Marsh Harrier/Rørhøg

Lille Vildmose, North Jutland
and
The Story about the Long-billed Dowitcher ,
the Sparrow Hawk and the Fox


Marsh Harrier/ Rørhøg
(Circus aeruginosus)

Suddenly the marsh harrier showed beside our car and followed us on the long road that leads through a section of the nature reserve Lille Vildmose in the northeastern part of Jutland. We were out looking for the cranes. It was a cold, grey day -and in the night were frost degrees. We had reached the eight day of May. Only 6 degrees Celsius at noon. When will the sun and the warmth arrive?



The marsh harrier is a raptor with a wing span of 135 cm, a rare bird in Denmark with only 650-800 breeding couple. It builds its nest upon the ground in reed beds, in moors and along lake shores. Here is also the main part of its food, like water birds, water voles and mice. The marsh harrier is a migrating bird with winter quarters in the western Africa. A large number of marsh harriers from Sweden and Finland pass Denmark under both the spring- and autumn migration.


The marsh harrier is typically seen hovering on raised wings above reedbeds looking for prey. It is also a common thing to see it hunting in fields and meadows. Its large wings and small body weight makes this raptor eminent for this type of hunting. The male's plumage is striking with a brown back, blue grey tail and flight feathers and black wing tips. The underside of the wing is white with a black tip. The female is self-coloured dark brown with light crown, chin and wing fronts. The species belongs to the group of harriers, which in Denmark is also represented by Blå Kærhøg/Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Hedehøg/Montagu's Harrier. (Circus pygargus).



The marsh harrier is native to the southern Scandinavia down through western Europe and east to Russia. Closely related species live in the southern Africa, in Sibiria, the Pacific region with Australia and New Zealand and finally at Madagaskar. In Denmark it is found in wet areas with wellgrown reed woods, mainly in the southern and eastern part of the country, but some of the largest populations are in Jutland in the bird-sanctuaries: in Tøndermarsken, in Vejlerne and upon the Tipperne, which together with the Maribosøerne (lakes) at Lolland are top localities for the marsh harrier.


photo Vejlerne June 2006: stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan Foto

Finally the marsh harrier left us and disappeared across the moor. We did not find the cranes that day. The birdwatchers only saw one, although there is a large flock now, but the moor is enormous with many hiding places for the birds. What do they care about those silly birdwatchers? We're watching out for flora and fauna in order to get some photos. A real birdwatcher is able to stay the whole day in rain and storm in order to watch a rare bird like a blue-winged duck, who suddenly came to visit Lille Vildmose a few days ago.

Last week there was a drama in Lille Vildmose. The birdwatchers were watching a long-billed Dowitcher, which is a foreign bird in Denmark. It had stayed in Lille Vildmose for some time- and the birdwatchers kept a close eye on it and made reports. Then suddenly, the other day, while the Dowitcher was peacefully tripping around in the water, came a sparrow hawk as quick as lightning. Pfuit! It all happened so fast and the birdwatchers were shocked. The sparrow hawk started eating the poor dowitcher, but then out of the blue came a fox - the sparrow hawk and the fox stared at each other, looking vigilant and hesitant, but the sparrow hawk made the choice to disappear, and the fox went off with the rare bird, probably unaware that this was a rather valuable steak.

photo: The fox with the dowitcher

Back to the grey day. The rain began and it was raining cats and dogs, we do not endure rain and storm like the birdwatchers, so we gave up and went home, but there'll be another day in Lille Vildmose in summer with lots of birds and butterflies and flowers.

photo Lille Vildmose 8. May 2010 : grethe bachmann

Marsh Harrier/Rørhøg in LIlle Vildmose, North Jutland

& the strange story about The Long-billed Dowitcher,
the Sparrow Hawk and the Fox.


