Black Terns from a floating hide

1:st June – 25:th July

Black Terns from a floating hide

1:st June – 25:th July

When: 1:st June – 25:th July

Price: 2.750 SEK/ person

Black Terns

Black Tern photography

From our floating photo-hide you get close to Black Terns and can experience and photograph/ film them at very close distance. The open wetlands and lakes of the Black River Valley with beds of Carex and waterlilys is a rich eco-system with plenty of birds, fish and insect life. Surrounded by a tranquil, rural countryside this is a wonderful environment to experience in summertime, especially evenings and early mornings. The piercing calls of the Black Terns adds a lively atmosphere to the habitat. When they get extra loud it is time to look up, maybe a raptor like a White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier or Osprey is hunting nearby the tern colony. Bittern, Waterrail, several different Ducks and Waders use the habitat and several passerines/ songbirds sing from the surrounding reedbeds.

The hide has got two openings to each sides, one in normal sitting height and one in lower angle. The hide is built for the purpose and is like a platform on pontoons. On the wooden platform there is a hut with thin but solid walls and a roof. A guide takes you there in a boat/ canoe so you can concentrate entirely on the photography. The birds are surprisingly unafraid of the hide and frequently use the perches we put up where the birds like to sit.

Black Tern photography

From our floating photo-hide you get close to Black Terns and can experience and photograph/ film them at very close distance. The open wetlands and lakes of the Black River Valley with beds of Carex and waterlilys is a rich eco-system with plenty of birds, fish and insect life. Surrounded by a tranquil, rural countryside this is a wonderful environment to experience in summertime, especially evenings and early mornings. The piercing calls of the Black Terns adds a lively atmosphere to the habitat. When they get extra loud it is time to look up, maybe a raptor like a White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier or Osprey is hunting nearby the tern colony. Bittern, Waterrail, several different Ducks and Waders use the habitat and several passerines/ songbirds sing from the surrounding reedbeds.

The hide has got two openings to each sides, one in normal sitting height and one in lower angle. The hide is built for the purpose and is like a platform on pontoons. On the wooden platform there is a hut with thin but solid walls and a roof. A guide takes you there in a boat/ canoe so you can concentrate entirely on the photography. The birds are surprisingly unafraid of the hide and frequently use the perches we put up where the birds like to sit.

Practical info

Season: 1:st June – 25:th July

How many: Max 2 persons.

Included: Guiding to the hide in boat/ canoe (life-jackets are obligatory), pick-up from the hide. If you choose to spend the night (a great experience) we provide you with sleeping bags and soft mats too. The hide is equipped with camping chairs, fleece-blankets to keep you warm. Don´t worry about insects. There are usually no mosquitos out on the lake, just caddiesflies and dragonflies.

Not included: Snacks/ evening meal/ breakfast, including hot & cold drinks can be ordered extra but is not included.

To bring: Camera, tripod (important!), binoculars, flashlight/ headlight, water bottle, warm clothes, waterproof boots, preferrably rubber boots.

Price

2.750 SEK/person & session

When? How? For whom?

We guide you out to the hide in a boat or canoe. Max 2 persons. Walking distance to the boat place is ca 300 meters. We head out around 6 o’clock in the evening and normally stay til around dusk to get the most of the session time. In the early part of the season (June) it is a good idea to stay and enjoy the short night (2-3 hours of twilight) to get the best of the golden hours of light on both sides of midnight. The light can vary a lot and the last and first hours of sunlight are usually the best, but clouds and potentially mist can alter the circumstances a lot. This activity normally attracts the ambitious and patient photographer/ filmmaker. The Black Tern is a bird that normally is very difficult to get close to, but near the breeding colony (from a hidden position especially) they are very obliging. Rest assure that we are conservationists and don’t do anything to jeopardize the breeding success of the birds. We have a long experience from working with research and studies too, so we know the birds behaviour well.

Where?

The Black Tern hide is positioned on one of the lakes in the Black River valley in the county of Västmanland, central Sweden. The wetlands of the Black River valley are designated Nature 2000 areas and also included on the International Wetlands Convention ”Ramsar-list”. It´s a very good area for birds and wildlife. The Black River Valley is situated in Västmanland (county), Sala (municipality) and we normally meet up with our clients by the church in the small village Fläckebo. If you are coming by train you can be picked up in either Sala or Västerås. If you fly you can come to Västerås airport or Arlanda airport. A transfer from Arlanda will be charged extra.

Best season

Black terns start to moult early and already in June they start to get some white feathers on chin and breast (especially the females). The most black plumages you´ll see in early – mid June. Another interesting period offering different kinds of pictures is the later part of the breeding season when the fledglings are out on their wings and being fed by their parents. They also perch a lot in this part of the season. Normally mid-late July.

About the Black tern

The Black tern (Chlidonias niger) is one of three species of ”Marsh terns” in the Chlidonias family. The Black Tern is very localized in Sweden and breeds mainly in 5 areas. The wetlands of Västmanland/ Uppland is the northernmost of these areas in Sweden. Normally 30-40 pairs breed in the lakes of the Black River Valley. Usually in one major colony and several smaller. The Swedish population is estimated to ca 220 pairs. The Black terns are depending on open, rich wetlands with a rich fauna of insects and fish. As soon as the youngs start to fly the families start to prepare for the migration southwards. They congregate along the way to the wintering grounds in Western Africa in bigger lakes and in coastal lagoons along the European coast. They return to their breeding grounds early – mid May but it always takes another week or two before they establish the new colony. During the first week it is important that they are not disturbed, that’s why we always await the first week of June til we start the photography season.