At last spring has come to Gothenburg

Spring has arrived. I know that it has been here for some time but the warmth has been missing. There are still no leaves on the trees but one can see that the buds will burst any day now so spring is here for sure.

Today has been really nice even if there has been some cold winds. The temperature has climb up to almost 15 degrees and they now say that we will have temperatures up to 20 degrees next week. Sounds good to me as I am having a week off work.

I have done two small excursions today to check out the nearest habitat that I have. Both produced some good photos, but it sadden me to see the status of the fields at Utby. The upper parts of the fields have been heavily remodeled. There are still have a couple of bushes but the big areas of reed, for all the warblers, are gone. Parts are burnt and other has been cut down so we´ll have to wait and see if the area can recuperate.

Still I found interesting things to photo as this Common Chiffchaff.

This small Warbler has its territory along Säveån, exactly as last year. I heard the song and soon discovered where the bird was. It was easily lured in front of the camera. The background could have been better as the light but I still think this is a good photo of this small and common warbler. I hope the area will explode with life the coming weeks but we’ll have to wait and see.

It was also nice to see both bees and butterflies pollinating a Goat Willow, one of the first trees to bloom during spring. Check them out in the gallery further down.

The second excursion was to see if a could find any Grey Wagtails in Jonsered. I got a tip during winter that I wanted to check. I hike up along a stream without finding any Grey Wagtails there. Still I got a good feeling of the habitat and it will probably produce opportunities later during the year.

So I turned my attention to the Wood Anemones that I saw when I parked the car. The ground was covered by them at the same stretch of Säveån where I have been taking photos of the White-throated Dipper during winter.

I wanted to find single flowers and that wasn´t the easiest to do. I found some and started to work with the angle. While I lay there on the ground I noticed movement in my peripheral vision.

A White Wagtail. I checked once more and noticed a female Common Goldeneye lying on a stone in the rapids. It lay there just watching me. It didn´t move so I could start to take photos. Soon I discovered why it were so still.

It had a suitor a little further down the rapids. I actually thought I wouldn´t have chance to see this display in May. I often see this display during winter time but never before in May. A really nice sighting I must say.

So how did it go with the Grey Wagtail? I got at least photos of his cousin the White Wagtail and I actually saw a Grey Wagtail at 2 separate occasions. This gives me hope. I also want to try a couple of Waders, with waterproof boots, to see if I can get out into the rapids and shoot from a really low angle. That would be nice.

Photo Gallery: At last spring has come to Gothenburg