. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

In the end of September there weren’t many bird-observations to mention. On the 23rd day I saw a flock of 650 and on the next day 165 Brent Geese. There still weren’t other geese around.

I visited Helsinki for a couple of days and on the 25th day we managed to do short morning-twitch with my father – and after quite a long search we managed to see a Crested Lark briefly in Espoo Vermo.

At weekend we were once again ringing and there really weren’t many migrants around anymore. On Saturday the 27th of September we caught 57+2c Great, 19+3c Blue, 1 Willow and 16 Long-tailed Tits, 11+2c Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Goldcrests, 5 Dunnocks, 10 Robins, 21 Chaffinch, 1 Siskin, 9 Yellowhammers and 1+1c Reed Buntings. We also saw thousands of migrating Barnacle Geese and the migration continued whole day. In the afternoon we did duck-counts in Siikalahti but only better birds were 5 Gadwalls and a Red-throated Diver and 4 Common Scoters that were outside the counting area.

On Sunday the 28th we were in Lietteenlahti and caught 4 Blue, 18+1c Great and 5 Long-tailed Tits, 10 Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper, a Wren, 16 Robins, 8 Dunnocks, a Chaffinch and 2 Reed Buntings. On the way back home there was a flock of 113 Whooper Swans in Huhmarinen. During the day we went to Saari where we counted 7000 Barnacle Geese in Pohjanranta and 2000 in Akonpohja where we saw also one leucistic bird. Otherwise we saw only a couple of Great Egrets, a Merlin and so on.

On the 29th day there were 3 Tundra (Bewick’s) Swans on the same swan-flock and in Siikalahti I still saw a Marsh Harrier. In the evening we visited fields which were still too dry so only 3 Woodcocks were ringed and on the way we saw a Tawny Owl looking owl briefly. Auroras were extraordinary beautiful!

On the last day of September I saw the first 6 Greater White-fronted Geese but otherwise there were still nothing else migrating. In Liuharanta I saw some 2000 Barnacle Geese and a late Tree Pipit.

On the 1st of October the last Osprey with a blind eye, finally left. Also 5 White-tailed Eagles were soaring on the sky and waited for geese to come finally. 3 Golden Plovers were in Huhmarinen. On the 2nd day there were 2 Pochards, 6 Gadwalls and 8 Great Egrets in Siikalahti. On the 3rd day I found a Nuthatch couple in Raikanniemi.

At weekend we were in Kukonkanta and on the 4th day we caught 13+1c Blue, 44+11 Great and a Coal Tit, a Treecreeper, 4 Chiffchaffs, the first Siberian Chiffchaff for Parikkala ever, 2 Redwings, 12 Blackbirds, 10 Robins, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Bramblings, a Siskin and a Yellowhammer. A very late Tree Pipit was seen. In the afternoon we went to Saari again but saw almost nothing. There still weren’t more geese. In Pohjanranta we saw 5 Great Egrets, in Jyrkilä a couple of Hen Harriers and 2 Kestrels and some Great Grey Shrikes here and there.

On Sunday it was much more quiet: 7+1c Blue and 9+7c Great Tits, 4 Chiffchaffs,a Treecreeper, a Wren, a Robin, a Brambling, 2 Siskins and 3 Yellowhammers. Only other birds seen were a Barn Swallow, 4 Woodpigeons and a Starling. In the evening I visited Siikalahti and still saw a Pochard, a few Gadwalls, and the found a nice surprise a Little Grebe!

On the 6th of October there were still 9 Great Egrets in Siikalahti but otherwise on the next days I saw only a couple of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and Rough-legged Buzzards. Southern winds were still keeping geese somewhere north. On the 9th day I saw the same Little Grebe again and a young Dunlin was trying to find a place where to land in Siikalahti. At Kangaskylä there were still at least 6 Barn Swallows flying around. On the 10th day we did duck-counts again but only a couple of Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Greater Scaups and still a couple of Pochards were birds to mention.

On the 11th day Hanna was at work even though it was Saturday. I was hoping to go to twitch anything anywhere but of course exactly on that day there were nothing to twitch. So I checked some fields and other places nearby but found nothing. So on the 12th day we decided to make one more try in Kukonkanta and caught 39+8c Blue, 36+17c Great, 2 Willow and 16 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Chiffchaffs, 4 Goldcrests, 4 Robins, a Bullfinch, a Siskin, a Reed Bunting and 2 Yellowhammers. But still we have never caught a single Yellow-browed Warbler or any other better species from east. We saw some thousands of Barnacle Geese, 8 Red-throated Divers, 12 Woodpigeons and 7 White-tailed Eagles. In the afternoon I still went to Saari but it was raining and I really saw nothing.

