Birding/ Bird watching in Abisko National Park

Tuesday 10^th of July 2018 and I left Kiruna and Best Western Hotel Arctic Eden after breakfast. It is a nice hotel, but the beds were terrible. The top mattresses slid of the bed and it was very uncomfortable to sleep. It was almost impossible to sleep.

But otherwise it was very OK and the breakfast was excellent. And the staff was very nice, so if they get their beds in order I would not mind to come back.

Yet another gorgeous day here in Sweden and I was looking forward to visit Abisko National Park for some bird watching and some great scenery.

My bed at Best Western Hotel Arctic Eden, Kiruna

Nu e d dags för val igen. Inte vill vi väl rösta på dom som styrt dom senaste 20 åren. Sverige är bara skit och allt bra kommer från utlandet! Det är Svenskarna som ska integreras i det nya Sverige! Beställ valsedlar nu!! Vi måste få ett slut på eländet! Valsedlar kan beställas HÄR

My bed at Best Western Hotel Arctic Eden, Kiruna

Breakfast

Leaving the Best Western Hotel Arctic Eden

A mining tower

Abisko

Abisko (Northern Sami: Ábeskovvu) is a village in Sápmi (Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 250 km within the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005.

Transportation
Daily passenger electric trains run by SJ AB connect Stockholm with the Norwegian city of Narvik, stopping at both the Abisko village (the name of that railway station is Abisko Östra [east]) and the Abisko Turiststation. Additional regional trains provide links along the Kiruna-Narvik stretch.

Abisko is also reachable by car via the highway E10 which has linked Kiruna and Narvik since the early 1980s. Other local forms of transportation include hiking and dog-sledding in winter. A chair-lift provides access to a point below the summit of nearby Mt. Nuolja.

Tourism
The 425 kilometer-long Kungsleden hiking trail, which follows the Scandinavian mountain range, starts (or ends) at the Abisko Turiststation (consisting of a railway station of the same name and the Abisko Youth Hostel) (approx. 4 km west of the village itself) and follows through the national park. The Nordkalottruta uses trails of the park as part of its longer passage.

The Abisko Turiststation, run by the Svenska Turistföreningen (STF), houses many visitors to the park and provides lodging, food, and other amenities, and is one of many similar facilities located periodically along the Kungsleden trail. The national park is known for its Cross-country skiing opportunities, snowshoeing, and other winter sports (Mount Nuolja and nearby Björkliden provides Backcountry skiing and freeriding opportunities).

As its location is 195 km north of the Arctic Circle, summer hikers enjoy the midnight sun, while winter visitors may find the light pollution-free location ideal for viewing the aurora borealis. One of the most recognized natural sights is Lapporten, a U-shaped valley visible from Abisko. Abisko is also located near the 330 square kilometre lake Torneträsk.

Research Station
Abisko is home to the Abisko Scientific Research Station, an important centre for research into Arctic ecology and climate change. The research station hosts the Climate Impacts Research Centre, Umeå University, where research, education and outreach on aquatic and terrestrial ecology are undertaken.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Torneträsk

or Torne träsk (Saami: Duortnosjávri, Finnish/Meänkieli: Tornio or Torniojärvi) is a lake in Kiruna Municipality, Lapland, Norrbotten County in Sweden, in the Scandinavian mountain range. Träsk is the local word for lake (in Standard Swedish it means "swamp"). It is the sixth-largest lake in Sweden, with a total area of 330 square kilometres and a length of 70 kilometres. The lake drains to the south-east through Torne älv. South-west of the lake lie the Abisko National Park and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laponian area.

Torneträsk originated from the remnant of a glacier, which has given the lake its depth of 168 metres, making it the second-deepest lake in Sweden. It is usually ice-covered from December through June, with variations dependent on temperature variations.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I leave Kiruna and it don't take long before I run in to reindeers. I will follow road E10 and I will come to Torneträsk. And Torneträsk is the reason for me to go to Abisko. When I did the planing I found Torneträsk on the map. I have known the name Torneträsk for as long as I can remember but I really don't know what it is.

So I decided to go see Torneträsk and I discovered Abisko National Park when I explored the area on the map. So here I am, on the road going to Abisko National Park.

I was, well, not even left Kiruna when I ran in to the first reindeers. I was driving around looking for a way to the mine as I would like to see the world famous mine. And they are in progress to move the whole city of Kiruna. Yes, they are moving the whole town.

As it is now they cannot continue to extract any more ore as the town is on top of the ore deposit. So move the town it is.

Kiruna

(Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County.

