Swedish Wildlife.

[The Cumbrian]

I've been in Sweden for almost two months now, and despite working long hours I've managed to get out a few times.

The first time, I went canoeing with Olle ( Big Swede off this forum ) and my colleague Richard. We went to some lovely lakes outside Gothenburg, surrounded by extensive mixed woodland and in the full day I saw some type of duck and a crow.

The next time I was out, Olle and myself went for an overnighter. We bashed through the woods for a while ( picking some chanterelles on the way ) after parking the car on a backroad and camped on a knoll with no sign of human disturbance, apart from the forest track a hundred metres or so away. I didn't see anything on this trip, but I heard a raven.

Last Saturday I went for a walk around a lake, again surrounded by extensive mixed woodland. On this occasion, I saw two pigeons ( or it might have been the same pigeon twice ) and a nondescript little brown bird from a distance.

Around the power station where I'm working though, I've seen roe deer, rabbits, a hare, a fox, a mink, hooded crows, ravens, jackdaws and starlings. Who says that industry is bad for wildlife.

 

[Wattle]

I know what you mean, I work on a big Steel Works, just in the area I work there is several foxes, sparrow hawks, kestrels, millions of rabbits and pigeons which are food for the rest. There are loads of feral cats, and somebody spotted a stoat the other week. Oh and I nearly forgot far to many rats.

Phil

 

[brancho]

I work on an large industrial complex
We have rabbits, hare, foxes, adders, osyter catchers, most gull types (hundreds of gulls), wagtails, starlings etc

 

[robin wood]

So the point is that in 60 days at an industrial site you see more wildlife than in 3 days in the woods? Or that wildlife gets used to folk going about their normal business but disappear when folk arrive where they are not expected?

I have seen all manner of wildlife in Sweden including sitting by a lake under the midnight twilight listening to great northern divers mournful calling. Having said that I am just back from Galecia which is an undiscovered gem.

 

[The Cumbrian]

So the point is that in 60 days at an industrial site you see more wildlife than in 3 days in the woods? Or that wildlife gets used to folk going about their normal business but disappear when folk arrive where they are not expected?

I have seen all manner of wildlife in Sweden including sitting by a lake under the midnight twilight listening to great northern divers mournful calling. Having said that I am just back from Galecia which is an undiscovered gem.

No, I'm saying that in the 40 minutes I've spent walking to and from my new accomodation over the last 4 days I've seen more wildlife than on three day trips out. The spirit of this post was the surprise that I felt at seeing very little of the native fauna, especially compared to the amount that I see on an average day out in the UK.

If you want to misinterpret the spirit and content of this thread then that's up to you.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Having worked at several power stations, I can vouch that they are a hot bed of wildlife.

The one I've visited recently has a lot of rare species of bird within the grounds.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Having worked at several power stations, I can vouch that they are a hot bed of wildlife.

The one I've visited recently has a lot of rare species of bird within the grounds.

In this case, there isn't much wildlife inside the perimeter fence, it's all around the outside. I've worked on sites though ( the same one as Brancho as well by the sounds of it ) where the site itself is a haven for wildlife.

 

[Toddy]

This phenomenon is discussed in Geography. It has something to do with the way that humans clear ground, and in doing so create 'potential'. That they are (every little helps) wasteful of food and other resources is also a issue.
The potentially open and generally disturved ground allows seeds to sprout........that leads to better grazing, in come the insects, the small mammals, the rats, the mice, the rabbits, swiftly followed by the crows, the foxes and the hawks. The plants get up a bit and in come the deer.......and by this time the human built environment is just part of the background scenery for them. In all their short lives it has always been there. The result is a widelife haven. It's like a huge garden. Quite fascinating.

I don't know what the environment where you wandered in Sweden is like, but heavy pine forests here seem dead to those of us who live surrounded by our mixed woodlands. Not enough varied habitats and species within them.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[The Cumbrian]

This phenomenon is discussed in Geography. It has something to do with the way that humans clear ground, and in doing so create 'potential'. That they are (every little helps) wasteful of food and other resources is also a issue.
The potentially open and generally disturved ground allows seeds to sprout........that leads to better grazing, in come the insects, the small mammals, the rats, the mice, the rabbits, swiftly followed by the crows, the foxes and the hawks. The plants get up a bit and in come the deer.......and by this time the human built environment is just part of the background scenery for them. In all their short lives it has always been there. The result is a widelife haven. It's like a huge garden. Quite fascinating.

