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.

On the 1st of June we had SSP-ringing in Papinlahti and we caught 4+3c Common Whitethroats, a Pied Flycatcher, a Red-backed Shrike and a Common Rosefinch. We also ringed young Jackdaws on one of our owl nestbox. In the evening I still did a short trip to fields and to Siikalahti dam-road. I found a Taiga Bean Goose, a Hen Harrier, a Great Snipe, a Short-eared Owl, a young Boreal Owl that was right outside the nest-box where it had been living, heard a Savi’s Warbler and a Great Reed Warbler and saw a European Nuthatch.

On the 2nd day only better observations were a too distant female-plumaged harrier and Boreal Owl fledlings that I found at night. And on the next day only birds I saw were 3 Oystercatchers.

On the 4th of June I saw a Black Kite on my lunch-hour and in the evening we went to ring the 2 smaller Tawny Owl youngsters. At night we still visited dam-road and heard a Savi’s, a Great Reed and a Common Reed Warbler.

On the 5th day I saw 2 Red-necked Phalaropes and a Black Kite on my lunch-hour. In the afternoon we did a trip to Saari but only better birds we found were a River and a Common Reed Warbler and a Grey Heron. Then we found another Grey Heron on the way back to home in Särkisalmi. On the next day I saw just the same birds as earlier.

On the 7th of June we did a proper night-trip to Saari but found nothing special. 22 Corn Crakes, 5 Great Snipes, Long-eared Owls, a Short-eared Owl, 5 Nightjars, 21 Thrush Nightingales, an Icterine Warbler, 30 Blyth’s Reed and 4 Marsh Warblers, 3 Golden Orioles and so on were found. We visited Soininmäki forests too and found a Hazel Hen singing, a Three-toed Woodpecker drumming actively and 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers singing. In Tarvassaari we still found a Great Reed Warbler which we decided to catch and ring and we also saw 2 Red-throated Divers flying over us.

On the 8th day we had SSP again and we caught a Sedge and a Bylth’s Reed Warbler, 3+2c Common Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, 3c Great Tits and 2+1c Reed Warblers. In the evening we made the first stop in Siikalahti and surprisingly heard a Bearded Reedling calling. We played some tape and it came well visible and it was so aggressive that we decided to put up a mist-net and ring it. All local birders who came to see the bird managed to see it well.

When we arriving back at home we found a young White-backed Woodpecker on our garden. Late in the evening we still went to a short trip and found a Great Snipe and a new Common Reed Warbler.

On the 11th of June I saw a Spotted Redshank and a couple of Ruffs which were already on their autumn-migration. On the 12th day we continued mapping Siikalahti and did night-counts. On the southern side of the bay we found a Spotted Crake, 13 Water Rails, a White-backed Woodpecker, a Marsh, a Great Reed, a Common Reed Warbler and a Golden Oriole.

On the 13th day we continued counts and my better observations were a Hazel Hen family, a White-tailed Eagle, a Lesser Spotted and a White-backed Woodpecker and again a new Common Reed Warbler. Hanna found a family of Nuthatches which I had to go to twitch too. On the 15th day counts I saw a Black Kite, 3 White-backed and 6 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, an Icterine Warbler, a Common Reed Warbler and the same Great Reed Warbler. In the evening we saw a Tundra Bean Goose, a Great Snipe and then we went to check that everything was OK with Tawny Owl – at least 2 of them were already out from the nestbox. And on the next day we managed to see an adult owl too.

On the 16th day I counted 24 adult and 35 juv Barnacle Geese in Saharanta and in the evening we saw 4 Oystercatchers flying over the village. We also went to see a Nightjar that Hanna had found incubating. On the 17th day Hanna found a Yellow Wagtail in Saharanta and at night I went to twitch a Quail as Rautjärvi-tick but I didn’t hear it.

On the 19th of June I saw a female Garganey on the dam-road and in the evening we went to check some fields and found even 9 Great Snipes on one field and 3 more on another field. And now all the Tawny Owls were out begging food.

At Midsummer morning we slept a little bit longer and then headed to Tähtiniemi to search for a Greenish Warbler that had been found in recordings that had been made on one summer-cottage. After some searching we managed to find it. Then we headed to Rautjärvi and decided to try to twitch the Quail again but again without luck. But on a bog nearby we caught and ringed 3 young Common Greenshanks. On Kokkolanjoki we saw a couple of Grey Wagtails and after some searching we managed to find their nest.

On the 21st of June we had SSP again and we caught a Sedge Warbler, 2c Common Whitethroats, 1c Garden Warbler, 3+1c Willow Warblers, 10 Blue and 2+1c Great Tits and a surprise Crested Tit and a Reed Bunting. In the evening crazy news were out as a young boy had photographed the first ever Dalmatian Pelican somewhere in Finland! Thanks to Martin Helin and Karoliina Hämäläinen the location was revealed and it had been in Kökar island a couple of days earlier. So the news was old after all but luckily there were some birders in Kökar and the bird was located! So we had to start planning a big twitch – but first we left to eat crepes to Hanna’s parents – there must be some order in life…

While we were eating crepes I decided to book a boat for the next morning. Hanna, Elissa and Veikka Kosonen were also ready to go twitching so there were still 21 places in a big boat. After I had put a message to Lintutiedotus it took only a couple of minutes to get the boat full.

We tried to sleep a couple of hours but before midnight we met in our parking place and soon left towards Parainen. It was a long drive but finally we turned to Saaristotie where we saw the first wave of happy twitchers driving towards us. Finally at 5:30 a.m. we were on Nauvo ferry and a half an hour later on Korppoo ferry with several other twitchers. Then we still had to wait for an hour in the harbor before our boat Princess Explorer arrived. Luckily all 25 twitchers had came early and at 7:40 we started sailing towards Kökar.

It took 2 hours to get to Kökar and on the way I had got some ridiculous year-ticks as I hadn’t seen sea at all this year – Common Eider, Mute Swan and Arctic Tern.

Finally we were on Kökar and out captain had booked a couple of taxis for us. The first car was already there so 8 first ones started driving towards the place where the Dalmatian Pelican had been also this morning. We had been driving only some hundreds of meters when we got a call that the pelican was in flight! The rest of our group that was still on the harbor saw it! It was flying close to the wind-mill and with that information we managed to see the bird with Hanna. But we were on the front-seat, it was impossible to see it from the back of the car before it flew behind some trees. So we drove after it to Västerfjärden where it had been also on the previous evening fishing. We could see the bay well from the bird-tower but the furthest part of bay was invisible. After some waiting we decided to leave to the place where the bird had been seen most. And of course we got a call that the bird was flying again. Only I managed to see it flying low behind some tree again, but now it was flying towards the islet where it had been seen most.

We drove along a small track towards Storstensudden where the bird had been watcher. Of course another car was driving towards us and there was no room to pass it. In this car were the owners of the road and they had promised that the early morning twitchers could use the road but it seemed that it wasn’t early morning anymore. So we had to continue by feet as our taxi had to reverse back to a bigger road. Veikka and Teo Ylätalo, who had already seen the bird a couple of times, passed us by bike that they had rented from the harbor. And soon we saw them on a top of a rock and luckily the Dalmatian Pelican was on their scopes as it was on its ordinary islet.