Moving the town
The re-development of Kiruna is a reconstruction project, as the Kirunavaara mine, run by LKAB, undermines the current town center. Several buildings are to be moved or demolished. The town center is to be moved 3 kilometres to the east.

In 2004, it was decided that the present centre of the municipality would have to be relocated to counter mining-related subsidence. The relocation would be made gradually over the coming decade. On January 8, 2007, a new location was proposed, northwest to the foot of the Luossavaara mountain, by the lake of Luossajärvi.

The first actual work on moving the town was done in November 2007, when work on the new main sewage pipe started.

In the same week, first sketches for the layout of the new part of the town became available. The sketches include a travel centre, the new locations for the city hall and the church, an artificial lake and an extension of the Luossavaara hill into the city.

The location of the new section of the E10 is still uncertain, as is the location of the railway and the railway station. A more official sketch was published early in spring 2008, which was then discussed with various interest groups before a further version is to be produced. In June 2010 the municipal council decided that the town would be moved eastwards (to 67°51′1″N 20°18′2″E), in the direction of Tuolluvaara, instead of the proposed north-western location. The moving of the town was started in 2014 and the plan describes a process that continues to 2100.

White Arkitekter AB based in Stockholm and Ghilardi + Hellsten Arkitekter based in Oslo won the contract to design the new city together with researchers from Luleå and Delft Universities, which envisages a denser city centre with a greater focus on sustainability, green and blue infrastructure, pedestrians and public transport rather than automobiles.

In 2018, Swedish government announced that it would help arrange replacement work for radio corporation Radiotjänst after the city had been moved from its original location.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On the way to Abisko

Reindeers on the road

On the way to Torneträsk / Abisko

On the way to Torneträsk / Abisko

It is a fantastic scenery outside the car

It is a fantastic scenery outside the car

Is this Torneträsk? I think so

Yes, it is Torneträsk

Torneträsk, breath taking views

Torneträsk village

An empty ore train is returning from Narvik

Driving along the beautiful road and suddenly I see an ore train coming towards me. That means it is a empty train returning from Narvik in Norway. I was really happy to see the train, I had been hoping to see one of the trains. I had no clue where the train track was. But I have been driving along the train track all the way from Kiruna.

So this was a real bonus and I stopped the car on the side of the road so I could study the train passing on it's way to LKAB in Kiruna

Iron Ore Line

The Iron Ore Line (Swedish: Malmbanan) is a 398-kilometre long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The line contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaara and from Gällivare to Koskullskulle.

The term is often colloquially used to also include the Ofoten Line, from Riksgränsen to Narvik in Norway, and the northernmost part of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland from Boden to Luleå. The railway from Narvik to Luleå is 473 kilometres long.

The line is dominated by the 8,600-tonne ore freight trains operated by LKAB's subsidiary Malmtrafik from their mines to the Port of Narvik and the Port of Luleå. In addition, SJ operates passenger trains and CargoNet operates container freight trains.

The Iron Ore Line is single track, electrified at 15 kV 16 2⁄3 Hz AC and has a permitted axle load of 30 tonnes. The Swedish part of the line is the northernmost railway in Sweden and the Norwegian part outside Narvik is the northernmost railway in the whole of Western Europe at 68.452°N.

The first section of the line, from Gällivare to Luleå, opened in 1888. By 1899, the line was extended to Kiruna, and from 1903, all the way to Narvik. Electrification took place between 1915 and 1923. Operations of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik from SJ in 1996.

Rockfalls from mountains have at times hit the line.

Map of the Iron Ore Line

Operations
LKAB operates iron ore mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget in Norrbotten County, Sweden. Most of the output is transported by rail to the ice-free Port of Narvik, a route named the Northern Circuit. A minority of the ore is transported to Luleå on the Southern Circuit.

Located on the Baltic Sea, ore is shipped to Baltic customers, or delivered to furnaces operated by SSAB in Luleå and Oxelösund. The Ore and Ofoten Lines are 536 kilometres long, including the branch to Svappavaara, with the route from Kiruna to Narvik being 170 kilometres, and from Malmberget to Luleå being 220 kilometres.

Operations are handled by LKAB's subsidiary Malmtrafik i Kiruna (MTAB) in Sweden, and Malmtrafikk (MTAS) in Norway. Daily there operate 11 to 13 trains in each direction on the Northern Circuit, and five to six trains on the Southern Circuit.

The trains hauled by Iore-class locomotives are 68 cars long and weigh 8,600 tonnes (8,500 long tons; 9,500 short tons). From Riksgränsen on the national border to the Port of Narvik, the trains use only a fifth of the power they regenerate. The regenerated energy is sufficient to power the empty trains back up to the national border.

