I got up at 3.30 AM and drove a borrowed old Volvo home to Erland in Helsingborg, where we shifted car and then went to pick up Johnny in Markaryd. Erland and Johnny are friends that share the interest for nature photography and they are also members in PhotoNatura. We spent the day at Hornborgasjön to see the migrating Cranes.
The sun shone from a clear blue sky and no wind. We started the early morning at the Nature Room on the east side of the lake with grebes and gulls. Then a turn to Ytterberg where we took a couple of sandwiches and just hang out in the sun – Still no wind and over 20 degrees but very little activity as well.
We then decided to go to ”Trandansen” and the hordes of people and cranes. There were 19,900 Cranes (Grus grus), which so far is the highest number this year. I have a hard time understanding how the calculation of the birds are done but I suppose there is a great scheme in place! I experimented with slow shutter speeds and double exposures. It is difficult to vary the pictures and there are many photographers on location. We are probably all getting home with similar images – a crane against a blue sky does not feel like you can get any further with…
It is two years since I last was in a hide up here but it’s a completely different experience than standing among hundreds of other visitors as we did today. There is something special when you lie all night and listen to all the birds at the lake. Whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and ducks that sing and churn. At sunrise the cranes will fly in to the shores of the lake and a frenetic activity begins right outside the hide. It’s close enough for using fisheye lenses and the huge amount of birds makes it a unique event – I miss that and despite I promised myself never to do it again I think I will get here and sit in a hide next year.