Marsh Harrier/ Rørhøg
(Circus aeruginosus)

Suddenly the marsh harrier showed beside our car and followed us on the long road that leads through a section of the nature reserve Lille Vildmose in the northeastern part of Jutland. We were out looking for the cranes. It was a cold, grey day -and in the night were frost degrees. We had reached the eight day of May. Only 6 degrees Celsius at noon. When will the sun and the warmth arrive?



The marsh harrier is a raptor with a wing span of 135 cm, a rare bird in Denmark with only 650-800 breeding couple. It builds its nest upon the ground in reed beds, in moors and along lake shores. Here is also the main part of its food, like water birds, water voles and mice. The marsh harrier is a migrating bird with winter quarters in the western Africa. A large number of marsh harriers from Sweden and Finland pass Denmark under both the spring- and autumn migration.

The marsh harrier is typically seen hovering on raised wings above reedbeds looking for prey. It is also a common thing to see it hunting in fields and meadows. Its large wings and small body weight makes this raptor eminent for this type of hunting. The male's plumage is striking with a brown back, blue grey tail and flight feathers and black wing tips. The underside of the wing is white with a black tip. The female is self-coloured dark brown with light crown, chin and wing fronts. The species belongs to the group of harriers, which in Denmark is also represented by Blå Kærhøg/Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Hedehøg/Montagu's Harrier. (Circus pygargus).

The marsh harrier is native to the southern Scandinavia down through western Europe and east to Russia. Closely related species live in the southern Africa, in Sibiria, the Pacific region with Australia and New Zealand and finally at Madagaskar. In Denmark it is found in wet areas with wellgrown reed woods, mainly in the southern and eastern part of the country, but some of the largest populations are in Jutland in the bird-sanctuaries: in Tøndermarsken, in Vejlerne and upon the Tipperne, which together with the Maribosøerne (lakes) at Lolland are top localities for the marsh harrier.


photo Vejlerne June 2006: stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan Foto

Finally the marsh harrier left us and disappeared across the moor. We did not find the cranes that day. The birdwatchers only saw one, although there is a large flock now, but the moor is enormous with many hiding places for the birds. What do they care about those silly birdwatchers? We're watching out for flora and fauna in order to get some photos. A real birdwatcher is able to stay the whole day in rain and storm in order to watch a rare bird like a blue-winged duck, who suddenly came to visit Lille Vildmose a few days ago.

Last week there was a drama in Lille Vildmose. The birdwatchers were watching a long-billed Dowitcher, which is a foreign bird in Denmark. It had stayed in Lille Vildmose for some time- and the birdwatchers kept a close eye on it and made reports. Then suddenly, the other day, while the Dowitcher was peacefully tripping around in the water, came a sparrow hawk as quick as lightning. Pfuit! It all happened so fast and the birdwatchers were shocked. The sparrow hawk started eating the poor dowitcher, but then out of the blue came a fox - the sparrow hawk and the fox stared at each other, looking vigilant and hesitant, but the sparrow hawk made the choice to disappear, and the fox went off with the rare bird, probably unaware that this was a rather valuable steak.

photo: The fox with the dowitcher

Back to the grey day. The rain began and it was raining cats and dogs, we do not endure rain and storm like the birdwatchers, so we gave up and went home, but there'll be another day in Lille Vildmose in summer with lots of birds and butterflies and flowers.

photo Lille Vildmose 8. May 2010 : grethe bachmann

Heatherhill and Rågeleje, North Zealand

A view across the sea



Heatherhill is a listed area with hills and valleys grown with heather, juniper and a fine flora - and sheep are grazing freely in the hills. The British tea-merchant Joseph Vincent gave the place its name Heatherhill and built around 1900 a manor in English style in the hills, which however was broken down in the 1950s. But the flowering hills are still here. All summer is Pasque Flower and Bloody Crane's-bill seen here among juniper and broom shrub. Butterflies like Glanville Fritillary and Burnets are seen in the area.Heatherhill is about 19 km northwest of Hillerød at the coast south of Rågeleje. Here is a parking place and information at the kiosk. The place is a few minutes walk from a lovely white bathing beach, which invites for coast fishing with good catch-possibilities. The characteristic hills and valleys are good for hiking and the hills are suitable for hang gliding.


