Category: Nature of Central Finland
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A Ride Worth Envy: Great Crested Grebe Siblings
The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus)—elegant and watchful—carries one of her young safely upon her back. The older sibling floats close, its bright eyes fixed longingly on the coveted perch. Not far off, the father dives beneath the surface, hunting in the shimmering depths. Making-of: It was during a midday lunch-break wander along the western…
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A Wild Swan Ascends into the Spring Sky
At precisely half-past eight on a cold, blue-sky April morning in Jyväskylä’s Kukumäki district, the quiet street is pierced by a keen, metallic rush of air—the wing-beats of Whooper Swans overhead. Having wintered on the milder shores of southern Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, these stalwart travellers now arrow northward, homing in on Finland’s…
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Tilhet – A Bohemian Waxwing Reverie
On this Sunday morning the Bohemian waxwings—known in Finnish as Tilhil (pluralis: Tilhet) —were gathering in a rowanberry orchard at a street junction near the suburb of Keltinmäki in Jyväskylä. About the Waxwings:The sporadic, mysterious appearance of waxwing flocks in Central Europe was historically regarded as an ill omen—especially during the Middle Ages. This belief…
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Mute Swan Family
Grace in the Morning Sun: A wild swan family glides peacefully on Lake Jyväsjärvi, Jyväskylä, Finland, on a radiant August morning in 2020. While the papa-swan spreads his majestic wings, the young one seems blissfully uninterested in the show. Behind the Shot: Amid the quiet of the pandemic, my almost daily cycling trips around the…
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The Bee and the Butterfly
Poplar Admiral (German: Großer Eisvogel, Suomea: Haapaperhonen), Limenitis populi, female visited by a bee.This photo highlights the impressive size of the butterfly and the bold curiosity of the bee. Making of: Captured during a walk in Keltinmäki, a suburb of Jyväskylä (Central Finland), on an overcast day. EXIF data below.
Michael Emmerich 