During the week I still saw 2 Barn Swallows on the 14th day and in Siikalahti there was one poor-looking young Crane which could fly at least pretty well but for some reason it had left behind the others. Finally the winds turned and on a couple of days there were geese migrating but very high and on wide area. Anyway I saw several thousands of Barnacle and also Tundra Bean and Greater White-fronted Geese but only other observation was a Rough-legged Buzzard. On in the end of the week it really started to feel that there weren’t any bird anywhere anymore, a White Wagtail was still on our garden but that was it…

J.A.

In the end of August we kept on doing same thing as earlier. On the 23rd day we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught 72 birds; a Tree Pipit, 3 Dunnocks, a Robin, 4 Sedge and 8 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Common Reed Warbler, 4 Lesser and 7 Common Whitethroats, 16 Garden Warblers, 7+1c Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff, 15 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Blue Tit and a Red-backed Shrike.

On the 24th of August we had the last SSP-ringing of the year and it was very quiet. We caught only 2 Robins, 1+1c Common Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, a Common Rosefinch, a Yellowhammer, 3+1c Reed Buntings and then the savior of the morning, a Common Grasshopper Warbler. In Siikalahti we saw even 52 Great Egrets coming to roost. We also had a couple of mist-nets up but caught only 6 common birds,

During the weed I saw only a Nuthatch in Kangaskylä, a family of Greylag Geese in Kaukola and then we did one night-trip to fields where we caught a couple of Woodcocks, a Great Snipe and 5+1c Skylarks. On the 29th day we visited Saari where we saw only a Gadwall, 2 Hen Harriers, 3 Great Grey Shrikes and a tame and photogenic young Common Ringed Plover.

On the 30th of August we were ringing in our new place in Lietteenlahti but unfortunately in a wet weather we caught only 35 birds; 2 Tree Pipits, 2 Wrens, a Dunnock, 8 Robins, 2 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warblers, 2 Blue Tits and the first Rustic Bunting of the autumn. A couple of Rustic Buntings were seen migrating too. In Punnola we still counted local 101 Barnacle Geese but a couple of days later there were only 2 birds left and soon they were gone too.

On the 31st day we were in Kukonkanta and caught 60 birds; a White Wagtail, a Blackbird, a Redwing, 12 Sedge, 6 Blyth’s Reed and 3 Common Reed Warblers, a Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, 10 Garden Warblers, 8 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, 12+3c Blue Tits and a Red-backed Shrike. Only Rustic Bunting was just heard migrating. We also heard a Grey Plover calling couple of times from the sky. On the way back home we saw a flock of 20 Common Scoters in Härskiinmutka. In the evening we did duck-counts in Siikalahti and found already 109 Bean Geese which most of them were Taiga Bean Geese but there were at least a couple of Tundra Bean Geese families too.

On the 1st of September the Greylag Geese were again in Kaukola and in the evening we saw a few Great Snipes but they were too shy to catch. Only 2 Woodcocks, a Common Snipe and 2 Skylarks were ringed.

On the 2nd day I still saw the same Greylag Geese and the counted 480 Cranes and 48 Great Egrets. On the 3rd day I was studying the Bean Geese again and saw a Bluethroat. In the evening I saw 7 Gadwalls in Siikalahti.

On the 4th day we caught 2 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe, a Common Snipe and 2 Skylarks. On dry fields there weren’t many birds and most of them were much shyer than normally. I also caught a Bluethroat from one bush and a couple of Short-eared and a Long-eared Owl were seen.

On the 5th of September I visited Saari and found a couple of Red-throated Pipits as a year-tick. Also 4 Golden Plovers, a Great Grey and a Red-backed Shrike and a flock of 40 Linnets and so on were seen. In Siikalahti I saw 47 Great Egrets, 450 Cranes, a Short-eared Owl and a Nightjar which seemed to be common this autumn.

On the 6th of September Hanna was visiting Helsinki so I had time to do some twitching. Together with Minna Terävä and Merja Laari we drove to Kotka to twitch a Short-toed Snake Eagle. We didn’t have to wait for long in Ristinkallio until I found the eagle perched on a distant tree. It flew a couple of times and was hunting and even caught one small snake but unfortunately it never came any closer so I didn’t really get pictures of it. Then we visited a few birding places in Hamina but saw only a Gadwall, some Great Egrets, a Nuthatch and heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. In Rautjärvi we still stopped in a couple of spots along Kokkolanjoki and saw 6 Grey Wagtails which one young had a ring.

On Sunday we were again in Kukonkanta and caught 92 birds; 3 Tree Pipits, a Wren, 2 Dunnocks, 6 Robins, 4 Bluethroats, 2 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Common Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, 8 Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, 14 Blue, 3 Great and 2 Willow Tits, 2 Chaffinches, a Brambling, 16 Siskins, a Rustic and 16 Reed Buntings. We still saw a Red-backed Shrike and a Sand Martin too. In the afternoon I saw a Great Egret through our kitchen window. In the evening Hanna went to photograph the lunar eclipse, I was happy to see it from our balcony.

