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 26th of June I had again an x-ray and time for doctor with my shoulder. It wasn’t still in good shape enough, so I got 2 more weeks sick-leave. From Imatra we continued to Lappeenranta Pajarila where we managed to find a couple of Black Redstarts after some searching. Youngsters were close as the adults were alarming all the time, so soon we continued driving south.

We continued until Lohja where we started searching for a butterfly that we had always wanted to see. First we saw a Lesser Purple Emperor and after some walking on rocky area, we heard a Nutcracker. But the target wasn’t found so we continued to flowery meadows nearby. Soon Hanna managed to find lots of flowering Marsh Helleborine, which is very rare orchid inland. And finally also Apollo was found! It left right under our feet and landed only once before it continued to rocky area where we still managed to follow it for some time before it disappeared behind the trees. It was a good beginning for our holiday-trip, but of course we had hoped to get better pictures of this butterfly too.

We visited one orchid-place in Lohja too, but found only Common Tweyblade and Broad-leaved Helleborine.

Our next target was in Paimio where after some searching we managed to find some Sand Lizard. Unfortunately the only big male was too fast to photograph, but several smaller lizards were photographed. This place is the only one where this species can be found and nobody knows how they have arrived. Maybe someone had brought them? Several species of lizards and frogs have been found quite recently in Turku area that can’t be found anywhere else in Finland. We also tried to find Pool Frogs nearby but found only hundreds of tiny European Toads.

It was quite late when we finally arrived to Parainen where we still visited a couple of forest-places that Hanna hoped to have some orchids, but again we found just the same common species. Finally we drove to one small road and parked next to a small field, put up our tent, cooked and went to sleep.

Jurmo

On the 27th of June we visited two more forests in the morning but still didn’t find new orchids. Finally we headed towards Pärnäs. We did shopping in Nauvo and after we had seen a Grey-hedaed Woodpecker flying across the road, we were finally in Pärnäs a bit too early, so we had good time to arrange our luggage and so on.

Eivor-ferry left in time and we climbed to the sun-deck to enjoy hot summer-weather and scan the sea for any seabirds. Pretty soon we saw a Black Guillemot but next better birds were seen several hours later when we already saw Jurmo-island, when some Razorbills and an Arctic Skua were seen.

Once we were in Jurmo we packed our staff to a couple of milk-carts and headed towards the bird-station. There we met Kim Kuntze who had been on island already for a couple of days.

Soon we went to put up the mist-nets as Hanna planned to ring birds while our stay. Then we watched one more football WC-match before we left to count birds on the western side of the island.

There were quite a good number of birds even though it was mid-summer. But not many young birds were seen. Some better bird found on this protected area where in summer only the bird-station crew can go once in a day were 3 Common Shelducks, 4 Turnstones, 5 Little Terns and a male Black Grouse that was seen on the way to this daily routine counting.

In the evening we cooked and then had the log about the birds seen on the island during the day. It was very late when we finally were ready to sleep.

On the 28th of June after less than 4 hours sleeping we woke up to open the mist-nets. After a couple of empty rounds I climbed to the rock to start another daily routine which was morning seawatch.

From 4:15 a.m. we counted every migrating bird for 2 hours with Kim and saw a couple of Razorbills and Black Guillemots, a flock of Common Scoters, a Dunlin and so on. When the seawatch was ending Kim heard a strange bunting-like song from the bog where Hanna was on the mist-nets. I didn’t hear it at all. So Kim decided to go to listen to the song closer and I stayed on the rock for the last minutes of the seawatch. But soon Hanna called that they were listening a strange bunting-song – and I was running!

I still had some 100 meters to run when I heard the song – and it was a Little Bunting! It was really a strange time of the year and even stranger place to find this species. Little Bunting is extremely rare in South-Eastern Finland. Maybe very hot weather had made this bunting to move to wrong direction. Anyway now it was singing in perfect looking habitat on a bog.

We of course tried to tape-lure the bunting to mist-net but it came only once close to the net and then moved further to the bog to sing. And finally it sang there at least until mid-day.

With Kim we walked the eastern counting-route but saw nothing special. Then I went to help Hanna to close the mist-nets and during the day Hanna had ringed only 5 birds and got 2 old controls. Then we headed to the station to sleep.

In the evening we watched again some football and Germany lost! It was tough for Kim but luckily western count started so well that soon we were all again in good mood. From the lagoon we found a beautiful Sandering!

Other better birds were 6 Dunlins and the same Shelducks and Little Terns. We also ringed 4 small Lapwing-youngsters. While we were walking back to the station, we saw a Cuckoo.

In the evening it had started to wind very hard. When we were back in the station we met Mikko Ylitalo who had arrived in the evening. We ate well again and then kept the log and once again it was very late when we got to sleep.

On the 29th of June the wind was very strong so there was no possibility to put up any mist-nets. Also morning seawatch was very chilly! Kim probably wasn’t too much worried when he left after one hour to pack and towards the ferry.

We counted birds in east with Hanna and saw some more waders than on the previous days. During the day we slept well again and the in the evening headed west with Mikko. Again we found more waders. So it wasn’t a surprise that after counting good numbers of Redshanks and Greenshanks, we also saw some Wood Sandpipers and a Spotted Redshank. Then we saw a good-looking wader flying over us with a couple of Greenshanks, but it was a little bit too brief. But luckily we found the bird again and saw it very well after all – it was a Marsh Sandpiper! It was already the second very rare bird in South-Eastern Finland for us on this Jurmo-trip.It was only the 7th Marsh Sandpiper in Jurmo ever!

