Bird watching in Bergslagen, Sweden, Sweden bird watching trip report

Thai Airways flight TG 950
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Intl   -   Copenhagen Kastrup
                                                   Terminal: 3
15Apr2019 01:20                       15Apr2019 07:40

Thai Airways flight TG 951
Copenhagen Kastrup - Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Intl
Terminal: 3
02Jun2019 14:25 03Jun2019 06:00

Introduction

The company will send me for a firefighting course. I chose to take the course end of May

hoping to get some nice spring/ summer weather.

They wanted to send me to another course as well, and I could choose a course in Gothenburg in the beginning of May as I wanted to see the Crane Dance and end of April is too late for the Crane action.

I searched the internet for information about the Black Grouse Lek and I found two companies. Nordic Safari and Wild Nordic . I found out that the Black Grouse Lek are starting in March and I can see it until end of April.

Actually it goes on in to the month of May but as the soil has thawed after the winter and the swamp turns in to a, well, yes, a swamp and we cannot stay in the swamp. I also found out about Capercaillie Lek, something I really wanted to experience as well. I had now booked both Capercaillie Lek and Black Grouse Lek and it would be 5 nights in a tent on a frozen swamp.

I was soon running in to a set-back, Wild Nordic could not to the Black Grouse Lek trip as the road was closed to the swamp. I had to find another tour company in Tiveden, Natur Guide Tiveden . I found that they were doing both the Capercaillie Lek and the Black Grouse Lek. So now I was set up for 3 nights with the Capercaillie and 2 nights with the Black Grouse and I will go to look for beavers, owls and moose as well.

I will spend a few days at Brandområdet before driving south again. I will stop at Tiveden National Park on the way to Gothenburg where I will do my first course.

When I finish my course in Gothenburg I will drive to Öland for a few days of bird watching before driving to Skåne for more bird watching. End of May and I will drive back to Gothenburg and the firefighting course on Öckerö in the archipelago and I hope to be able to see some exciting bird life there.

My Guide

I will not use a Guide. I was around a little with my Guide from Nordic Safari during the day time after the nights in the tent hide for the Capercaillie Lek. So I knew a few places and I will check out the Great Grey owl area every day.

Flights

Land transportation

• Rented car
I rented a Volvo from HERZ. It will not work using public transportation to travel between the different birding spots located in the wilderness

Accommodations

My day rest will be at Ramnäs Hotell & Kenferensin Ramnäs for my day rest: 26 April to 27 April 2019

Best Western Fagersta Brukshotell:27 April to 1 May 2019

Weather / climate

Sweden in April and May, could be summer and it can be winter, or anything in between. In the South I hope to have sunshine and the summer in good progress. I will be in the middle of Sweden to watch the Crane Dance and the Capercaillie Lek and the Black Grouse Lek.

The lek is going on until May but they usually give up watching when the soil has thawed after the winter and the swamp turns from hard to water and it is not possible to be there anymore. So yes, I have ordered thermo underwear for my nights in the tent.

And coming to Skåne and Öland I might be lucky and I can walk around in shorts and shirt. But it can as well be winter and I need to pack a lot of clothes this time.

Weather in the spring

Visiting in the spring time and you really need to pack a huge bag. In the morning it is below zero so I have packed full winter equipment, parka jacket, warm hat and gloves. And of course warm socks. In the late morning you will have to change the winter clothing to “spring” clothing, a wind breaker.

If it is sunshine the temperature is easily reaching 20°C at lunch time and that can easily be almost 30°C. If you have a car it is no problem, just keep everything in the car and change as the day proceeds and you ae ready for any weather changes you will run in to.

Middle of Sweden - Climate & Temperature

Pictures from www.climatemps.com

Middle of Sweden - Climate & Temperature - Click picture for full size picture

Pictures from www.climatemps.com

Equipment

Canon 5D Mk. III and Canon 5D Mk. IV
Canon EF 28-300/3,5-5,6 L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200/2,8L IS II USM
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens
Canon Speedlite 600EXII-RT flash
Canon PowerShot G7X Mark II
Panasonic HC-W585 video camera

Sound recorder
ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder

References/Resources

www.natursidan.se Excellent page, but in Swedish only

Visit the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and choose between Swedish and English

Naturum - visitor centres in nature - A naturum is a visitor centre with activities and exhibitions, located at several of Naturum

Sweden’s national parks and nature reserves. Here, you will be welcomed by friendly, knowledgeable staff who will answer your questions and guide you through the area’s sights of interest.

