Fresh air is something that I'll never take for granted again. When we were looking for a new apartment, we had a list of "must haves" this time around. I admit we were a bit blue-eyed when we bought our first place together and hadn't fully thought everything through, especially about how it would be to live at street level on a busy main road that the local hoons used as a racetrack. The other consideration that was pushed aside was ventilation and fresh air. The apartment we had in Nynäshamn had windows all facing the same direction, so we could never escape from the noise on the street if we had them open, nor could we get decent cross draughts throughout the apartment.

This apartment is built more like a square than a rectangle, with kitchen and bathroom windows facing east to catch the morning sun and the bedroom and living room facing west to catch the afternoon rays (a good thing in Sweden, unlike Australia!) And we can now have a nce breeze through the apartment any time we want to by adjusting the windows and balcony door. I hadn't realised how much I missed that fresh air until I didn't have it anymore.

This morning, we also discovered an additional advantage - we had a tiny visitor, who we think must have landed on the kitchen window sill, peeped inside through the slightly open window and flew into the living room to pay a visit to Bruce and Sheila.




This dear little creature, sitting on my Willian Faulkner book and giving you a great close up view of the wallpaper, is a Great tit (talgoxe). And yes, we've already had all of the jokes about sitting at the kitchen window spying on all of the great tits!

I assumed it was a male because the stripe on its breast was quite wide (females have a very narrow stripe) and they are very common garden and forest birds in Sweden. They are instantly recognisable by their piercing "teacher-teacher" song, which sounds very much like a bicycle pump and is usually heard in the spring and summer. They are much more common in gardens at this time of year because there is less food now out in the woodlands and they come into town to try their luck, especially on the many birch trees we have in the garden.

He seemed a little panicky at finding himself enclosed in a room, so I lowered the venetian blinds on the big window so he wouldn't crash into it and then opened both of the balcony doors wide so he had a safe exit. He looked around for a while while my cockatiels watched in stunned silence, then he flew out of the open doors. It was a lovely wake up call.

With that as an inspiration, we decided to dress warmly and take a small trip to see the birds at Tåkern. We were there not so long ago, but this time we went to the northern area at Svälinge, very close to town. The information board showed us that there was a pathway through the forest for about a kilometer to a three storey bird tower. You could then return to the parking area by circling around through the reeds on the banks of the river to another smaller watching tower, then across the fields. This meant that we could see a mixture of environments in one visit, so we set off with my faithful companion by my side, guarding the picnic basket!




We were quite alone again, except for the cows we could hear squelching through the mud in an adjacent field and of course the birds. Many of the forest birds have already migrated to warmer lands but a few brave species stay for the harsh northern winter. It fascinates me that even tiny birds migrate so far. Swallows and thrush fly thousands and thousands of miles even though they are so small. Somehow you think that a swan or a goose is more substantial and could cover long distances, but I am in awe of the small ones who travel just as far if not further than their larger relatives.

Again, migration of birds is something new for me as it is not so much the norm in Australia, where birds often stay in an area all year round. There really is so much to learn about the natural environment in a place like Sweden which has dramatic shifts in weather conditions. One of the hardy little birds which stays is the European Green Finch (grönfinkar). You can see one or two pictured here on the forest floor - I guess it's an all-you-can-eat smörgåsbord today!




Inside the woods it was cool and dark, though the trees were not too close together, so there were shafts of sunlight. In the trees there were several different birds out catching the sun and no doubt hoping that the insects were doing the same. One such opportunist is the is the European Pied Flycatcher (svartvit flugsnappare). This little cutie is a small, flycatching bird (bet you'd have never guessed that if I hadn't told you), which is slightly smaller than a house sparrow. This little guy won't be staying here much longer as they winter in Africa.




The other lovely tiny forest bird, no bigger than the bird who joined us for breakfast, visible in the trees today was the Nuthatch (nötväckor). You can recognise these birds instantly because of their shape, being a little plump looking. This one was alone, so I don't know if it had a mate or not. Mated pairs are usually very faithful, staying together even through winter.