During the week I visited Siikalahti every day at least on my lunch-hour but it seemed that this year was not my year. On the 10th day evening we went to the fields even though it was full moon. Birds were shy but it seemed that Great Snipes were already so fat that they were easier to catch. I caught 3 Great Snipes and a Woodcock and we still saw a late Nightjar.

On the 11th day we were ringing in Siikalahti while watching Cranes coming to roost in the evening. Hanna had a few students who were seeing ringing first time ever. We caught a Wren, 2 Robins, a Bluethroat, a Fieldfare, 2 Chiffchaffs, 7 Long-tailed and 1 Blue Tit, 2 Chaffinches and 3 Yellowhammer and we caunted 720 Cranes.

On the 12th day I went twitching again with Minna, Merja and Veikka Kosonen. This time we headed north to Nurmes Valtimo Murtovaara where a European Stonechat had been for some time already. It was a long drive but the bird was found immediately. In windy weather it was hiding on the bushes quite a lot but after all I managed to get some kind of pictures. We also heard several Hazel Hens, a flock of 50 Waxwings were flying around and also a Grey-headed Woodpecker was seen. On the way back we saw a Merlin.

On the 13th of September we were in Lietteenlahti again and still the place didn’t pay expectations. A Great Snipe was flushed from the meadow but only 43 birds were caught. a Wren. 6+1c Robins, 2 Song Thrushes, a Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, 2 Goldcrests, 9 Long-tailed, 4 Blue, 4 Great and 2 Willow Tits and 2 Reed Buntings were caught. Then in short drive around some fields we saw a probable hybrid between Hen and Pallid Harrier and a stunning “Börringe” Common Buzzard. In the evening we did duck-counts again but only better birds were 9 Gadwalls.

On the 14th day it was again Kukonkanta-morning and we caught 92 birds; a Wren, 9 Robins, a Bluethroat, a Blackbird, a Redwing, 2 Song Thrushes, a Garden Warbler, 7 Blackcaps. 20 Willow Warblers, a
14.9. oli taas Kukonkannan vuoro ja saalis oli taas parempi 92 lintua; peukaloinen, 9 punarintaa, sinirinta, musta-, punakylki- ja 2 laulurastasta, 1 lehto- ja 7 mustapääkerttua, 20 Chiffchaffs, a, Willow Warbler, a Goldcrest, 3 Blue and 6+1c Great Tits, 4 Chaffinches, 3 Rustic and 24+1c Reed Buntings. We also saw a Red-throated Pipit and 3 Rustic Buntings migrating. In the afternoon we visited Saari where in Pohjanranta we saw a flock of 101 Canada and 3 Greylag Geese and also 10 Stock Doves, a Great Grey Shrike and some Linnets and so on were seen.

During the week on the 15th day I saw a Capercaillie flying high one the sky a long distance over Siikalahti. Also the first young Pallid Harrier was finally seen and then in the afternoon in Saari Jyrkilä I saw another one. On the 17th day I saw 4 Red-throated Divers and 5 Stock Doves on the dam-road. In the evening we saw a Short-eared Owl in Kaukola and then caught 2+2c Woodcocks, 1c Great Snipe which was much fatter than 3 weeks earlier when we had ringed it. There was also a pack of about 10 Wild Boars on the field and a Red Fox was trying to catch same birds with me, which made birds pretty shy. Anyway I also caught 3 Meadow and 2 Red-throated Pipits. But then the bird of the evening was caught on another field where only bird I caught was a young Corn Crake!

At weekend we started 20th of September again in Kukonkanta. Again there were several local birders with us and even though there weren’t many birds on the bushes, more especially Chaffinches on the sky, we finally got a nice present. Altogether we caught 2 Dunnocks, 4 Robins, a Fieldfare, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap, 9 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler, 6 Goldcrests, 15+2c Blue, 9 Great and 2 Willow Tits, a Chaffinch, 1+1c Reed Bunting and finally a long waited South Karelia (311) and Parikkala-tick (274) – a Little Bunting! Otherwise we saw only a Merlin and 88 Canada Geese. Because of the rain we had to stop ringin a bit earlier than we had hoped. In the afternoon we did a short trip to fields nearby and the only birds to mention were 3 Hazel Hens, 3 Hen Harriers and a Queen of Spain Fritillary.

On Sunday the 21st of September the rain ruined our ringing-plans. After all I left birding at midday with Erkko Elonen. We checked several places in Saari area and found 7 Great Egrets, plenty of Hen Harriers, a Pallid Harrier, 2 Rough-legged Buzzards, a Merlin, 16 Stock Doves, 12 Golden Plovers, plenty of Great Grey Shrikes, a Red-throated Pipit and a Lapland Longspur and so on. In the evening we continued to Siikalahti where we first studied both Bean Geese and then saw surprisingly few ducks from the tower, but 4 Gadwalls and 3 Smews were amongst them. Then we still went to the dam-road where we counted the all time record 1040 Cranes, 23 Great Egrets and saw a very late Nightjar.

