Sleeping red-throated diver in morning mist

The sun has been up for an hour. This morning's defense of the territory is completed. A good time for the red-throated diver to rest for a while while the morning mist slowly rises from the calm water surface.

Smålomsparet simmar tillsammans in i en av strålkastarkäglorna som bildas när solen skiner mellan tallstammarna i den tidiga morgondimman under en kall majmorgon på Knuthöjdsmossen.

The red-throated divers swims together into one of the areas lit up by the spotlights that are formed when the sun shines between the pine trunks in the early morning mist during a cold May morning at Knuthöjdsmossen.

Early morning at the red-throated divers

During the first hour after sunrise, the mist still rises from the water. With the red-throated diver in backlight, it is just a silhouette that slowly slides across the mirrorlike water surface. The call, as loud as it is desolate, is however hard to miss.

Red-throated diverdoing the morning routine

The morning dawns at the red-throated divers. After being active for several hours, it's time to relax and stretch for a while

Red-throated diver on a mirror like pond

An hour before sunset and almost the entire pond is already in the shade. The background with birch trunks and dry grass is still lit by the sun and lights up in a golden tone when the red-throated diver slowly swims over the mirror-like water.

Den svala morgonen ger upphov till en tjock dimma när solens första strålar träffar vattenytan. Konturerna av smålommen tar sakta form när den ljudlöst glider genom dimman.

The cool morning air causes a thick fog to appear as the sun's first rays hit the water surface. The contours of the red-throated diver slowly take shape as it slides silently through the fog.

Tidig aprilmorgon på Knuthöjdsmossen. Smålommarna är alltid ett trevligt sällskap.

Early April morning at Knuthöjdsmossen. The red-throated divers are always pleasant company.

Med regnet hängande i luften, en brant strandbank och fullt med vegetation som skymde fåglarna var det lockande att ge upp. Men när jag väl tagit mig ner till vattnet visade det sig att gråhakedoppingen var lika nyfiken som jag och simmade fram till en öppning i vegetationen och iakttog mig noggrant.

With rain in the air, a steep beach bank and lots of vegetation that obscured the birds, it was tempting to give up. But once I got down (in)to the water, it turned out that the red-necked grebe was just as curious as I was and swam to an opening in the vegetation to give me a thourough look.

Svarthakedopping (Podiceps Auritus) simmar över en lugn damm i kvällssolen. Vassen längst bort i dammen ger en mycket gyllene och mycket jämn bakgrund och omgivning till fågeln

Horned Grebe (Podiceps Auritus) swimming across a calm pond in the evening sun. The reed in the far end of the pond gives a very smooth background and surrounding to the bird

Efter mycket letande i regnet hittade jag tillslut en damm med två gråhakedoppingar i. Genom att stoppa ner stativet i vattnet gick det att åstadkomma en låg vinkel. Och gråhakedoppingarna var inte bara orädda, de verkade ganska nyfikna också! Men ingenstans gick det att få sikte på dem utan en massa vass och grenar som kom i vägen. När det väl gick att fokusera på fågeln tycker jag att den lite suddiga känslan som orsakas av vass och gräs precis framför objektivet skapar känsla i bilden.

After searching for a long time in the falling rain, I finally found a pond with two red-necked grebes in it. By placing the tripod in the water, it was possible to get a low angle and with two red-necked grebes that were not only fearless, they seemed quite curious too, everything was set for a great photo shoot! But nowhere was it possible to get a clear line of sight without a lot of reeds and branches that got in the way. When I finally succeeded in achieving focus on the bird, I found that the slightly blurring caused by reeds and grass right in front of the lens created atmosphere in the image.

Kanske är det mig smålommen försöker imponera på när den kommer simmande med vingarna utbredda? Oavsett kan jag inte annat än tacksamt låta kameran jobba när jag bjuds på en sådan uppvisning.

Is it me the red-throated diver tries to scare as it comes swimming with its wings outstretched? It really doesn't matter as it is an excellent photo opportunity!