slipper time

Just had a great week-long tour on Gotland with a great group of people, the highlight being (as usual) the lady's slipper orchid show.

Postcard from Stora Karlsö

Stora Karlsö has been on our list of things to do for some time and last week we got the chance to visit.

Stora Karlsö is a magical place to get away from the crowds, we were lucky in that there were few people staying on the island and no day-trippers in the three days we spent here.

28/5 arrival on the island and afternoon birding
The speedy ferry takes just over half an hour to rush us from Klintehamn to the island. As we near the place the large numbers of razorbills and guillemots becomes apparent. After settling in to our accommodation we all head out for a walk around the west side of the island. At the top of the steps to the lighthouse we are greeted by a song-flighting barred warbler, a splendid sight. Rosefinches and thrush nightingales sang lustily and the sun shone down. Having completed a leisurely circuit it becomes apparent that any migrant woodland passerines were going to be drawn to the big trees around the accommodation at Norderhamn and Hien. I walked these areas again, finding a pair of barred warblers, a red-backed shrike and a late brambling. The best bird though was a hawfinch, flushed from the ground in amongst the scrub at Norderhamn and watched perched in a tree before flying off. [This was to be our best find - not recorded since 2008 and few records before that.] As dusk gathered we enjoyed the hubbub of the nearby auk cliffs and watched as pairs of velvet scoter took exploratory flights into the interior of the island.

29/5 a full day on the island
This was our only full day on the island and it rained through the night and on through the morning. This did nt deter us from tramping about though. A slight fall of spotted flycatchers and red-backed shrikes was evident and we also found two singing male marsh warblers and a female black redstart. The barred warblers performed well and we got great views of various rosefinches.

30/5 last morning
Getting up early to search the cover around the accommodation was a pleasure this morning but the hard work produced little reward, a singing cuckoo being the most exciting new arrival on the island. As we boarded the ferry we heard of a red-breasted flycatcher at Hien, but by then it was too late. It was a shame that there was no organised method of sharing information on the island. There was a whiteboard but it just contained a retrospective list of the best birds seen each day, with no observer names or locations for the birds, which was rather frustrating.

A fantastic place and we all want to go back for a longer stay one day.

Gotland diary

Just back from nine days on Gotland with the family. If you have never been, then go!

21/5 driving to Gotland the long way through Blekinge
Driving cross-country gave me an opportunity of checking a few sites en route and we stopped first at Hercules dammar. A quick look here confirmed that we should try and get back on a camping trip during the summer. A white stork sat on top of a nest at the stork centre and the environs of the pools was busy with dragonflies, with Erythromma najas being a year-tick. A hobby was hunting dragonflies too and high overhead four black terns shuttled between wetlands.

Hercules dammar was a great site, reminiscent of very good 'Broadland' habitat but with more wildlife! This Erythromma najas was my first of the year.

Driving through Blekinge we stopped hopefully at three Coenagrion armatum sites. I was astonished by these spots (they seemed fairly ordinary, I always thought this species was a bit picky habitat-wise). Sadly we failed to turn up the species at any of the sites - too early I guess - but we did find a new Coenagrion lunulatum site near Berntorp.

22/5
We timed our arrival on Gotland perfectly to coincide with Sweden's eighth Western Bonelli's warbler. Just half an hour from where we were staying and quickly under the belt before we went fossil-hunting. In the afternoon I checked out nearby Närsholmen but there was little evidence of a fall. As usual I was surprised to find breeding turnstones, I always think of them breeding further north.

23/5 Torsburgen
Before breakfast I checked a very quiet Närsholmen and then had a look at a new site, the nearby Lausviken. Fantastic spot for waders that produced knot (1 - year-tick)), a flock of 17 broad-billed sandpipers (ditto), 32 dunlin, ruff (2) and greenshank (2). After breakfast I finally got round to checking the cottage garden and found the obligatory male collared flycatcher singing by his nest-box.

Spent the day with the team. The highlight being a sunny walk around the incredible plateau hill-fort at Torsburgen. Bird-wise rather quiet but great for invertebrates with small pearl-bordered fritillary and best of all 1-2 swallowtails (the latter my first in Sweden).

A walk around Torsburgen produced my first Swedish swallowtail butterflies.

24/5 south Gotland
My pre-breakfast look at Närsholmen was rather quiet, just one collared flycatcher. Nearby Lausviken was better though, although I am always a sucker for waders. Today's quota included knot (2), Temminck's stint (1), curlew sandpiper (2, year-tick), dunlin (35) and 16 broad-billed sandpipers. Driving away I finally picked up my first red-backed shrike of the year.

Närsholmen is a great spring orchid spot with plenty of elder-flowered orchids, but interestingly burnt-tip orchids were early this year and got me thinking about trying for Lady's slipper orchid...

Picking up the team we all headed down south. First stop was Grötlingboudd where the hide pool produced a single black-tailed godwit (year-tick) and 8 Temminck's stints. Next stop was Falludden. I really love this site, it has migrant trap written all over it. The marshy woodland here had at least two red-breasted flycatchers, I climbed into one of the large bushes and enjoyed close views of these great little birds. With time pushing on we elected not to visit Stockviken, a move that I was later to regret... It rained most of the afternoon and Hoburgen was deserted, just one yellow wagtail flying about. Back at home I discovered that a white-winged tern had been spotted at Stockviken during the afternoon and so headed back down south after dinner. I had just half an hour on site but this was enough to enjoy the splendid white-winged tern, along with a supporting cast that included a female red-necked phalarope, a Caspian tern, five garganey and some displaying ruff. A good day for birds.