Some of our group was still on the harbor, but they had seen the bird already. And now finally the last twitchers that had been in our car managed to see it. And soon taxis brought the rest of our group to watch the bird. It was quite far but well visible. After some time it flew a little bit but landed to the sea and after some swimming it climbed to another islet where it stayed until we decided to call the taxis to get us back to the harbor.

The way back to Korppoo was happy and on the way I still managed to get a couple of year-ticks: a Black Guillemot and a Razorbill. Then in Korppoo there was really bad Midsummer traffic-jam. Luckily we managed to get to second ferry to Nauvo and then it took an hour to get to another ferry to Parainen. Luckily I managed to sleep a little while waiting for the ferries.

In Turku there were a White Stork couple breeding and in Raisio a Long-billed Dowitcher and then further in Jyväskylä an Eurasian Stone-curlew but we (except Veikka) were too tired to think about any more twitching. On the way we tried briefly to twitch a Ferruginous Duck in Salo Omenojärvi but we saw only a family of Pochards and a Caspian Tern. After we had eaten we continued to Kouvola where Elissa eptied her mail-box and then we continued to Parikkala. There we still went to listen to young Tawny Owls before the trip was over.

On the next day I was really tired but on the 24th of June we went to ring young Common Kestrels in Rautalahti, saw a couple of Whimbrels in Tönkinsuo and then went to check that Nightjar-youngsters had been hatched – but they surely were still too young to ring. Then we continued to Rautjärvi Kokkolanjoki and ringed 6 nestlings of Grey Wagtail. We still continued to a short field-trip and saw a Great Snipe.

On the 25th day we did only a short afternoon-trip and found a Pygmy Owl in Yrttitarha. And on the 26th day there were again 3 Oystercatchers in the village. On the 27th day we did the first duck-count where we tried to count all ducklings. It as easy to say that there aren’t many birds on the northern side of Siikalahti anymore. Only better observations were a few Gadwalls, a Grey Heron and a Spotted Redshank.

On the 28th day we drove to Mikkeli to my cousin’s birthday-parties. There we made only some atlas-records like a nests of a Treecreeper and a Wren. On the 29th day I went to check that everything was OK with the Grey Wagtails. Then in the afternoon we went to Saari where we saw a Black Kite in Akonpohja, a couple of Gadwalls in different places and found a nest of Golden Orioles.

On the 30th of June my brother Pirkka arrived for a short visit with his wife Anitta and two older children Iina and Veikka. In the afternoon we tried to find Golden Orioles in the cemetery but found only an Icterine Warbler and a nest of a Wryneck. At night we did a tour in the area around the village and Siikalahti with Pirkka and Veikka and even though it was already very quiet, we managed to find several Long-eared Owl fledlings, 2 Short- eared Owls, a Red-throated Diver, a few Great Snipes, several Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Common and a Great Reed Warbler and a River Warbler. So we got a few good year-ticks for Pirkka.

J.A.

In mid May some observations to mention were on a Black Kite and a Common Swift on the 15th and then on the 17th day there were 3 Greater Scaups in Härskiinmutka, 109 Little Gulls and a Gadwall in Akonpohja, a Pink-footed Goose and 2 Temminck’s Stints in Pohjanranta, a Common Rosefinch in Riionsalmi, 2 Temminck’s Stints and 2 Rooks in Kanavalampi and 2 Wrynecks in Karinmäki. And then the best bird of the trip was a Red-breasted Goose in Poutasenryhmä. It was also nice to find some House Sparrows in Koukkuinnurmet.

On the 18th of May we did our first SSP-ringing session and caught 4 Common Whitethroats, 1r+2c Reed Buntings, a Fieldfare, a Bluethroat and a Chiffchaff. We also heard a Golden Oriole singing and saw 2 migrating Honey Buzzards. Then we headed to Saari again where we twitched a Grey Plover in Pohjanranta where we also saw 10 Temmick’s Stints and in Ala-Ollukka we saw 7 Gadwalls and a Pintail couple.

In the afternoon we went to search for Ural Owl chicks and managed to find one to photograph. Then we still went to twitch a Great Reed Warbler to Siikalahti and a Common Reed Warbler in Kukonkanta.

On the 19th day we had duck-counts but before the counts we went to ring our first ever Tawny Owl mama. We had counted that all the eggs had been hatched now as the mama can’t be caught until that.

In the count we saw less birds as almost all the migrants were gone and the breeding birds were hiding on their nests. But the Greater Scaup was still there and we also saw a couple of Gadwalls. We also saw a flock of 2 migrating Arctic Skuas and I saw a White-backed Woodpecker collecting food. After the count we still stayed on the dam-road and saw a few migrating flocks of Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters and a migrating Short-eared Owl.

On the 20th of May was the huge geese-migration day. But I was out only on my lunch-hour and again I tried to find something better from the sky. I managed to find a Black Kite, 3 migrating Arctic Skuas, 6 Great Egrets that landed to the bay and a few flocks of Black-throated divers (61 birds) with one Red-throated Diver. I did look at the geese enough to find some Brent Geese too. There were already 60 Common Swifts circling on the sky – so I guess it was summer now.
On the 21st of May I started my lunch-hour by twitching a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a Wood Warbler and an Icterine Warbler as Siikalahti year-ticks – then I continued to dam-road. A Great Reed Warbler was singing and a couple of Black Kites were seen. I was about to pack my scope when I noticed an eagle on the eastern sky. It looked promising but it started gliding towards north before I caught it with my scope. Then I still had to help others to find it before I could really concentrate to identifying it. But the bird was just gliding. It was turning a couple of times so I could see that it had paler upperwing-coverts contrasting to dark flying-feathers. The bird was quite far but Tahvo Repo and Mika Huhtinen were trying to get pictures of it. The rest of us were trying to see more with our scopes. But all I saw was a quite clear and big Aquila-patch.

The eagle kept on gliding and I had to put a message about this “Lesser Spotted Eagle” to Lintutiedotus if there was someone north from us. Probably then the bird made a bigger turn and Tahvo managed to get a couple of better pictures of it. Soon I found the bird again but it was already very far. But then it started soaring and I could see that also underparts of the wings had the same contrast. I also noticed something white on the base of the primaries but I thought it was just bigger than normally half-moon patch. For some reason alarm-bells weren’t ringing when I also thought that the bird looked also long-winged, not at all as compact as it had looked when it had been just gliding…

Tahvo hadn’t got a good computer and only a bad screen with him on his cottage, but finally on the next evening he sent me one picture of this eagle. And immediately I could see that there were clear white bars on the underwings! It really looked like a Steppe Eagle. Soon Tahvo sent more pictures and after all it was quite clear that we had seen a Steppe Eagle! It was my 251st species in Siikalahti, 311th self-found bird in Finland.

But let’s go back to the eagle-day. After the bird had glided far north and disappeared behind the trees I had to hurry back to work. But after work I had to hurry to Lappeenranta Joutseno Kotasaari to twitch a Long-billed Dowitcher that Totti Toiskallio had found. It was my 311th species in South-Karelia. With Veikka Kosonen we checked the rest of the pools and we saw a Ruddy Turnstone, 3 Marsh Sandpipers, a Dunlin, 2 or 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Temminck’s Stints, a Citrine Wagtail couple, 2 couples of Garganeys, a Slavonian Grebe couple, 6 Little Ringed Plovers and we also heard a couple of Common Moorhens, a Common Ringed Plover and a Spotted Redshank. It is quite a bird-paradise! Before I drove back to home, I still twitched an Ortolan Bunting in Konnunsuo.