It was freezing cold walking in the wind, but finally we were back on the station. Hot food helped and after a long log we went to sleep even later than previous nights.

On the 30th of June the wind had calmed down and when I climbed to the rock to count migration, Hanna left to open the mist-nets. More Common Crossbills were now moving and we counted 281 birds and also the first Two-barred Crossbill of the autumn was seen and heard.

Hanna caught again only a handful of birds but a young Thrush Nightingale was a good catch. And finally one Common Crossbill was caught too. Crossbills were landing to the bog to drink and stayed quite low on the trees but didn’t fly closer to the mist-nets. But we had noticed that bigger flocks were landing to the patch in the pine-forest, so after I had counted birds in east, we moved all the mist-nets there. Hanna also dug a couple of water-pools for the birds. And soon she started to catch more of these rarely caught birds!

I was watching to the sea from the southern shore for some time but quite soon I walked back to pine-forest to help Hanna. While we were ringing the last Common Crossbill of the morning, we saw a Honey Buzzard migrating over us.

After the lunch Hanna headed back to mist-nets and I left to count bird in west. It was much faster to count the birds alone, but there weren’t so many waders anymore. Sanderling was still there but unfortunately Marsh Sandpiper was gone. Only new bird on the count was a Green Sandpiper.

Once I was back in the pine-forest Hanna had just caught some more Crossbills but they were the last ones. During the day she had ringed 38 of them!

In the evening we were watching football and having the log and it went late again.

On the 1st of July I woke up first and climbed to watch to the sea. Soon arrived Mikko too and Hanna headed to open the mist-nets in pine-forest. There were still some flocks of Common Crossbills, but most of them left and the new flocks weren’t coming to drink to Hanna’s pools. So, only one Common Crossbill was ringed in the whole morning. Luckily some other birds were caught, so it wasn’t too boring for Hanna.

After the morning-watch we headed west with Mikko but saw nothing new there, except a Honey Buzzard that was soaring above us for some time while a noisy flock of Redshanks were following it. A couple of Cranes were seen on the way but they soon left to fly to the sea.

Once we had taken off all the mist-nets we slept a couple of hours, packed and cleaned our room and headed towards the harbor. Mikko had decided to stay one more day.

On the way back to Pärnäs we were mostly just sleeping in Eivor. We were finally in Pärnäs at 6:30 p.m. and after shopping in Nauvo, we continued to Parainen.

Turku area

In the evening we still managed to find some extremely rare Fly Orchids. Light was already quite bad, so soon we headed to put up the ferry to the same familiar place.

On the 2nd of July we slept long and after breakfast we went to photograph Fly Orchids again. We found quite a lot of them and Hanna was extremely happy seeing these strange orchids.

During the day we visited Kaarina Kuusistonlahti and Littoistenjärvi Järvelä and saw a couple of Moorhens, Grey Herons and Gadwalls and so on. Then we headed to Turku botanical garden where we heard a family of 6 Hawfinches and heard another Moorhen.

Later we also tried to find Alpine Salamander, but without luck. It was one more species that nobody knows why they were found in this place. Then we still visited Raisio Raisionlahti where the only interesting bird was a Lesser Redpoll. As we still had some time, we went shopping and I managed to watch one more football match before we headed to harbor.

Åland

After one hour Viking Grace -ferry left towards Åland. We had dinner in a fine restaurant and the rest of the time I was watching football again. Finally we were in Lumparland Långnäs at 1:05 a.m.

We still drove to Lemland and turned to a small forest-road where we put up the tent while a couple of Nightjars were singing.

On the 3rd of July we woke up late and the headed to Herröskatan where we immediately found Greater Butterfly-orchid, Common Spotted Orchids and Moorland Spotted Orchids, Bird’s-nest Orchids, CommonTwayblades and closer to the bird-tower also some already dry Elder-flowered Orchids. Bird-tower was in pretty bad shape and extremely difficult to climb up, but the view was stunning. We saw some Black Guillemots and while walking back to the parking place we found a Nuthatch and a Hawfinch.

After a good lunch we decided to walk another round in Herröskatan and soon we met a local lady who told us that she knew a place for Narrow-leaved Helleborine. So we followed her until the carpark and then quite a long way until the place where had been lots of Narrow-leaved Helleborines flowering earlier. But this year they had been flowering already in the end of May! After some searching we found some leafs but not a single flower anymore.

After we had twitched a Great White Egret in the border-bay of Mariehamn and Jomala, we continued to Hammarland where Hanna knew one more orchid-place. This area was fenced and inside the fence there were lots of Lady’s-slipper Orchids and Narrow-leaved Helleborines, but they were all already dried. Outside the fence we tried to find some flowers and surprisingly we found one Narrow-leaved Helleborine which had somehow stack to button. It was much better to take pictures than only leafs.

When we were back at our car, we noticed that our clothes were full of ticks! Only thing we could do was to strip down immediately and anyway we both had already 3 ticks in our skin! Tens of them were found climbing on our clothes so we had to change all clothes, before we could continue towards Eckerö.

