On the 5th of October the weather was bad but the company was good as I spent my lunch-hour with Jussi Valonen and O-P Pietiläinen on the dam-road. We saw a flock of Brent Geese, a flock of Long-tailed Ducks, some Greater Scaups, White-tailed Eales and Waxwings and so on. On the 6th day I didn’t see much but in the evening we went to check some fields and ringed a Teal, a Jack Snipe + a control, 3 Woodcocks, 2 Common Snipes and surprisingly a Long-eared Owl. On the 7th day I saw just a Rough-legged Buzzard and a couple of Merlins.

On the 8th of October we did duck-counts in Siikalahti and saw 3 Tundra Swans, 299 Whooper Swans, 4700 Barnacle, 60 local and 215 migrating Greater White-frontes, 284 Tundra Bean Geese and a Taiga Bean Goose, 18 Smews, a Greater Scaup, 4 Gadwalls, 474 Wigeons, 459 Mallards, a hybrid Mallard x Pintail male and so on. I found again a new Great Grey Owl too. On the 9th day the only bird to mention was a Great Egret.

On the 10th of October it was raining. So we got out only later and headed to Saari. But then it started to rain again. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we were discussing that if there was a rare wheatear somewhere, it surely was hiding from the rain. So we checked the fields just quickly and kept on going. After all we found just a family of Tundra Swans in Jyrkilä and some Goldfinches and Linnets. In the evening the weather was better and we headed to fields again and caught 2 Barnacle Geese, a Wigeon, a Teal, 4 Jack Snipes, 5 Woodcocks and 3 Common Snipes. We also saw a Short-eared Owl, 2 Long-eared Owls, a Tawny Owl and a Ural Owl.

It was raining on Sunday too. We had planned to go to watch migration to Lake Saimaa but we got out again later and headed to Varpavaara. Geese were migrating far in the west and in Punkaharju other birders saw also 2 Yellow-billed Loons – and we had planned to go there… We saw only a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards, a flock of Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Woodpigeons and so on.

And then I got a phone-call from Jouko Rantanen that he had found a good-looking wheatear exactly where we had been on the previous day, in Saari Akanvaara Tetrisuo. We had to go to help with the identification and once we got there the bird was missing. Luckily I found it a few hundreds of meters from the place where it had been and it was exactly what Jouko also had already thought it was – an Isabelline Wheatear! Another new species of wheatear for Parikkala on the same field in a couple of weeks!

Soon the wheatear flew to the same place where it had been found and we tried to get some better pictures of it. But it was extremely shy and was running and flying too far all the time. After all we had to give up trying and let the bird be as there were twitchers coming to see this 5th Isabelline Wheatear for South Karelia.

We continued our trip to Lake Saimaa and Savonlinna Punkaharju Hirvikoski where a Yellow-billed Loon had dropped to swim and had still been there when the birders had left an hour before. But it was a long drive and once we got there we found just a single Black-throated Loon. We were checking the lake for a couple of hours and saw at least 3 Saimaa Seals, about 100 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 Common Scoters and finally a flock of loons landed a bit nearer but they were all Black-throated and Red-throated Loons. After all we had o give up.

On the first days of the week there were again Yellow-billed Loon but also a Great Northern Loon seen in Punkaharju – but I was at work. On Monday the 12th of October I saw 3 Rough-legged Buzzards and 25 Black-throated and 2 Red-throated Loons in Siikalahti. Afetr work I decided to drive to Akanvaara Tetrisuo to try to get better pictures of the Isabelline Wheatear. Together with twitchers from Joutseno and Imatra we packed into one car and tried to get closer to this shy bird by car. And surprisingly it was very easy to approach and we got really good pictures. It will be much easier to make description to rarity committee now.

In the evening we went again to fields and we went to check one new field that I hadn’t visited earlier even in daytime. It was really good and we caught altogether 7 Jack Snipes + saw 4 more, 2 Woodcocks and 3 Common Snipes. We saw a Lynx again on the same field and this time we managed to sneak to less than 10 meters to watch it. I also managed to get a Ural Owl to my net but then the net got stuck to branches and the owl escaped.

Otherwise it was quiet during the week. Mornings and evenings are already dark. On the 14th of October we went to fields again in the evening. Erkko Elonen was with us so we started with a successful Lynx-twitch. We caught 4 Jack Snipes (saw 4 more), a Woodcock + another controlled and 4 Common Snipes. We also saw a Short-eared Owl and the same Ural Owl again. On the 15th day on my lunch-hour I saw a flock of 13 migrating Stock Doves and after work we did duck-counts. The best bird was a Mute Swan that Hanna found from the bird-tower.

On Friday the 16th of October I saw a young Golden Eagle migrating over Kangaskylä. I called Hanna and she managed to see the bird from our garden. After work we packed our car and soon were driving towards South. We were going to spend our autumn-holiday in Jurmo island.

J.A.

On the 30th of September I saw a Red-throated Diver in Härskiinmutka and during my lunch-hour the best observation was a migrating Golden Eagle. On my second visit to Härskiinmutka I saw a young Little and a young Lesser Black-backed Gull. In the afternoon I was again in Siikalahti and visited the bird-tower where I saw a Hen Harrier, a couple of Gadwalls and a Common Scoter. In the evening we went to check if the Great Grey Owl was still around but saw a Tawny Owl instead – which was a year-tick.

On the 1st of October I tried again to find the Great Grey Owl but saw only 6 Stock Doves. In Härskiinmutka I saw a young Lesser Black-backed Gull again and my lunch-hour was quiet: a Rough-legged Buzzard, a couple of Merlins and a late Barn Swallow were seen. I was already driving back to work when I got a message that there was a Squacco Heron in the dam-road – in a place from where I had just left! Iturned around and was soon running to a place from where to see the place where the heron had landed but couldn’t find it. Then I saw it flying with a Great Egret straight towards the dam-road platform where the other birders were. But none of them had a camera. So I had to run under the heron (it was about 10 meter above me) to get my camera from my car and then run to the platform, but when I got there the heron was already quite far on the northern side of the road. I managed to get some distant shots of the bird but I knew that identifying winter-plumaged Squacco from Pond Herons is extremely difficult!

I had to go back to work and in the afternoon the heron was seen a couple of times only very briefly in flight. After work I was back and together with many birders we tried to find the heron again. It was seen flying on the southern side of the bay but after that nobody saw it anymore. In the late evening we still saw 2 Great Egrets and a Grey Heron and also 5 Cranes, a Bluethroat and heard a several Water Rails and also a Moorhen. On the next day there were also several birders trying to see it but without luck.

On the 2nd of October I also visited Siikalahti early in the morning before work but saw only a Great Egret and a Grey Heron. I ended my work-day at 11 a.m. and left driving towards Oulu. In Kuopio I picked up Anssi Laitinen and in Siilinjärvi my old friend “Potu” Suojarinne. After a long drive we were finally in Oulu Kiiminki Sivuräme where a Lesser Kestrel had stayed for a few days. It was the first twitchable Lesser Kestrel in Finland for 37 years! The bird had been easy to twitch and also now we were told that it soon comes to perch to somewhere visible as it had been doing whole day. My friend Mikko Ala-Kojola also arrived and we kept on waiting and after 10 minutes waiting we started to worry. Then we saw a falcon just disappearing after a big dirt pile at this soil dumping ground. But we saw it too briefly to tick it. Then we had to wait extremely long 5 minutes more before it finally came to hunt insects next to the next dirt hill.

The Lesser Kestrel was hunting without any other prey than a small spider for about 15 minutes. It once landed to a lamppost but only very shortly. Then at 5:15 p.m. it flew to the forest on the other side of the road and didn’t come back anymore. It went to sleep more than an hour earlier than on the previous evenings. We still waited until 6 p.m. and saw a flock of geese which had mostly Pink-footed Geese before we decided to give up and start a long drive back home.