List of Swedish National Parks (With information about every park in English) from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, click HERE .

Bergslagen Lo and behold, a web page in English! Bergslagen - Adventure and tranquillity, side by side - Info about Bergslagen

Nordic Safari

ebird - Find birding hotspots with bird checklists from all over the world

Avibase - is an extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 25 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information for 12,000 regions, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages

Cloudbirders - Read birding trip reports from all over the world

Fatbirder - Linking birders worldwide... Wildlife Travellers see their sister site: WAND

Fatbirder is a fantastic web page with information from, I think every country in the world. My first stop when I plan for my bird watching trips. There is information about locations and guides, well, pretty much everything you need to know. Sometimes this is the only place I need to visit to plan my trip.

BirdingPal - find a birding Guide around the world

And the web page you cannot live without. I have been around the world looking for birds. I usually have a Guide, but sometimes it is not possible to find a Guide. So, well, I have lost count on how many times I have had help to ID birds at BirdForum. Joining this forum have been very very good for my bird watching experience.

www.birdforum.net

ClimaTemps.com is the place to learn about the worlds climates with more than 4000 locations documented. Each aspect of the climate is represented using colour enhanced tables and professional graphs so that data can easily be compared by switching between locations in different tabs in your browser.

Collins Bird Guide

The Collins Bird Guide is a field guide to the birds of the Western Palearctic.

Its authors are Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström and Peter J. Grant, and it is illustrated by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström (with two plates of North American passerines contributed by Larry McQueen). It has been described as "undoubtedly the finest field guide that has ever been produced", and "the last great bird book of the 20th century".

It was originally published in Swedish and Danish in 1999, and in English in hardback in the same year, and later in paperback. A large-format English edition has also been produced, as has a German and Dutch edition. The first edition was translated to 14 European languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and German.

A second edition, revised and enlarged, was published in January 2010. A series of updates and corrections were made in 2015, with no change to the edition number.

The cover of the first edition, in all formats, depicts a barn owl. On the second edition, this was replaced by an arctic tern.

Cover of the first edition

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15538546

Eleven pages of introductory material are followed by the book's main content: 366 pages of text and colour paintings. The text for each species gives brief status notes, followed by a section detailing identification, and concludes with a section on voice. Accompanying most species accounts is a small colour map showing breeding, wintering and migrant range.

The guide is also available as a paid-for app, for iPhone and Android devices. The app includes all of the text and images from the print edition, as well as audio recordings. Additional data can be bought separately; the first such package being a set of distribution maps for 271 species, from the British Trust for Ornithology's Bird Atlas 2007–11.

All versions cover Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East.

Most of the species covered in the main part of the guide are regular breeding, wintering or migrant species in its area of coverage, although some vagrants are also included. There are additional sections giving brief accounts of (a) vagrants and (b) introduced breeding species and species recorded only as escapes.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Many bird watchers around the world know this book simply as “The Svensson”

Naturum - visitor centres in nature

Map over Sweden with all the naturum marked. Illustrator: Hans Sjögren.
Click HERE for bigger map

A naturum is a visitor centre with activities and exhibitions, located at several of Sweden’s national parks and nature reserves. Here, you will be welcomed by friendly, knowledgeable staff who will answer your questions and guide you through the area’s sights of interest.

All naturum visitor centres offer guided walks and demonstrations, slide-shows and theme nights. You will also find literature and multimedia here to immerse yourself in. In addition, there are brochures and information boards offering tips on beautiful nature trails and footpaths.

The nature experience starts at naturum
At naturum, you can learn almost everything there is to know about the region’s plants, birds, insects and animals. You can also learn about the cultural history and geology of the area as well as people’s relationship with nature and their impact on it. Information about the area’s national parks and nature reserves and why we need to protect and take care of our nature can also be found here. Join us on an activity in nature!

Opening hours and programmes
All naturum are open during the summer and many are open most of the year. Special demonstrations for school classes and other groups can be booked throughout the year.