J.A.

On the 15th of August after work we headed towards south. We drove until Kirkkonummi to my parents and saw only a Black Woodpecker on the way in Hamina.

On the 16th day we headed to Espoo Laajalahti with my father. The water was very high so there weren’t waders as much as we had hoped and only birds to mention were a Dunlin, a Ruff and a Little Ringed Plover. As we still had plenty of time we continued to Vermo where we tried to find a long-staying Crested Lark, but after an hour searching we had to give up and hurry to Helsinki Viikki to BirdLife Finland Birdfair. Hanna was working on the birdfair and so was my brother Pirkka but a little bit later so with Pirkka and my father we walked a longish walk in Vanhankaupunginlahti where we saw a couple of hundreds of Linnets in Etu-Viikki fields and then a young Dunlin, 4 Pochards and a couple of Great Egrets in Hakala bird-tower.

At the birdfair I met lots of friends so again there was no possibility to go to see any lectures but of course I tried to check all the presentations. But after all we decided to leave with my father. At the parking place I checked Lintutiedotus and surprisingly saw that a young Mediterranian Gull had been found already an hour earlier in Vuosaari. We had only about 15km to drive so soon we parked our car to Ruusuniemi harbor and continued walking towards the place where the bird had reported to be. Soon we saw some twitchers and luckily the bird was still sleeping with other gulls right in front of them. I took my camera and started to take pictures and finally a Common Gull disturbed the bird a little and it woke up, yawned and walked a little before fell asleep again. But soon another gull disturbed it again and it flushed and flew alone towards Vuosaari golf but after all it was never seen again. We decided to drive to Kirkkonummi where later in the evening we were watching our pictures from Costa Rica and India.

On the 17th of August we were birding in Kirkkonummi with my father. In Morsfjärden the plankway was in very bad shape so I got my shoes soaking wet. So the rest of the trip I was wearing sandals. There were no birds in Morsfjärden and only 4 Great Egrets and a Ruff in Norra Fladet. In Salfjärden there were a couple of familiar faces in the tower and soon more birders arrived to the parking place. We stayed there until midday but saw only 5 Honey Buzzards and 3 Great Egrets. Then we went to buy good burgers from a country store nearby and went to eat to my parents. Soon it was time to say goodbye.

I picked up Hanna and Harri Hölttä in Itäkeskus and then we started driving towards Parikkala. We were in Porvoo when Harri noticed that there had been a Siberian Stonechat found in Ilolanjoki-fields nearby. Soon we were there but surprisingly there were nobody else. Soon the same Markus Keskitalo arrived and right away we found some Whinchats and soon also the nice fresh-plumaged Siberian Stonechat which was moving with the Whinchats in the middle of a field. Hanna managed to get closer to these birds but unfortunately the stonechat was behind some vegetation but she got at least some kind of pictures. After some time there were also other twitchers arriving so we decided to leave.

We still stopped in Kouvola Elimäenjärvi where had been huge floods but they were already pretty small. We saw some Lapwings, Ruffs, Wood Sandpipers and Greenshanks and a Spotted Redshank and lots of Starlings but nothing better. Then we still stopped in Rautjärvi Lahnanen where we easily found a male and 4 young Grey Wagtails, which one had a ring so it was from Kangaskoski where we had ringed it earlier.

Finally we were at home quite early so we still decided to go to check some fields nearby. But we found only some Woodcocks and Common Snipes and quite a few Skylarks which only one of them we managed to ring. There were several Nightjars flying above the fields and they a quite raptor-like so all the birds were extremely shy.

During the week I didn’t see much. On the 18^th day only birds to mention were a White-tailed Eagle and 2 young Golden Orioles and on the 19th day I saw a Black Kite again. On the 21st day we did duck-counts again and there were surprisingly few birds in Siikalahti even though hunting season had begun. Only birds to mention were a flock of 50 Taiga and 8 Tundra Bean Geese.

J.A.

On the 19th of July we tested ringing on our new place in Kukonkanta. The expectations weren’t too high but anyway we caught 5 Sedge and 11 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Reed Warbler, 4 Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, 5 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, 2 Blue Tits, a Great Tit and a Yellowhammer. We also saw a White-backed and a Grey-headed Woodpecker and a Golden Oriole. Later we visited Siikalahti where we saw a couple of Great Egrets and a Black Kite.

The previous morning had been so good that we decided to go to Kukonkanta again on Sunday. We thought most of the birds would be same controls but no. We ringed an Icterine Warbler, 8 Sedge and 18 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 10 Common Whitethroats, 5 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 5 Willow Warblers, 3 Blue and 2 Great Tits, 4 Common Rosefinches, a Yellowhammer and 3 Reed Buntings – and we didn’t get a single control. Again we saw a Grey-headed and a Golden Oriole and a Black Woodpecker. In the evening we went to Siikalahti again and saw 10 Great Egrets, 2 Gadwalls and a Great Reed Warbler.

