Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön



Tuesday 16th of April 2019 and my alarm went off at 03:55 and they called from the reception 5 minutes later. Tea and oatmeal and I´m on my way at 5 thirty. Lucky that there was almost no traffic on the highway. I had a fox crossing the highway and I thought it would dash off when I stopped to take pictures.

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Leaving the hotel at 5 thirty

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
5 thirty and the sun is coming up

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
0°C when I get in to the car

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
A fox crossing the road early morning

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
A fox crossing the road early morning

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
13 km to Trandansen

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
On the way to Trandansen

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Arriving to Trandansen


And as it was dark I had to use a crazy ISO speed so the pictures of the fox was not any good, but we can see that it is a fox. I continued towards Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön to see if there was any Cranes or any other exciting birds today. I arrive to Trandansen at 05:50 and it was like walking in to a wall coming out from the car.

Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön

Lake Hornborga (Swedish: Hornborgasjön) is a lake in Västergötland in Sweden, famous for its many birds, in particular the many cranes that stay here temporarily during their annual migrations.

History
Lake Hornborga was created after the last ice age, approximately 10,000 years ago. The area has been settled since the Stone Age.

In order to relieve starvation, it was decided in 1802 to lower the water level in order to create pastures for cattle to graze. The water level was lowered a further four times after this. The surface area was reduced from 28 km² to less than 4 km², but rather than make way for pastures, reeds took over and turned the lake into a swamp.

Throughout these reductions, the lake remained a popular habitat for birds, but the last reductions in 1933 also reduced its attraction for birdlife. In 1965, a Government investigation suggested that the lake be restored, and between 1992 and 1995, the water level increased by an average of 0.9 metres.

During the restoration, 1,200 hectares of reed and 800 hectares of trees were removed, and animals were reintroduced to graze the shores of the lake.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This was not what I had expected. I need a pair of gloves as my fingers were freezing stiff and I need to take pictures. Anyway, there were plenty Cranes at Trandansen, yesterday it was 10200 cranes and today there are 8200 cranes. The cranes are sleeping in the water in the north part of Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön and they count the cranes there. One by one with binoculars

Common Cranes at Trandansen

There were too many Cranes to get any good pictures as they were very close together. But I discovered a Northern Lapwing on the parking and I went to try to get a picture.

Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, peewit, pewit, tuit, tew-it, green plover, Tofsvipa

Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, peewit, pewit, tuit, tew-it, green plover, Tofsvipa
Northern Lapwing / Tofsvipa

Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, peewit, pewit, tuit, tew-it, green plover, Tofsvipa
Northern Lapwing / Tofsvipa

Northern Lapwing foraging on the field

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
People from all over the world come to Trandansen to see the Cranes


Trandansen at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Trandansen, Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Trandansen - Visitor Centre and Cafe

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Today´s Crane count

The northern parking place is just below the Visitor Centre and the Cafe, there is one Cafe at the church as well. You are not allowed to drive between the northern parking and the road south of the Visitor Centre. But the entrance south of the Visitor Centre is connected by road to the two entrances/ exits south of the Visitor centre.

It is one huge parking lot south of the entrance and the church in the south and between the road and the highway outside the Nature Reserve.

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Driving south towards the church

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Driving south towards the church

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Driving south towards the church

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Looking north from the church

Park the car either north or south of the Visitor Centre and walk along the road. At the visitor Centre there are volunteer bird watchers helping the visitors identifying the birds during the Crane season. And there is also the daily Crane count during the crane season.

There is a coffee shop and souvenir shop. It is a nice area to walk around looking for birds.

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
Walk path along the road

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
View from the road / walk path

Bird watching at Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön
At the Visitor Centre

Walking back to my car and when leaving Trandansen I use my car as a hide and I can come close to the Cranes without scaring them

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Common Crane, Grus Grus, Trana
Common Crane / Trana

Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus, Sångsvan

Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus, Sångsvan
Whooper Swan / Sångsvan

Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus, Sångsvan
Whooper Swan / Sångsvan

I Leave Trandansen much earlier than planned for. So I go back to my hotel where I have breakfast and when the shops open I go to buy gloves. Of course, when I´m back in the car I discover a pair of gloves in my parka pocket from when I was up north looking for polar bears.

I drive around looking for birds in the afternoon and there is many birds, but only the Common Chaffinch on picture.

Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, Bofink
Male Common Chaffinch/ Bofink

Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, Bofink
Male Common Chaffinch/ Bofink

Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, Bofink
Male Common Chaffinch/ Bofink

Gustafsson Konditori - Semlor i Skara
I find Oh Gustafssons Konditori & Bageri AB

Gustafsson Konditori - Semlor i Skara
Leaving with my semla

Gustafsson Konditori - Semlor i Skara
On the way back to my room

I leave Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön and I drive to Skara to find Oh Gustafssons Konditori & Bageri AB to pick up my ordered Semlor that I will enjoy in my room back at Best Western Plus Jula Hotell & Konferens.

I also stopped at a supermarket to buy honey for my “Good Morning”oatmeal and I bought picnic lunch to enjoy in the wilderness tomorrow.

In bed at 9 o´clock and my alarm set to go off at 03:55 and I hope to see some excitements around Lake Hornborga / Hornborgasjön tomorrow morning. Click HERE to find out if I have any luck with the Crane Dance at Trandansen.




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