On the 22nd day a Grelylag Goose couple was again in Siikalahti, in Lahdensuo I saw a Red-backed Shrike and in the evening we went to check our ordinary field and saw 6 Great Snipes and heard a Corn Crake. We ended the trip by twitching a River Warbler that was singing on Harri Partanen’s garden in Moskuunniemi.

On the 23rd day I didn’t see anything special on my lunch-hour and Saari-tour in the afternoon wasn’t much better. A Black Kite and a Hen Harrier were seen and a Blyth’s Reed Warbler was heard. In Kangas we noticed a big nest-box that was now visible because of some trees had been cut and there was a Ural Owl chick perched on the branch in front of the box.

On the 24th day we did part of the night-count in Siikalahti and heard 6 Spotted Crakes and a Nightjar and saw a Long-eared Owl. During the day I saw a Greylag Goose and a Gadwall couples, a flock of 550 Brent Geese, 11 migrating Honey Buzzards, a Black Kite and a Spotted Flycatcher. But the end of the trip was bad as our car broke down. Luckily I got a ride from Matti Lötjönen. In the evening we did as short trip with Tahvo and Harri and saw 3 Great Snipes and heard Corn Crakes and found a new River Warbler.

On the 25th day I had to go to count birds to Siikalahti by bike. Only better bird I found was a Red-backed Shrike. I also heard a possible Bailloin’s Crake, but it stopped calling too soon. I managed to get only 3 weaker notes videoed with my phone. And of course it wasn’t heard later even though we tried several times.

Our car had broken down at the worst possible time as we both had two works to do. Surprisingly I found out that there was a possibility to rent a car in Parikkala. I called to Tarmo Kosonen and found out that he also had a big truck that could take my car to a service. Then he also helped me to contact a service and soon we were towing our car there. It was Sunday but on the next morning I got a call from the service that they would look at our car even though they were fully-booked. And soon they called me that it would take at least this week and maybe next one too to repair our car – but at least it was still possible to repair.

So we also rent small VW Polo and managed to keep on working in Siikalahti. But the next day it was raining so I couldn’t do much. But on the 27th day I saw a couple of flocks of Brent Geese (550 birds) on my lunch-hour. In the evening we did duck-counts and there were fewer birds now as almost all migrants had gone and breeding birds were hiding on their nests. Greylag Geese and Gadwall couples and 3 female Smews were seen and a Wryneck was heard.

On the 28th of May I saw a Black Kite again and then twitched a Marsh Warbler in Moskuunniemi. In the evening we went to ring Tawny Owl chicks but only 2 of them were big enough to get their rings.

On the 29th day we did more counts and rowed around the southern part of Siikalahti. We saw a Long-eared Owl, Greylag Geese again and heard 3 Corn Crakes, a River Wabler and a Common Reed Warbler. Later there were more singers along the dam-road when there were a Common Reed, a Marsh, a Blyth’s Reed, a Great Reed and a Savi’s Warbler singing. During the day we headed to Saari again and saw a Heuglin’s Gull on the way in Kinnarniemi. In Pohjanranta we heard a Common Grasshopper Warbler and saw a Temminck’s Stint and in Akonpohja we saw a White-backed Woodpecker feeding youngsters to nest. In Hiekkaniemi we saw a Tundra Bean Goose and heard a Golden Oriole, in Ala-Ollukka we saw 2 couples of Gadwalls and in Saarenkylä we heard another Golden Oriole.

On the 30th of May our car was fixed! But as Hanna needed our car to make her counts in Siikalahti, we left twitching in the evening with Tahvo, Minna Terävä and Merja Laari with Merja’s car. It was a long drive to Kuhmo Hirvivaara but once there my friends Veikka Kosonen, Pyry Laurikka and Teo Ylätalo were already there and pointed where our target-bird was – and soon we heard the second Oriental Cuckoo for Finland! We spent several hours there listening and sound-recording this cuckoo and after all we managed to see and photograph it too!

The drive back was long and we had to stop in Saari Pohjanranta to stay awake. There were 3 Long-tailed Ducks. Then we ate delicious meat-crepes before continued to Parikkala. The rest of the day I was sleeping.

On the last day of May I did some extra-counts as Hanna was still busy with her school-work. The biggest surprise was a flock of about 100 Red Knots that migrated over me. I also heard a Savi’s, a Great Reed, 2 Common Reed and 2 Marsh Warblers. In the afternoon we still did a trip to Saari where we saw a stunning Grey Plover in two different places – in Pohjanranta and in Ala-Ollukka. In Karinmäki we found once again a Eurasian Curlew that has been ringed in 1997 in Lincolnshire England.

J.A.

On the next day I visited Siikalahti bird-tower and saw a Gadwall and a couple of Scaups and so on and on the 10th day I found a probable Cackling x Barnacle Goose hybrid in Kullinsuo. In the evening we saw lots of Woodcocks but caught only 4 of them. We also saw a Short-eared Owl.

On the 11th of October I saw a flock of 90 Long-tailed Ducks migrating in rain and on the 12th we were watching migration with Ari Aalto in Savonlinna Punkaharju Hirvikoski. We didn’t see much but during the day I headed to Saari and I saw altogether 15 White-tailed Eagles and 2 Golden Eagles. In Suurenjärvenliete I heard a Parrot Crossbill and in Pohjanranta I found 2 young Dunlins. There were still quite a lot of birds around but nothing else better. In the evening we still saw 9 Gadwalls and 3 Pochards in Siikalahti.

On the 13th of October we were ringing the last time in Kukonkanta. We caught a Wren, 5 Robins, a Goldcrest, 18 Blue and 46 Great Tits and a Tree Sparrow. During the day we headed to Uukuniemi where Hanna was telling locals about the opportunities of birding-tourism in the area. Meanwhile I visited Kumpu tower and later we headed to check some places in Saari. The best observation was a huge Lynx that crossed the road in front of us.

At night of 14th and 15th we checked several fields but on dry fields there weren’t many birds and they all were very shy. We caught 2 Woodcocks, 2 Common Snipes and a Jack Snipe. I also found a Ural Owl and a Great Grey Shrike with my thermal camera. On the 15th day there were even 13 Gadwalls and 30 Scaups in Siikalahti and on the 16th still 13 Great Egrets. On the 17th I saw a Bittern and on the 18th I heard 3 Water Rails.

On the 18th of October we started driving towards south. We tried to twitch a Mandarin Duck in Hamina and a Tawny Owls in Helsinki Vuosaari but without luck. After all we drove until Hanko where we put up a camp in the forest near Tvärminne. We heard a migrating Oystercatcher at night.