We drove until Styrsingsudden where we planned to visit in the sea-watching place, but when we had walked 5 meters from the car, we noticed several ticks climbing on our trousers already! So we desided to just put up the tent in the middle of the road as far as possible from any plants and to go to sleep.

4.7. We had planned to sleep only for a couple of hours and then cook some food but after all we woke up only before 8 a.m. on the next morning. then we hurried to the shore and after picking up some ticks from our clothes, we started seawatching. In a couple of hours we saw 10 Razorbills, 4 Black Guillemots, some unidentified alcids and surprisingly 2 to 4 Common Guillemots. Also 2 Arctic Skuas, 3 Turnstones, a Hobby and so on were seen.

Then we headed to bogs to search for new orchids, but we couldn’t find any. The most interesting observation was a brownish snake that I almost step on. It was most probably a Smooth Snake, but unfortunately I couldn’t see the spots on its back well enough to be sure. Some Treecreepers, Coal Tits, Wrens and a Goshawk were the only better birds and while we were walking towards the next bog Jyrki Normaja called and told that he was visiting one orchid-place soon. We had planned to visit the same place so it was of course clever to join him and have several pairs of eyes searching our target-species.

So after some driving we met Jyrki and also Rami Lindroos who was living in Vårdö. We tried to find Fen Orchids for some time but couldn’t find any of these extremely rare orchids. It is normal that some orchids aren’t flowering every year at all.

Next we continued to one more bog in Jomala where we walked a couple of hours and finally found some Early Marsh-orchids and Flecked Marsh-orchids Then Jyrki called and told that he had found one single Bog Orchid in one more bog in Eckerö. We thought that we had already spent enough time on our bog, so Hanna asked if Jyrki could somehow give us coordinates how to find that Bog Orchid. Luckily phones can give exact coordinates and then the rest of the instructions were given like: “There is one more reddish tussock than others with a small birch-tree. 10 meters east from the tussock there is a rock. In the middle of this line and one meter left is the orchid.

Once we had driven to this place it was still quite a walk into the middle of the bog where we finally found the right tussock. And then Hanna found the tiny Bog Orchid immediately. It was an orchid that Hanna had hoped to see for a long time. While Hanna was photographing the orchid I managed to find some more of them nearby.

We still visited Storby Postbryggan and Sandviken in the evening and saw some Shelducks, Slavonian Grebes and Little Ringed Plovers. Then we headed to Styrsingsudden where we put up the tent to exactly same spot and after dinner we were ready to sleep.

On the 5th of July I woke up to seawatch at 5 a.m. Hanna joined me soon after she had collected some ticks from our tent – both outside and inside. These bloody bastards were following us to the road in the middle of the night!

There were birds moving so we seawatched until 10 a.m. and counted 15 Common Eiders, 42 Common Scoters, 20 Velvet Scoters, 35 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Great Crested Grebes, a Red-necked Grebem 6 Cormorants, 3 Lapwings, a Turnstone, an Arctic Skua, 14 Black Guillemots, 58 Razorbills, again 2 Common Guillemots, a Caspian Tern, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 12 Starlings.

We visited again Postbryggan and Sandviken briefly before continued to Jomala Torpfjärden. Also this tower was in bad shape and extremely dangerous to climb up. We counted 185 Mute Swans, 7 Common Shelducks, 13 Lapwings, 28 Common Ringed Plovers, 13 Ruffs, 12 Greenshanks, 10 Wood Sandpipers, a Spotted Redshank and a Temminck Stint.

After all these ticks, dangerous bird-towers and numerous deers along the roads we had started to think that this must be our most dangerous summer-trip ever!

Next we continued to Ramsholmen where cows had eaten all the orchids already but we found 3 Nuthatches and from the reed-bed we found a couple of young Bearded Reedlings.

After shopping we continued a longer way to Finström Bomarsund castle, where Hanna had been 29 years earlier. After some walking around the castle, we continued to Vårdö ferry-harbor, but decided to turn back and towards Geta.

We stopped briefly in Saltvik Haga fields where we saw a huge flock of 1500 Jackdaws. Finally we were in Getaberget where we decided to sleep in a car for an hour or two.

Once we woke up most of the tourists had left and the parking place was almost empty. So we climbed to watch views from the tower and then walked a long way to visit a couple of caves.

A couple of hours later we climbed back to the parking place and luckily the weather had changed and the sun was shining again. So we decided to try to find Smooth Snakes from the rocky and heathery terrain. No snakes were found so once we were back, we decided to ask, if we could go to shower in the camping area. We paid 5 € for the shower and after all we could have paid much more – it was so refreshing!

In the evening we still drove to the border of Saltvik and Finström to put up the tent. And after a good meal we were ready to sleep.

On the 6th of July after slowly start we headed to Lemland Nåtö hazel-grove. Cattle had eaten all the flowers, but on the shore we saw some Slavonian Grebes also found a nest of a Velvet Scoter. We also photographed tame young Bullfinches before walking back to our car.

Then we still went to eat in Mariehamn and checked that Great White Egret was still on its ordinary place, before we headed to harbor. And an hour later Viking Grace left towards Turku.

We were first on the sundeck but the rest of the trip went watching football and shopping. Once we were in Turku, we drove to Kaarina Järvelä again and tried to find European Green Toads but without luck. We also visited bird-tower on the other side of the pool which was in Lieto. Then we drove once again to Parainen to put up the tent.

