Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Klosterheden - Denmark - Part 5


Back to another favorite spot - Klosterheden, where we had seen the White-throated dipper (Vandstær) last winter. Once again absolute fantastic to see everything green and bursting with life when your last memory of the place was quiet and covered with a layer of snow.

Naively - or should I just say optimistically - we had talked ourselves into believing that there was a chance of seeing beaver(s), as evident from the wood work in the pictures above we definitely saw signs of beaver activity, but there was not even a shadow of the bark eating semi-aquatic rodent to be seen. A chat to one of the park officers revealed that the chance of seeing our target creature by waltzing through the forest ca. midday middle of summer was next to non-existing. These creatures are exceptionally shy and nocturnal - a combination that often makes a creature a really difficult (and good) tick, like most of the shy nocturnal mammals and birds in Australia :-)

Birds were good, but again getting the photos was really hard. A dense green danish summer forest does not give you many chances of catching anything through the foliage. Finally I managed to get a BIF shot of a Common Buzzard, only fair since they are as common in Jutland as Common Myna in Coogee. Years of abuse from humans have, however, made them extremely wary and your best chance is to either approach them in a car or be lucky to catch one flying towards you.


Klosterheden was teaming with Roe Deer, during our winter walk we had seen glimpses of a couple, but this summer day we good great views of something like half a dozen including a little deer family.


All good, nothing wrong with a good solid walk in the forest and dipping on the beavers just mean that there will have to be another wander in the Klosterheden next time I am under those distant skies.

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