On the 21st of July we visited Saari Pohjanranta and it was worthy as we found a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Little Ringed Plover, a Broad-billed Sandpiper and a Dunlin and we saw a small migrating flock of Common Scoters. Then in our garden we still saw an Oystercatcher and it was the last time it was seen. On the 22nd day I visited Pohjanranta again and saw a Black-tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel and the same Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover. On the next day all the other better birds were gone but I saw a Broad-billed Sandpiper again and it was there still on the 25th day. Then we also saw a familiar Pygmy Owl near Siikalahti and while we were watching this tiny owl we saw a Black Kite flying over it. Otherwise there wasn’t anything to tell from the week.

On the 26th day we were having SSP-ringing in Papinlahti and we caught a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Song Thrushes, 5 Sedge and 10 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Lesser and 1+1c Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warblers, 8 Pied Flycatchers, a Great Tit and a Reed Bunting. One Golden Oriole was still singing and another one was seen. In the evening we made one more place for a net in Kukonkanta and saw a Little Ringed Plover there.

On the 27th of July we were in Kukonkanta again and we caught altogether 117+3c: an Icterine Warbler, 22+3c Sedge and even 40 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 6 Common Whitethroats, 12 Garden Warblers, 6 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs, 13 Willow Warblers, 7 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Blue Tits, a Tree Sparrow and 2 Reed Buntings. A Northern Nutcracker, a Black Kite and a Black Woodpecker flew over us. Later we visited Pohjanranta but saw nothing. But in Siikalahti we counted already 28 Great Egrets.

On the 28th of July there was a female Gadwall with 2 ducklings, 11 Pochards, 2 Smews, a Black Kite and 2 Reed Warblers in Siikalahti and we saw the same Pygmy Owl again. And on the 29th day we saw one more Reed Warbler and heard a Black Woodpecker.

On the 30th day we visited Saari but saw only a Golden Plover and family of Linnets. In the evening we did the first autumn duck-count in Siikalahti and saw 12 Canada Geese, 4 Gadwalls, a Northern Pintail, even 18 Pochards, 3 Smews, a Great Bittern, 26 Great Egrets, 2 Grey Herons and so on. I also saw a Black Kite, a Marsh Warbler and a couple of Nuthatches and Hanna saw a young Yellow Wagtail.

On the last day of July the most surprising observation was 240 Common Scoters that were migrating but started flying around Siikalahti and then 90 birds decided to land to the bay! I had never seen a single Common Scoter in this 1 meter deep bay before. We also saw a Black Kite, a couple of Hen Harriers and so on. Then we still visited Pohjanranta but saw nothing.

On the 1st of August we had SSP and Hanna continued alone when I had to go to work. We caught a Common Snipe, a Tree Pipit, a Robin, a Common Redstart, a Whinchat, a Song Thrush, 3 Sedge and 9 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 6 Lesser and 7 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher and 1c Reed Bunting. On my lunch-hour I saw a Black Kite again in Siikalahti.

At weekend we were both mornings again in Kukonkanta. On Saturday we were busy especially at sunrise and it started to rain already at 9 a.m. when we had to stop. Anyway we caught more birds than ever – 140+3c: a Tree Pipit, a Blackbird, 16+2c Sedge, 41+1c Blyth’s Reed and 2 Reed Warblers, 6 Common Whitethroats, 20 Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 31 Willow Warblers, 7 Blue and 2 Great Tits, 2 Common Rosefinches and 8 Reed Buntings. In the evening we saw a Hen Harrier, the same young Yellow Wagtail, a flock of 20 Long-tailed Tits and egrets in Siikalahti.

Hopes were high on Sunday too but morning was much quieter. Especially Blyth’s Reed Warblers had moved on. We caught 3 Robins, 27+1c Sedge and 12+2c Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Reed Warbler, 5 Lesser and 5 Common Whitethroats, 23 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 17 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 5 Blue Tits, a Great Tit and a Reed Bunting – so altogether 114+3c. We saw a Nutcracker and a Grey-headed Woodpecker again. In the evening we counted 29 Great Egrets and saw also 2 Bitters, a Grey Heron, a Spotted Redshank and a flock of 31 Long-tailed Tits in Siikalahti.

During the week the record-breaking hot weather started to get weaker finally and it felt more like autumn. Anyway there weren’t many birds to see: On the 4th of August I saw the same Black Kite and Pygmy Owl and on the 5th day I visited Pygmy Owl again.