Last twitching

On the 7th of July we woke up late and while having breakfast butterflies started to fly. We saw several Fritillary-butterflies and a single Silver-washed Fritillarythat was having territory around our tent. We also met a local butterfly-watcher who asked if we had found any Apollos yet. And almost immediately we saw one flying over us high on the sky.

Soon we drove tha last kilometers to the butterfly-place that we had been told. There we met Tom and Kaija Lindroos and some other butterfly-photographers. Immediately we found some Apollos and also Lesser Purple Emperors. Finally we managed to get good pictures of Apollo too! So pretty soon we were happy enough to start a long drive towards east.

In Salo we felt so tired that we stopped at Halikonlahti, where Hanna slept a little and I visited a couple of bird-towers. Only some Dunlins, Spotted Redshanks and Gadwalls were seen and soon we hit the road again.

Finally we stopped in Lappeenranta where we visited one orchid-place but found nothing interesting. Then we visited Kaislanen, where I managed to see a Black-tailed Godwit briefly. Then we drove to Joutseno to one more butterfly-place to out up the tent. After one more long football match I finally was ready to go to sleep.

On the 8th of July we weren’t in a hurry as it was raining. Luckily the rain stopped and it soon got hotter. But still butterflies weren’t flying. So we visited Kotasaari where we saw 2 Dunlins and Kukkuroinmäki where we surprisingly found a family of Great Grey Shrikes.

We still drove back to butterfly-place but saw nothing interesting, so we started to head towards home. Next we stopped in Imatra where we checked one place that could be the right one to find one more extremely rare orchid, but maybe it wasn’t the right place at all. Then the last stop was made in Simpele Kokkolanjoki where we saw a Grey Wagtail in a couple of minutes.

Finally we were home and it was good to know that I still had one week sick-leave and could rest well after a hard but successful trip.

J.A.

We headed to another orchid-place to Pieni-Valkeinen where we put up the tent, ate well and went to sleep.

The 27th of July. We slept well and then went to search for orchids. Right away we found lots of Common Spotted Orchids and in a couple of hours walking in the woods and bogs we found also Common Twayblades, Lesser Butterfly-orchids, Early Marsh-orchids, Fragrant Orchids and the best one was a Dark-red Helleborine. We also found some birds; a Hazel Hen was seen briefly, some Common Crossbills were flying around, a Chiffchaff and some Wrens were still singing and the best bird was an alarming Greenish Warbler.

Then we headed towards Kuhmo. After we had seen a family of Black Grouses we parked along one lake to prepare lunch. After we had eaten we continued to Kuikkajärvi where was a lodge of Arctic Media. We were there exactly in time at 4:30 p.m.

We met Antti Selin, who told us all the instructions for the hide and at 5:15 p.m. we left towards the hides. Most of the people were going to different hides as there were hides in three places. So together with Hanna we got the most luxurious hide in Paradise which was along a big bog. To our neighbor single-hides we had 3 more photographers.

We organized all our things so that we could be as quiet as possible and soon Antti came with a pig that he tied up to a tree about 70 meters from us. When Antti left we started to wait for some action.

Soon the first Ravens, Common and Lesser Black-bagged Gulls arrived. There were even 55 Ravens in one time. One of the 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls was quite pale but probably not a Heuglin’s Gull. After about a half an hour waiting the first Brown Bear arrived and this big bear had some scars, it had been fighting a lot. It missed almost half of its ear too. But it seemed to be hungry as it started eating the pig and after some time we started to fear that it was going to eat it all!

After another 30 minutes 2 smaller bears arrived but only one of them went to the carcass after the big bear had left. Another one seemed to be afraid of everything – even Ravens. And after these 2 bears came soon the 4th one but then the half-eared big one came back and all other bears ran away. But surprisingly the fifth bear that arrived made this big one move even though it was much smaller. Also this one had some scars and the biggest one was on its butt. Maybe it had won the half-ear recently?

From time to time the carcass was empty as all the bears had moved back to the forests. Of course some Ravens and gulls were there all the time. The 6th bear was the biggest of all but it just walked soon to the carcass, picked up a big meat and walked back to the forest.

About at 10 p.m. most of the birds had gone to sleep but still some Ravens and gulls stayed. It was already getting quite dark when a huge bear with a pale collar came but while I was watching it with my binoculars I saw something pale behind him moving – a Wolf! There were 2 wolves standing behind some trees and soon they started to walk across the bog from right to left. They were maybe 300 meters from us, but there was still some light to get some pictures and videos. We had been advised not to take too many pictures of the wolves at one time as they were extremely shy. So we took most of the pictures when they were moving and the only one at time when they had stopped. These animals were absolutely gorgeous! The pale older female was really beautiful and light-brown, thinner male looked somehow much wilder. Unfortunately they just crossed the bog and were seen only once later very briefly on the back of the bog disappearing to the forest.

Soon after the wolves one more big pale-shouldered bear arrived and then it came so dark that it came difficult to identify the bears anymore.

The 28th of July. Still some Common Gulls were staying around the feeder and also 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls payed a visit. After 1 a.m. a big bear visited the carcass and soon after that I heard a Willow Grouse calling a couple of times. Hanna was then sleeping. After this I still saw a couple of smaller bears but then the half-ear arrived again and chased them away.