Although the trains and hopper cars are all owned by LKAB, the line is owned by the Swedish Transport Administration and the Norwegian National Rail Administration. The Ore and Ofoten Lines are also used by passenger and container trains.

Iron ore is also transported from Northland Resources' mine in Kaunisvaara to Narvik, started in small scale December 2012.

CargoNet operates two daily container trains from Alnabru Terminal in Oslo, Norway, named the Arctic Rail Express (ARE). The trains operate via Sweden and take 27 hours. The trains haul mostly food northbound and fish southbound along a distance of 1,950 kilometres.

DB Schenker launched a competing service in January 2011. There is about 0.5 million tonnes of non-ore freight transport on the Ofoten Line each year.

SJ operates three daily trains from Narvik to Kiruna Central Station, of which two continue onwards, either to Luleå Central Station or Stockholm Central Station. Trains to Stockholm are night trains. Travel time from Narvik to Kiruna is 3 hours and 1 minute, travel time to Luleå is 7 hours and 4 minutes, and travel time to Stockholm is 18 hours and 25 minutes.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm too close to get the whole train on picture

Rear end of the train

Driving along Torneträsk

Driving along Torneträsk

Driving along Torneträsk

I drive along when I suddenly see a few Common Ravens sitting on the road side eating from a reindeer carcass. Of course they take off when I stop, but I get a picture of one of the Ravens sitting on a pole across the road. The picture wasn't really any good. So far my odyssey through Sweden have been a disappointment regarding birds.

But it is very hot so the birds are most likely hiding, just like they do in Thailand. Only very early or late afternoon when it is kind of cool. I continued towards Abisko National Park. I will look for the STF Abisko Mountain Station where I will park the car and I will start my walking and bird watching from there.

Common Raven / Korp

The clouds are coming in low

The clouds are coming in low

The clouds are coming in low

Torneträsk

I drive past the STF Abisko Mountain Station to check out a mountain close to the border to Norway. A beautiful scenery along Torneträsk and I drive almost all the way to the Norwegian border. I turn around and I drive back towards STF Abisko Mountain Station.

Driving back to STF Abisko Mountain Station

Driving back to STF Abisko Mountain Station

Driving back to STF Abisko Mountain Station

Driving back to STF Abisko Mountain Station

I'm at STF Abisko Mountain Station and there was no parking spaces available so I had to cross the road. There are a huge parking area and a small road that I followed. I ended up at a cableway station. I thought it was closed as it is in the middle of the summer. There was a man sitting on the stairs to the cableway station.

He was waiting for the service to start and he informed me that they opened at 09:30. This was a surprise to me, I wasn’t expecting any cableway up on the mountains. The Aurora Sky Station / Mountain Station is 900 meter above sea level and it will take 20 minutes to reach the summit of Nuolja, and the height difference is 500 meters.

Abisko cableway to the Aurora Sky Station / Mountain Station

The two first passengers for today
I was #3 and I could have my own seat

I'm in the second seat going up to Nuolja

I'm in the second seat going up to Nuolja

We approach a closed station

We continue up to the summit

Approaching the summit

Approaching the summit

More people are coming up behind me

Nuolja

I reach the summit, the other passengers took off towards the wilderness for a full day, or several days of trekking. I will soon go down again as I have to drive to Finland, and I also need to do some trekking on Kungsleden to look for birds. The cableway to the Nuolja was an unexpected surprise and of course, I had to take the opportunity to get up on the mountain.

I left to go look for birds, I could hear birds and I went to have a look. It was a stunning view over Abisko and Torneträsk and I kept close to the edge. I attended the bird trying to sneak close to the bird to get a picture. Of course, it was next to impossible.

It was a bird that looked like a Meadow pipit. I got this confirmed on the BirdForum so I put the bird down as a Meadow pipit. I managed to make a recording of the bird and I tried (without any luck) to lure the bird to come closer to me.

Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, Ängspiplärka

Listen to the Meadow Pipit / Ängspiplärka

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

I had forgot my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder in my car so recorded with my LG Phone

I think this is a call

At 900m above sea level. On Nuolja in Abisko National Park. Maybe 200meter from the cableway station.

I could hear the bird and I made the recording that I was playing trying to get the bird closer for a picture which I failed with.

Aurora Sky Station / Mountain Station

Torneträsk and Abisko from Nuolja

I spend one to 1 and a half hour on the top before I walk back to the Aurora Sky Station / Mountain Station to get the cableway back down again. It was a fantastic area and if I had known this I would have booked 2 nights in Kiruna. Then I could have spent a full day in Abisko and more time in Nikkaluokta / Kebnekaise.