I dropped ”Potu” again in Siilinjärvi and Anssi in Kuopio and continued lonely and tiresome driving to Parikkala where I was finally at 1:30 a.m.

On the 3rd of October we woke up early and before the sun was rising we were already ringing in Kukonkanta. It was a quiet morning as we got only 7+1c Blue and 29+7c Great Tits, 4 Chiffchaffs, 7 Robins, the latest ever Whinchat in Parikkala, a Dunnock and 2 Reed Buntings. We also saw a flock of 20 Brent Geese, a Stock Dove and 20 Goldfinches.

During the day we visited Saari and saw a Brent Goose in Rautalahti, a Hen Harrier, 2 Great Grey Shrikes and 21 Linnets in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, a Pink-footed Goose in Pohjasuo, 2 Tundra Swans and about 20 000 Barnacle Geese in Jyrkilä and a Common Kestrel in Karinmäki.

On the 4th of October we were ringing again and caught 3 Blue and 21+2c Great Tits, 6 Chiffchaffs, a late Blackcap, a Wren, 8 Robins, a Tree Sparrow and 4 Redpolls. We also saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker and 8 Goldfinches.

During the day we checked all the closest fields and visited Varpavaara which is a hill that has recently been completely cut open from trees and has now a very good visibility to almost all directions. It will be a good place to watch arctic-migration and raptors for next few years. Only better observations were a couple of Greater Scaups in Vartialahti, 10 000 Barnacle Geese in Kullinsuo and a Nuthatch in Kangaskylä.

In the evening we went to fields again and ringed a Jack Snipe, 2 Woodcocks, 3 Common Snipes and a Redwing. We also controlled the same Great Snipe for the fourth time. It has stayed on the same field at least from the 9 of September – now it was the latest ever for me. We also saw a couple of Long-eared Owls again.

J.A.

On the 26th of September we started the weekend like son many times and went ringing to Kukonkanta. We started again a half an hour before sun was rising and continued as long as there were any birds on the mist-nets, but it seems that this year this time is earlier. So we stopped at 11 a.m. and had got 4 Blue and 12 Great Tits, a Goldcrest, a Wren, 7 Robins, a Bluethroat, 3 Dunnocks, a Meadow Pipit, a Redpoll, 3 Reed Buntings and a Eurasian Nuthatch which seemed to be some kind of hybrid between asiatica and europaea subspecies. While ringing we saw a Goshawk, a Hen Harrier, a couple of Linnets and even 70 Goldfinches. Some hundreds of Barnacle Geese were flying here and there.

In the evening we headed to fields again and we had planned to make a longer trip but it was raining all the time. So we checked a couple of fields nearby and caught a Jack Snipe (saw also another one), a Great Snipe which was a control and saw another birds with a ring too, 10 Woodcocks, a Fieldfare, a Skylark and a couple of Meadow Pipits. We also saw again a couple of Long-eared Owls.

It kept on raining on Sunday the 27th morning too and after that the weather was still stormy. So we didn’t hurry and left only at 3 p.m. to Saari. We decided to begin in Akanvaara Tetrisuo where is a good bare fallow field. When we stopped we were talking that we could find an Isabelline Wheatear. I started to put my scope up and Hanna started scanning the fields with her binoculars and almost immediately she saw that there is a wheatear. I soon found it with my scope and it really looked good, nothing like an Isabelline Wheatear but a Pied Wheatear! The bird was in very bad light so immediately we knew that we had to get closer to see it better and to get some pictures. I parked our car better but it wasn’t enough for some stupid hunters that passed us and shouted like maniacs that our car was on their way even thought it really wasn’t. Meanwhile we had lost our bird but we soon started to walk towards the place where it had been along a ditch.

Soon we found out that there were several Northern Wheatears too (5 of them) flying here and there but found our target-bird that was moving with them. They were extremely shy and were flying long distances, even to the other side of the field. So I thought that it was better if we were on opposite sides of the field with Hanna. Once I got to the other side the bird was again on the ordinary place closer to Hanna. So I started walking back again. Anyway we had seen the bird so well now that once I got to our car, I took my phone that I had forgotten there and sent the news out about this young male Pied Wheatear.

Now we were so that the bird was between us and hoped to get pictures that we still hadn’t got. But soon it moved closer to Tetrisuontie-road but again to really bd light. I tried to get closer carefully and managed to push the bird little bit so that it finally landed to a place that was completely in shadow. Then I got some pictures before it flew again back to its favorite place. Hanna still tried to get some pictures but after all we decided to leave the bird be.

Soon the first twitchers arrived and the bird surprisingly started to stay on the field but on a narrow ditch and was very long times invisible. Some more twitchers arrived and the first ones left already before the sun started to set. Then the birds activated again stayed very well visible until it was so dark that we all decided to leave.

This was the second Pied Wheatear ever for South Karelia; after a stunning male in Lappeenranta in June 2004 which we also twitched. For us it was the third ever in Finland and second young bird after a twitched bird in Hollola in 2015.

On the next day, the 2th of September Minna Terävä still saw the Pied Wheatear after a couple of hours searching. It was moving with 2 Northern Wheatears. But after that nobody else saw it even thought there were several twitchers, some from Helsinki.

We had duck-counts to do after work-day so we couldn’t visit Saari at all. Hanna saw 8 Gadwalls and 3 Pochards from the tower and I saw a flock of 115 Common Mergansers with 2 Red-breasted Mergansers. Only 1 Great Egret was seen and I found a recently died Cormorant. I never made it to the bird-tower where we usually count birds together as there are so many as I found a Great Grey Owl which I of course had to try to photograph. I managed to get pictures of one mouse-hunt before I had to continue counts. I also messaged to wheatear-twitchers about this owl as I hoped that they wouldn’t have to leave Parikkala empty-handed. The first 2 twitchers that arrived managed to see it but then it moved inside the forest and unfortunately the rest of twitchers didn’t see it.

J.A.

On the 17th of August I saw a Black Kite and also a young Hen Harrier and on the 18th day I saw the Black Kite for the last time. They seem to leave surprisingly early! Also a Red-throated Diver was seen flying around Siikalahti and we counted 19 Great Egret.

On the 20th day we went to Saari where in Pohjanranta we saw a young Dunlin, in Jyrkilä 180 Common Cranes and 70 House Martins but otherwise we found nothing better.

On the 22nd of August we had SSP-ringing and we got 5 Blue and 4 Great Tits, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, 2 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, a Tree Pipit and 7 Reed Buntings. We also heard a Hawfinch flying over us. When we were driving back to home a Eurasian Nuthatch was calling on the way. I still visited Saari Pohjanranta briefly but saw only 4 Great Egrets. In the evening we counted 340 Cranes and saw 4 some sort of Bean Geese in Siikalahti.

On the 23rd day I photographed a Nuthatch in Kangaskylä and on the 24th day there were 10 Taiga Bean Geese and in the evening we saw 2 European Nightjars. From the fields we caught 4 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe and 2 Skylarks. We also saw a couple of Long-eared Owls.

On the 26th day we did duck-counts in Siikalahti. There were already lots of ducks but nothing special- We counted 440 Mallards, 231 Eurasian Wigeons, 7 Smews, 9 Common Pochards and so on. It was already late when we headed to Saari to twitch a Great Grey Owl that had been found feeding its fledglings. We were lucky to see the mama-owl extremely well and I got some really good pictures too.

On the 27th day I saw a Nuthatch in Siikalahti and in the afternoon we headed to Saari again. We had planned to photograph Great Grey Owls a little bit more but we couldn’t find them. Hanna wanted to search for them but meanwhile I wanted to do some birding. I went to check some fields and in Pohjasuo I found a young Pallid Harrier. Then Hanna called that she had found the owls and I decided to get back there. We saw the mama-owl trying to catch mice and finally it caught one and flew quite nicely past us. But then we just heard the youngsters moving further. On the way back home it was already dark but we saw a Ural Owl in flight.