On the 19th day we birded in Hanko. In Svanvik we didn’t see much but in Vedagrundet we saw 3 migrating Hen Harriers and saw a Dunlin and a Common Ringed Plover. In Långören we saw a Merlin and an Oystercatcher, in rubbish tip 5 Wood Larks and in Tallholmarna a Little Gull. During the day we went to eat and then to shopping. Then we finally drove through toll-zone after we had shown all needed papers at the gate. We parked to the parking place and then carried our stuff to Hanko Halias bird-observatory.
Once in the station we found room to all our staff and then Hanna joined KImi Nurminen and Tatu Hokkanen and went to mist-nets and I went to say hello to long-staying occupier Aki Aintila who was still counting migration on the bunker. There I met also Alex and Benjamin Nylander which I joined to count birds in Gåsörsbukten which was another daily routine. Best birds I saw were a Heuglins Gull type of gull, 4 Jack Snipes a very late Common Cuckoo and 2 Nuthatches that were different sub-species.

In the evening we joined the log and the evening was crowned with a Long-eared Owl that Kimi carried from the mist-nets. Later at night we also caught the same Common Cuckoo!

On the 20th of October Hanna went to mist-nets with other ringers so that the nets were open 30 minutes before the sunrise. And the morning started well with a Short-eared Owl. At sunrise the migration watching started at the bunker and it was 4 hours long. All migrating birds were counted and we counted 1742 Barnacle Geese, 18 White-fronted Geese, 5 Hen Harriers, 65 Sparrowhawks, a Merlin, a Peregrine, 54 Stock Doves, 10 Wood Larks, 2 Barn Swallows, 124 Meadow Pipits, 950 Starlings, 2824 Chaffinches, 1589 Bramblings, 105+15 local Goldfinches, 129 Linnets, 155 Bullfinches and so on. So the migration was quite different that I had used to at home!

From the mist-nets mostly tits were caught but also a few Sparrowhawks, a couple of Woodpigeons and a Goshawk. The best bird was a Firecrest that Tatu ringed right after Pekka Peura and Tomas Lövdahl had also arrived. Later Tatu and Nylander-brothers left the station and while checking “Gåu” we saw something new.

The 21st was a bad birding day. Nothing new was seen really even all the routines were made.

On the 22st day better observations were a Black Grouse, 8 Goshawks, 56 Sparrowhawks, a Rough-legged Buzzard, 2 Little Gulls, 9 Wood Larks, a Rock Pipit, 54 Common, 79 Parrot and a single Two-barred Crossbill. On windy mist-nets there were lots of tits ringed and the most tragic thing happened when a Hume’s Warbler was caught but it died to hands of the ringer. It had probably been flying too long time against the wind with stronger tits and got too exhausted? Again there were the same birds on Gou and later Kimi left and Dolf Assmann arrived.

On the 23rd of October the wind was too strong to open the mist-nets and the migration was counted on the shelter of southern forest. 7 Hen Harriers, 9 Goshawks, 57+4 Sparrowhawks, a Common Buzzard, 2 Merlins, 2 Peregrines, 2 Greenshanks, 1238 Jackdaws, 12 Wood Larks and 53 Parrot Crossbills and so on were counted before the migration stopped. At Gou there were still no surprises.

On the 24th day we saw more migration and a local birder Vepe Pikkarainen was also counting birds with us. We saw 35 Bean Geese, a Shoveler, a Great Egret, 8 Goshawks, 85 Sparrowhawks, a Common Buzzard, a very distant Golden Eagle, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 38 Wood Larks, 4072 Great Tits, 928 Bramblings, 226 Greenfinches, 70 Common and even 176 Parrot Crossbills, 349 Bullfinches, the first 2 Snow Buntings of the season and 80 Yellowhammers and so on. We almost had rarities too, but only almost. Aki heard a possible Grey Wagtail and probably a Firecrest too and in the evening with Tomas I found a bunting that was probably a Little Bunting but it was already quite dark and we saw the bird a couple of times only briefly in flight.

On the 25th day 6 Goshawks, a Little Gull, 101 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Chiffchaffs, 81 Tree Sparrows, 84 Common and 85 Parrot Crossbills were counted. At Gåu we found a Skylark. Veera Partanen arrived and Pekka and Tomas left already during the day and in the evening I went to do some shopping to Hanko and picked up Ahti Ihonen and Hilja Kurkinen from the railway-station.

On the 26th of October we had a competition against Säppi. Already at early morning we got a Tengmalm’s and a Long-eared Owl from the mist-net. But the competition started only at the sunrise but even then we had an owl when there was a Hawk Owl on the net. On migration we saw more species than numbers which was good for the competition. A couple of White Wagtails were seen migrating and a Black Grouse was found perched on one rocky island, a Razorbill was swimming on a calm sea and a Brent Goose was found standing on a very distant rock. After the migration-watch a Slavonian Grebe was found at Kotilahti.

We went to count Gåu with a bigger group and the biggest surprise was an Eagle Owl that flushed from the ground. Otherwise we saw the same species as every day. After all we had found 79 species which 77 were seen during the competition. We never heard the number from Säppi – we had probably crushed them totally.

On the 27th the owl-streak continued as Hanna caught a Pygmy Owl and a Short-eared Owl. On migration we saw 45 White-fronted, 775 Barnacle and 24 Brent Geese and also ducks were migrating. We also saw a Great Egret, a Lapwing and even 76 Little Gulls. A couple of Gadwalls were again in Kotilahti.

“Aksu” Lehikoinen & co. arrived and in the afternoon it was our turn to leave. Veera left by train but we managed to fill our car well and dropped Hilja to Espoo and Ahti to Helsinki. Then we still had a long way to drive to Parikkala.

It had been good finally visit Halias. We hadn’t seen as many birds as we had expected but at least we hav ea good reason to go back one day.

Once we were back in Parikkala Siikalahti was still open and there were lots of ducks which Gadwalls, Pintails and Shovelers I hoped to stay until my winter-bird count. Still on the last day of October I saw 8 Gadwalls, 7 Shovelers and 7 Pintails and 8 Starlings and in the evening on the fields a Woodcock, 3 Common Snipes and a Long-eared Owl but at night it was already 5 minus degrees and the ground was frozen.

J.A.

On the 21st we did the first netting trip to the fields and caught 3 Woodcocks and a Skylark. We didn’t see any Great Snipes yet. And on the 23rd day I saw the young Oystercatcher for the last time.

On the 24th we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught 8 Sedge, 3 Blyth’s Reed and 1 Common Reed Warbler, a Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff and a Tree Sparrow. We also heard a possible Red-flanked Bluetail but unfortunately we didn’t catch or even see it. Also a Cuckoo and a flock of 8 Golden Plovers were migrating and a White-tailed Eagle flew over us. In the evening I counted 329 Cranes and amazing 48 Great Egrets!

On the 25th of August we had our last SSP-ringing and we caught 2 Dunnocks, 4 Robins, 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Chaffinch, 3 Common Rosefinches and 7+1c Reed Buntings. In the evening we counted 370 Cranes and 38 Great Egrets and saw 2 Gadwalls, a Merlin, a Short-eared Owl and a Great Bittern and so on. We also ringed a Blackbird, 7 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap and 5 Great Tits.

On the 27th we were netting again and caught 3 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe and 3 Skylarks. On the 28th I saw a female House Sparrow and in Siikalahti a Bittern, 20 Great Egrets and 324 Cranes. On the 29th there was a White-backed Woodpecker in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti 34 Great Egrets, 2 Nightjars and a Bluethroat. And from the fields we caught 3 Woodcocks and 2 Great Snipes and saw a Long-eared Owl.

