Birdwatching

I've been watching birds on and off since the late 1970s or early 1980s. I will of course keep a lookout for interesting birds anywhere, but the places where I've been doing most of my watching are Ottenby Fågelstation on Öland and Tåkerns Fältstation in Östergötland and around home (Malmslätt (Kärna mosse), Roxen (Svartåmynningen, Sättuna, Kungsbro), etc). Segerstads fyr also looks like a nice place with a very good day-to-day log of observations.

Sveriges Ornitologiska Förening and Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen are other relevant links for birdwatching in Sweden. If you like hunting for obscure species on temporary visits, you should have a look at Club 300.

Equipment

Sometime in the early 1980s, I bought my first telescope, a Kowa TS-1 with a 20x eyepiece. Many years later I added a 40x eyepiece which was useful now and then, but suffered from needing very much light and having a very narrow field of vision. Having an old rickety tripod didn't help. I used this one until it was stolen in late 2000. I now have a Kowa TSN-821 with a 20-60x zoom eyepiece (the zoom is really helpful). This is mounted on a Manfrotto 055C tripod which is rock steady (with a 128RC head).

I also use hand binoculars, of course, but here I haven't tried any brand equipment but mostly go with small, simple 8x models for about $15. I think they give good performance and since they're cheap I don't have to worry about keeping it in my jacket pocket all the time, getting it dusty and beat-up. I bought a larger pair of 10x binoculars during the summer of 2001 and like them a lot, though.

Some links