On the 29th of August we were ringing in Kukonkanta and got 8+3c Blue and 2+1c Great Tits, 2 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a late Common Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Willow Warblers, 8 Garden Warblers, 7+1c Blackcaps, 4 Lesser and 5 Common Whitethroats, a Treecreeper, a Song Thrush, a Robin, a Bluethroat, 2 Dunnocks, a White Wagtail, a Common Rosefinch, surprisingly a young Redpoll and a Siskin – but not a single bunting. We also saw 62 Canada Geese, a Cuckoo, a Stock Dove, a Goshawk and a Northern Wheatear. The rest of the day we just relaxed. But just went to put mist-nets ready for the next morning ringing in Papinlahti where we saw a Red-backed Shrike.

On the 30th day we had SSP and while walking towards the ringing-place we heard a Pygmy Owl calling. It was a quiet morning; we got only 1c Blue Tit, 4 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, a Common Whitethroat, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Song Thrushes, 2 Robins, a Bullfinch and a Reed Bunting. A Great Grey Shrike was singing in the morning and we got a rare visitor as our old friend Kristjan Niitepöld was with us for a few hours.

In the evening we headed to fields and we caught an adult Golden Plover, 3 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe, a Common Snipe, a Skylark and surprisingly 3 Northern Wheatears. Again we saw a Long-eared Owl and on the way back home, already after midnight, a Nightjar. Otherwise the last day of August was quiet, I saw 68 Canada Geese and 8 young Little Gulls in Härskiinmutka.

On the 1st of September I still saw some Common Swifts in Siikalahti on my lunch-hour and after my work, we headed to Saari with Erkko Elonen. It was quiet there too which seems to be new normal. After all autumns aren’t usually very good for rarities in Parikkala as we are in the “shadow” of huge Lake Ladoga. In Akonpohja we saw a couple of Great Egrets, in Akanvaara Tetrisuo a couple of Great Grey Shrikes and a young Hen Harrier, in Pohjasuo a Bluethroat, 17 Linnets and 27 Goldfinches, in Pohjanranta a young Dunlin and 4 Great Egrets and when it was already getting dark, we still saw the same Great Grey Owl briefly.

On the 2nd day the only birds to mention were a few Common Swifts and a single Sand Martin. On the 3rd day I saw a Red-throated Diver in Härskiinmutka and 4 some sort of Bean Geese, a Stock Dove, 8 Golden Plovers, 2 Common Swifts and finally the first Nutcracker of the year in Siikalahti. Nutcrackers had been numerous in almost everywhere else in Finland but not here in the shadow of Ladoga.

On the 4th day I finally saw the first Peregrine of the year and last Swift. On the 5th day we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught a Red-backed Shrike, 4+1c Blue and 3 Great Tits, 3 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 16 Willow Warblers, 11 Chiffchaffs, 2 Garden Warblers, 11 Blackcaps, 4 Lesser and 4 Common Whitethroats, 5 Robins, 2 Bluethroats and 2+1c Reed Bunting and the controlled bird had ring from San Sebastian Spain. We also saw a Goshawk, a Hen Harrier, some other common raptors migrating, a Black Woodpecker and a single Coal Tit which also had been numerous almost everywhere else,

After some naps we did a short trip to fields nearby and it started well as we found a young Pallid Harrier in Tetrisuo. In Tiviä we saw 3 Hazel Hens, but otherwise we saw only a flock of 37 Bean Geese (most of them were Taiga but there were at least a couple of Tundra Bean Geese too) and a Grey-headed Woodpecker couple.

On the 6th of September it was very windy so ringing wasn’t very productive. We got only 2+1c Blu Tits, 3 Sedge Warblers, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Garden Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Song Thrushes, 2 Robins and a Bullfinch. We saw a flock of 34 Common Scoters migrating.

As we stopped ringing so early because there were no birds, we headed to Saari with Anssi Laitinen. In Härskiinmutka we saw a couple of White-tailed Eagles on the way. There weren’t many birds in this stormy weather; 300 Cranes and a Great Grey Shrike in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 30 Linnets in Pohjasuo, 72 Canada Geese, a Goshawk and a Hen Harrier in Pohjanranta, 5 Common Scoters, a White-tailed Eagle and a Spotted Flycatcher in Hiekkaniemi and a male Grey-headed Woodpecker in Karinmäki.

In the evening we headed to fields and caught 2 young Golden Plovers, 5+1c Woodcocks, a Northern Wheatear and then on another field we caught a Ruff.

On the 7th day we did duck-counts agai: 36 Taiga Bean, 12 Canada and 2 Barnacle Geese, 344 Mallards, 11 Northern Pintails, 4 Gadwalls, 423 Wigeons and 7 Common Pochards were numbers to mention. It really seems that this year there are no Great Egrets either, only 6 birds were seen.

On the 9th of September we went again to fields and got 4 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe, a Common Snipe and a Northern Wheatear. On the 10th day Hanna had to visit Siikalahti with some high-school students and we showed them some ringing and counted Cranes together. But there really weren’t many Cranes either, just 50. Luckily we caught some birds – mostly Great Tits (11), a Blackcap, 6 Robins and 2 Chaffinches and saw a Bluethroat. The rest of the week was quiet.

At weekend we were in Kukonkanta again and on Saturday the 12th we got 14+3c Blue and 26 Great Tits, a Willow Tit, 4 Sedge Warblers, 3+1c Willow Warblers, 24 Chiffchaffs, 2 Garden Warblers, 7 Blackcaps, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Common Whitethroat, a Goldcrest, a Wren, 2 Song Thrushes, a Redwing, 13+1c Robins, a Bluethroat, 7 Dunnocks, a Tree Pipit, a Chaffinch, a Siskin, 2+1 Reed Buntings and a Rustic Bunting. So we cought even 22 species! We also finally saw something better as a young Montagu’s Harrier was seen migrating. We also saw a White-backed and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

After the ringing we checked Härskiinmutka and saw 13 adult and 1 young Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a young Little Gull. Soon we headed to Saari again. In Akonpohja we saw a couple of Gadwalls and a Great Egret, in Akanvaara Tetrisuo a Peregrine, a Hen Harrier, a Great Grey Shrike, a Bluethroat and a Lapland Bunting, in Pohjasuo 4 Taiga Bean Geese and a couple of Bluethroats and in Pohjanranta 4 Great Egrets and a Hen Harrier. Jyrkilä was empty but in Tarassiinlatiwe found 100 White Wagtails, a Yellow Wagtail, 15 Ruffs, a young Dunlin and a couple of Bluethroats and heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker. In the evening I still visited Siikalahti and saw 9 Pochards.

It was a good weather on Sunday too but quieter on the mist-nets: 3 Blue and 14+1c Great Tits, 2+1c Willow Warblers, 10 Chiffchaffs, a Garden Warbler, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Common Whitethroats, a Song Thrush, 10 Robins, 11 Dunnocks, a Chaffinch, 8 Reed and 2 Rustic Buntings. We also saw 14 Golden Plovers, a White-backed Woodpecker and a few more Rustic Buntings and heard a Common Ringed Plover. In the evening we headed to fields and saw a Nightjar on the way. I was wondering why all birds were so shy and it took some time before I caught any. After all we got 2 Great Snipes, 4 Common Snipes and 4 Skylarks. We were already walking back towards our car when we noticed that there was a mama Brown Bear with 2 cubs and at least one middle-sized bear on the other side of the field. They probably had been on the field before us and were the reason why birds had been so shy.

During the week there weren’t much happening: some flocks of Barnacle Geese were seen and on the 16th day we did duck-counts again. There were even 932 Wigeons and 7 Gadwalls, still only 6 Great Egrets and only single Pochard anymore. In the evening we headed to fields again and got a Teal, 2 Golden Plovers and 2 Woodcocks but saw again a young Brown Bear and also a Lynx very well! On the 17th day I saw a young Pallid Harrier and a flock of 9 Greater Scaups on migration and a couple of pairs of local Gadwalls.