Just before the sun was rising fog started to cover the whole bog. The view was like from a post-card but of course the bog made it more difficult to see to the carcass. Soon the first birds started to call; Magpie Hooded Crow, Raven, Willow Tit and at 5 a.m. it was morning when Wagtails arrived.

During the morning we still saw 2 bears behind the bog, but everything had been eaten from the carcass. I had slept a couple of hours and Hanna a little bit more. At 7 a.m. there were only White Wagtails, some Yellow Wagtails and surprisingly we saw also 2 Rustic Buntings. At 7:30 a.m. we had packed everything and left towards the car where we met the others. We drove to the lodge and it seemed that everyone was happy! On another hide people had seen a couple of Wolverines too, but not so many Brown Bears. But I had a feeling that I still had missed something, I really wanted to see Wolves better and maybe also some eagles – there had been a couple of White-tailed Eagles visiting the carcass in front of Paradise one day earlier. But luckily we had booked another night too – so we already told to Antti that we would stay in Paradise again.

We prepared lunch and heard a Red-throated Diver calling while flying over us. Then we drove a little bit to a river where we put up our tent and went to sleep.

We slept long and before 4 p.m. we drove back to the lodge. We ate again and at 5:15 we left again towards the hides. There were more people now and also more of them were coming to Paradise. So we got a little bit smaller hide foe ourselves but anyway it was very comfortable. There were already 2 White-tailed Eagles, an adult and 3rd year bird, perched on the trees with Ravens when we arrived. Soon we had organized our things and then Antti came to drive a bigger pig-carcass to the bog with snowmobile. He tied it very well again and soon we started waiting again.

About after an hour waiting the first bear arrived. It was one of the big ones and it started to eat well immediately. Soon we saw also a second adult White-tailed Eagle arriving to the trees behind the bog.

Before 8 p.m. another big bear with pale neck arrived and then at 8:20 p.m. we saw a brown Wolf coming behind the bog. It was hiding behind the trees for some time but then walked in the middle of the bog and laid down there so only ears were visible! And soon the pale Wolf arrived too. It walked to the brown one and together they continued crossing the bog again.

When they had reached the left edge of the bog they attacked to a Brown Bear! Unfortunately they we behind some trees and bushes but it seemed that this bear had some meat with it and Wolves stole it.

Once the Wolves had continued behind the trees a big pale-necked bear took a big piece of meat and walked to the forest. We were afraid that Wolves would follow it and not come to visible anymore. These animals were so smart that they didn’t like to go to the middle of the bog. They didn’t want to get wet. So they were often just waiting in the woods that a Bear would come with a big piece of meat and then steal it. The tactic was that one Wolf was attacking and another one stole the meat once Bear dropped it.

At 9 p.m. the big bears were gone and there were 3 familiar smaller ones around. The shyest one wasn’t visiting the carcass but shouting from the distance. And the one with hole in its ass was doing whatever he wanted.

At 9:10 p.m. a pale wolf was surprisingly left from the carcass and cameras were clicking! Again we didn’t take too many pictures as we didn’t want to scare it away. But it seemed that there was too much traffic around the carcass and it turned back to the forest. But anyway we were now taking lots of pictures as both adult White-tailed Eagles were now feeding with bears and ravens.

But at 9:45 it finally happened! Both Wolves arrived from the forest and surprisingly the shyest bear was following them to the carcass! The brown Wolf didn’t go to the carcass but walked around it and marked its territory. But the pale beauty came to the carcass and took a big piece of meat and carried it just a little bit further to the bog and started eating!

After all brown Wolf was visible maybe 10 minutes but the pale stayed around the carcass for 40 minutes showing all the time! It visited the carcass a couple of times and after taking a big piece of meat with her, it either ate or just laid down watching other carcass-visitors. It was funny to see that White-tailed Eagles that were extremely shy to visit the carcass were afraid by Wolves and smaller bears, especially in flight.

Soon it came dark and once the pale Wolf had also disappeared to the forest there were only 2 smaller bears around. Then we saw a young 1 year old bear coming towards the carcass but it was too afraid of other ones and never made it to the meat.

At 10:40 p.m. we saw the pale Wolf crossing the bog carrying a huge meat. And 10 minutes later the brown one did the same and also it had managed to steal a big piece of meat from some bear. Meanwhile there were 4 smaller bears visiting the carcass which one of them was new.

At 11:30 p.m. it came so dark that we decided to start to sleep. I woke up a couple of times to see that a couple of smaller bears were still doing something further on the bog and also half-ear had arrived close to the carcass.

The 29th of July. At 1:30 a.m. a couple of bears were fighting in the middle of the bog, but it was too dark to see if they were playing or really fighting – anyway the noise was amazing! At 7:30 we had packed everything and met extremely happy people on the parking place! It had been the best night ever!

At the lodge we did some food again and heard a Parrot Crossbill flying over us. Then we said goodbye to everyone including Antti, a South-African photographer who had stayed there for a month already and a Norwegian man who had been visiting the place every summer for 30 years!

As we had been sleeping quite well, we decided to start driving. We stopped once along a bigger bog and heard a Golden Plover and a Whimbrel before we continued towards Juuka.

In Nurmes we turned towards Lake Suuri-Soramo where we twitched a Ruddy Shelduck that had been found a couple of days earlier. The bird was found easily and so we were soon driving again.

