Fjällgås - Lesser white-fronted goose  Foto: Daniel Andersson

Hälsingland. One of Sweden's rarest breeding birds. The entirety of Swedens population use make a stop for few weeks in a small lake in the middle of the town Hudiksvall while on migration after breeding in the alpine regions of nothernmost Sweden. The reason for stopping is to moult. While moulting the birds loose all capability of flight for some time since they moult all flight feathers at the same time. I don't know if they've always used this rather public place among people for this occation. They are extremely shy in thier breeding territories and are known to fly away if pepole come within two kilometers but can be observed as close up as 20 meters in Hudiksvall. Or perhaps they discovered that albeit full of humans, the city offers great protection from foxes, white-tailed eagles and other predators while they are unable to fly. After moulting the birds usually spend some time feeding at Hjälstaviken before leaving for their wintering in the Netherlands.