On the 18th of September only birds to mention were probably 12 Rock Doves in Siikalahti. In the evening we visited one field briefly before the rain and caught 2 Woodcocks, 1+1c Great Snipes, a Common Snipe and 1c Skylark. On the way we saw a Pine Marten nicely.

On the 19th day we woke up early again and ringed in Kukonkanta luckily in much better weather than had been in forecasts. But the results were poor: 5 Blue and 5 Great Tits, a Willow Tit, 12 Chiffchaffs, a Redwing, 10 Robins, 3 Bluethroats, 2 Chaffinches, a young (Lesser) Redpoll and 2 Reed Buntings. We also saw a flock of 23 migrating Velvet Scoters, 3 Stock Doves, 7 Golden Plovers, a Great Egret and a 2nd year male Pallid Harrier. Again the birds stopped to come very early so we headed to Saari with Minna Terävä. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we saw 3 Hen Harriers, a Merlin, 2 Great Grey Shrikes, about 100 Meadow Pipits (and still not a single Red-throated Pipit for me as a year-tick) and 4 Redpolls. In Pohjasuo we saw a Bluethroat and 40 Linnets, in Pohjanranta only a Great Egret and a flock of 120 Starlings, in Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete a Great Grey Shrike, in Tarassiinlahti 3 Common Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin and in Karinmäki a White-tailed Eagle.

After long naps we decided to finally go to Saari fields to try to catch birds. The weather-forecast for the next morning was too bad for mist-netting anyway. So we were checking several fields between 9:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. and caught a Teal, 12 Golden Plovers, 10 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe, 5 Common Snipes, a Short-eared Owl, 11 Skylarks and 2 Meadow Pipits. We also saw a Ural Owl and lots of different kinds of small mice and voles and also bigger mammals like Elks, Roe Deers, Raccoon Dogs, Mountain and European Hares and Red Foxes. Then after this we really did nothing in the rest of the day.

On the 21st of September I saw a couple of Gadwalls and a migrating Hobby in Siikalahti. In the afternoon I twitched a couple of Nutcrackers in Tarvaslampi and in the evening the weather was so nice that we had to do something. So we went again to Siikalahti, put up a few mist-nets and were just enjoying the warm evening on the dam-road. We saw 2 Hen Harriers, a Marsh Harrier, only 24 Cranes anymore, 5 Great Egrets, 2 Northern Lapwings and 3 Bluethroats and caught only 3 Willow Tits and then after the sun had already set also a Pygmy Owl. a Great Bittern was flying over us calling.

On the 22nd day the only birds to mention were a couple of Nuthatches on the way to Siikalahti in Muttelinmäki. In the evening we had mist-nets in Tarvaslampi while having a sauna, but a Pygmy and a Boreal Owl just came to visit but didn’t hit the net.

It was raining the of the week but we visited fields on a couple of evenings. On the 23rd day we got 6 Woodcocks, 3 Common Snipes and 2+1c Skylarks. We also saw 3 Jack Snipes but they were on the places where was too much other traffic – Common Snipes and Teals. We also saw again a Brown Bear and nice family of Lynxes – a mom with 2 cubs. On the 24tg day we caught 2 Woodcocks, 2 Great Snipes, 2 Jack Snipes, a Common Snipe and a Meadow Lark in an hour.

J.A.

We were watching the shrike and talking with many friends for an hour or so before we had to continue driving. We drove until Kirkkonummi to my parents where we had an accommodation.

Next morning we woke up early with my father and drove to Espoo Soukka harbor. There we met my old friend Kai Hilditch who ha his Marineri company and he organizes different kind of bird and nature trips to archipelago of Espoo, Helsinki and Kirkkonummi.

Soon we were boating towards the sea and went quickly to first islets in the open sea. There we found Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlins but also a young Common Shelduck and so on.

Our main target was to find waders so we continued to next open sea islets to Kirkkonummi where we found more Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlins but also a Grey Plover, a Little Ringed Plover, a Ruff and a Rock Pipit before we got to Örskät island where we went ashore. We walked a little on the island and saw a Bar-tailed Godwit flying over us and a Red-backed Shrike. But soon we were ready to continue our journey.

We headed even outer to the sea but the outermost islets had no birds. But we saw some Black-throated Loons, one Red-throated Loon and a young Little Gull. We also saw some Grey Seals here and there. Views were stunning and even the weather was getting better and better,

Then we still hurried to Helsinki to check some more islets and found more Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlins, another Ruff and then also 6 Red Knots.

Then it was time to head back to Espoo and we hoped to see a Sandwich Tern on the way as there had been quite a few in last days in the area. We weren’t lucky at all as later we heard that there had actually been more records of Sandwich Tern than ever in whole country in seas and islands nearby but we didn’t bother but continued out journey and finally were back in Soukka. Then it was time to say thanks to “Kaitsu” and with my father we continued in a tight schedule.

We drove to Helsinki Viikki where BirdLife had Birdfair going on. There we went straight to eat but later I met again (too) many friends and did also some shopping. Hanna and my brother Pirkka were working on the fair as they both are in BirdLife board. Also Pirkka’s daughter Iina was on the fair.

Finally it was 4 p.m. and wit my father and Iina we drove back to Kirkkonummi to my parents. In the evening I still headed to Espoo Laajalahti where in a couple of hours I managed to see a Little Grebe, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, a Little Stint and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and so on.

On the 16th of August I woke up early and headed to Porkkala Pampskatan where I finally was at 7:!5 a.m. My target was finally to see Sandwich Terns. This species had been my boogey-bird even though I had seen one several years ago. I started to scan the sea and islets and almost immediately saw 3 terns landing to an islet. There were an adult and 2 young Sandwich Terns. I decided to keep on scanning as there had been amazingly 19 birds seen nearby on the island of Rönnskär on the previous day. But there was nothing else to be found and when I checked the islet where the birds had been again, they were gone.

On the next few hours I saw just gulls, Common Terns and one young Arctic Tern but also some migrating ducks (215 common species), 30 Common Scoters, 3 Velvet Scoters, a Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Black-throated Loons, a Red-throated Loon, a Great Egret, 8 Oystercatchers, 13 Bar-tailed Godwits, 6 Grey Plovers, 7 Golden Plovers, 10 Dunlins, a Green Sandpiper, a Merlin and 95 Yellow Wagtails and so on.

Again there had been Sandwich Terns in many other places, even in some that I could see. Finally I found 3 Sandwich Terns flying towards west fishing on the way, but they were again very far. Luckily the next four birds came much closer so I could even get some pictures of them. While I was photographing I started to feel that there were Sandwich Terns everywhere and in best moment there were at least 6 birds visible.

I was still watching there birds when my father and Iina arrived higher to the rock. But once they got down to the shore where I was, all the terns were gone. Next hour or so I was scanning the sea while they were having their packed lunch and watching Alisa Vainio win EC-marathon, but I just couldn’t find any more terns. Finally we had to start walking back. But we still climbed to the rock first and there were surprisingly some twitchers searching for terns. They hadn’t seen any yet but luckily one was soon found from the area that I hadn’t seen from the shore and my father and Iina also saw this normally so bird.

Once we were back at my parents, I went to pick up Pirkka from the railway station and soon we ate again. Finally I had to start my long way back to home and Pirkka and Iina jumped to our car too. I drove to Itäkeskus where Hanna had been shopping after all BirdLife-meetings. There I picked up her and Pirkka and Iina went shopping in turn as they still had some hour before their train to Kemijärvi. With Hanna we started a drive back to home to Parikkala. On the way we stopped in Luumäki Taavetti to twitch a young Black Redstart that we found after some searching and it was posing nicely.

Finally we were back at home – but for once we had got some luck. And Hanna had also bought new binoculars.

J.A.

