Hawk Owl

We had a nesting pair of these owls on our way south (it's the next-to-last day of our Swedish tour). At one point one brought a vole (the small rodent they mainly prey on) to its partner, and they actually sat together high in their tree and shared it; unfortunately I was poorly positioned for that, and I saw only the receiving owl bobbing vigorously just as the other approached.

This is the same species as the Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) we know in North American; according to Wikipedia what the Europeans simply call a hawk owl would be a Eurasian subspecies, but our Collins bird guide for Europe does not make the distinction.

Other notable species today included an Ortolan Bunting (a special target), and a very cooperative Whinchat, which posed repeatedly for the several photographers in our group.