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.

27th November 2015

Not much is happening in Svångemåla this time of the year. There are a few signs that the pigs have been around but luckily not on our plot. A raven flew over but few other birds can be neither seen nor heard. I was a bit surprised to see that the Black currant (Ribes nigrum) had small buds but guess it is normal when the start of the winter is as mild as it is this year.

The wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) look like they are made of velvet.

3rd November 2015

Just back from a brief visit to Svångemåla. Hardly any leaves left on the trees. Very few birds in the air. A bit foggy but the sun managed to break through a couple of times.  Quiet, very quiet :)

Amazing but you can still find flowers in the lawn. Just a little bit of spring feeling :)

It's getting dark and misty in Svångemåla. We were there for a couple of days and felt that summer of 2015 is definitely over.  We were still lucky and could move the lawn one more time and it did not rain.

Blueberry leaves are almost as colorful as wine leaves!

It has not been below zero yet or these flowers would not look like this!  

The hops is sagging and has lost it's grip of the top of the pole.

The sunflowers are still standing but just. The smaller ones came much later than the taller ones but seem also to keep their colors a bit longer. Looks a bit like adults and children parading :)

Memories from the summer of 2015

Tomorrow is 1st of September and the summer is over. The small cabin in Svångemåla has been cleared of everything of value and the water pipes are empty. 

Here are some photos that I have not had time to put on the blog before, that will remind me and maybe you of the summer of 2015. It was unusually cold in the beginning but ended with some really warm and sunny weeks. All in all a good one!

As always, click on the picture to enlarge it!

Poplar admiral (Limenitis populi)

Drama ! After having watched each other for some time, they both left the scene unharmed.

 Foxglove, common foxglove, purple foxglove or lady's glove (Digitalis purpurea)

A rose of some sort. Not sure which one but they are common in Svångemåla.

Poor trees

Can trees feel pain?  I have read that they can but on what level or how, I am not sure. I still feel that the practice shown below is wrong. We get upset when we see how poachers in Africa use snares to catch wild animals. This can in no way be compared to what is done to the trees but I think we must protest when trees are being abused like this!