I don't know what the environment where you wandered in Sweden is like, but heavy pine forests here seem dead to those of us who live surrounded by our mixed woodlands. Not enough varied habitats and species within them.

cheers,
Toddy

Toddy,

The places I've been so far have been very varied. I've put a couple of them in "Out & About", and the photos are the best illustration:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46595

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45596

It's the fact that the woodland is so mixed, and near water, that the lack of wildlife has surprised me.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[robin wood]

No, I'm saying that in the 40 minutes I've spent walking to and from my new accomodation over the last 4 days I've seen more wildlife than on three day trips out. The spirit of this post was the surprise that I felt at seeing very little of the native fauna, especially compared to the amount that I see on an average day out in the UK.

If you want to misinterpret the spirit and content of this thread then that's up to you.

Sorry to cause offense there was none intended I was just genuinely not understanding the point of the thread, now it is clearer.

I think we get used to a lot of wildlife in the UK. Mild winters and suburban gardens are actually very good at supporting high densities of fauna. Our valley has just filled with fieldfares and redwings which have just come from Sweden because there is going to be nothing for them to eat there for the next 5 months. There is no doubt you would see more wildlife sat on the bank of an average English canal say than bashing through an average Swedish woodland. The beauty of Sweden for me is not that I see lot's of wildlife but that it is easy to get a genuine feeling of wildness. To get to a place where you can hear no road noise and when you look up the sky is not full of jet trails. Then there are those memorable meetings with moose great northern diver or whatever that make me feel like I am somewhere a bit wilder than home. To get this in the UK you really have to go to Scotland and it's easy enough to walk all day and not see much wildlife there too.

As for industry being bad or otherwise for wildlife I think the ecological footprint of a powerstation is somewhat wider than it's immediate surroundings.

Lovely pics in the out and about threads by the way.

 

[silvergirl]

I think we all have this image of the 'wild woods' which are swarming with wildlife.

And they are, as your picture of the wood ants nest shows, just not the kind we expect.
Larger animals have more places to hide and less reason to be bold in a semi-natural environment than in heavily populated areas. They also have a greater ability to move from area to area as there are not the same breaks in vegitation as we are used to in the UK.

In Sweden a couple of years back I saw elk footprints, an ants nest part eaten by a bear, a beaver lodge (or two), I heard the distant cry of wolves, and many other signs of animals, but none of these creatures themselves.
On the other hand I was camped less than 300mtrs from an osprey nest and didn't see it untill the third day, because they had been so quiet, or I had been concentrating on other things.

Of coourse to all those who think of Sweden as being fairly natural, it has one of the most intensive/sucessful forestry industries in the world.
And it is based on clear fell policy, where an area of woodland is cleared completely on a rotational basis, but the difference with the UK is that it is largely allowed to regrow from the seed bed rather in plantations, giving it a much more 'natural' feel.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Sorry to cause offense there was none intended I was just genuinely not understanding the point of the thread, now it is clearer.

I'm sorry for appearing to take it, there's a small possibility that I may have slightly overreacted...

My main point is, that whilst I wasn't expecting to be stepping over badgers and shooing moose out of my way as I walked through the countryside, the almost complete absense of bird and beast came as a bit of a shock. I haven't even seen many birds flying overhead on my wanderings.

With hindsight though, the occasional distant gunshots that I heard on my last walk might be encouraging the tastier animals to keep their heads down.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[forestwalker]

I just spent most of today outside, about 6 hours sitting still waiting for moose and a couple of hours looking for black grouse/capercaillie/hare/roe deer. What I saw was:

black grouse (about 7 or 8 total, all but one when I was waiting for moose, and that one was a clean miss...),
capercaillie (one from the car),
hare (also from the car),
lot of fresh tracks from moose (others saw them, but always behind trees, etc),
some roe deer tracks, and
one set of badger-tracks.

And two ravens and some other unidentified birds. And the brown bear is hopefully about to go to bed, probably somewhere on the hill behind the house (tracks and fresh berry rich feces a few days ago); they can be grouchy when they are sleepy.