Autumn in Lapland 16th September 2008

I have just returned from my cabin in Swedish Lapland. I left home early on the morning of the 15th September and arrived at Gallivare station at 9am on 16th September. Unlike my last trip, I had two companions for the first week Liam and Phoebe.

When we arrived at Gallivare station my friend Anki was there to meet us and took us to her home for breakfast, where Ingvar her husband was waiting to greet us. After purchasing some supplies we then all drove to the cabin (Anki and Ingvar have a cabin near to mine).

The cabin chimney was blocked, but with Ingvars help we were able to clear it after a couple of hours and get a fire going in the stove.

Ingvar and Anki then left us and we unpacked and settled in. The first birds of the trip around the cabin were; small parties of Crossbills flying around, Bramblings, a pair of Great Tits, a Willow Tit, a Siberian Jay family group, Meadow Pipits, Great-spotted Woodpecker and a Chiff Chaff.

The temperature had been -5 degrees when we arrived at the station and there had been frosts most nights for a couple of weeks and although as we walked in the forest there were many fungi, the majority were past their best.

After a walk we got a fire going in the living room

Cooked some food and settled in for the evening.

It was such a nice evening with the full moon over the lake.

Preparing for my next trip

I am just in the process of preparing for my next trip to Lapland for two and a half weeks.

Temperatures could range from +10 - -10, though there is unlikely to be any snow.

Here is my clothing;

Craghopper shirt, Dockers wool shirt, two t-shirts, fleece, boxers and three grades of merino wool socks, thin set of merino wool thermals, a pair of craghopper trousers and my zoot suit.

other kit;

Dry bags, bergan liners, possibles pouch, wash kit, head torch and batteries, camera, mobile phone, spare phone and camera batteries + solar charger, Opinal knife with firesteel, tinder pouch (including matches in waterproof container), GPS & compass, sharpening kit and notebook. I also have my US military poncho, a sleeping bag and first aid kit.

Food;

Sun dried tomatoes dried peas and beans for soups, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, soya mince and preserved sausage.

I have a Bergaus Vulcan backpack which with everything inside weighs 16kgs.

I will be wearing my Swanndri hooded bushshirt and carrying my binoculars and personal medication.

Spring in Lapland - 1st June

Cloudy with sunny periods today and rain this evening.

6 Crossbills flews over calling this morning as I was waiting for the taxi to arrive.

I left the cabin at 11am and the taxi took me to Gallivare.

My final list of bird species for the cabin is as follows;

Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Teal, Smew, Goldenye,
White Wagtail, Great Tit, Whooper Swan, Restart, Mallard, Meadow Pipit,
Raven, Redwing, Whimbrel, Chaffinch, Pied Flycatcher, Brambling, Song Thrush,
Mistle Thrush, Common Crane, Ruff, Lapland Bunting, Waxwing, Golden Plover,
Curlew, Greenfinch, Black Grouse, Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Siskin,
House Martin, Little Bunting, Goldcrest, Tree Pipit, Goosander, Black-throated Diver,
Siberian Jay, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Spotted woodpecker, Common Sandpiper,
Cuckoo, Hazel Grouse, Willow Tit, Redpoll sp. ,Common Gull, Wheatear, Wryneck,
Long-tailed Duck, Capercallie, Rustic Bunting, Blue Tit, Osprey, Hooded Crow,
Reed Bunting, Crossbill,

Birds in Gallivare;

Fieldfare, Magpie, Yellowhammer, Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Robin,

Here are a series of pictures to show a changing view during my two week stay;

Spring in Lapland - 29th May

Sunny with some cloud today and temperature up to 16 degrees.

It is very quiet for birds today. Only 2 Waxwings and a pair of Long-tailed Ducks on the lake.

I was pleased to find three Perch in the trap this morning

After filleting, I fried them in oil with salt and pepper.

Before Anki and Ingvar headed home, they took me to the south end of the lake to show me the location of a fresh water spring.

They have installed a walkway and a pipe to make it easier to collect the spring water.

As we walked to the spring we passed the remains of a Willow Grouse (Dalripa in Swedish) which had probably been eaten by a fox

I walked back through the forest and found a really nice, large Birch tree with reasonably clean bark. I made a bark chisel and set about removing a piece of bark from the tree.

The bark was not easy to remove because there is still very little sap rising,

but I managed to get a large sheet of bark from the tree, so it was well worth the effort.

I spent the afternoon painting more windows and then this evening I have cut up the bark for a couple of projects I have in mind.

Spring in Lapland - 28th May

Hazy sunshine today with a cold north wind.

1 Rustic Bunting singing in the forest at the north end of the marsh this morning and I managed to get some very nice views. There was also one Green Hairstreak butterfly flying around as well.

Only 1 Greenshank and 1 Wood Sandpiper on the marsh today.

Now that the lake is clear of ice

I have been able to get my boat out of the boat house and row around the lake.

I also put my fish trap into the lake, just off the end of the jetty in the hope of catching some fish as I am running out of food.


This evening, while I was outside working a couple appeared taking their dog for a walk. They introduced themselves as Ingvar and Anki and they have a cabin on another lake not far from mine. They had come to stay for one night and were going home again tomorrow. Although Ingvar spoke no English and I speak very little Swedish (if anyone knows of a Swedish language course please let me know!) Anki could speak some English and was able to translate. They invited me back to their cabin for coffee and we talked about the wildlife and nature. They have owned their cabin for many years and told me that a lady called Elin had owned my cabin from 1967 until she died four years ago.

It was nice to meet such friendly people and to share their company for an evening. When I return in September, Anki has said she will teach me the fungi I can eat there and the best places to fish. Ingvar is a carpenter and so has offered to help me with some repair work on the cabin in September.