On the 6th day 3 Whimbrels were migrating in a flock of Eurasian Curlews ad on the 7th day I saw even 15 Red-backed Shrikes in Lahdensuo. We also counted Barnacle Geese and there were 76 ad and 30 juv in Joukio and 48 ad and 64 juv in Kangaskylä. On the 8th day we visited Saari but saw next to nothing.

On the 9th of August we were in Kukonkanta again and caught 2 Wrynecks, 2 Redstart, 26+1c Sedge and 12+1c Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 6 Lesser and 9 Common Whitethroats, even 50+1c Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 15 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Pied Flycatcher, 2 Blue Tits, a Great Tit, 1c Common Rosefinch and 2 Reed Buntings. A Red-breasted Flycatcher was briefly seen but even bigger surprise was our old friend Markus Keskitalo who was visiting Parikkala and left birding early in the morning and had been driving with open windows as usual and suddenly heard lots of birds singing. In this time of year birds aren’t usually singing so he stopped and then heard some speaking and recognized it was my voice. Then he followed the voice inside the bushes and found us photographing the Wrynecks we had just caught. The singing bird had been our players. After ringing we went to tick the Pygmy Owl to Elissa and later I still made a short forest-trip and saw a family of Hazel Hens and a Black Woodpecker. In the evening we went to Siikalahti where we counted 45 Great Egrets and saw a flock of 6 Stock Doves and heard a Golden Oriole with Markus and Anna-Stiina.

On the 10th day we had SSP and we caught a Tree Pipit, a Robin, a Blackbird, 2 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 7 Lesser and 6 Common Whitethroats, 4 Garden Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, 3 Red-backed Shrikes, a Jay, a Common Rosefinch, 2 Yellowhammers and 5 Reed Buntings. Late in the evening we did a short visit to fields nearby where we found a few Woodcocks, a couple of Common Snipes and a single Great Snipe. But it was very calm weather with full moon so it was impossible to catch any snipes. We only ringed one young Skylark. We also saw Nightjars here and there, altogether 9 birds.

During the week I saw again a couple of Black Kites every time I was in Siikalahti, also a White-tailed Eagle was showing up a couple of times. There were quite a few other raptors too but nothing better. I visited the same fields very briefly one night and saw already 5 Great Snipes but we have to wait darker night to catch them. On the 12th of August we did duck-counts again but only better birds were the same Gadwalls. Otherwise the week didn’t give any surprises either except a Nuthatch in Kangaskylä.

J.A.

On Sunday the 13th of July we started driving across the whole country. In Savonlinna Punkaharju Laukansaari we saw a flying Northern Nutcracker but otherwise we didn’t see much. Finally at 5 p.m. we parked to Vaasa Vaskiluoto where we met our friend Pekka Peura and soon we were enjoying food that Pekka and Maria had prepared.

Pretty soon we were ready to go shopping and then continued to Mustasaari where we drove through Raippaluoto and parked to Ledören. Then we continued with Pekka’s boat to Korsören where we still di a short walk in rocky terrain and saw a Common Eider and so on. But finally we had to go to sleep as the day had been very long.

On the 14th of July morning we were watching to the sea with Hanna and saw 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Black Guillemots, 6 Razorbills and a Black Woodpecker. In the afternoon we headed to islets where we were supposed to find Razorbill-colonies. Pekka had ringed almost 1000 Razorbills and our target was at least to get his 1000th bird and then as much more as possible in the days to come.

When we stranded to Norra Djupörbådan we could already tell that there weren’t any Razorbills. We walked through the island and checked under some of the rocks but we couldn’t find a single inhabited nest-burrows. a Rock Pipit couple we alarming actively so we decided to put up a mist-net, but the weather was too windy so we couldn’t catch them.

Södra Djupörbådan was also deserted. There was also a Rock Pipit couple but in windy conditions we didn’t bother to try to catch them.

We still visited Fladagrund where Pekka had seen a tern-colony earlier but it was also empty. Predators had been active and all the nests had been destroyed. At least Minks were to blame but maybe also Otters.

On the 15th of July we slept longer and took easy in the morning. Pekka had mist-nets on his property and he had caught the second White-throated Robin a couple of years ago here. Pekka had already had his SSP-ringing so we didn’t open the nets at all.

For once weather forecast was right and the wind got calmer. So we packed Pekka’s boat again and drove to the harbor where we put the boat to a trailer and started driving towards Björkön Svedjehamn.

In Svedjehamn we launched and packed the boat again and soon we were zigzagging between buoyes towards Valassaaret. Near the harbor we saw a Gadwall, a Caspian Tern and later a couple of Black Guillemots.

Finally we stranded to Valassaaret and carried our stuff to the station buildings. With Hanna we accommodated sauna-building. After some searching we found all the keys we needed and then we struggled a bit longer with the fridge but finally manage to get it on. Then it was time to head to some islets further in the middle of the sea.