Discover Sweden’s national parks

The map shows the locations of Sweden´s 30 national parks
Click HERE for bigger map

There are 29 national parks in Sweden. Find more information about each national park in the alphabetical list on Swedish Environmental Protection Agency´s web page, click HERE .

Places to visit

Bergslagen

Bergslagen is a historically, culturally, and linguistically distinct mining district located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden. In Bergslagen mining and metallurgic industry have been important since the Middle Ages.

The region is to be distinguished from Malmfälten ("the Ore Fields"), the mining district of northernmost Sweden centered at the towns of Kiruna and Malmberget, that has been of greater importance during the 20th century.

Bergslagen covers part of the provinces of Västmanland, Dalarna (the southern part), and Värmland (the eastern part). Typical towns in the area include Nora, Fagersta, Sala, Kristinehamn, Filipstad, Ludvika and Hedemora. Also parts of northern Östergötland, around Finspång, as well as southern Närke can be included, then often referring to South Bergslagen.

A wider definition of the area can include parts of Gästrikland (Hofors) and Uppland (the former iron manufacturing district centred on Dannemora) as well.

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of Bergslagen

By Background map from the Demis map server, rivers enhanced and names added by user:LA2.
- Background map from the Demis map server, rivers enhanced and names added by user:LA2.,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3981114

• Brandområdet, Hälleskogsbrännan
• Great Grey Owl area
• Sågverksdammen

Brandområdet, Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve, Västmanland, Sweden. The reserve was established in 2015 to observe the development of the ecosystem in the area following the large 2014 Västmanland wildfire.

2014 Västmanland Wildfire

The 2014 Västmanland wildfire (Swedish: Skogsbranden i Västmanland 2014) was a wildfire that broke out on the afternoon of 31 July 2014 on the border between Sala Municipality and Surahammar Municipality in Västmanland, Sweden. It is Sweden's largest wildfire in 40 years. After an EU appeal, Italy and France provided firefighting aircraft.

On 4 August 2014, the evacuation of residents began in Gammelby alongside Route 668 east of Lake Virsbo, Västervåla and Ängelsberg. As of 5 August 2014, over one thousand people were forced to evacuate their homes, and the town of Norberg, with about 4500 residents, was being considered for evacuation.

Forest fire in Västmanland, Sweden. Approximate area of fire at 10:00 hours, August 5 2014 - Click HERE for full size map

By Edaen, © OpenStreetMaps bidragsgivare, © Lantmäteriet (OTRS ticket 2013101610008901)
Valmyndigheten, Länstyrelsen Västmanland, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34545435

One person was confirmed killed by the fire, a man in his 30s who was reported missing. His badly burned body was found near Stabäck, Västmanland. The fire was declared a national emergency. It encompassed over 15,000 hectares and was located northwest of Sala. The Swedish Armed Forces were mobilized, with about 100 personnel providing support to the firefighters as of 7 August.

It was reported that nine volunteers were surrounded by fire and had to be rescued by professional firefighters on 5 August. Because of this, volunteer firefighting help from the public was no longer accepted. Firefighters found a 42-year-old man in the forest who was badly burned but still alive. The police reported that he was taken directly to a hospital for treatment.

NASA Earth Observatory photo. August 4, 2014
Click HERE for full size map

By NASA Earth Observatory (Landsat 8 - OLI) - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84155,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34683665

The wildfire threatened the UNESCO World Heritage Site Engelsberg Ironworks. The owners of the Ironworks, Nordstjernan, rented two helicopters of their own to water the area close to the site.

The Swedish police started a preliminary investigation of the cause of the fire, to see if it was caused by criminal negligence. According to local media, a driver of a ground-preparation vehicle stated that the fire started in his vehicle and that no fire watch was posted despite a very high risk of fire.

Although the 2014 Swedish heat wave did not cause the fire, the exceptionally hot and dry conditions of the summer of 2014 enabled the fire to spread and intensify.

Map over Hälleskogsbrännan, click HERE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You will most likely come on road #66 from either south or north. If you come from Fagersta (North) you will see signs saying Virsbo and you leave road #66 by turning left. And if you come from south you will leave road #66 turning right.

There is signs saying Virsbo and there is also a service station on the Virsbo side of road #66. So it is easy to see where to left road #66

How to find Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

Drive through Virsbo passing a bridge crossing some railway tracks and there is some industrial buildings on the right hand side. Just after the bridge you will have a sign saying “Hälleskogsbrännan 7km” on the left hand side.