On the 30th day I headed to Saari with Harri Hölttä. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we saw only a Stock Dove but in Pohjasuo we got lucky! We were walking along a small field-track when we flushed a big passerine. It landed quite far to the field but visible. I ran to get my scope and in a second I realized it was the bird that I had already though it was when it had been flying – a Corn Bunting!

Then I ran to get my camera on tried to get closer to get some pictures. The light was horrible and the bird was shy but I managed to get some pictures. Then I put the news out about the second ever Corn Bunting in Parikkala.

Finally the bird flew towards the farm and after some searching and first found a couple of Red-throated Pipit but then we found the Corn Bunting again and then it was perched on the top of a tree and I managed to get some better pictures. As there were no twitchers yet, we decided to keep on birding.

In Pohjanranta we found 2 Gadwalls, a Cormorant, a Great Egret, 2 Grey Herons, a Common Ringed Plover and a young Little Stint. Then we had to drive back to home as we still had to prepare our ringing place for the next morning.

On the 31st of August we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught a Tree Pipit, a Bluethroat, 9 Sedge and 4 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 4 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 5 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, 9 Chiffchaffs, 18 Willow Warblers, one nice Red-breasted Flycatcher, 8 Blue and 2 Great Tits, a Red-backed Shrike, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Siskins, a Common Rosefinch, a Yellowhammer, a year-tick Rustic Bunting and 2 Reed Buntings. We also saw 500 migrating Siskins and 50 Tree Pipits and a Spotted Flycatcher and heard a bird that probably was a late Thrush Nightingale.

In the afternoon we still had 39 Barnacle Geese in the village and then we headed to Saari where we first twitched the Little Stint in Pohjanranta and then continued to Pohjasuo. After some searching we found the Corn Bunting which was a lifer for Elissa and a good month tick to my friend Mika I. Koskinen. This was after all the first Corn Bunting in Finland in August for 40 years. This time I managed to get a couple of little bit better pictures of this rarity. We saw also 5 Red-throated Pipits and a Bluethroat and so on.

In the evening we still went to put mist-nets ready to Papinlahti and saw a Nightjar there. This bird had been roosting on our ringing platform. Unfortunately I saw it only when it flushed.

On the 1st of September the same Nightjar was flying around and at 5:30 we had mist-nets up. We had decided to try how our SSP-ringing site is working outside the season as a ringing place. Now we could use bird-songs there. Almost immediately we heard a River Warbler singing weakly but once again we had no luck to catch it. Otherwise the morning was very quiet, but after all we managed to catch a Sparrowhawk, 1+1c Dunnocks, 3+1c Robins, a Bluethroat, a Sedge and 3 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 13 Willow Warblers, 3+2c Bluethroats, 2 Siskins, a Common Rosefinch and 2 Reed Buntings.

After the ringing I headed again to Pohjasuo where I met Veikka Kosonen who was in his army-suit. Soon also Harri Hölttä arrived and together we first managed to see a Wryneck and then the Corn Bunting so I got 2 new September-ticks.

With Harri we still checked Pohjanranta but there were only 2 Common Ringed Plovers and the same Little Stint. While I was driving back to home I saw a Black Kite in Kinnarsalmi.

On the 3rd day I found a young Red-footed Falcon in Siikalahti and in the evening we had mist-nets up there for a couple of hours but we caught only a Blackcap and 3 Robins. But we counted 628 Cranes and 30 Great Egrets and saw also 2 Bitterns, 2 Gadwalls, 33 Bean Geese and a Nightjar again.

Then we still went to fields where we caught 4 Woodcocks, a Skylark and a Tree Pipit. The only Great Snipe we saw was too shy to catch. We also heard a Red-throated Diver calling.
On the 4th day there were a Red-breasted Flycather and a Rustic Bunting calling in Siikalahti and in the evening I counted 32 Great Egrets and saw a Tengmalm’s Owl in flight a couple of times. On the 5th the weather was still very hot but you could tell that autumn was coming as there was a flock of 7 Common Scoters in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti there was a flock of 68 Brent Geese migrating.

At weekend my parents came to visit so we did easy birding in Saari, Siikalahti and Rautjärvi Kokkolanjoki. At mornings we ringed in Kukonkanta but in warm and calm weather there weren’t many birds. We ringed altogether a Tree Pipit, 6 Dunnocks, 7 Robins, a Bluethroat, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 5 Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs, 10 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, 6 Blue and 2 Great Tits, a Tree Sparrow, 3 Chaffinches, 4 Rustic and 3 Reed Buntings. While watching Cranes and Great Egrets in the evening we ringed a Wren, 2 Robins. 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Willwo Warbler and 2 Great Tits. Otherwise we saw a couple of Red-throated Pipits, a Red-backed Shrike, a couple of Smews and so on. In Kokkolanjoki we saw 4 Grey Wagtails, 11 Great Egrets, a Grey Heron and a Cormorant. On Sunday evening we still visited one field with Hanna and ringed a Woodcock and a Great Snipe. On the way back home we still saw a Long-eared Owl.

J.A.

On the parking place in Viikki we met Kai Hilditch who told he was going to continue to Parainen Utö island which was also my plan. He still went to try to twitch an American Wigeon first. So I went to see many friends that were still building their tents and making everything ready for the fair. When the fair was about to begin I had to start driving towards Parainen.

Olave Kemppainen sent an update that Cretzschmar’s Bunting was still in Utö so I called to him and asked if he was going to be there also in the evening. Then Olavi told me that he also had an accommodation for 3 by only himself there. So I asked if “Kaitsu” could also stay there, but of course Olavi had to first ask if it was OK for the house-owner. But anyway I called to Kaitsu and we planned to continue driving with one car. So I stopped to Lohja ABC to eat and soon we were continuing with Kaitsu’s Mercedes.

Soon we got a message that the price for the night in the apartment was extremely high so we decided to stay in our ordinary plan. Kaitsu had a tent I had planned to sleep under the sky. We were talking all the time and time went fast. So we were already on the ferry to Nauvo when we realized that we were in a really bad hurry! So we drove fast the last 20 kilometers and were in the harbor 4 minutes before the ferry was about to leave! And sometimes the ferry leaves early…

Anyway we managed to get all our stuff into the ferry and Kaitsu managed to park his car and run to the ferry in time.

We climbed up to the deck and seawatched all the way but there really weren’t many birds. Just one Black Guillemot, some Arctic Skuas and a family of Velvet Scoters and so on were seen.

Finally we were in Utö at 5:45 p.m. and we carried our stuff next to the chapel and soon found Olavi and a big group of twitchers that had been searching the bunting whole day. After Olavi had seen the bird in early morning they had only heard it calling and a couple of other people had seen it breafly. The last observation was already 4 hours ago.

So we spread to a couple places where the bunting had been seen most, next to the chapel and next to the lighthouse. I once saw a good-looking candidate in flight and landing almost to a top of one tree bit it just vanished. We were searching and searching and also Ville Wallinmaa, who had found the bird again after it had been missing for 5 days, came to help us but the bird wasn’t found.
The twitcher-group had to leave with their rental-boat but we kept on searching until the evening. Then I got a call from Olavi that the price of the accommodation had been a mistake (or then the owner just wanted to get some money) and it was now 50€ per person. So soon we were carrying our stuff there.