Sheep are grazing freely


There are many fine viewpoints with benches


Parasol Mushroom Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) grows often in dunes and in beach meadows. The parasol mushroom may be eaten raw. It is popular soaked in butter. Only the cap of fresh specimens is considered edibel.
There is a few poisonous species which can be mistaken for M. procera:
1)Chlorophyllum molybdites, a species that causes the largest number of annual mushroom poisonings in North America due to its close similarity. Faintly green gills and a pale green spore print give it away. Furthermore this mushroom lacks the aforementioned snakeskin pattern that is generally present on the parasol mushroom. Its range is reportedly expanding into Europe.
2) Leucocopronus brunnea, also found in North America, slowly turns brown when sliced.
3) White and immature species of Amanita are also a potential hazard. To be sure, one must only pick parasol mushrooms past their button stage. A general rule of thumb with the parasol mushroom as compared to amanita species is that the parasol mushroom has darker flakes on a lighter surface, whereas amanita species have the opposite, lighter flakes (if there are any) on a darker surface, such as the Panther cap.
4)The Saffron Parasol Cystoderma amianthinum is very much smaller, and not often eaten. 5)Lepiota brunneoincarnata is a lepiota species known to have caused mortal intoxications in Spain.


Rågeleje seen from Heatherhill



Along the coast from Rågeleje to Heatherhill are holiday houses in the hills

Rågeleje is one of the wellknown seaside resorts along the northern coast of Zealand, but the inhabitants in Rågeleje were until ab. year 1900 fishermen. The charming fishing town is now a popular holiday resort in a scenic countryside with the beautiful listed area Heatherhill nearby. Rågeleje is probably identical to a disappeared town Roka, which was mentioned in the medieval Esrum Klosterbook. In the 1500s it was the largest fishing town along the coast of North Zealand, but caused by sand drift and the decline of the herring fishing the town was desolate in the 1600s - but in the beginning of the 1700s it was established again. It is today one of the most popular holiday resorts at the coast of Zealand with attractive white beaches and listed nature areas, which are open to the public. The long beach with the white sand has fine conditions for wind- and kite-surfers. The beach has blue flag and in the summer season a life guard.


photo Heatherhills & Rågeleje 2008: grethe bachmann

An Italian in Denmark in 1627

There is a World outside Verona

Winter

"It is a very cold country with a strong wind. People are sowing in April and May and harvesting in August and September, they sow that late because of the eternal snow and ice. There are only two seasons, winter and autumn. The autumn rules in the spring and the summer, only four months, the rest is winter." Thats what an Italian soldier Torquato Recchia said in a letter in 1628, where he wrote about his impression of Denmark to a friend, an Italian prince.

In 1627 Jutland was occupied by the German emperor's troups, a result of Christian IV's unfortunate participation in the Thirty Year's War. The foreign soldiers caused much havoc during the few years they stayed in Denmark. The commander-in-chief, an Italian general, stayed in Haderslev in South Jutland with his entourage, where was also his fellow-countryman Torquato Recchia.


Autumn

The letter about the Danish weather leaves no doubt that the writer was used to something much better in Italy. The weather has always been a good subject, and the Danes talk a lot about the capricious Danish climate. It is a probability that it might have given the Italian soldier a more or less mild depression. Actually he also tries to be objective. "The country is very fertile and well suitable for trade, both because of the seafaring since the country is washed by the North Sea and the Baltic and because of the fat soil, which is cultivated in times of peace."