25/5 north to Fårö
My pre-breakfast session at Lausviken produced another different set of birds although the broad-billed sandpipers remained (though just 8 this morning). New in were 35 gadwall, a white-tailed eagle, six Temminck's stints and right out in the middle of the bay a single black-tailed godwit (which eventually flew south right overhead).

Picking up the team once again we headed north. First stop was a chance to look for penduline tit at Landträskdammen. Unfortunately 'we' were quickly distracted by Odonata and found Gotlands first colony of Coenagrion armatum and plentiful Sympecma fusca (both lifers). I was on cloud-9. The armatum find is easily my best to date in dragonfly terms here in Sweden.

Coenagrion armatum

Moving on we headed for some fossil-hunting at Lickershamn, a site that conveniently was also hosting a 2K yellow-billed diver. It took some time to find but I got great views. Also here one black-throated diver (adult) and a single Slavonian grebe. Last year we never got close to visiting the island of Fårö, but with Ma B on board we went the extra mile and got on the ferry and had a fun afternoon looking at the crazy limestone formations on the beach and even managed a fantastic male Montagu's harrier low over the road at one point. But then we had to drive back...

The famous 'rauksteinar' at Langhammar beach on Fårö. Well worth seeing and surrounded by a large Arctic tern colony.

26/5 Kallegateburg
Spurred on by our success with dragonflies we tried to find Sympecma paedisca - a species only known in Sweden from two sites on north Gotland and only recorded in two years by the same couple. Everyone who has searched since has dipped and we too failed to find any despite coming up with plenty of fusca. Both sites were man-made and unremarkable, but I would love to come back at the end of April to have a proper look.

Slavonian grebes breed on many of the waterbodies on Gotland.

The focus of the day though was our visit to nearby Kallegateburg - the famous site for Lady's slipper orchid on Gotland. Fantastic habitat, although very dry this year. Although we had one close encounter with a nutcracker it was the invertebrates and flora that stole the show. Runnels of water next to the boardwalk produced my first Libellula depressa of the year. Boggy pools held raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriata) and the butterflies included my first Swedish little blues, dingy skippers and northern chequered skippers. It was a magic place and then we reached the slipper orchids. Magic, they were just opening, perhaps 5% being properly open and all in mint condition.

A northern chequered skipper at Kallegateburg, I have a feeling this may have been a lifer.

A female Libellula depressa laying eggs on a small stream whilst being buzzed by Libellula quadrimaculata males. The male depressa were busy holding territory overhead.

I do not botanise much but this species has fascinated me for some time. Great to finally get to see it and the site where it is found on Gotland is just superb.

27/5
Spent seven exhausting hours at a kid's amusement park (Pippi Longstocking's place) today and driving home we were rewarded with a corncrake that flew across the road in front of the car at Bjers.

armatum, who art in heaven

Look at the claspers on that! I nearly fainted when I realised what the little green Ischnura-like damsels were that were flying low through marginal vegetation at Landträskdammen this morning.

Hallowed be thy name. Ever since I started looking at dragonflies in 1986 I have wanted to see Coenagrion armatum or Norfolk damselfly. It went extinct in Norfolk in 1957 and has not been seen in the UK since. Well today I found a thriving colony at Landträskdammen in northern Gotland, not only a much-wanted lifer but the first record for the island. Result! Within seconds of identifying my first armatum I turned round and was face to face with my first Sympecma fusca. Too good. Two lifers in two minutes. Also present here were Coenagrion pulchellum, Coenagrion hastulatum, Leucorrhinia rubicunda and Libellula quadrimaculata.

Sympecma fusca - not the most exciting looking of the European Odonates but this one over-winters as an adult which makes it special in my book. My second dragonfly lifer of the day.

Postcard from Gotland

Just had a great week on Gotland with the family...

"Look Daddy - a snow owl" - it begins... We stopped on the way for lunch at the delightful, family-sized Porsbjärs nature reserve in Halland. It looks good for owls and grouse, we had a surprise wryneck and the first icterine of the year. We will return.

Spent some time at Oskarshamn, the harbour had Arctic terns and a pair of black redstart busily feeding young.

Our cottage at Puser was close to Paviken (where we had these splendid white-tailed eagles), but a little too far away from the key sites in the south.

Caspian terns were frequently observed, I am still waiting patiently for my first patch Caspian.

We watched this dark gotlandicus grass snake trying to swallow a toad for some time.

Waders were a little disappointing, I failed to find any broad-billed sandpipers, a flock of 18 purple sandpipers in good plumage were some consolation.

The incredible flora of Gotland could not be ignored and we spent quite a bit of time looking at the spring flowers. Hepatica nobilis is one of my favourites.

Highlights of a week on Gotland with the team included a staggering three Swedish ticks! I know, not difficult for me but still... Greenish warblers were located on a number of days, singing their songs from the tree-tops. I managed to time my visits to Hoburgsklippan to avoid all the good birds but still managed a self-found white-billed diver (tick Number 2). On the last night a corncrake started singing from the field behind our cottage (Number 3). Other goodies included a brief Richard's pipit on the deck, the abundant collared flycatchers, a superb perched female Montagu's harrier, penduline tit at the nest and singing rosefinches. My total of birds seen in May now stands at 179 and there are still more to come...