Big birds...

This Good Friday I went to Gothenburg together with my youngest sister and my mom, on the way down we stopped at one of my older sisters parents-in-law for lunch (very good lunch by the way. =))

Just as we were about to leave Grängesberg there was a light snowstorm!
Thankfully as we travelled south the weather improved and by the time we approached Falköping the sun was shining! :)
After the lunch we decided to go visit Hornborgarsjön, famous for the large hords of cranes that gather there in the early spring on their way up north following the progress of spring.

When we arrived at the lake one could see a lot of campers and cars, even some tents! People come here as far as from Germany (and probably further) to watch the cranes.
And cranes there were!
In masses! So be prepared for a onslaught with bird photos! :)
Shooting birds was fun but shooting people shooting birds was almost as fun!
Five in a row.
Two in formation.
Got lucky when two birds flew right over my head and I could snap a few close-ups with my puny 200mm lens. Minimum 500mm would have been great. (I can recommend clicking for larger picture on this one)
Since we had moved some distance from the parking lot I could take a shot of the church were we parked at.
One could probably spend a few days here just photographing birds but I was given half an hour to get the shots I wanted. ;)
Cranes in every direction!
It is forbidden to enter the area during certain hours and dates.
We walked parallel to the fence and the amount of bird just grew!
And so did the bird watchers!
Just when one thought that there could not be more birds it was even more!
Funny thing is that one only hear about the cranes at Hornborgarsjön but no body mentions the thousands and thousands of other birds that also gather here!
But of course it's the cranes that are the main attraction.
The swans seemed pleased to be there to.
Did I mention there were cranes?
Looking back.
There were incoming birds everywhere.
And birds lifting off.
The church from a distance.
Amazing but some didn't bother to take photos, they were content just looking at them, close up...
Managed to catch one crane doing the crane dance in a distance, this photo is heavily cropped.
I recon there were lenses from €5000 and upwards...
Guess the binoculars (monoculars?!) wasn't cheap either.
Some swans up close, or as close as I could reach with 200mm.
Another one passing by close.
Can't deny I got a touch of lens envy.
People with and without cameras were everywhere.
The cranes seemed to enjoy flying in formations.
But some flew solo.
The hard core photographers had build shelters out in the field and they hid there all day since it is forbidden to enter the area when the birds are there. So the shooters has to go there early in the morning, stay all day in the hut and head back late in the evening when the birds has left for the day.
Almost back at the car there was another short dance ceremony.
After spending almost an hour in the cold wind it was time to leave and continue the trip towards Gotheburg, so here's a last shot of some birds leaving too.
It was nice to finally get a chance to vitness the cranes at Hormborgarsjön, think I managed to shoot over 200 photos during the short time we spent there. =)

There are supposedly more places by the lake where the birds gather so there is reasons to visit again.