We still made a late evening walk with Kaitsu but found nothing really. But it was good to get familiar with the island. Then we went to sleep early.

On Sunday the 18th of August we woke up at 5:30 and at 6 we were already out and searching for the bunting. At 6:30 we met with the rest of birders, Toni Kukkola and 3 twitchers from Savo who had been sleeping in their tents. First we tried to play some call in the place where Olavi had seen the bird on the previous morning but we had no luck.

So soon we spread again to those two main-areas where the most observations had been made. We went to the lighthouse and while we were walking there I saw a good-looking bird flying over us but it disappeared behind the buildings. After some waiting and playbacking we met Jorma Tenovuo who is the only resident birder on the island. He told that most observations had been made right in front of us but the best way to find the bird wasn’t waiting or playbacking but walking through the vegetation.

So when all the birders were there we started to walk through the area very carefully. We walked through the best looking area but found no bunting. Anyway we decided to walk back through the same area and then suddenly Kaitsu saw a good-looking bird landing to bushes close to us. We walked around the bush and then started to walk towards the bush so the rest of us could surely see it coming out from the bush in good light. And soon the bird flushed in front of me and landed to the rock – there it was! It was just behind a bush for me but I took a couple of steps and saw the Cretzschmar’s Bunting extremely well and managed to get some pictures too before the bird flew to the next bushes.

We still carefully pushed the bird visible once and then it stayed on the rock for a couple of minutes. So we managed to get some more pictures before it finally flew a little bit longer distance and landed close to some buildings. So we decided to let it be as there were more twitchers coming in the afternoon.

We decided to go birding to other parts of the island and saw a Common Shelduck, a Gadwall, a couple of Slavonian Grebes and a young Red Knot flew over us and so on. We also tried to find a family of Barred Warblers that probably were still around but didn’t find them.

The day started to get hot and birds were really difficult to find so at noon we walked back to the lighthouse with Toni and soon the next group of twitchers arrived. We told them what we thought was the best way to find the bunting and soon they started walking through the same area. But then I saw a bird landing to a top of a tree in opposite direction and there it was again! Soon it landed to a bush next to one building but luckily the whole group managed to find it from there. There was at least one birder who had already his third try to see this bird!

We were already in hurry so we couldn’t go to get more pictures of the bird but we had to start walking towards the harbor. I picked up my stuff from the apartment and soon climbed to the deck of the ferry again.

The ferry left at 1 p.m. and we were again seawatching most of the way back to Pärnäs. But we saw only a Long-tailed Duck and a Caspian Tern, nothing else really.

Finally we were in Pärnäs and soon we had packed Kaitsu’s car and started driving again. In Salo we stopped to eat and then we tried to twitch a Ferruginous Duck without luck. It was already too late and even though we found a promising-looking bird it was already too dark to identify it as it was only sleeping. Soon we were in Lohja ABC and it was time to say thanks and goodbye to Kaitsu.

I continued to Vantaa Jumbo where I picked up Hanna and we still had a long drive to Parikkala. On the way in Simpele Kokkolanjoki we saw an Eagle Owl in flight and right after we had arrived at Parikkala we saw a Ural Owl. We were at home at 2 a.m. It had been a long twitching trip but it had been really fun!

J.A.

On the 18th of July I saw a Grey Heron and a Black Kite on my lunch-hour and on the 19th day a Great Bitters, a few Great Egrets, at least 7 Honey Buzzards and the first young Marsh Harriers. In the evening I visited Saari Pohjanranta and saw a Black-tailed Godwit, a Spotted Redshank and 65 Lapwings and so on.

At night I decided to go twitching and drove a long way to Valkeakoski. A Dusky Warbler had been singing in Tykölänjärvi for a couple of days but I tried to find it for 5 hours without luck. It was gone. A Blackcap was only active singer and I also saw many other warblers, a White-backed Woodpecker, 4 Pochards and heard a Black and a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

On Sunday the 21st we woke up early and headed to Kukonkanta to do ringing. With 5 nets and different kind of bird-songs playing we caught 11+1c Sedge, 13 Blyth’s Reed, 3+1c Marsh and 3 Reed Warblers, 10 Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 8 Willoe Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Common Rosefinch and 4+1c Reed Buntings. We also saw a Red-throated Diver, the same Oystercatcher adults and so on. In the evening we visited Saari and in Pohjanranta we saw 3 Grey Herons and a Spotted Redshank and in Pohjasuo a Short-eared Owl.

During the week I saw a White-tailed Eagle, a Black Kite and finally a Dunlin as a Parikkala year-tick in Siikalahti. On the 24th we did the SSP-ringing again and caught a Tree Pipit, 3 Whinchats, 2 Icterine Warblers, 3 Sedge and 13 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 14 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 7+1c Willow Warblers, 2+1c Great Tits, 3 Common Rosefinches, 2 Yellowhammers and 13+2c Reed Buntings. We also heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker. And in the evening the whole Oystercatcher family was seen the last time.

In the end of the week I had taken a couple of days holiday and on Thursday the 25th of July we had a Aalto family-meeting in Mikkeli. It was good to see relatives after a long time! In the evening we continued driving west and finally put up hammocks to Hämeenkoski Ahvenainen.

After we had awaken we heard some forest-tits and a Black Woodpecker and soon continued driving towards Tampere. We had plenty of time so we visited a museum and bought new summer-tires before drove to Lempäälä Ahtialanjärvi where we still managed to sleep an hour in the car. At 6 p.m. we met Jani Vastamäki and soon we were all wearing pairs of waders and were rowing to gull-island. There Jani showed us the routines of the ringing station and left us to put up the wader-traps.

Soon we had about 40 traps ready and we hid inside the ringing-cottage to wait for catches. In the evening we caught only White Wagtails (13) but at night we finally got some waders too – 2 Common Ringed Plovers, 7+1c Dunlins, 6+1c Wood Sandpipers, 3 Common Snipes. We also saw a couple of Great Bitterns, a Great Black-backed Gull, a Little Ringed Plover and listened to a Spotted Crake calling all the time.

In the morning we rowed back and found a place to sleep in Mutastenmaa. When we finally woke up we heard again some forest-tits and then went to shopping an eat to Idea-park before headed back to Ahtialanjärvi.

On the shore we met the gull-island’s maker Rainer Mäkelä and Niklas Paulaniemi who also rowed to gull-island to cut hay. It is really tough work to keep the island good for breeding gulls and ducks and migrating waders!

We saw an adult and a young Caspian Tern flying over the island and there was a Little Stint with a flock of Dunlins. Niklas and Rainer saw 3 Curlew Sandpipers too but they never came to the ringing area. We put all the traps up again and then I rowed to pick up Lassi Toivakka to accompany us.

Rainer and Niklas were working until late evening. Maybe it helped us too as many birds were now on our side of the island. So we caught again 21 White Wagtails but also waders much earlier. During the night we caught 25+2c Dunlins, a Common Sandpiper, 8+1c Wood Sandpipers, 3 Common Snipes, 3 Sedge Warblers and then we managed to catch the Spotted Crake too!

