Southern Sweden

Merry Christmas to all. I have just enjoyed a fantastic traditional Danish Christmas meal (roast pork, red cabbage, roast potatoes and veg) and a couple of glasses of vino tinto.. One of my presents (in Denmark we open them on Christmas Eve - top!) was a book I have wanted for a long time - the Dick Forsman Raptors guide to Europe and the Middle East. What a great book. And hopefully I will get to check out its quality quite soon.. because in southern Sweden there is a wintering 2cy+ GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE just east of Malmo. Also in southern Sweden, around Gothenburg, is a BUFF-BELLIED PIPIT, an ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE, at least two HAWK OWLS and PYGMY OWL. So a trip across the border is definitely in order.

It is now cold here.. about freezing during the day and -4/-5 below at night, although this is average for the time of year (last year was incredibly mild). There is a distinct lack of WAXWINGS this winter, compared with last winter, mainly due to the very limited berry crop this year. I guess this is why so many have made it to the UK this winter. The female BLACK-THROATED THRUSH is back at Nivå, just north of Copenhagen, for its third winter - it is quite remarkable that this bird has wintered in the same small area (by a railway and next to a dog-training area) for the third winter in a row.

The TENGMALM'S OWL passage seems to have dried up and NUTCRACKERS seem to have settled down with a handful wintering in local woodlands. Here's hoping for a GYR as a Christmas present!