But I have seen the views and now it is time to get down again to have a look for birds on Kungsleden. I go back to Aurora Sky Station / Mountain Station. I'm the only one going down and when I take my seat I discover that the guy working in the lift is from Skåne.

Passengers arriving

Passengers arriving

Time to go down again

Going down again

Beautiful views going down again

Beautiful views going down again

More people coming up when I go down

Two “enthusiasts” walking up the mountain

A train loaded with iron ore bound for Narvik, Norway

A train loaded with iron ore bound for Narvik, Norway

A train loaded with iron ore bound for Narvik, Norway

Lower left corner, not visible: My car and the cableway station
Bottom centre: The bridge over the river/ stream with melting water
We can see Kungsleden following the river/ stream
Right hand, centre: Parking
Above the train: STF Abisko Mountain Station

I see the train again

Sending stores up the mountain

Bird of prey looking for food

Almost down at the car again

Almost down at the car again

Kungsleden

Kungsleden (King's Trail) is a hiking trail in northern Sweden, approximately 440 kilometres long, between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. It passes through, near the southern end, the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe. In the winter Kungsleden is a ski trail with approximately the same route.

The trail
Kungsleden runs for about 440 kilometres between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. The trail is well marked and many sections are well equipped and maintained by the Countyboard of Norrbotten (Länsstyrelsen i Norrbotten) with plank walkways covering swampy or rocky ground, but other sections further from the trailheads are eroded and rocky, increasing the difficulty of hiking some parts of the trail.

There are bridges across non-fordable streams and during the summer season lakes and rivers could be crossed either with rowing boats provided by Countyboard of Norrbotten or STF or by taking a local charter boat. The winter trail takes a somewhat different course in locations where it runs over swamps or lakes that cannot be negotiated in summer.

The trail is separated in four portions--each representing approximately one week of hiking. The most popular part is by far the northernmost--between Abisko and Kebnekaise. The season, when the huts are open usually runs between mid-June and the end of september, rowing boats are usually at place in the end of June or beginning of July, but the weather can be very treacherous, including late or early snow. The winter season runs from mid February to the end of April.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm down at the car and I drive to the parking place where I park the car. I walk back to the river/ stream with melting water ending in Torneträsk. Kungsleden, a hiking trail starts here, or ends here, depending on where you start. Anyway, I will trek along Kungsleden for a few kilometres before I will leave Abisko and Sweden for Finland.

If you ever come here, don't repeat my mistake, take an extra night so you have more time here in Abisko National Park.

I walk along the river / stream enjoying the scenery while keeping my eyes out for birds.

The stream

The stream

The stream

The stream

EXCELLENT!!!!

I pass a construction with three pipes in different colours. I go to have a look and I find something that impress me. Look through the pipe and you see a flower and there is a description of what you see under the different pipes. EXCELLENT!!! Easy to see what they want you to see with an explanation.

Crystal clear water

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare

Listen to the Willow Warbler / Lövsångare

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

I had forgot my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder in my car so recorded with my LG Phone

I think this is a call

Along Kungsleden in Abisko National Park.

Walking along Kungsleden

• To experience a hangover
• African safari
• To see Polar bears and icebergs
• Whale sharks “Failed”
• Tiger safari
• Whale sharks (second try)
• Koala and Kangaroo adventure in Australia
• Antarctica
• The Amazon in Brazil
• Swimming with Humpback whales
• Kiel - Brunsbüttel - Bicycling along the Kiel Canal
• Wildlife tour in Sweden and Finland
• Drinking water from a stream with melting water

I walk back towards the car when I'm ready with drinking water. I come back to the Willow Warbler and the bird is still there. I see another Willow Warbler when I'm back at the start of the Kungsleden. Two new birds today, well, not bad, but I had expected much more.

I pass the gate to Kungsleden and I run in to a group taking selfies and I help them to get a picture of the whole group, 3 of them entering the gate to Kungsleden.

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Willow Warbler / Lövsångare - Abisko National Park/strong>

Kungsleden

Back in the car and I checked for a store to buy hiking shoes in Kiruna. I found a place and I programed the GPS and I left Abisko National Park behind. A quick stop in Kiruna and then I'm off to Kilpisjarvi in Finland. Click HERE to see if I make it all the way to Finland.

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If you cannot reach their channel, or see some of their videos, it is because of the censorship. China!!?? NO NO, it is Sweden 2018!!


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OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.



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