In Juuka we did some shopping and then continued to another orchid-place to Kusilampi (piss-pond). There we walked about 3 hours around the pond and found a couple of new orchid-species for the trip – Coralroot Orchid and Creeping Lady’s-tresses. The funnies observation was to find thousands and thousands of small Common Toads on the shore of the pond.

After a long and hard walk we cooked again and soon were ready to go to sleep to the tent.

On the 30th of July we woke up when a Two-barred Crossbill was calling nearby. It was calling a bit strangely, quite short “tyy-tyy, tyy-tyy-tyy” calls but was easy to identify from the flight call.
After we had eaten again we drove to Hepolampi to search more orchids again. This place was completely different and we had to climb up and down on the limestone-hill. Not many orchids were found but a family of Hazel Hens was heard alarming.

Our last target-place was Merilampi where we walked in bog and forest for some time but then it started to get too hot to continue. We still found a Lesser Twayblade which was the 13th species of orchid during the trip. One not mentioned earlier had been Lady’s-slipper-Orchid which we can’t tell the place where it was found. Some more species would have been possible to find, but as we had no instructions to find any orchids, we were quite happy how many we had found! Some of the flowers must be still identified from the pictures as especially all the red orchids are hybridizing a lot.
About at noon we headed again to Koli and on the way we took better pictures of Early Marsh-orchids and Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchids. The weather was now perfect and we really enjoyed visiting beautiful hills of Koli – Ukko, Akka and Paha-Koli where the scenery is one of the most beautiful in Finland!

Then we still had to drive back to Parikkala where we were in the early evening. We had really enjoyed our trip!

J.A.

We visited one location for this species. We searched for an hour and in this time we managed to find seven stems. This year was not good for this species since in good year it could be possible to find ten times more flowering stems. Plants were also pretty small.

Photographing was not easy since this plant grows in deepest spruce forest.

H.A.

We have been lazy this summer, we haven’t been birding much in Finland. This Sunday we decided to go birding to Lappeenranta but after all we did almost as much orchid and butterfly searching too. Anyway we leaft after 9 a.m after a lazy morning – we should have awaken earlier. On the way to Lappeenranta we saw a hawk flying over the road in Rautjärvi Pirhola and we immediately realized it was a small harrier. We stopped and luckily the bird started to soar some 300 metres from us. It wasn’t an easy bird but we managed to identify it as a female Montagu’s Harrier! Hanna took several pictures and suprisingly it can be identified from them too!

Our first stop was on Askola pools were we found 31 Dunlins, 12 Ringed Plovers, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Spotted Redshank, Long-tailed Tits were calling on the forest behind us.

Next we continued to our main destination to Haapajärvi. This lake has been dried and it is now really good for waders. Hanna has been counting the birds of this lake in a couple of springs so she really had to see the lake now! On the birdtower we found out that all waders were too far and in very bad light so soon we drove to the other side of the lake, but the waders were even further from there. The light was better but after we had checked all the places we noticed that all waders were now closer to the tower. So we drove back to the tower where we met Matti Vanhapelto who had seen a Knot on the flock of waders which was now on the closest pool. The Knot was gone but we saw 35 Dunlins, 44 Ringed Plovers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 28 Greenshanks, tens of Wood Sandpipers, 2 Redhanks, 2 Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint. 8 Grey Herons were also seen and an Osprey was fishing over the only deeper water.
Around the lake we saw also lots of butterflies! Surprisingly the most numerous species was a Map Butterfly which still some years ago was a big rarity. We saw our first one about 10 years ago in Värtsilä. Hanna managed to get pictures of one still big rarity, a Large Copper. Many common butteflies were also photographed.

After Haapajärvi a huge thunderstorm came to Lappeenranta so we went to eat. After the rain had stopped, we decided to go again to Askola to see if the rain had dropped any new waders. Surprisingly the main road was flooding so we had to get a smaller road. There was more than a half of a meter water under the bridge! Only 5 more Dunlins were seen and 2 Common Sandpipers so soon we continued to a secret orchid place that Hanna knew.

In one forest there has been Broad-leaved Helleborines that has no chlorophyl. This place is maybe the only place in the world where these flowers can be found at least almost every year. In dry summers the mycelium rests and the verso dies because of the plant can’t photosynthesize itself. But this summer we have got lots of rain and we managed to find three of these magical orchids. Of course there were hundreds of normal Broad-leaved Helleborines but only 3 white ones. These 3 were very weak and full of aphids but still flowering beautifully!

Next we visited Joutseno Kotasaari pools where we met Paavo Rantanen who had already checked all the pools. So we just checked the first one where we saw a strange Barnacle x Canada Goose hybrid, a family of Slavonian Grebes and 2 Little Ringed Plovers.
Then we still decided to drive close to Russian border where we knew some birders had seen some rare butterflies like Scarce Tortoiseshells, Purple Emperors, Lesser Purple Emperors, Great Coppers and Meadow Browns. It was probably too late, both the time of the day and also summer, so we found only a coupe of Meadow Browns, but it was anew species for us.

Finally at 8 p.m. we left back to Parikkala. On teh way we sill saw a family of Wood Larks in Rautjärvi.