On the 18th of July we did a trip to Saari with Pekka Punnonen and in Akonpohja we had a good start when we saw a big flock of Northern Lapwing flying over us and there were 5 Black-tailed Godwits in the flock. When we reached the fields we saw that a soaring Black Kite was the reason why all birds were in flight. We also found a Eurasian Golden Plover, 3 migrating Spotted Redshanks and heard a Whimbrel. In Pohjasuo we saw a couple of Yellow Wagtails and in Pohjanranta a Great Egret and some waders which Dunlin was a new Parikkala year-tick. In Kuposenmäki we saw another Black Kiten and in Ala-Ollukka a third one.

On the 19th of July we were ringing in Kukonkana where we caught a Great Tit, a Sedge Warbler control, 19 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, 3 Blackcaps, 7 Common Whitethroats, a Redwing, a Blackbird, 4 Pied Flycatchers, a Chaffinch and a Reed Bunting. We also saw a migrating flock of 30 Common Scoters, 5 Great Cormorants, a Whimbrel and so on. The same Greylag Geese from Siikalahti had learned to fly a couple of days earlier and they landed to the horse-track.

During the week I saw mostly the same birds as on the previous week. On the 20th of July I also saw a White-backed Woodpecker and on the 21st day a migrating flock of 34 Velvet Scoters. On the 22nd day we visited Saari with Erkko Elonen and saw a Spotted Crake in Pohjanranta and a Great Grey Shrike in Jyrkilä but nothing else really. On the 23rd day there were already 10 Great Egrets in Siikalahti and of course the same White-fronted Goose and Black Kited were seen almost daily.

On the 25th day we had SSP-ringing and got a Blue Tit, 4 Sedge and 10 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 7 Willow Warblers, 3 Lesser and 7 Common Whitethroats, a Robin, a Pied Flycatcher, 3 Common Rosefinches and 1+1c Reed Buntings. In the afternoon we headed to Saari and saw a Black Kite in Pohjansuo, the same Spotted Crake, a Spotted Redshank and a Temminck’s Stint in Pohjanranta and the same Great Grey Shrike in Jyrkilä. On the way back we saw a female Hen Harrier in Kinnarsalmi and then we went to ring a couple of Eurasian Nightjar chicks in Rautalahti.

On Sunday we ringed in Kukonkanta and got 7 Blue and 4 Great Tits, 3 Sedge and 15+2c Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a Common Reed and a Marsh Warbler, a Wood Warbler, 8 Willow Warblers, 5 Blackcaps, 7 Common Whitethroats, a Fieldfare, a Thrush Nightingale, 4 Pied Flycatchers, a Common Rosefinch and 1+1c Reed Buntings. We also saw a Common Cuckoo, a White-backed Woodpecker and heard a Black Woodpecker. Later we visited Siikalahti briefly and saw amazingly a Boheamian Waxwing migrating towards south.

During the week I had the same routines: the White-fronted Goose was seen last time in Särkisalmi on the 28th of July when we also made duck-counts. A Smew, 1male, 5 female and 26 young Common Pochards, a Gadwall and 13 Great Egrets were only birds to mention. On the 29th day we counted already 21 Great Egrets in the evening when a Spotted Crake was still calling. On the 30th day only bird to mention was a Black Kite until in the evening we decided to go twitching with Harri Hölttä and Minna Terävä. We drove to Tohmajärvi Saario where a Lanceolated Warbler was singing actively. Also a Common Grasshopper Warbler was singing so it was good to have comparison.

We started August in Kukonkanta where we caught a Wryneck, 3 Blue Tits, a Great Tit, 5 Sedge and 14 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 16 Willow Warblers, 14 Garden Warblers, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Lesser and 11 Common Whitethroats, a Song Thrush, a Redwing, a Thrush Nightingale, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 White Wagtails, a Tree Pipit, 5 Common Rosefinches and 3 Reed Buntings. Later we still saw a Black Kite in Särkisalmi.

On the 2nd day we had SSP in Papinlahti again and we got 3 Blue Tits, 4 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 4 Willow Warblers, 2 Garden Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Common Whitethroats, a Eurasian Nuthatch, a Redwing, even 14 Common Rosefinches, a Reed Bunting and 3 Yellowhammers. After short naps we headed to Saari where we saw a Great Grey Shrike in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 2 Great Egrets and a female Hen Harrier in Pohjanranta and again a Great Grey Shrike in Jyrkilä.

Duting the week I didn’t see much: White-tailed Eagles, Black Kites, a Goshawk, same egrets and herons and bitterns, a Spotted Crake, Cormorants, a couple of migrating Golden Plovers, a Grey-headed Woodpecker and on a short night-drive to fields some Nightjars and a Long-eared Owl. But on the 6th of August I was on the dam-road again when I noticed a fast-flying dove flying towards us. I got it to my scope and immediately saw it was a turtle dove. Unfortunately it flew past us from +200 meters but I took as many pictures as I could. Then the bird turned towards east and seemed to land to some fields there. But on my lunch-hour I had no time to go after it. Unfortunately the bird had never come any closer but in my pictures there can be some features seen that are better for a young Oriental Turtle Dove than European Turtle Dove. Also the size of the bird had been about the same as a Stock Dove which fits better for an Oriental. Finnish Rarity Committee will decide if this was a new species for Parikkala…

During the weekend we ringed both mornings in Kukonkanta. On Saturday we got 4+1c Blue Tits, a Great Tit, 9 Sedge, 9 Blyth’s Reed, Common Reed and 2 Marsh Warblers, 15 Willow Warblers, 25+1c Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, a Lesser Whitethroat, 10 Common Whitethroats, a Pied Flycatcher and a Reed Bunting control.

And on Sunday we got a Sparrowhawk, 6 Blue and 4 Great Tits, 4 Sedge, 2 Blyth’s Reed and 2 Marsh Warblers, 13+1c Willow Warblers, 30+1c Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 3 Lesser and 6 Common Whitethroats, a Robin, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Common Redstarts, a Goldfinch, a Siskin and a Reed Bunting. We also saw a Black Kite once again.

On the 10th of August I saw a nice flock of about 30 Bar-tailed Godwits, at least one Grey Plover and one Red Knot on my lunch-break in Siikalahti. All three species were new Parikkala year-ticks and once again I broke 200 year-ticks in my home county – now I have 201. A Black Kite was again seen and in the evening we counted 27 Great Egrets and the same family of Greylag Geese came to overnight to Siikalahti.

Otherwise the weather was very windy so I saw just a Merlin flying over Kangaskylä, a flock of 6 Golden Plovers, White-tailed Eagles, Black Kites, Stock Doves and so on. On the 12th day we were wondering a partial solar eclipse. 13th day we had duck-counts and saw an early flock of 6 Tundra Bean Geese, a couple of Smews, 29 Pochards and 6 Pintails. We also saw a couple of young Water Rails and a young Spotted Crake by the dam-road.

J.A.

On the 11th of April we were in Siikalahti for several hours and saw a Greylag Goose couple, heard at least 6 Water Rails and a Bittern, saw 7 Cormorants, Hen and Marsh Harriers, White-tailed Eagles and a Rough-legged Buzzard. In the evening I still saw an early Red-breasted Merganser and a Black Kite. We checked some nest-boxes again but again just saw a Capercaillie and found one actively calling Pygmy Owl.

On the 12th day I saw a Wren singing and also found a Nuthatch couple in Siikalahti. In Saari we found a Wood Lark in Akanvaara Tetrisuo and a Lapland Longspur in Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete. Then we checked some empty nest-boxes again.

On the 14th day I saw a Greylag Goose in Härskiinmutka and an Osprey in Siikalahti. There was now an Oystercatcher couple in Kangaskylä. On the 15^th day my long-awaited spring holiday started and I headed to Kirkkonummi.