Turn left and you are on a gravel road. Drive slowly as there are many birds along the gravel road.

Bird watching in Bergslagen - Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

Turn left when you see the sign “Hälleskogsbrännan 7km”

You are on the gravel road - Drive SLOWLY as there are birds
to be seen from the first meter on the gravel road

Approaching the national park

We see the entrance to the national park

Entrance to the Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

Just continue on the gravel road until you see the entrance to the Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve. Well, it is not like an entrance, just two tree trunk, one trunk on each side of the road and no entrance fee.

There are parking areas and trails around Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve. No money is required at all while in the park, just bring your picnic food. There are even BBQ fire places around the area. Click HERE for a map over Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserve

There is a entrance a few kilometres south as well. These two entrances are not connected by road, but you can walk between the areas

There are gravel roads and trails in the national reserve so you can explore the area. There is a lookout tower that you reach on a board walk from the exhibition. The exhibition have some interesting information about the fire and the forest. And LO AND BEHOLD, some info in English as well.

Board walk up to the lookout tower

There is a second entrance just south of the first entrance after the railway bridge. The entrance looks the same with one tree trunk on each side of the gravel road and an information board.

Entering here and there is only one short gravel road with two dead ends and you have to drive back. There are places to make fire for BBQ picnic.

You need to get back out on the road to enter the north part as there are only walking trails between the areas and the gravel roads are boomed blocked.

Place for BBQ

Great Grey owl area

To find the Great Grey Owl area

There is also a map on my eBird checklist for the Great Grey Owl area, Västmanlands län, click HERE . Then it should be possible to open the map in your GPS

There use to be a lot of people here looking for the owl. And the owl is not scared, have even come up to sit on the binoculars. It is a famous area for the Great Grey Owl and they come from all over the world to see the owl. It have been seen during daylight.

But it is bigger chance in the early morning and in the evenings before and after day light.

The road continues in to the forest after the boom

The boom, this is the area where the people gathers
And the owl sometimes land on the boom to have a look at the people

Bird watching in Bergslagen - Greenfinch

The field where the owl is usually seen

Sågdammen - Skultuna

Sågdammen (Sawmill pond) is a wetland developed by Gert Ericsson. He got an idea back in 1997 to turn the sawmill pond in to a wetland for birds. There is a bird watching tower and board walk around the area.

But I was not here to watch birds. I got the tip about Beavers from a bird watcher when we were looking for the Great Grey Owl at the Great Grey Owl area. Almost guaranteed to see Beavers at Sågdammen. The bridge, an old railway bride that they left when they removed the tracks when the train service came to an end.

Clcik HERE for information from www.natursidan.se SWEDISH ONLY!

To find Sågdammen in Skultuna

Bird watching in Bergslagen - Sågdammen, Skultuna

I park at the wrong place just after the garbage dump

Continue 100m longer and leave the road and you reach the parking at the bridge

There is a sign where you should leave the road

Leaving the road and you can see the parking and the bridge

The old railway bridge

Drive past the garbage dump coming from Skultuna and turn left after 50 meters and park at the bridge. I made a mistake at my first visit. There are boardwalks and two entrances just after passing the garbage dump and I parked in front of a gate to the garbage dump. Entering the area from here and you have a board walk over the wetland until you reach the river.

There is one bird watching tower walking along the board walk and it looked to be a place for BBQ as well. You reach the end at a fence to the garbage dump. By then you have passed a huge beaver house, but it looks to be abandoned.

Entrance from the garbage dump gate

A sign saying “bird watching tower” in Swedish

We can see the railway bridge

Walking past the “bird watching tower”

Reaching the of the board walk and you have to turn around and walk back

I was tol that the beaver house at the south end was abandoned. But I spotted two beavers, well, one beaver. I never saw the first beaver. Less than two meter from me and I startled the beaver walking on the board walk and he/ she jumped in to the water with a big bang before I got to see it.

Back at the START I started to walk to the railway bridge, connected with the board walks over the wetlands at the garbage dump via a board walk along the road.