On the 5th of August we saw a Grey Heron and heard a Ringed Plover in Siikalahti. On the 7th day we went to Lappeenranta with Harri Partanen. In Askola we saw 52 Dunlins, 6 Curlew Sandpipers, a Little Stint, a Temminck Stint, 42 Ringed Plovers and so on. In Haapajärvi most of the waders were hiding in a vegetation but we managed to count at least 250 Dunlins, 140 Ringed Plovers, 12 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Little Stints, 5 Oystercatchers, 13 Grey Plovers, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Spotted Redshanks, 18 Grey Herons etc. On the way back to Parikkala we visited Joutseno Kotasaari but only the same familiar goose hybrid and 2 younf Slavonian Grebes were seen.

Nutcrackers have came to spend autumn to Parikkala again. At least 4 birds are feeding on trees close to the railway-station.

J.A. & H.A.

On the 14th day in same place I saw 130 Lapwings, again 20 Ruffs, 4 Dunlins, 2 Spotted Redshanks and a nice Bar-tailed Godwit. Some Bitterns were seen on flight and 3 pairs of Honey Buzzards. In the evening we went to Saari with Harri Partanen and saw 118 Lapwings, 6 Golden Plovers and a Ruff in Akanpelto, a 2 c-y male Hen Harrier and 4 Red-backed Shrikes in Akanvaara, Tetrisuo and 2 Grey Herons in Tarassiinlahti.

On the 15th of July very early in the morning I drove to Lappeenranta where I picked up Pekka Punnonen and we started birding already after 6 a.m. In Askola we saw only a Dunlin, so we continued to Haapajärvi. This lake has been dried almost completely because of it is supposed to be cleaned and then filled again. So it is now a paradice for waders. On the way there we still saw a family of Great Grey Shrikes which is not normal breeder this south.

In Haapajärvi we went straight to bird-tower and found out that it wasn’t the best day for waders, there weren’t many as many stints as earlier during the week. We saw only 7 Dunlins, 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a Broad-billed Sandpiper – anyway they are good species in South Karelia. We drove around the lake and checked it from every angle and counted 150 Lapwings, 90 Wood Sandpipers, 60 Greenshanks, 12 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers, 5 Redshanks, 3 Spotted Redshanks and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. A Black Kite and a Goshawk were also seen and lots of Sand Martins (140) and Swifts (200). The weather looked perfect as it started to rain in the afternoon but anyway no new waders were arriving to the lake, so we continued to check Vainikkala fields where we didn’t find anything better. In the afternoon we stopped again in Askola where we saw 6 Temminck’s Stints, 2 Dunlins and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. On the way back home I still checked Siikalahti but suprisingly I didn’t see any waders.

J.A.

White Adder’s Mouth (Malaxis monophyllos) does not have good year. There has been forest cuts in its growing area. This time I managed to find only one plant and few leafs that might belong to this species. This growing site is not normal for this species. Usually it should grow in bogs, but here it grows in moist spot on rocky area.

In same spot there was several Frog Orchids (Coeloglossum viridae). I had missed this species before in this location.

First Heath Spotted Orchids had flowers too. Angular Solomon’s-seals do grow in rocky places.


European Common Twayblade is common in this area. Stems were big already and first flowers open. One of most visible pant in the area is Round-leaved Wintergreen that was in full bloom. There was several other Wintergreen species too.

During the trip we also visited forest of Northern Wolfsbane. This plant is very rare in Finland and there is only few spots were it grows. It grows up to two meters high. Most of plants had only buds, but luckily there were couple of stems that had open flowers.

Lesser Butterfly-orchid has strong scent during nights. They try to attract moths and hawk moths with this smell.

In history this plant was said to be sacred.

H.A.

Lady’s-slipper orchid is big orchid species. These attracts wild bees that fall inside flower. There is only one way out and while bee is crawling out from hole in back of flower it is covered by pollen.

Lady’s-slipper orchid grow in calcareous soils that are rare in Finland. This orchid has been protected for years but still growing sites are kept as secrets. Wild plants do not grow well in gardens, but still there is people who will try to move these big orchids to their gardens.

In same forest there was also singing Red-breasted Flycather and Wren. We also found Tau emperor moth resting on twig. This fresh female was still drying its wings. Pine Hawk-moth was older having missing scales on its wings.

The August was very rainy. On the 2nd of August we were birding with Mikko Ala-Kojola and the best observations were 2 Two-barred Crossbills in Uukuniemi and 2 more in Melkoniemi. Also the Siberian Jay friends were seen again.

On the 3rd day Esa Sojamo found a Greater Spotted Eagle in Siikalahti. This 3 c-y bird was sitting on a dry tree on the northern side of the bay. And on the next day it wasn’t the only eagle around as an old White-tailed Eagle was back again. A Great Reed Warbler was singing the last song of the year and in the afternoon we went to Savonlinna and Kerimäki to try to find orchids and managed to find more than 10 species.

On the 6th day we were birding together with 2 catalans. Dani Burgas and Ponç Feliu were old friends but they didn’t know at all they both were in Finland in same time. It was funny when they met each other in a deep forest near the Russian border in very early morning. Soon we found 2 young Ural Owls and also the Greater Spotted Eagle was found easily but later the forest birds were totally hiding too well. Only a Two-barred Crossbill was heard briefly. It was too late summer for many forest-specialities.

On the 10th day we participated to a plant-trip in Savonlinna and we managed to find 60 Ghost Orchids and some other rare plants. Only better bird was a autumn-singing Wood Warbler.

