and all over the place.

The rhubarbs have just managed to get up to get some air.

And last but not least, I saw several Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) !  Very sweet looking birds that I am happy to have on our plot.

26th January 2016

Our small greenhouse was all wet due to condensation on the inside. I was advised to put a ring of copper on the roof to kill algae but I could see no difference to last year :( 

A rabbit had briefly visited us but no other spoor could be seen. 

It has been very mild the last couple of days so most of the snow has melted away.