In the morning we saw a couple of White-tailed Eagles and soon all the waders had moved to the other side of the island and we unloaded the traps and rowed back to our car. From the bird-tower I still saw a Gadwall and 9 Pochards before we started a long drive towards east.

We slept again in Ahvenainen and then continued to Parikkala in the evening.

On the last day of July we visied Saari once again and in Pohjanranta we saw a Tundra Bean Goose, a Cormorant, a Grey Herin and a Little Ringed Plover and so on and in Pohjasuo we saw 2 Linnets.

At weekend we were ringing again and on the 3rd of August we had SSP and we caught 1c Sedge, 10 Blyth’s Reed, a Reed Warbler, a Lesser and 2+2c Common Whitethroats, 4 Garden Warblers, a Red-backed Shrike, 7 Common Rosefinches and 2+1c Reed Buntings. We saw 400 Barn Swallows getting up from their roost, a Black Woodpecker was calling and a Crested Tit was moving through the bushes but it didn’t hit the nets.

On the 4th day we were in Kukonkanta and caught 11 Sedge, 17 Blyth’s Reed, 4 Marsh and a Reed Warbler, a Lesser and 11+2c Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, 22 Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycather, 6 Red-backed Shrikes and 8 Common Rosefinches. We also saw 22 Canada Geese, a Cuckoo, 2 Nutcrackers, Goldfinches and a Linnet.

On the 5th of August I saw a Red-backed Shrike and on the 6th day a Black Kite in Siikalahti. In the evening we went to cut some trees and bushes on out SSP-site in Papinlahti and saw 2 Great Egrets there. On the 8th day I saw a Black Kite in Kullinsuo and still an adult and 2 young Oystercatchers were in our yard.

On the 10th of August we were in Kukonkanta again and caught a Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Sedge, 3 Blyth’s Reed and 3+1c Marsh Warblers, 4 Lesser and 5 Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, a Chiffchaff, 17 Willow Warblers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, 3 Common Rosefinches and 2+1c Reed Buntings. We saw again 2 Nutcrackers, a Nightjar and a Temminck’s Stint. Then we still visited Pohjanranta where we saw 5 Great Egrets, a Tundra Bean Goose, a Cormorant and a Temminck’s Stint.

And on the 11th day we had SSP: 4 Robins, 4 Icterine Warblers, 5 Lesser and 6+1c Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warblers, 4 Red-backed Shrikes, 5 Common Rosefinches and 4+1c Reed Buntings. Now we saw even 1000 Barn Swallows and we also heard a Golden Plover and a Thrush Nightingale.

On the next day the 3 Oystercatchers were still feeding on the grasses in Kangaskylä – often on our yard. During the week I saw again a White-tailed Eagle, a couple of Black Kites and a flock of 18 Cormorants in Siikalahti but nothing else really.

But I think it is crazy how well we had caught warblers on our ringings – we had ringed 59 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and bunch of other warblers too.

On the 12th of August Aurora-season started very beautifully and Hanna was photographing the, for hours.

During the week I saw a couple of Black Kites again, there were already 11 Great Egrets and more than 100 Cranes and raptors, mostly Honey Buzzards were moving. In Härskiinmutka I counted even 63 Cormorants.

J.A.

There weren’t many birds to see. On the 1st of July in Siikalahti I saw a Gadwall and a Common Redshank and then we found a nest of a Lesser Spotted woodpecker. In Kangaskylä I saw an Oystercatcher with the youngsters so they were still alive.

On the 5th of July I saw 3 adult Oystercatchers and in Siikalahti I saw the first Great Egret of the year. In the afternoon we visited Saari Pohjanranta where we saw a Grey Heron, 2 Whimbrels, 6 Ruffs, 2 Temminck’s Stints, a Common Redshank and a Stock Dove. On the way back home we saw 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a couple of Stock Doves in Särkisalmi.

On the 6th day we had SSP-ringing again and we were expecting to get more birds but it was one more disappointment again. We caught a Robin, 2+2c Sedge Warblers, 3+1c Common Whitethroats, 2+1c Willoe Warblers, 3 Pied Flycatchers, a Yellowhammer and 1+1 Reed Buntings. Meanwhile our friend Kalle Hiekkanen had a bit better SSP-ringing session in Siikajoki where he caught the first ever Yellow-browed Bunting for Finland and the second ever Pallas’s Reed Bunting in an hour! So our weekend-plans were clear. Hanna stayed the last rounds on empty mist-nets while went pack everything ready. When I came back we did the last round and of course then we caught most of our birds. But after all we managed to get mist-nets off in time and still went to pack last things, ate a little and soon started a long drive towards Siikajoki.

It was a long and tiresome drive as I had been watching football at too many nights. We stopped only to fill up the tank and in the afternoon we finally parked to Tauvo. Then we had a couple of kilometers walk to Kalle’s SSP-site. There we found plenty of twitchers who had arrived all around the country, but they hadn’t seen anything yet.

In the evening we saw a flock of 3 Dunlins migrating and from the bushes we found just a Crested Tit, a couple of Blackcaps and one extremely skulky bunting which was giving a couple of “tic” calls but was seen only too briefly and mostly in flight. But it could have been a Yellow-browed Bunting. All reed buntings we found were just Common Reed Buntings.

We slept on hammocks next to the bunting place and continued the search early in the morning. We couldn’t find the ticking bird at all but both male and female and also young Common Reed Buntings were found – and they were all extremely skulky. While searching we saw a flock of 4 migrating Common Shelducks, a Northern Pintail, a Whimbrel, a Caspian Tern, 122 Common Crossbills and some passerines that were hiding on the bushes which 2 Blackcaps were mostly making false alerts.

Some twitchers had brief views to one promising-looking reed bunting a couple of times and finally with a couple of friends we also managed to see it flying a couple of times on the reeds. It was seen only briefly flying towards the spit and we managed to see that it looked quite contrastic and small. We followed it and checked all the bushes until the last ones but it had disappeared. I was the only one to continue until the rocky spit and of course I flushed it from there! I saw it quite well and it really looked small too! But of course I couldn’t see grey small-coverts and it didn’t call. So I shouted to other birders who were next to the bushes that the bird was flying towards them but when they heard me shouting they started to run! So they didn’t see the bird passing them flying over the reeds very close by.

Of course we went after the bird but found again only Common Reed Buntings. I thought that my bird had flew a little bit more along the shore but people started to be too tired and the weather was also getting much worse. So soon everyone else left before the rain was coming. We went to sleep to our hammocks and slept for several hours while it was heavily raining.

When we woke up it was very bad wind and the next rain was soon approaching. So we decided to give up too and walked to our car.

As we had been sleeping well we decided to drive to Luoto where the Bonelli’s Warbler had still been singing and calling in Eugmo Fränsviken. We were finally there about at 5 p.m. and a couple of hours earlier our friend had still heard it singing shortly. The bird had been some hundreds of meters in different place than where I had got it in the change of May and June. We were searching for it for some time until Hanna finally heard it singing once quite far inside the forest. We walked about 100 meters into the woods and soon found it singing again. Then we also managed to see it briefly moving on the trees with a couple of Willow Warblers. It had been ringed since my last visit. But at least Hanna had got a Finnish-tick.