I was birding in Kirkkonummi for a couple of days with my father. On the 15^th day we visited Norra Fladet where we had Song Thrushes, a Dunnock, Little and Common Ringed Plovers and on the way I saw a Grey Heron. On the 16^th day we started at Porkkala where we saw Common Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Mute Swans, Great Black-backed Gulls and migrating Red-throated and Black-throated Divers. In Espoo Finno we found Horned Grebes, Shovelers, Gadwalls and Moorhens and in Laajalahti Caspian and Common Terns, Common Redshanks and a Chiffchaff. So I got plenty of year-ticks but noting better was seen.

On the 17th of April we still visited Saltfjärden but saw just some common raptors. During the day I headed toward west and stopped in Salo where I found one Collared Dove after some searching. After all I was in a hurry and did the last shopping in Nauvo before drove to Pärnäinen where I got to Utö-ferry.

I stayed at the deck for whole trip to Jurmo and saw a Hen Harrier, some Velvet Scoters and a flock of Common Scoters. Finally I was on Jurmo island and together with Petri Puolakka we walked to bird-station and soon we had everything ready and went to sleep.

On the 18th of April ringers Petri and Mikko Kormilainen headed to mist-nets very early and when sun started to rise we were watching migration with Vesa Virtanen. There wasn’t much migration except hundreds of small thrushes, mostly Song Thrushes. Also a Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Shelducks and Razorbills were seen. During the day we walked both routes, in west and east. We saw a Golden Plover, a Whimbrel, a Dunlin (schinzii), 60 Purple Sandpipers, a Red-necked Grebe, a Parasitic Jaeger, a Short-eared Owl, a Rock Pipit and a Jack Snipe. We also saw 5 Horned and 6 Great Crested Grebes, a Rook and a Hawfinch and also Petri and Mikko had work to do as they caught for example 422 Robins.

On the 19th day also Teijo Saari had arrived. We saw again plenty of thrushes in the morning and later we saw the first Northern Wheatears and also a male Pallid Harrier. There were now a couple of “schinziis” and even 235 Purple Sandpipers in west. Ringers caught still 242 Robins and so on.

But then the weather turned bad with northern winds and sun was shining from blue sky. So there really wasn’t birds in mist-nets anymore and not much to see anywhere else either. With “Vesku” we were ticking day-ticks for me as I had never been anywhere on the coast on these dates. So even Mute Swans, common ”seaducks”, Common Shelduck, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Parasitic Jaeger, Razorbill, Rock Pipit and so on were ticks every day. Of course we hoped to find some early migrants but there really weren’t many birds at all.

On the 20th day most thrushes were Fieldfares and in the afternoon the first Pied Flycatcher was caught and I finally saw the first Tree Pipit. We saw altogether 3 Lapland Longspurs and also a Ruff. Mikko left so Petri was now alone checking empty mist-nets.

On the 21st day the island was almost empty but finally the first Black Guillemot was seen and again one Lapland Longspur. On the 22^nd day we saw an Arctic Tern, a Wood Lark, a Great Grey Shrike, heard a Twite that flew right over us and the best bird was a Caspian Gull that Vesku found and the rest of us saw just poorly in flight. On the 23^rd day Santeri Hiltunen arrived and the only year-tick was a Common Greenshank and only other birds to mention were 5 Red-necked Grebes.

Because of the island had been so empty I decided to make my stay even worse and stay much longer than I had planned on the island. So on the 24^th day we had to visit mainland and go shopping with Vesku. In Parainen we visited Petteby and Mattholmsfladan bird-towers and heard a Bittern and saw a Ruff, a Caspian Tern and a Barn Swallow. We also did some birding in Nauvo forests but found only some tits and a Parrot Crossbill. In the evening Ohto Oksanen and Inga Gröndahl was in the same ferry.

On the 25th day there were more mist-nets and even some birds in them. Right away in the morning a Long-eared Owl was ringed and later also a Blackcap. It was pretty good day otherwise too as in the morning we counted even 12238 Common Scoters which was the record in Jurmo. Also a couple of Greater Scaups and a Common Guillemot and 31 Bar-tailed Godwits, 42 Razorbills, 17 Parasitic Jaegers, a Common Redstart and a couple of Great Grey Shrikes were seen during the day.

But the next days were again very poor. There were more than 500 meters of mist-nets but almost no birds. On the 26^th day we saw a 2nd calendar year Pallid Harrier but nothing else really. As ringers had nothing else to do the put up some effort to catch a Jackdaw that was visiting the feeder in the garden and finally it got ringed. Then on the next day there really was nothing new happening.

On the 28th of April we counted 54 Razorbills and 11 Rock Pipit and Petri Vainio arrived. On the 29^th day I finally saw a Common Sandpiper and a Common Buzzard was also a new Jurmo-tick for me. Also a Wood Lark was seen. Juha Honkala and Timo Kuusikko arrived and on the next morning Petri and Inga left. It really hadn’t been the best time for Inga to visit from Ivalo.

Finally all hopes for new April-ticks were left to the last possible day but it still didn’t look promising as the wind was still from north. We really tried hard again anyway. In the morning we saw more than 1300 migrating thrushes and later we saw plenty of the same day-ticks as every day. But finally in west we saw a Little Tern which was a month-tick for me. Also a Little Gull and a Turnstone were seen. And finally there were also some insect-eater like 23 Pied Flycatchers and 8 Common Redstarts and also 17 Waxwings.

On the 1st of May the wind was finally turning but still there weren’t as many birds as we had expected. But at least there were some year-ticks. In the morning we saw a Wood Sandpiper and when we were walking towards east with Vesa and Timo, we heard a Hoopoe calling! Then Timo saw the bird on the ground and then flying straight to one of the mist-nets. I hurried after it but it wasn’t stuck at all and escaped when I still was about 20 meters from it. We still saw it once in flight and then some tourist heard it in east and Juha heard it from the bog but after that it was never found again. Other year-ticks were Whinchat 4, Willow Warbler 15 and a Yellow Wagtail. Other birds to mention were a pale-backed Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Caspian Tern, 3 Little Terns, a Marsh Harrier and 77 Chiffchaffs, 20 Waxwings, 38 Pied Flycatchers, 19 Common Redstarts and again we had seen some thrush-migration in the morning.

On the 2nd of May it was my birthday and of course plenty of ticks to be found as the wind was finally good. There were indeed more birds in mist-nets too but again all the ticks were the same as every day.  Birds to mention were 115 Greater White-fronted Geese, 22 Common Shelducks, 48 Golden Plovers, 32 Whimbrels, 56 Bar-tailed Godwits, 40 Purple Sandpipers, a Spotted Redshank, 5 Turnstones, 2 “schinzii” and “alpine” Dunlins, 4 Little Terns, 8 Wrynecks, a Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 138 Chiffchaffs and when I was absolutely tired and just back in the station Santeri found a Collared Flycatchers from the eastern woods. With Teijo we decided to go twitching of course. Luckily Vesku stopped us in the garden and we first looked into his telescope to see a Ring Ouzel that he had just found. We hurried with Teijo and after some searching we managed to see a stunning adult male Collared Flycatcher briefly. But soon we had to hurry back to the station as we still had a log to do. Ohto had left in the morning but Lauri Kokkala had arrived.

On the 3rd of May new arrivals were a House Martin, a Hobby and then with Santeri we found an early Red-backed Shrike from west and later also a Sedge Warbler. We also saw a female Smew, a Long-eared Owl, 14 Common Sandpipers, 120 Purple Sandpipers, 11 “alpine” Dunlins, 4 Little Terns, 40 Whinchats, 120 Blackcaps, 147 Common Redstarts, 53 Pied Flycatchers, a Hawfinch and even 7 Ring Ouzels! Timo and Petri left so there weren’t too many birders in the station. Luckily with Santeri we had been able to stay longer than we had planned.

On the 4th day we found the first 9 Common Whitethroats and in west we saw a Great Egret flying over us. In pine-forest we heard a Cuckoo calling and while we were already walking back to the station we found a female-plumaged Black Redstart. Other birds to mention were even 883 counted Velvet Scoters, a Greater Scaup couple, 5 Little Terns, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, a Great Grey Shrike, 83 Blackcaps, 11 Lesser Whitethroats, 50 Common Redstarts, 31 Whinchats and 52 Northern Wheatears.

