We flew with Ryanair to Götenberg city airport from Stansted and hired a car from Hertz and stayed at Anna's B & B near Lerdala, all the crane info can be found at Hornborgasjön. This was a much more relaxed trip for me and the wife not total wildlife like the Spanish trip a week before, with one goal to see the crane spectacle at Lake Hornborga.
After some confusion over flight times (Ryanair had moved them forward) we got a couple of hours sleep, we were late leaving and the airport was busy, somehow we were sent to the wrong desk and after waiting an age behind people who did not weigh their cases and repacked on the floor we had to go to another desk where we found that there was a problem with our paid bags only one had been paid for some reason so finally sorting that out we joined the massive queue for security. They of course wasted to inspect my bag full of cameras and optics and swab it explosives and drugs. Finally clear we rushed to the plane which was of course miles away and with seconds to spare boarded, the plane was rammed and no space for luggage in the overhead lockers so not wanting to put the optics in the hold I opted for it under the seat which made things a bit cramped but we made it. The flight was fine and we landed 30 mins ahead of schedule, our bags were first off and I was first in the queue for the hire car which was not as smooth at it would seem, considering that I had already paid and that took an age to sort. Finally we got into out Volvo C30 (a rubbish car) and plugged in the address of our B&B which did not exist - what a day eh! We opted to go directly to Trandansen watchpoint to see the cranes, the latest count was 9400. We arrived and in the car park we could hear a cacophony of cranes and they were flying over us and all around, it was amazing. We walked the short distance to the watchpoint to see an amazing sight, the whole area was covered with cranes, although a few other species whooper swan, greylag geese, wigeon andCanada geese the most common were dispersed amongst the cranes. We spent a time here in the sunshine then got a quick hot dog from the girl guides stand, purchased some souvenirs from the centre and headed to the west side of the lake to one of the few bird towers that was open - Utloppet. We had a slow wander about 1km to the tower stopping on the way for skylarks singing and on the unfrozen parts of the lake were good numbers of goosander. At the tower we had masses of ducks tufted, gadwall, mallard, goosander, pochard, smew, wigeon and at least 20 red necked grebes but the exposed nature of the tower and the strengthening wind made observations difficult. But I did locate a black necked grebe amongst the mele. Here we met two Italian birders who we chatted to and shared our sightings and were to encounter them a great deal during our stay. With the weather now deteriorating we headed back to the Trandansen watchpoint briefly before moving up the east side of the lake to the visitors centre Naturum Hornborgasjön. Here we enjoyed a cup of tea and a cake before visiting the hides, but the now poor weather made viewing difficult and the fact that it was just the common species on view made us retreat to the car. We headed for Skövde for some food, which was all a bit quiet, we found Harrys an English bar (but we were desperate ) , but what a find despite the SKY TV chic the food was amazing (apart from the fact my dish did not come with chips) and we were very satisfied with meal with no room for desert. Now to find the B&B which was in Lerdala some 20km north so we headed there stopping for some roe deer on the way. Darkness was approaching we were exhausted and we drove round Ledala, a large village without any luck when we met a young man walking his dog, he did not know where it was either, but he (as all the Swede's we met were very helpful) phoned a friend and he soon gave us directions. Soon after we were lost again and were just digging out the number of the B&B to ring when we drove right past it. Soon were in and relaxing with tea and biscuits before an early night. But before bed I did pop out and set the three traps I had brought with me.
A late start, the other residents already departed so after a leisurely breakfast which yielded a good supply of raisins and sunflower hearts for my traps, I checked them and one contained a vole looked like a bank vole but a little darker (I assume a regional difference) he had a tick which I removed but he was not happy so I grabbed a quick pic before letting him go. We headed north to lake Osten, the first tower path was flooded but the second was passable with care, I could hear a black woodpecker on our approach but we never located it. We found a ringtail hen harrier which did a flypast the tower but apart from that it was quiet birdwise . That was until a noisy lesser spotted woodpecker flew in and we watched it for a while getting some super photos as it excavated a nest hole in a rotten tree. We drove the roads around the lake eventually finding some geese flocks mostly bean geese but with a few other commoner species mixed in. We did find several hares and a couple of roe deer during our drive along with common buzzard and a pheasant. We then visited the NE tower with yet more geese and a male hen harrier but little else, with light winds it was the heat haze was that made photography difficult so I could not get any decent photos of the geese . After a quick snack in Skövde we headed back to Trandansen watchpoint and enjoyed the sunshine and the 13800 cranes while indulging in an ice cream > We got a brief view of a white tailed eagle and a distant but perched goshawk as well as several marsh harriers , but all this after seeing the Italian couple so we could not show them the birds. We watched the crane spectacle as they all went to roost and now pretty cold we headed back to Skövde for some food. This proved to be quite difficult as everything was shut so we made do with a burger before heading back to the B&B, stopping for a large herd of fallow deer en route. Here we met the Italian couple who were also staying here and we had a good chat about birding.
A little colder this morning but nothing in the traps so after breakfast we headed back to the Trandansen watchpoint for more crane action, stopping at Ekornvallen a stone circle complex on the way There were slightly less cranes than the previous day 13200 now present but still a sight. We spent a while there before heading up to the two towers on the east side of the lake. The first Ytterberg was very exposed but had a more sheltered hide underneath where we watched a couple of red necked grebes several smew a lone oystercatcher and a pair of ospreys building a nest, we chatted with the Italian couple who were there as well. We got to the last hide/tower at Fäholmen which was much more sheltered than the others and we spent a little time watching pretty much the same birds as we had seen elsewhere until a white tailed eagle was spotted on the ice being harassed by ravens and hooded crows before flying off. We headed off to Skövde for more food at Harrys which was again excellent but still no chips! The drive back produced a Woodcock was flushed from a ditch alongside the road and one was later sat in the middle of the road. I checked the traps expecting nothing but had two Bank voles one was very vicious tearing into my finger and was quickly released the other a little better and allowed a quick pic before release. I reset the traps away from where I caught the voles.
Monday 5th April
We awoke to light snow which got heavier as we ate breakfast. We bid our farewells at the B&B and to the Italian couple who were also leaving, I collected the traps which produced one Bank vole and we headed off to Gothenburg, a black woodpecker was seen flying and we had a rough legged buzzard but little else of note. There was plenty of snow around and falling but as we neared Gothenburg it turned to sleet then rain then stopped. We spent the day in Gothenburg doing touristy things having some food etc. but we did see a few birds, mainly gulls in the harbour but in a small park we found a flock of 40 waxwings which allowed close inspection. And yes our evening meal came with chips and an ice cream at the airport rounded off the trip. The journey home was far less eventful then the journey out.
Species Lists
Red-necked Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Smew
Goosander
Tufted Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Pochard
Wigeon
Shoveler
Teal
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Bean Goose
Goldeneye
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
White-fronted Goose
Grey Heron
Cormorant
Common Crane
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Coot
Curlew
Hen Harrier
Osprey
Marsh Harrier
White-tailed Eagle
Woodcock
Buzzard
Rough-legged Buzzard
Raven
Hooded Crow
Jackdaw
Feral Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Pheasant
Goshawk
Magpie
Black Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Common Gull
Black-headed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Fieldfare
Mistle Thrush
Skylark
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Robin
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Willow Tit
Starling
Waxwing
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Meadow Pipit
White Wagtail
Chiffchaff
Siskin
Greenfinch
Reed Bunting
