Backyard and Beyond

Winding down with the reports from our trip to Sweden. Here’s Buskskvätta. Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra).These white flowers were everywhere.Anemone. It was a very good year for them, people said.My first ever cranes in the wild! Here’s Grus grus, the European Crane, known as Trana in Swedish. There was a pair nesting in the distance. One also flew across our bow as we rode on Lake Vänern in the good ship Jim.While on the water, we also saw an enormous Osprey nest, which has obviously been used for generations. It has to be protected in breeding season from egg collecting assholes, still evidently a problem there. And here’s a Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava), Gulärla, one the far side of Läkkö Slott.The said slott.