On the 5th day Juha caught an early Garden Warbler which we of course went to see. While we were walking back, we saw an interesting looking bird hanging on the next mist-net – a Common Reed Warbler. Altogether we saw 140 Loons in migration. In west we heard calls of a Grey Plover from the sky and in the evening there was a Thrush Nightingale hopping in the grass in the garden. Altogether we counted 45 Oied Flycatchers but still there weren’t more Collared Flycatchers. A couple of Horned Grebes, 12 Spotted Redshanks, 9 Turnstones, 21 “alpinas”, a Little Gull, a Hen Harrier, a Ring Ouzel and a Tree Sparrow were seen.

On the 6^th of May it was the last day but still we worked hard. In the morning we saw 180 migrating Loons, and 46 Whimbrels and later 150 Purple Sandpipers and a Ring Ouzel. Petri came back and right away climbed to a nest of a Raven so we got 4 nice young Ravens to ring. Then with Santeri and Juha we had to walk to harbor where we still found a Black Redstart. With Santeri we till spent time on the deck but saw nothing new. From Pärnäinen we drove to Kaarina where I dropped Santeri to wait for a bus and I still had a long drive ahead.

Finally in Lappeenranta I was so tired that I decided to drive to Joutseno Kotasaari to sleep. On the 7^th of May I woke up at 5 a.m. and heard a Moorhen right away. I spent a couple of hours by the pools and saw a Black Kite, a couple of Citrine Wagtails, Sand Martins, Garganeys, a Temminck’s Stint and heard a Black-tailed Godwit. I also saw several old friends. Then I drove the last hour or so to Parikkala where I still did some birding after good naps. In the evening I still ticked Great Snipe and Spotted Crake. And late at night my brother Pirkka arrived to spend a traditional bird-tower competition weekend.

On the 8th of May we started at Siikalahti bird-tower where we saw nothing special but of course Pirkka got plenty of year-ticks. Then we headed to Saari where still weren’t any floods so there weren’t too many birds. Anyway in Akonpohja we found 4 Horned Grebes, in Ratila we found a Red-breasted Goose and in Tarassiinlahti 2 more Red-breasted Geese and also an early Brent Goose and in Kanavalampi I saw a Black Kite. In the afternoon we went to ring 4 Ural Owl nestlings but on another nest a female was still on eggs. Later we still went to see a Long-eared Owl on its nest.

On the 9^th of May we had the Bird-tower competition “Tornien Taisto”. With 3 Aaltos there were Matti Lötjönen, Miika Soikkeli, Akseli Solasaari and surprisingly also Rami Lindroos and Mika Asikainen – so we got some good reinforcements to the team. It wasn’t the best bird-day so we really had to work hard to get species. So it took 3 instead of normal 3 hours to reach 80 species. Luckily some more pictures were got after that too until it stopped. The best birds in the morning had been a Greylag Goose couple, 4 Gadwalls, 55 Common Scoters, 52 Whimbrels, a Spotted Crake, a Red-throated Loon, a Short-eared Owl, a Black and a Grey-headed Woodpecker, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and amazingly only one Coot. But then in a long time we saw nothing new. Only better observation was a Pine Marten that was jumping from tree to tree in the perches on the dam. Earlier we had also see a Beaver. Luckily we still managed to see a flock of 7 Velvet Scoters, a couple of Pink-footed Geese, a Goshawk, a 2^nd calendar year Pallid Harrier and a Hen Harrier which was our last and 92th species. This time there were a few towers inland that had got 1 species more than us and of course one of them was Tarassiinlahti.

In the afternoon we visited Saari again but saw nothing new really. In the evening we visited fields and saw some Long- and Short-eared Owls and heard a Great Snipe. On the 10^th day we started at night and counted night-birds in Siikalahti. We heard 11 Bitterns, 24 Water Rails, a Spotted Crake and a Ural Owl. In morning we still twitched a couple of year-ticks for Pirkka, including a Wryneck. We still spent a few hours in Siikalahti and saw 2 migrating Black Kites but finally Pirkka had to hit the road as he had a long way back to Kemijärvi. In the evening we still visited Rautjärvi Simpele Kokkolanjoki where we saw a male Grey Wagtail.

On the 11th of May we did water-bird counts and I also saw good migration: 2 Bewick’s Swans, 1000 Long-tailed Ducks, 2500 Common and 220 Velvet Scoters and 3 Greater Scaups. I also saw a Little Ringed Plover and heard a Common Grasshopper Warbler. In the evening we visited Siikalahti again and it was worthy as we saw a Black-tailed Godwit and a stunning Greater Spotted Eagle!

Then we still went to Papinlahti to put mist-nets ready for the next morning and there we saw a Bluethroat.

On the 12th day we had SSP-ringing and we caught 2 Great Tit controls, 5 Willow Warblers, a Blackbird, 2 Bluethroats, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Chaffinches, a Reed Bunting control and a Yellowhammer. We also saw a few Northern Wheatears and heard a Black and a Grey-headed Woodpecker. During the day we visited Siikalahti and immediately saw 8 Great Egrets that had been found earlier. I still visited the tower and saw 4 Common Swifts.

In the evening I quickly packed my stuff again and hit the road. I soon stopped in Simpele Revonranta and twitched a Red-breasted Goose as a Rautjärvi-tick. Then I kept on driving until Salo where I was so tired that I turned to Omenojärvi to sleep in a car.

On the 13th of May I started scanning Omenojärvi at 5 a.m. and soon found a Garganey, a Gadwall couple, a female Smew, Tufted Ducks and Pochards and after 15 minutes waiting there was some sort of alarm and also the rest of ducks came visible from the gull-island – and a male Ferruginous Duck that is spending already fifth summer here was with them.

I continued driving along the coast north and turned to Uusikaupunki Pyhämaa and continued along small roads to Liesluoto. There I walked a half an hour almost to the shore and first heard a strangely singing Common Chiffchaff but continued 200 meters more and then heard even strangerly singing bird which was the second ever Iberian Chiffchaff for Finland. The bird stayed on the top of trees so I didn’t get good pictures but I took plenty of recordings. After some studying I walked back to my car and continued my way.

In Lieto I saw a male Pheasant as a year-tick and then in Rauma I decided to go to Unajanlahti bird-tower where I saw a Great Egret. Then I continued to Petäjäs Rientolahti where it was raining but after some searching I found a Firecrest. Then I continued to Pori where I did some shopping and visited Enälahti bird-tower where I met my friend Petteri Mäkelä but only better bird we saw was a Great Egret again. Then it was time to drive to Kuuminainen to Salokankaanranta where I still managed to sleep a little.

Tommi Salokangas came early and soon also Petri Salo, Sebastian Andrejeff and Tomas Swahn arrived and we packed up the boat and left towards Säppi island where I had been 90 days earlier but always only in October, so it was good to go to the island finally in spring too.

On the way we saw a Caspian Tern and on the pier Jan Lundgren was helping us with our stuff. Some Barn Swallows were flying in the garden of the station but soon it was late so we just arranged our things and were soon ready to go to sleep.

On the 14th of May the routines started with morning sea-watching. Then we walked around the whole island. I got plenty of new Säppi-ticks but only birds to really mention were 7 Shelducks, 9 Gadwalls, a hybrid male between a Mallard and a Pintail, a Horned Grebe, 364 Loons (194 Black- and 32 Red-throated), a Cuckoo, 81 Oystercatchers, a Little Ringed Plover, 4 Whimbrels, 38 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Spotted Redshank, 6 Turnstones, 2 Red Knots, a Temmink’s Stint, a Dunlin, 2 Little Gulls, a Hobby, 6 Bluethroats, a Thrush Nightingale, a Sedge Warbler, a Rock Pipit, 2 Yellow Wagtails and so on.

