Birds
Birds of Sweden
Like squirrels, birds are something that I was only mildly interested in before moving to Sweden. The nature here has inspired my wife and I learn about, find and photograph much more, especially over the last few months. Most of the winged species here are the same as the UK, but there are a couple of minor difference. Long-Tailed Tits are all white, Crows are the larger "Hooded" variety for example and general behavior's can vary a lot.
Since working from home during the pandemic I get visited by Blue Tits (Blåmes). They come into my office window, so of course I started putting out food for them... then they come way more. What was I supposed to do? I'm sure this one (below) is saying thanks for the fat ball :).
Unusual Friendliness
While feeding the second batch of squirrels we found in the city, another friendly Blue Tit started to take an interest in the food we would leave for them. We started putting food in multiple places, which avoiding conflict between the various animals. He allowed us to get so close that focusing started to become an issue. We then had them jump to our hand if we were too slow to put it down.
Anyone who tags birds will know that the Blue Tit is one of the most vicious birds to hold, but apparently as long as it's on his own terms everything is fine. I brought a macro lens to get even closer and was lucky enough to get this shot of him posing on my wife's hand for a split second.
In this location, now dubbed "The Magical Forest", we even had a Greater Spotted Woodpecker show up for a photo shoot. Although we didn't get this bird to sit in our hand, it is strange to see them sitting on the floor, even to get food. They have very short legs which are built for grabbing on to mostly vertical surfaces like tree trunks.
I am blown away by this shot as it was literally minimum focus distance for this lens. Also it was under the tree canopy on an early cloudy morning, so this low shutter speed, high-iso shot was lucky to come out at all. His red feathers against the foliage stand out so well, they are such pretty birds! I never thought I would get this close to a wild one :)...