After a short time, we came out onto the lake area and the bird tower. Fortunately the wind was behind us, so we were well protected and able to take out our binoculars and check out which birds were on the lake today. Unfortunately we had Lambi with us as well and she was determined to eat the picnic - NOW! Do any of you remember the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon Yogi bear? Remember how totally obsessed he was with food and with stealing picnic baskets? Going out anywhere with Lambi is like going out with Yogi. I have nothing but sympathy with poor Boo-boo bear if Yogi carried on like Lambi does when she thinks we are unfairly keeping her and the picnic basket apart. I swear that I feed the dog. Just why she trembles with excitement at the sight of a packed lunch, I'll never know.

So to keep the peace and give us time to look around later on, we ate lunch. I'm sure every dog trainer on earth would be disgusted with us, but honestly who can be bothered with the constant whining and whimpering.

We saw quite a few waterbirds out on the lake, which surprised me as I thought they'd be long out of here. There were the pretty green teal ducks, with their green feathers glistening in the bright sunshine. As is the case with many duck species, the female has rather dull plumage, so this is a pair of males. I like to watch the ducks fly as they have a frantic looking flapping motion with wings that seem too short for their bodies. Ducks are considered to be fast fliers and teals are probably the fastest ducks. They're also very hardy, being one of the last species to head south in winter and one of the first to head north in spring.




There were also a large number of Northern shovelers enjoying the late October sunshine. Their very distinctive bills are similar to those of other ducks shortly after they've hatched, but as they mature the tip of the bill becomes wider until it is about twice the width of the base. They use their beaks to filter and eat small crustaceans and aquatic insects, as well as plant life.




We sat and soaked up the sunshine and peace for a while, watching the cows in the next field and looking at more of the small birds flitting through the trees and into some of the nest boxes set in the larger trees. These were at eye level for us as we were high up in the canopy on the third floor of the platform. One pair that I love to watch are the glossy dark blue black feathers of swallows. What beautiful, playful and agile birds, chasing each other and flying to and fro, unafraid of humans.




Swallows are found in areas where there is a ready and accessible supply of small insects. They are particularly fond of open pasture with access to water and quiet farm buildings, so the area around Tåkern must seem like paradise to them. Large reedbeds in autumn can also be a good place to look for pre-migration roosts. My guess is that these will soon be off to Africa as well.

We set off back to the car park, taking a different route through a rather muddy section of the woods and over to the reed beds. There were board walks on the more muddy sections, which I thought would be good for all of us. Unfortunately Lambi had other ideas and she stepped off the boardwalk and sank up to her armpits in black mud! Why didn't I carry her? We took her to the water in the river and washed off the worst of it, under extreme protest. We thought it best to go straight home and wash her properly, so Lars-Göran led the way, I followed in his tracks and the fluffy one was behind me. In the woods I saw another little talgoxe and wondered briefly if it was the same one we had seen inside this morning. they really are lovely, cheerful, energetic little birds and watching them always fills me with happiness.




I was day dreaming a bit about them and when I glanced behind me, there was no dog! Instant worry as she could have fallen into the water or the swampy ground to the side. I called Lars-Göran and we retraced our steps, calling out to her only to be greeted by silence. We passed back quite a long way and found the little rat standing beside a special cattle gate that she could not pass. Obviously she was a bit disgusted with us for washing her paws in a cold river and she had decided to follow the trail back to the car. How lucky she could not go over the stock gate or she would have hot footed it all the way and we would have wasted hours fruitlessly searching for her.

So this time I made her go between us. I was a bit cross with her, imagining the mess in the car, trying to remember if we had towels we could use to protect the upholstery and us from the muck. I know it's not her fault, but I can be illogical sometimes. Suddenly Lars-Göran stopped still, signalled for me to stop and pointed up a lone tree in the field we were crossing. It was a woodpecker!




I've never been so close to one before and we watched in fascination. It's about blackbird-sized and a striking black-and-white. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive 'drumming' display. They really do peck at the wood - amazing. It certainly cheered me up and we were able to take the grotty dog home, bath her (under protest) and blow dry her to her usual white fluffiness.

Now if I could just shake this sore throat, which worryingly is getting steadily worse.