When we were approaching Gråsjälsbådan we saw about 100 Razorbills and a couple of Black Guillemots. When we had stranded Pekka started to check burrows under the rocks while we put up a mist-net for Rock Pipits again. It didn’t take long when Pekka shouted and showed a young Razorbill that he had managed to catch. Pekka gave this amazing bird for Hanna to ring as it was of course the first for Hanna and also the first time she had to put a triangular ring to any bird.

Soon we were all checking the burrows but they were all empty! Pekka almost caught a young Black Guillemot but it was under a huge rock and managed to escape. We also heard a couple of young Razorbills calling under the biggest rocks so they were impossible to catch. All the other burrows were empty! There must have been some predator visiting the island very recently as most of the adults were still flying around. Only young birds we managed to find were a Hen Harrier and an Arctic Tern which Hanna ringed.

We had moved the mist-net already once when we finally caught our first Rock Pipit. There were 2 young birds nearby so we decided to keep on trying. And then I found a young Black Guillemot and managed to catch it too! So this time Hanna had to ring with an oval ring. And then very soon there were 2 young Rock Pipits on the mist-net so we could give Pekka one new ringing-tick too.

On Gråsjälsbådgrynnan we saw only a few Razorbills and a couple of Black Guillemots but all the burrows seemed to be empty. We could see that birds had been there recently but they had already gone. Probably predators had visited this island earlier as there weren’t more adults around. There were a couple of Rock Pipits too but they were moving in a too big area so we didn’t try to catch them. Other birds we had seen were a couple of Greater Scaups, a flock of Common Eiders and a young Little Gull.

It had been hard work jumping from rock to rock in very hot weather but at least we had managed to ring some nice species. But of course we were disappointed that all the colonies had been destroyed. We just had to hope that the situation was better on other islets.

On the 16th of July we took it easy and only quite late in the morning we made a longish walk in Storskär, the main island where we were staying on the bird-station. We hadn’t got rubber-boots with us so we had to stay on the paths, but we walked to the lighthouse and saw a family of Redpolls and a female Red-backed Shrike on the way but nothing else interesting really.

In the afternoon we headed to some more islets but Båtslaget, Båtslagsbådan and Båtslaggrynnan were all deserted. On these islands we found quite a few dead young gulls and also an adult Razorbill. So at least a Mink had visited these islands but probably also an Otter and a Raven.

While we were boating I saw a flock of 5 Greater Scaups and we also saw another Rock Pipit and a flock of 30 Whooper Swans and so on.

On the 17th of July we did morning seawatch with Hanna from 03:20 to 05:20 a.m. We counted 102 Razorbills and 45 Black Guillemots but none of them had fish on its bill. We also saw 6 Arctic Skuas, a Common Eider, a Spotted Redshank, a couple of Little Gulls and so on. While we were walking back to the station we found an alarming Icterine Warbler.

17.7. suuntasimme Hannan kanssa lintulavalle parin tunnin aamustaijille klo 3:20-5:20. Ruokkeja ja riskilöitä liikkui kyllä merelllä (102 ja 45) mutta yhdelläkään ei ollut kalaa suussa eli pesiviä nekään tuskin olivat. Näimme myös 6 merikihua, haahkan, mustaviklon, pari pikkulokkia ym. Asemalle palaillessamme löysimme vielä varoittelevan kultarinnan.

Soon it was time to start packing and cleaning the station. We met the stationmaster Niclas Fritzén who visited the station but soon we had to start carrying our stuff to the boat.

In Svedjehamn we got the boat to the trailer again and then had some drinks and cake in the cafeteria. Then it was time to say thanks and goodbye to Pekka. With Hanna we still visited a huge Saltkaret tower from where we saw a nice view but also some Grey Herons and Caspian Terns.

After all we had came back from Valassaaret a day earlier than what was our ordinary plan because of there hadn’t been Razorbills to ring. So our schedule was fully open. We really hadn’t planned at all what to do next. After all we decided to start driving towards Pori as an American Black Duck had still been seen there and it would be a world-tick to Hanna.

After all we spent several hours in Enäjärvi bird-platform but we couldn’t find the right duck. There were crazy numbers of Cormorants which were quite noisy. A couple of times a White-tailed Eagle went to their colony to pick up some snacks.

When the light went too bad, we went to eat pizza and then continued to Reposaari Junttilanjärvi where we tried to twitch a Mandarin Duck but all we found was an Icterine Warbler. Then we stopped in Kirrinsanta where we managed to find a couple of noisy Little Grebes, a Bearded Reedling and a Common Reed Warbler.

Then we drove back to Enäjärvi where the light was much better again, but there were also much more ducks! After an hour we managed to find the American Black Duck which was swimming about 30 seconds well visible before it disappeared into the reeds again. And soon it would have been to dark so we had been lucky.

As we had seen out main-target, we decided to start driving and finally we stopped in Kokemäki where we put up our hammocks and tried to get some sleep.

