A strange Sunday morning

Sunday was a really strange day with unexpected sightings.

I was a little tired after Saturday’s bike ride so I decided to take the car and park it at a spot just along Säveån. I had a place in mind but I wasn´t sure how to reach it. I knew it couldn´t be that hard to find but while searching I instead found a Common Pheasant. I have heard it many times now but this was the first time I saw the male. I have seen females at least twice before without any success of getting the photo. It wasn´t accustomed to cars so it ran but I could still get the camera up and took some photos of it.

Common Pheasant at Säveån, Gothenburg — Male Common Pheasant 120527

I left it and went back to searching for the parking spot but soon I got bored and headed back to a place where I know I could park the car. I walked to where I’ve seen the Rosefinch in hope of getting a sight of them or maybe even a glimpse of the Thrush Nightingale. Instead I got to see the warblers that I have heard during the week. I am certain that the second is a Common Whitethroat and I would guess the first to be a Willow Warbler. They are really hard to photo and you often just get a second or two before they head off out of sight. You don´t have time to do any adjustments to the exposure it is more or less point and shoot and hope for a good reading with decent sharpness.

While I stood there watching for WarblersI got a feeling that I was watched. I looked and saw a big Hare staring at me 30 meters away. It was a big specimen but as soon as a started to observe it headed out into the field to try and hide. It isn´t easy to do when you have ears the size of a tennis racket.

European Hare at Säveån, Gothenburg — European Hare 120527

Soon things went quite and I headed back to the car. When I crossed the road, to pick up my car, I glanced to my left and saw something that must have been a Fox. I was surprised and needed to investigate this. At first I didn´t find it but soon it appeared just a couple of meters from the car. It was so close I couldn´t fit more into the frame than you see here.

Red Fox at Säveån, Gothenburg — Red Fox 120527

I spent some time with it while it was scavenging the area for something to eat. Could one hope to see some Fox cubs here soon?

When I left the Fox I headed in the direction where I initially would have parked the car. Just so I knew how to find it later on. This brought another surprise when I discovered two Eurasian Oystercatchers searching for food. I saw them earlier in the week but I wasn´t expecting to see them here. I stopped the car and took some photos before I went on to find the parking place. When I found it I headed back home to rest and sort thru the photos.

During the afternoon I took the car out to Hökällan but nothing was happening there before a gang of Crows found a Common Buzzard and cased it away. I went back to see if I could find Oystercatchers but instead found a Hare lying in the shade of a bush. Could it be the same as I saw in the morning? A strange day with and a Hare following me!!!