On the way we still stopped in Evijärvi Särkijärvi again where we saw 8 Black Terns but they were all the time very far so we couldn’t get any pictures. We also saw a Grey Heron, a Hobby and a Marsh Harrier there before we started a long drive back home.

In Juva we still saw a Ural Owl, in Savonlinna Kerimäki a big owl that probably was an Eagle Owl and then in Särkisalmi a Short-eared Owl, We were finally at home at 2 a.m. and I was having a normal week.

On the 8th of July I visited Siikalahti where I saw again a Common Redshank and in the evening we visited the main tower and we saw 5 Gadwalls, a Smew, 3 Great Egrets and a couple of Stock Doves. On the 9th day I saw at least 2 Black Kites and a White-tailed Eagle and quite a few other raptors and on the 11th day again a Black Kite and a White-tailed Eagle. During the week Hanna was having our car as she was making atlas and photographing trips.

On the 12th of July I had managed to sleep enough to do some birding so we headed to Saari at 2 .m. to search Lanceolated Warblers or something else better. We checked all the best places but all the fields had been cut and we found only some Corn Crakes, 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a Grasshopper Warbler. We also saw a Short-eared Owl, a Grey Heron and a couple of Whimbrels. In Pohjanranta we saw a young Common Redshank. We ended the trip in Siikalahti where we saw an adult and a young Great Grey Shrike and I saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

I had to go to work at 7:30 a.m. but I was back in Siikalahti on my lunch-hour and I managed to see a migrating flock of about 30 Bar-tailed Godwits and one Knot. I also saw 3 Gadwalls, a Pintail and 3 Great Egrets before I had to go to finish my work-day.

In the morning there were again news from Siikajoki where Teo Ylätalo and Antti Vänskä had been birding together with Kalle Hiekkanien on Kalle’s SSP-site. After a long search they had managed to see and hear the Pallas’s Reed Bunting and there were some rumours about a ticking bunting too. So after my work we packed our car again and were soon driving to Siikajoki again.

We were in Siikajoki at 9 p.m. and I had probably got speeding-ticket on the way. There had been no sightings of any rare buntings so the place had been no protected as Kalle was going to have his SSP-ringing next morning.

We weren’t too tired yet so we waited for Hanna’s sister Elissa for an hour and then headed to Tauvo Ulkonokka. There we walked quite a lot before we found any birds, but for us inlanders it was good to see Common Shelducks, an Arctic Skua, Caspian Terns, even 10 Little Terns, 40 Dunlins, 4 Curlew Sandpipers and 2 Little Stints. Then we put up a camp close to Tauvo-road and started sleeping.

On the 13th of July we met with other twitchers at 3 a.m. and soon walked to a place to the shore where we had visibility to the bunting-bushes but we were far enough from the ringing site so we wouldn’t disturb the ringing-session. If Kalle was going to catch anything rare he was of course coming to show it to us.

While discussing with many friends I was mainly seawatching and I saw a Long-tailed Duck, 3 Black and 4 Red-throated Divers, a Honey Buzzards that came from the sea, 9 Razorbills, an Arctic Skua, Whimbrels, Dunlins, a Temminck’s Stint, a Ruddy Turnstone, a couple of Caspian Terns and so on. After a long waiting some birders that were standing on the shore closest to the bushes first heard some promising calls and then saw a reed bunting species on the top of one willow and it looked promising. I was behind them and I couldn’t see the bird until it was flying on the sky and disappeared again. Unfortunately nobody had managed to get any pictures and it seemed that it hadn’t been seen well enough for ticks.

The shore was fully crowded so I walked to the sea where I got good visibility to all the willow-tops. Then we again just waited something to happen. Kalle’s 4-hours ringing session was soon over but we soon heard that some promising ticking calls had been heard on the ringing site. So we were still hopeful and decided to stay still on the same place.

I felt that my wellington was leaking but after a long wait Jani Vastamäki saw a bunting with his scope just accidently walking on the ground. He started to tell the identification marks and it was soon clear that he was watching the Pallas’s Reed Bunting. I was very close to him but there must have been some plant or rock between me and the bird so I couldn’t find it. I moved one meter and then saw the bird with my binoculars but of course it then flushed and flew behind the bushes again. And still most of the twitchers hadn’t seen the bird at all.

So we kept on waiting but luckily pretty soon a reed bunting was seen flying to the bush closest to the tip. So everyone took good positions and a small group led by Sami Tuomela with his thermal camera started approaching the bush. Sami was about 3 meters from the bush when the bunting flushed and flew quite a long way to the bushes but this time at least a couple of photographers managed to get pictures of it and it was clearly a Pallas’s Reed Bunting! And I must say that I had seen the bird as well as on the previous Sunday – expect then nobody got pictures.

So it was time to start searching for the ticking bunting. This bird had proved to be even more difficult to see so we just went in the middle of the bushes to wait for it to show up.

We were waiting and waiting and a couple of some birders with good hearing and good positioning managed to hear some tick-calls and a couple of times some saw a bunting very briefly. I also managed to see it once on the top of pine and once in flight. All identification-marks that were seen were good for a Yellow-browed Bunting but still nobody saw it well – for example nobody saw the yellow eyebrowe.

During the day we slept a couple of hours and then came back to search. But the evening was very quiet until quite late we heard some tick-calls again but again we saw nothing.
When twitchers decided to give up I went to get my recording-stuff from our car while Hanna put up a camp close to the site again.

On the 14th of July we slept until 4 a.m. and then soon found other twitchers who had already managed to see the Pallas’s Reed Bunting. But then it had flight at least 500 meters to the other side of Kaasa-lighthouse.

So we could start searching the ticking bird again. And we didn’t have to wait for too long before we heard ticking. I started to sound-record it but of course some impatient twitchers started to move. I even managed to see the bird with my thermal camera and I was just about to get my camera and take pictures from the bush where I knew the bird was when someone walked right in front of me! I leaned a little to see the bush but then I saw the bird flying towards the sky and soon it disappeared behind the trees.

But at least now we had managed to get some recordings of this bird and the calls were analyzed very soon and the sonograph looked very promising for Yellow-browed Bunting – they were clearly different than Rustic or Little Bunting calls.

We stayed on the place until mid-day but no buntings were seen or heard. Other birds we had observed had been Bramblings and Common Redpolls and so on. We still decided to visit Ulkonokka again. Water was very low now so there were lots of sand-beaches now. But there were almost no birds at all. We saw only the same Common Shelducks, Caspian Terns and one young Little Tern and a Bar-tailed Godwit. Finally we walked back to our car and started a long drive back to home. We stopped to eat with Elissa on Pulkkila ABC but then we continued driving. In Iisalmi we saw a Pheasant and then we still visited Savonlinna Kerimäki Tänkky as a possible Black-winged Pratincole had seen flying over a field nearby. But we saw only a couple of Ruffs and Wood Sandpipers.

We were finally at home at 8 p.m. and I managed to sleep for 2 hours before I had to wake up to watch the football Euro final. Luckily the best team, Spain, won.

In the beginning of the week there weren’t any interesting bird in Siikalahti or Saari Pohjanranta. We still saw quite a few butterflies and now Silver-washed Fritillaries, Map Butterflies, Wood Whites and some other species were flying. We still saw one Lesser Purple Emperor too and some friends had still seen several White Admirals.

J.A.