A Trip to Sweden

[False Apollo]

Between 25th to 30th June 2014 I visited Vastmanland near Vasteras which is not far from Stockholm. Visiting a variety of habitats, with butterflies I really wanted to see and a number of interesting birds. Unfortunately Sweden being Sweden, the weather changed to very cloudy and showery after a couple of days from the warm temperatures on arrival, so birding was then the order of the day. This was the time to see Great Grey Owl, Thrush Nightingale and listen to River Warbler.
My personal highlights were Poplar Admiral, freshly emerged, Scarce Fritillary and Scarce Heath.
A very interesting trip.

Mike Gibbons

[David M]

Great images, FA.

Nice to see a handful of very rarely photographed European species.

[Padfield]

Absolutely - brilliant species.

I don't believe for a minute that's silvery argus, though! Do you have any more info on it, or an underside? My instinct says that's the Swedish version of Amanda's blue, but I can't back that up with any reasoning and you would have noticed it was very large if it was that.

Fantastic poplar admiral - absolutely pristine.

Guy

[False Apollo]

Well spotted Guy, it is Amanda's, a mistake on uploading the picture. I have now found the correct one and uploaded that.

Regards
Mike

[Sylvie_h]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing. I would love to see the great grey owl, what an impressive bird! Some nice species of butterflies too. The dragonfly is Leucorrhinia Dubia (small white faced darter), an immature male.
Sylvie

[Charles Nicol]

Beautiful pics Mike !

I especially liked the Poplar Admiral & the big Owl



Charles

[False Apollo]

Thank you everyone for your comments and thanks Sylvie for helping with the dragonfly ID. I did not mention the amount of Cranes that were about, they were all over the place, pairs and family groups. I did miss out on Baltic Grayling only because there was total cloud cover ( this is a Baltic Grayling year, as they are more in evidence on a 2 year cycle) and I missed Bog Fritillary. Scarce Heath was almost impossible to find and we had to have a guide to take us deep into an obscure woodland clearing. I did see Large Heath in the boggy area we visited though. The Great Grey Owl was truly phenomenal, it was a massive female and quite breath-taking in flight.
I also saw Wild Boar in fading light. It is a very atmospheric and still place, watching a small group of summer plumaged Black Throated Divers on a large lake one minute, then a Wryneck in nearby trees next. The weather when it is behaving is not too hot either, ideal for approaching butterflies.

Regards
Mike

[NickMorgan]

Great pictures of some really interesting butterflies.

[Sylvie_h]

Thank you everyone for your comments and thanks Sylvie for helping with the dragonfly ID.
No problem Mike, you're welcome!
Impressive wildlife in Sweden.... You were very lucky to see the Great Grey Owl as they are rare and local even in this part of the world.
If you wish to see the bog fritillary, you will need to plan a trip to the Pyrenees....
Sylvie

[Wurzel]

Fantastic shots Mike, a real treat to see such little beauties...and a gurt big one too!

Have a goodun

Wurzel