Walking to the railway bridge (The action side) via the board walk along the road

BBQ place crossing the bridge

Board walk to the second bird watching tower

The wooden walk bridge

Cross the old railway bridge and there is a fire place for BBQ. There are more boardwalks leading you to another bird watching tower. From there you can gross the gravel road and walk along the river (Svartån) on a board walk and you have a good view of the Beavers swimming in the river.

The beaver action is at the Railway Bridge and north in the river to the wooden walk bridge. You don´t see any beaver houses here as the houses are under ground. Dug from under the water so the entrances are under water and you don´t see them

Walking along the river and you will reach a wooden walk bridge. After crossing this bridge you can walk back on a trail following the other side of the river.

I didn´t look for birds when I was here as I came to see the Beavers and they come out in the dusk as this is when the Beavers come out. And I had been there for just a while when I had spotted 3 Beavers. I saw beavers here at every visit.

Treöresvägen

To find Treöresvägen

Leave road #233 and you are on Treöresvägen

Treöresvägen

Leave road #233 when you reach the sign saying “Gammelbo” and you are on the gravel road called Treöresvägen. After about 100 meter there are a small space to stop your car on the right hand side. Drive for another 100 to 200 meters and there are another place to park your car while you go out and look for birds.

Look out over the lake, the Red-throated Loon is usually below the car if you have stopped on the last parking area so walk down to the lake slowly not to scare the birds.

I have also seen Common Cranes and the beautiful Common Merganser in the pond.

First place to stop your car

Drive past the lake and there is one more place to park

Sångarvägen - Lilla och Stora Sångaren
Sångar Road - Little and Great Lake Sångaren

To find Sångarvägen

Leave road #233 when you see the sign “Sångarvägen”

Leave road #233 when you reach the sign saying “Sångarvägen”. Drive along the gravel road named “Sångarvägen” and when you reach Lake Great Sångaren keep an eye out for the Black-throated Loon.

There is also a huge Osprey nest, and of course, the normal birds you find in the forest can be seen along “Sångarvägen”

Bird checklist

I never use any bird lists, but since I try to make it in to Cloudbirders . A very helpful site when planning your birding trips. But they ask for a bird checklist, and if I use their service, of course I want to contribute as well. My two first bird watching trip reports was rejected by Cloudbirders.

So I started to take ideas from the reports I found on Cloudbirders. So I have started to use bird lists, eBird generate one for me and I can post it on Cloudbirders. I will post my birds on eBird and on my different “BIRDS THAT I HAVE OBSERVED” pages.

Check lists can come in handy to find out the local name of the bird etc. And Avibase have a list with pictures and sounds, excellent!

So I will post bird checklists here and if my Guides provide me with checklists I will also post them here.

Västermanland bird checklist from Avibase, click HERE This covers Nordic Safari and Brandområdet

Avibase is providing you with bird checklists from all over the world. And I´m impressed by their web page. Select country and area and you get the bird checklist. Like the PDF files I got from Avibase on the links above. You also get the checklist with pictures and sounds.

The best part is that you get the local names of the birds and the online checklist gives the names in English plus the language you have selected. But it seems like the PDF cannot handle some alphabet.

For example the Japanese language so it is blank in the PDF checklist. But it worked excellent with Swedish. But you get them in the local language on the online version.

Bird list

See My eBird checklists and the DAY TO DAY report in the itinerary below.

And you can visit my list of “ Birds I have seen in Sweden ”

25 April 2019, my bird checklist from Sångarvägenby clicking HERE

25 April 2019, my bird checklist from Treöresvägenby clicking HERE

26 April 2019, my bird checklist from Treöresvägenby clicking HERE

26 April 2019, my bird checklist from Great Grey Owl Areaby clicking HERE

28 April 2019, my bird checklist from Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserveby clicking HERE

29 April 2019, my bird checklist from Hälleskogsbrännan nature reserveby clicking HERE

29 April 2019, my bird checklist from Sågdammen, Skultunaby clicking HERE

30 April 2019, my bird checklist from Sågdammen, Skultuna (morning)by clicking HERE

30 April 2019, my bird checklist from Treöresvägenby clicking HERE

30 April 2019, my bird checklist from Sångarvägenby clicking HERE

30 April 2019, my bird checklist from Sågdammen, Skultuna (evening)by clicking HERE

1 May 2019, my bird checklist from Sågdammen, Skultuna (morning)by clicking HERE

My eBird checklists can be found HERE

Itinerary