The unusual heron bird has been discovered in Umeå in Västerbotten. It reports P4 Västerbotten. The ornithologist, Christer Olsson, is one of those who got the chance to see the unusual bird species up close.
– It feels like scoring a goal in a WC match, says Christer Olsson to TV4 Nyheterna.
66-year-old ornithologist, Christer Olsson, from Umeå has devoted most of his life to bird watching. But seeing the unusual species of bird, the heron bird, in the Umeå area was not something he had expected to experience when he went out into nature on a Tuesday afternoon.
When he received an alert from the Artportalen, where the public reports bird species, that a private person had seen the heron, he rushed out to the place where the bird had been discovered.
After searching for about 45 minutes, he finally caught sight of the bird in his binoculars. Under a balcony, the heron sat and “rested”.
– It was an inner joy. It is among the most beautiful things you can see, says Christer Olsson, who spends a thousand hours a year birdwatching.
– For an ornithologist, the feeling can be described as when a soccer player scores a goal during a World Cup match, he says.
Believed to have come from Russia
Christer Olsson believes that the bird, which belongs to the area around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, came from southwestern Russia and flew the wrong way to Sweden.
– The compass must have been 180 degrees wrong. Then you end up in the Norrland coast instead, he says.
Surviving the cold winter in Sweden can be a challenge for the unusual bird species that mostly lives on ants and ant eggs. The worst is when the snow comes, explains Christer Olsson.
– Snow is the worst threat to migratory birds. It is “death in the pot” as they cannot find food, he says.
But he adds that there are successful winters.
– As long as there is no snow, they usually manage quite well.