They have asked that I learn to speak more Swedish before I return, but it is proving more difficult to find a local Swedish language course or tutor than I had expected.

Spring in Lapland - 27th May

So I was up at about 02:15 to try and find the beaver (there are Chaffinch and Redwing singing in this piece of film).



The first birds I saw were a pair of Long-tailed Ducks sitting on the ice outside the cabin.

I walked around the lake and on the northern edge I could hear gnawing of bark and could see the water moving. I moved very slowly and managed to get to about three metres of the beaver, who was completely unaware of my presence.

I even filmed it for a short time



before it noticed I was there and with a slap of its tail on the water it was gone.

Pleased with my success I walked over to the marsh where there was nothing unusual and then made my way back to my bed.

After breakfast I decided to walk to a much larger lake that I had visited last autumn. Minerals in the ground mean that a compass can not be relied upon for navigation so as I travel I keep looking back to note distinctive features that I can look out for as I travel back. I also make small marks on trees to help define my return route. The picture below shows a mark on the left of the tree so I know I must turn left here.

The lake is in a low valley and it was almost like going back a week in time as there was still a lot of snow and most of the lake was frozen!


Smew, Goosander and Goldeneye were the only birds here and I also flushed a female Capercallie as I walked back.

I spent the rest of the day rubbing down and painting more windows and I finished the kuksa I was making.

Spring in Lapland - 26th May

As predicted I awoke to a wet rainy morning, which then turned to snow. By mid afternoon it was sunny but with an icy cold north wind.

1 Common Gull flew low over the lake, 1 Redwing singing just outside cabin, 1 male Wheatear around the cabins today (probably forced to take a break from its migration by the weather), I Wryneck (a member of the Woodpecker family) around today. Here is a picture of it on the sauna chimney

I spent most of the day working on the kuksa that I started yesterday to give as a gift to the guy who gave me the knife.

I also collected some local plants to experiment with as food;

I have found references to "Old Mans Beard" lichen being used as a survival food.


If cooked for a long time it is supposed to release starch and has also been used as a gluten substitute to make bread.

It reminded me of pubic hair prior to cooking and after testing it at various intervals during a 10 hour cooking period, it didn't change much!

I do recall from a Ray Mears programme though, that the resulting water could have been used to treat fungal infections.

A plant that I do enjoy is Labrador Tea

though if I drink too much of it, it sometimes gives me stomach ache.

This evening as I sat carving the kuksa, a beaver appeared swimming around the edge of the lake.

I've decided I will get up early tomorrow morning to try and find where it is feeding.

Spring in Lapland - 25th May

Sunny and warm today and as a result the snow is melting significantly now.


The male Common Sandpiper is displaying over the lake today. There were 2 Siberian Jays in trees behind the cabin, 1 Willow Tit and 2 Waxwing, but apart from these it is very quiet for birds today.

Made the most of the fine weather by rubbing down and painting some of the cabin windows today.

I then gathered logs from the fallen frees I had cut up over the past few days. and then carved a spatula and started to carve a kuksa.

I really like a slightly sweet Swedish bread called Vetekaka and buy a pack each time I go.


I used my last mushroom and cheese to make some mini pizzas.

This evening I am trying to collect some Birch sap.

The sap will run down the blade of the knife and drip into the well of the billy can lid. Once this fills the sap will run over the lid, and because the lid fits loosely on to the can, the sap will run around the lid and into the can. This prevents any crap getting into the sap.

There has been a "halo" around the sun all day today so I am expecting rain tomorrow!

Spring in Lapland - 24th May

Another year older today, but what a fantastic way to spend my Birthday!!

Several Tree Pipits singing this morning, 1 pair of Spotted Flycatchers in the trees, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming at the top of a dead Spruce, a Cuckoo singing and a pair of Common Sandpipers around the edge of the lake all day. It was also nice to see the three Reindeer again near the cabin.

The back room of the cabin has moved slightly during the winter and now there is a gap between the room and the cabin.

Mice are getting in, so I decided to cover the gap with pieces of wood.

I have a small hand-drill, but no drill bits so I cut the off of one of the nails I intend to use and insert the nail into the drill as use it as my drill-bit.

it works incredibly well!

After my evening meal I went for a walk to the south end of my lake where there were two Elk Moose feeding on Bog Bean rhizomes in the waters edge.

I managed to get to about 20 metres from them, but them something in the forest behind spooked them and they ran off.

As I walked back to the cabin I flushed two Hazel Grouse.

I spent the evening on a high ridge behind the cabin

hoping I might see other large mammals, but saw nothing.

There was an Arctic Hare outside the cabin though.

Spring in Lapland - 23rd May

Sunny when I got up this morning and 10 degrees by 08:30! But heavy rain by 11am.

3 House Martins over the lake this morning, 1 Goldcrest singing, Several Tree Pipits arrived last night and are singing this morning, 2 male Goosander on the lake, and 1 Black-throated Diver flew East.

I decided to try and track the movements of the three Reindeer I saw last night and soon found tracks

and fresh droppings


They had spent some time in the trees behind the cabin and then moved off north west, passing a marshy area.

As I approached the area I found a frog making its way to the small area of open water!

Clearly from the noise emanating from the pool, there were already a considerable number of frogs there, though I could find no sign of spawn.

The Reindeer had continued past here and then headed into the forest, where there were also many Elk Moose droppings. This picture shows both for comparison; Elk above and Reindeer below in the snow (Elk droppings are at least 4x as big as those of Reindeer).

After returning to the cabin, I walked across to the main marsh where there were 2 Siberian Jays watching my movements

Picture taken last September by Jon Pickett

I had very close views of both Ruff and Wood Sandpiper, but there are very few waders displaying now. I tend to only hear and see Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper as they fly over travelling to the marsh to feed and then back to the forest where they nest.