On the 15th day we kept on trying the good bird but only better birds we found were 2 Nightjars which another one came from the sea in the morning, 9 Red Knots, a Honey Buzzard, a Sand Martin, 6 Wood Warblers, 12 Bluethroats and 2 Rock Pipits. And on the 16^th day we counted 3444 Common Scoters and saw 2 Tundra Bean Geese, 2 Horned Grebes, 6 Grey Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover, 36 Temminck’s Stints, 202 Dunlins, 3 Common Murres, 4 Little Gulls, 11 Wood Warblers, an Icterine Warbler, 30 Northern Wheatears, 12 Spotted Flycatchers, 61 Yellow Wagtails, a Rook and the best birds were a Black-tailed Godwit, a Black Redstart and an Ortolan Bunting that I found through the kitchen window in the evening.

On our last day we had time until 3 p.m. In the morning we heard a Common Rosefinch and lots of scoters were moving. We counted 1818 Common and even 1495 Velvet Scoters. It seemed that the island was almost empty from birds but we still saw a Caspian Tern which was my 32nd Säppi-tick of the trip.

Finally we had to pack and clean the station and head to the harbor. Tommi came to pick up right on time and the island was left empty, the next birders would come in the end of the next week.

In Kuuminainen we still heard an Icterine Warbler and then it was time to say goodbye to everyone. I had a long drive back to Parikkala. I stopped only in Rautjärvi Simpele Kaljusenlampi where I twitched a Little Crake male. I also heard a Water Rail, a Spotted Crake and a couple of Corn Crakes.

J.A.

We didn’t make any stops on the way and at 4:20 we parked to Verkkokari. There were couple of twitchers who soon told us horrible news – the bird had left just 5 minutes earlier.

We waited for some time but the tern wasn’t coming back, so we decided to go to search for it to other places nearby. But of course the bird wasn’t found and it actually never came back to Verkkokari. A couple of days later it was seen on an island nearby but never since. This was already the third time that I missed a Whiskered Tern by minutes – it seems to be my bogey-bird.

We continued our long drive towards south and of course we got one ticket on the way even though we had no hurry anymore. We also had at least one tire leaking but when we stopped to fill it we found out that we had 3 tired a bit too empty. Finally after 800km driving we were in Hanko where we parked to Halias bird-observatory parking place. Luckily other birders were still awake and they had mist-nets open for owls.

We were too tired to do owl-rounds but luckily we were awaken up a couple of times as 4 Long-eared and a Pygmy Owl were caught at night.

On the 18th of October we started working the station-routines. Hanna left to mist-nets early and at sunrise we climbed to “bunker” with Petro Pynnönen. Luca Hasel and Juho Tirkkonen stayed near the station and searched for birds there and visited also the bunker later.

There were some migration but the best number was even 290 Tree Sparrows. 3 Great Egrets were moving and 2 more landed to Gåu. Also raptors were moving so it wasn’t a surprise that Dick Forsman arrived to bunker too. And of course he spotted first a youngish Golden Eagle and then young Greater Spotted Eagle above the Hanko-spit. Luckily the spotted eagle was showing for a long time so everyone managed to see it. We also counted 19 Common Buzzardsm 21 Sparrowhawks and 11 Goshawks. Also a Black, 4 Grey-headed, a Three-toed and even 24 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were seen. Other good numbers were 185 Mistle Thrushes and 12 local Greater Scaups. Also 7 Barn Swallows and a Wood Lark were seen. Hanna had a couple of busier moment on mist-net but nothing better was caught.

In the evening we saw a comet and auroras that are not common this South.

On the 19th day we spent 4 morning-hours at the bunker again but there weren’t so many migrants. Hanna showed us a Siberian Chiffchaff which she had caught and then Aleksi Mikola who had arrived to the station earlier found a big flock of Purple Sandpipers migrating over the sea. The flock was very far but we estimated about 100 birds, which was easily the biggest flock ever seen in Halias. Also a Great Egret, 4 Gadwalls and a Black Guillemot were seen. During the day Luca, Petro and Taiga had left and Kimi Nurminen and Aki Aintila had arrived.

On the 20th day a Great Egret and a Hawfinch were seen migrating and we also counted 247 Bullfinches and saw 2 Barn Swallows and so on. During the day we had to visit Hanko as one of our tires was really leaking. Luckily Late Mäenpää who was visiting the station had all the equipment we needed to fill the tire. Juho left to a short holiday.

On the 21st day the weather was much worse so nothing much was seen. A couple of thousands of Long-tailed Ducks and 262 Common Eiders were counted and a Common Ringed Plover, a Razorbill and a Peregrine Falcon were also seen.

During the day we visited Hanko again and managed to get a temporary tire to our car. We had to buy 2 new tires which had to be ordered.

In the evening the weather was getting even worse and on the 22st day the wind was so hard that mist-nets weren’t opened at all and the morning seawatch was made from the southern forest. It was pretty quiet on the sea but for example 11 Purple Sandpipers, a Common Guillemot and a Barn Swallow were seen.

In the afternoon we went to count birds on Gåu with Hanna. It was surprisingly sheltered from the wind and we found 2 Shovelers, a Gadwall, 2 Grey Plovers, a Dunlin, 4 Common Snipes and 2 Barn Swallows. And of course we were as far as possible from the station when Kimi called that he had opened some mist-nets around the station and had just caught a Firecrest! So we didn’t see the best bird of the trip even though we of course tried to relocate it in the evening.

On the 23rd of October the weather was better but still there weren’t as many birds as we had hoped. Kimi saved the morning as he caught now 2 Firecrests from the same mist-net. The yesterday’s bird had brought his friend too. Only better bird from the bunker was a Hawfinch.

At midday we hurried to Gåu with Aki and Aleksi as the rain was coming. We managed to check the area well and found 2 Common and 3 Jack Snipes and one more Barn Swallow again.
On the 24th day we counted 7786 Long-tailed Ducks and also tits, Chaffinches, and Bullfinches were moving but it was still quiet on the mist-nets – only surprise was a late Garden Warbler. We saw that there were several Gadwalls on Gåu but otherwise nothing special was seen.

Finally we had to hurry to Hanko to change two new tires and then we still drove back to the station to pack and clean up. Then it was time to say goodbye to everyone.

As we still had weekend free, we decided to book a room from a familiar Skyline hotel near Helsinki-Vantaa airport. We ate well and fell as sleep early.

On Saturday the 25th of October we visited several car-stored in Vantaa as we have planned to do some car-shopping in the near future. It was good to see some models live and not only from internet.

As there was nothing special to twitch around Helsinki, we drove to Järvenpää Tuusulanjärvi Vanhakylänranta where we twitched and photographed a long-staying young Caspian Gull. It was really showing well so it didn’t take too long.

In Kouvola we bought some food for winter-birds and after 30 or so more kilometers I got a message that locals had been twitching a possible Raddes’s Warbler in Kouvola Lappalanjärvi for several hours already. We made a quick U-turn and drove fast to Lappalanjärvi where we soon found Hanna’s sister Elissa, the founder of the bird Antti Vänskä and Teo Ylätalo. The bird had been heard several time but seen only very briefly and there was only one picture which people had different opinions.

We stayed there until the dark and heard a few times very promising calls but couldn’t see the bird at all. It was a little bit too windy so I couldn’t get any recordings either. Anyway we had the feeling that there really was a Raddes’s Warbler so we decide to stay night at Elissa’s apartment and come back early on the next morning.

On the 26th day there were about 20 twitchers in Lappalanjärvi but again the bird was missing. Once we heard a short song, but it was pretty chaotic situation and we couldn’t be absolutely sure if someone had played the song.

Finally we had to leave and start driving to Parikkala where we had planned to do duck-counts in Siikalahti.

After all it is easy to say that our autumn-holiday had been the worst if thinking of luck with rarities but at least we had got some rest from the work.

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.

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.