On the 11th day I made one of my poorest twitches ever when I went to see a Sanderling to Lappeenranta. Anyway I haven’t seen any Sanderlings for 3 years and it was a South Karelia tick to me. Also 3 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Temminck’s Stints, 20 Dunlins and 24 Great Ringed Plovers were on the pools.

On the 15th of August I drove to Joutseno where I picked up Sampsa Cairenius and we continued to Helsinki where we met Esa Valsta. We took a taxi to harbour and soon we were on the way to Estonia. Together with other teams that were going to Estonia Open bird race we talked and searched the sea from the deck but only Eiders and later in Estonian waters a Black Guillemot were seen. In Tallinn we got our car and soon we were driving towards Pärnumaa. In Pärnu we found the last member of our team Gustaw Nordenswan and still we drove almost a couple of hours to our hostel.

On the 16th day after 3 hours sleeping we woke up when the race was actually starting. In 45 minutes we were out and ready for the race. In the beginning it was very quiet and only some Song Thrushes and Redwings were heard – but surprisingly they were the only ones in a whole day! In the deep forests we found a Ural Owl, a Tengmalm’s Owl and at least 6 Pygmy Owl and some Nightjars.

In early morning it started to rain so we decided to drive through the rain to the coast. There we birded for several ours and found about 30 Great White Egrets, a Slavonian Grebe, a Little Grebe, 2 Scaups, 2 flocks of Long-tailed Ducks, a Velvet Scoter, an Oystercatcher, a Curlew Sandpiper, a Knot, 4 Broad-billed Sandpipers, 3 Sandwiched Terns, 6 Little Terns, a Black Tern, a Kingfisher, Bearded Reedlings, a Common Rosefinch, 2 Hawfinches and much more.

During the day we moved on to inland to forests, fields and bogs and a Lesser Spotted Eagle, a Red-breasted Flycatcher, Marsh Tits and other forest-birds, 2 White-backed Woodpeckers, a Turtle Dove, some Nutcrackers and 2 Great Grey Shrikes were seen. After all we managed to find 145 species and we came 3rd in the race. On the morning of the 17th day I found a Grey-headed Woodpecker on the backyard of the school where we had a breakfast. Also a Whimbrel was heard. On the way to north we saw a Montagu’s Harrier, a Lesser Spotted Eagle, 4 Turtle Doves, Black Woodpecker and Bullfinches. We birded some time in Matsalu Keemu birdtower where lots of Greylag Geese and White-fronted Geese were found. But soon we had to hurry to Tallinn and to the ferry. In Helsinki we went to twitch a Lesser Grey Shrike before we started our long way back to home. In Lappeenranta Askola we still twitched a Shelduck even though it was already dark. I was home at midnight.

On the 18th day I managed to find a family of Black Redstarts that Jari Kontiokorpi had seen briefly in Kullinuo. Jari had seen 1 or 2 birds but when I managed to find the building where they had been breeding I found 2 adults and 3 young birds. In Lahdensuo I saw a Curlew Sandpiper with 20 Lapwings, 3 Golden Plovers and 2 Ruffs in a wet field. During the next days I saw several time both the Black Redstarts and the Greater Spotted Eagle. Lahdensuo fields seemed to be the best place to find waders in Parikkala where normally it’s almost impossible to see local waders at all. Other birds were just some migrating raptors of common species.

On the 23rd day I twitched a White Stork in Imatra Jäkkö. This was the 1st young White Stork for me in Finland. Then I continued to Lappeenranta Askola where a flock of 3 Bean Geese were found. On the 24th day we birded in Lappeenranta with Pekka Punnonen. A young Shelduck was again in Askola as were a Little Stint, 6 Temminck’s Stints, a Common Sandpiper, and 2 Caspian Terns were migrating. In Luukkaansalmi we saw pretty good raptor-migration: 28 Sparrowhawks, 25 Common, 15 Honey Buzzards, 2 Kestrels, Merlin and 3 Ospreys. Also a Cormorant and a White-backed woodpecker were seen. In Tuosa we saw a flock of 7 Shelducks migrating, heard a White-backed Woodpecker and found several late passerines.

On the 25th day after work we drove together with Pekka and Anniina Tiainen to Virolahti Kellovuori because of a Short-toed Eagle had been seen 4 times during the day there. Unfortunately we managed to get there too late and we had only an hour before it started to rain again. Only raptors we saw were 8 Marsh Harriers.

On the next day, 26th of August we decided to make another try and a couple of hours earlier we managed to get to Kellovuori. Right away we found a White Stork and soon a Black Kite passed the tower. The rest of the birders were still looking at the kite when I found a Short-toed Eagle rising to the sky. This stunning bird was soaring for 15 minutes before it started to fly towards the Russia. We could see it flying straight to Russia for 30 minutes before it disappeared. What a great lifer!

On the 29th day I saw again some Great Ringed Plovers and a Ural Owl in Lahdensuo, And on the 30th day a Stock Dove and a Cuckoo in Siikalahti but in Saari only some Hen Harriers and an Ortolan Bunting were found.

On the last day of August we saw a Rough-legged Buzzard and 7 Bean Geese migrating in Siikalahti. A Lapwing, a Little Stint and a Great Ringed Plover were local. In Lahdensuo 10 Great Ringed Plovers, 5 Little Stints, Dunlin and 2 Parrot Crossbills were seen.