Buzzards (ormvråkar) with different degrees of leucism (reducerad pigmentering) are sometimes called Börringe buzzards (Börringevråkar). They happen to be common in and around Hålanda. Here is one escaping from a crowd of Western Jackdaws (kajor) and landing not far from our house. I have not tried to fix the distorted sound associated with the slowmotion. 5 March 2015, Canon XL-H1A. More clips of these guys to come!

From our window: A cosy chat between two Eurasian Tree Sparrows (pilfinkar)  accompanied by the strong voices of two newly arrived Common Cranes (tranor). Hålanda, Sweden, 11 March 2015. Canon XL-H1A, standard zoom lens and inbuilt mic.

In 2015, science writer Torgny Nordin and I made two excursions to Sicily and Rome. See the page for Project Segelberg!

On the top of Monte Dinamaro near the straight of Messina in early May 2015, we had an interview with Sicilian ornithologist and raptor specialist Andrea Corso, who among other things told us about the illegal hunting of birds that still is going on in Sicily. A lot of European Honey buzzards (bivråkar) were spotted this day and you see some of them. The video has been edited in Final Cut Pro X using clips from other parts of our excursion, so you also get a glimpse of bird hunting according to the 4th century mosaics at the Villa Romana Casale in southern Sicily.

Lago Pergusa in south central Sicily is an important resting place for migratory birds. When Torgny Nordin and I visited it in early May 2015, Torgny noted a flock of Black-necked Grebes (svarthalsade doppingar). Camera: XL-H1A with original zoom corresponding to 800 mm, some digital zoom briefly added. Sound: Telinga Pro 5W with Stereo DAT mic. In this clip you can see many other, more common birds and hear several, including a Common Blackbird (koltrast), Great Reed Warblers (trastsångare) and European Reed Warblers (rörsångare).

Back home: A little flock of broad-billed sandpipers (myrsnäppa, Limicola falcinellus) at Morups Tånge, Halland, on 26 May 2015. Canon XL-H1A, last part with Canon FD 100-300mm. No sound because of the very windy condition.

June 12, 2015: A group of 4 pied avocets (skärfläckor, Recurvirostra avosetta) gathering at the shore of Morups Tånge, Halland. Camera: Canon XL-H1A with standard zoom lens and maximum zoom corresponding to 800 mm. The image quality is suboptimal due to the unusually bad "seeing" (a lot of heat movement in the air), some digital zoom in the second half, and of course the long distance. But if I had been closer the birds would not have been this undisturbed. The main interest of the movie lies in the sound (with Telinga Pro 5W and Stereo DAT mic). First you hear a loud ongoing "contact call", and then after around 0:11 a number of the more familiar short calls. The middle of the movie is dominated by a low contact call, but after around 0:45 there are again a few "regular" calls.

On the same day, June 12 2015: A group of pied avocets (skärfläckor) feeding and quarrelling in a stretch of shallow water at Morups Tånge, Halland. Canon XL-H1A with standard lens; in principle this is a continuous recording but some short parts of the movie had to be cut out. Sound: Telinga Pro V with Stereo DAT mic, no filter applied.

Again 12 June 2015: A Brent Goose (sv. Prutgås) eating a favourite food, eelgrass (Zostera marina, bandtång), at Morup's Tånge, Halland. Camera: Canon XL-H1A with Canon FD (100–)300 mm lens corresponding to 1600 mm, varying quality due to bad "seeing" conditions. Turn down the sound if you cannot stand the human-caused noise.

There were few insects in the Swedish mountains in spring/early summer 2015, and few passerine birds. I saw no bluethroats at the entrance of Storådörren, cf 2012 above. But a beautiful little pond nearby hosted a couple of Red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator, småskrakar, not seen here) and at least one Wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola, grönbena). Mid-June 2015, Canon XL-H1A, last part with Canon FD 100-300mm.

14 July 2015: A common redshank (rödbena, Tringa totanus), obviously used to people, is the main character in this sequence from Lake Hornborgasjön, Västergötland. Canon XL-H1A, last part with Canon FD 100-300mm, sound: Telinga.

A small artificial wetland not far from lake Hornborgasjön in Västergötland turned out to be the home of beauty. After the graphical Eurasian coat (sothöna, Fulica atra) and its young, the exotic-looking Horned Grebe (svarthakedopping, Podiceps auritus) appears, busy feeding its offspring. Which is not always easy... see the part beginning at 0:58. 14 July 2015, Canon XL-H1A with Canon FD 100-300mm.

Whinchat in wind (buskskvätta), Hålanda, 27 July 2015. This is just an ordinary whinchat filmed at quite a distance, and it is not even singing. Camera: XL-H1A with Canon FD 100-300mm, sound: Telinga Pro 5 with stereo DAT mic. See also below, 2018!

27 July 2015: A family of Red-backed shrikes (törnskata, Lanius collurio) in our garden in Hålanda. Camera: XL-H1A with Canon FD 100-300mm, sound: Telinga Pro 5 with stereo DAT mic.

Each year, we wait for the common crane (trana) family that nests at the nearby Hålsjön to come and "present" their offspring on the field close to our house in Hålanda. This year, as several times before, there were two young cranes. 17 August 2015, Canon XL-H1A, second part with Canon FD 100-300mm.

Then a movie from Rome, the first one with the new camera. Very large flocks of starlings (starar) have been called "murmurations of starlings", and here is indeed a murmur! In the evening of November 3, 2015, hundreds of thousands of starling are seeking night quartier in treetops near the Tiber (Rome). There is no big thought behind the film composition; the sub-scenes simply follow one in their correct order of time. Camera: Panasonic GH4 with Olympus M. Zuiko 12-40 mm f2.8 Pro, sound: Telinga Pro V parabole with Stereo DAT mic. A lot of noise from traffic and the large group of people watching.