On the 18th of July after a few hours sleeping we continued driving and finally parked to Omenojärvi in Salo. There we tried for 4 hours to see a Ferruginous Duck which would have been another Finnish-tick for Hanna but we couldn’t see it. We saw a White-tailed Eagle, a Caspian Tern, a Moorhen and a family of Common Pochards.

Then we went for another twitch which we knew should be easier. And after some searching we found one of the rarest and most beautiful plants in Finland – one Red Helleborine was blooming nicely on one of the only places it exists in Finland.

On another place we found plenty of Dark Red and Broad-leaved Helleborines. And then on the way back home we still stopped in one place where were one of the only Broad-leaved Helleborines without leafy green so they were all white – even the leaves.

Finally we were at home where we rested a little and then went to Kukonkanta to make our ringing place ready for the weekend. It was hard work to make places for 5 nets in this heat but hopefully it was worthy.

J.A.

On the 1st of July we still met with Pirkka and his family in Siikalahti but in very windy weather we didn’t see anything special. On the 2nd of July we went to ring 2 nestlings of Nightjar. While walking towards the nest we flushed a female Capercaillie.

On the 3rd of July I went to check that a Black Kite was still on the top of the tree next to its nest. In the evening we went to search for Short-eared Owl chicks and we found 3 of them but they were already flying. We managed to get pretty good pictures of one bird. There were also Long-eared Owl fledglings nearby but they were too shy. On the 4th day I visited cemetery and saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a young Wryneck looking out from the nest-hole and heard a Golden Oriole and an Icterine Warbler. In Kukonkanta we heard a Common Reed Warbler and saw a family of Little Ringed Plovers – two young birds were flying well already.

On the 5th day we went to Kesusmaa areas where we managed to make this Atlas-square better. In cemetery the Wrynecks were out from their nest and they seemed to be everywhere. We also heard 2 Golden Orioles. In the evening I went to a proper night-trip to Saari with Arttu Valonen. The trip started well when we found 2 fledlings of Great Grey Owl! But then next 5 hours we were just counting Corn Crakes (48), Long-eared Owls (1 ad+11 juv) and Blyth’s Reed Warblers (7).

When the sun was rising Arttu dropped me to Papinlahti where Hanna had already put up the mist-nets at 3:30 a.m. Right away we had a feeling that there will be lots of birds and for once we were right. On the first two rounds we got plenty of both Great and Blue Tits but then surprisingly the next round was empty. But luckily then the rush continued and on one round we got more than 30 birds. After all we got a Robin, a Redwing, a Song Thrush, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 14+1c Common Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, 18+1c Blue and 54 Great Tits, a Bullfinch, a Yellowhammer and a Reed Bunting. So altogether we had got 98r+2c = 100 birds!

During the day we went to twitch a Common Quail in Koitsanlahti Syrjärinne and then went to check that everything was OK with Grey Wagtails in Kokkolanjoki – but we found only 1 male and then saw one female-type bird very briefly in flight. Young birds had probably already spread around the river. Once we were back at home Hanna found a tiny young Common Sandpiper from our garden.

On the 7th day I saw a Black Kite and a Great Egret on my lunch-hour and in the afternoon we did a short field-trip and saw Short- and Long-eared Owls, a Hen Harrier, Stock Doves and so on. Then I still saw a flock of 60 migrating Common Scoters in our garden.

On our 25th anniversary it was a storm and very rainy. After my work we went to eat to Iloinen Pässi and then decided to visit Saar Pohjanranta if the storm had dropped any waders there. Luckily we found 8 Dunlins and a Little Stint which were my 200th and 201st Parikkala year-ticks. I have got every year since 2013 more than 200 species in Parikkala.

On the 9th of July we did the second duckling-count in Siikalahti. There were already lots of Mallards, 348 birds and of course mainly adult males but also 158 Wigeons. It was nice to find 2 families of Common Pochards too. But gulls, terns and grebes had really had bad summer as storms and crows had destroyed almost all their nests. We also saw 4 Great Egrets, a Grey Heron, a Black Woodpecker, once again a Black Kite and I heard a Nuthatch.

Next couple of days I didn’t see anything special but on the 12th of July we did SSP-ringing again. We caught a Common Snipe, a Robin, a Song Thrush, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 17+1c Common Whitethroats, 4+1c Willow Warbler, a surprise female Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Pied Flycatchers, a Great Tit, finally out first Willow Tit in this place, a Greenfinch, 2 Common Rosefinches, a Yellowhammer and 2+2c Reed Buntings. We also heard a Black Woodpecker, a Golden Oriole and a few Common Crossbills and I saw 3 Cormorants.

After SSP we did a quick butterfly-trip and managed to find 5 Poplar Admirals and 4 White Admirals. It was finally warm, even very hot day but anyway we still went to build a new ringing place to Kukonkanta. A huge ditch had been made to our old place so we had to change to a new place there.

J.A.