Torquato Recchia is not blind for the suffering of the population. Many have escaped, and he thinks that "if the conditions will not improve, they will all take flight because the soldiers use them as slaves." It is not known how much contact the Italian had with the Danes, but the language was certainly a hindrance. "When they talk, it sounds as if they cry!" he says. And their clothes were strange. "Inside they wear a thick fur and then a shirt and other clothes, the women are dressed in the same way. They all wear clogs, very well made. The women are just as ugly as the men, and their clothes only reach the knee." Both peasants and noblemen are said to be intelligent, and the noblemen are emphasized for their generosity, nice look and blond curly hair. " They are so gigantic that I'm sure that the holy Christoffer came from this country. Your Excellency can imagine how big they are, if you imagine the holes they made in Colosseum."


Peat

Torquato is astonished by many things. He thinks it strange that the Danes use peat and manure for fuel and built half timbered houses. He also mentions a strange wedding custom. "When they get married, the bride and groom race to a certain place, where a bundle of hay has been placed. The one who first touches the bundle will be the master in the house. The wife becomes the husband, and the husband becomes the wife. From this hay is later made a pillow, which is brought to the church, where the bride and groom kneel on it."

Some of the things the Italian soldier tells must be second-hand knowledge, and not everything is truthful, especially when he describes things and events far from his Jutland quarters - like in Norway, which then was a part of Denmark. "Up there they sell the wind to the sailors. It is wrapped up in a handkerchief, and if the buyer wants a stronger wind, he can get it by loosening the handkerchief. I think it is the Devil's tricks, but it is certain that it is absolutely true."

Source: Archaeological Magazine Skalk, nr. 4, 1988, "Andre øjne" af Troels B. Wingender.

photo: grethe bachmann

Elsinore/Helsingør and Kronborg

The Vikings had probably a gathering place at Elsinore, but the earliest archaeological reports are from the beginning of the 1200s. The town is mentioned in king Valdemar Sejr's Jordebog,but it was first of importance from the beginning of the 1420s, when the fortification Krogen (Kronborg)was built here, where Øresund is narrow and only 4 km broad.



King Erik of Pommern gave the town its municipal rights in 1426, and in 1429 the base of its riches was made. The Øresundstold (customs) was introduced, and all ships passing Øresund had to anchor at Elsinore and pay customs. Not until 1857 was the Øresundstold removed after international pressure.


Church ship and tourist shop with beer jugs (click to enlarge)


The optrician.

Elsinore and Kronborg are today famous because of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and his play Hamlet. The English dramatist might not have visited the town, but it is documented that several of his actor friends had been in Elsinore to play at the theater.





Each year in the middle of August is Elsinore the host of Baltic Sail, where Danish and abroad sailing- and steamships are anchored. There are maritime booths, exhibitions, jazz- and maritime music and fireworks. People can go aboard the ships and also go sailing with an old wooden ship.


corner of the cathedral

The cathedral, St. Olai kirke origins from the first half of the 1200s, but was extended in 1475-1559 into its present look. The church has a fine baroque inventory. The 12 meter high altar piece from 1664 is the largest in Denmark. In the northern chapel sits a cannon ball, fired from an English war ship in 1801, where the Danish fleet was defeated by the English in Slaget på Reden.



A cosy café and a shopping street


Kloster garden

The Carmelite kloster/Skt. Mariæ Klosterkirke is from the beginning of the 1400s and one of the best preserved medieval klosters in the North. Inside the church are fine frescoes from the period 1440-1525 and an altar piece from 1637.


Buxtehude's house in Elsinore

From 1642 Buxtehude's father was organist at St. Olai kirke in Elsinore, and supposedly Diderich Buxtehude had his first music lessons by his father. When he was twenty, he became organist by St. Mariæ kirke in Helsingborg. In 1660 he became organist at St. Maria kirke in Elsinore where he stayed for eight years. His first known works origin from that time, i.e kantate Aperite mihi portas justitiae . Several cembaloworks also were composed in his days at Elsinore. From 1667 he was organist at Maria Kirche in Lübech, one of the most important churches in Europe, where he stayed until his death.



Kronborg and the Great Hall

Kronborgs first beginning was a fortificated castle, built by the Danish king Erik of Pommern in the 1420s and named Krogen (= corner). It was the base of the Renaissance castle, which Frederik II started to build in 1574 and which he named it Kronborg. The castle except the church burnt down in 1629, but was rebuilt by Christian IV. In the cellar rooms called Kassematerne is a statue of Holger Danske (Ogier the Dane ), who according to the legend with rise when Denmark is in utmost distress. At the castle are the famous Kronborg tapestries from 1584 with motives from a list of Danish kings. There is a Handels- og Søfartsmuseum about Danish seafaring, the Øresundstoll, the maritime wars with England, the slave trade in Africa and the trading negotiations with the Danish colonies in India, the West Indies and China. In the castle boutique are i.e. bottle ships , ship models and figureheads.

Kronborg is famous for being the scene of Shakespeares tragedy Hamlet. From 1937 it became a returning event to perform Hamlet at Kronborg. One of the greatest Shakesperian actors sir Laurence Olivier played Hamlet at kronborg in 1937 with Vivien Leigh as Ophelia, other Hamlets were i.e. John Gielgud in 1939, Michael Redgrave in 1950, Richard Burton with Claire Bloom in 1954, Derek Jacoby with Jane Wymark in 1979. (Jane Wymark is today known as Mrs. Barnaby in Midsomer Murders); in 1988 Kenneth Branagh - and then there was a break until 2000 where Simon Beale was Hamlet. The last Hamlet at Kronborg was in April 2009, where the famous Jude Law had the leading role as the young prince of Denmark.


photo Helsingør 2008: grethe bachmann

Guelder Rose/ Almindelig kvalkved/Viburnum opulus

Guelder rose is a deciduous bush with an open growth. The barch is first lightbrown and smooth, later light grey with spread barch pits. The buds are opposite, round, smooth and red. The leaves are egg-shaped with a winding edge. Upon the red stalk are up to 7 nectare-glands. The upperside of leaves is light green, while the underside is hairy and grey-green. The autumn colour is red. It flowers after leafing in June. The flowers are gathered in umbels, where the edge-flowers are large but barren, and the middle flowers are small and fertile. The red berries ripen well and the seeds germinate willingly. The whole bush including the tempting red berries is poisonous. The flowers are visited by many insects, the red berries eaten by birds in the end of winter. The bush has down-laying branches, which easily take root.

Viburnum opulus creates underwood and edge of woods in mixed hardwoods in wet and mineral-rich soil everywhere in Europe and large parts of Asia. It is also found in North America (ssp. trilobum). In Denmark it is found all over the country, mostly in edge of woods and hedgerows, but often close to the coast like in several places in North Jutland and along the Limfjorden. It is often found together with elderberry, wild apple, blackthorn and hawthorn. It thrives best in moist nutrient soil, but is able to grow in almost any type of earth. It thrives both in much light and half shadow, and endures wind and frost.



The common Kvalkved/Viburnum opulus is easy to distinguish from the other Danish species, pibekvalkved (Viburnum lantana), which has whole leaves, the flower umbels are larger with uniform flowers, and the fruits are black when ripe.
Kvalkved is suitable for planting under light-open forest trees like birch, elm, oak, maple and bird cherry. It is spread and reproduced both by seeds and root-shoots. Berry-eating birds love the berries, especially winter-birds like fieldfares and waxwings eat the late ripened berries, which are poisonous to humans.

Viburnum opulus have been tested in new 6-rows experimental hedges, where they do well. The bush creates a beautiful image in spring with the white flowers and in autumn with the strong red colours of fruits and leaves.

Viburnum opulus should be used in a mix with other species. It might be attacked by a sickness : sodskimmel (= soot mildew) and by insects, which more or less remove the leaves.
Viburnum opulus was earlier use in alternative medicine, but has no longer any practical application.

English version on wikipedia : Viburnum opulus

photo Vestamager and Bjerre Skov 2008/2009: grethe bachmann