In Täktom we saw a Brambling and a Chaffinch and then in Långören a Robin on a feeder and then Mute and Whooper Swans, Mallards, Goldeneyes, Goosanders and a Smew on the sea. The wind was also very strong so we didn’t see almost anything from the next places, just a Tufted Duck. Even harbours were almost empty – just lots of Common Gulls. Then we tried to find Woodpigeons from the centrum but the weather was just too bad. So after all we decided to drive back and to Espoo to get some good ticks for Potu.

In Eestinmalmi we saw a Black-throated Thrush easily but in Kaitalahti we didn’t see a thing. In Soukanlahti we saw again lots of gulls and 5 White-tailed Eagles, but the gulls were in too big flocks and we couldn’t see any Glauscous Gulls. After we had eaten pizza Potu drove to Helsinki and in the evening we were planning next day’s journey!

New Year’s Eve! At 9 a.m. my father drove me to Veikkola where we met with Mikko Ala-Kojola, Sari Savolainen and Potu. Soon we started a long drive to Pärnäs. Luckily we were there early even though we had to wait for a ferry in Parainen for some time. Eivor ferry left towards Utö at 1 p.m.

We of course climbed up to the deck and started seawatching. First we saw even 12 White-tailed Eagles, Goosanders, Mallards, gulls and Mute Swans but after an hour we saw first a Razorbill and then a Black Guillemot – both really good birds in December! Later we saw another Black Guillemot, some Black-headed Gulls, a Tufted Duck and a Red-breasted Merganser too. But in Jurmo it started to get dark so the last hour we were inside.

Finally we were in Utö where we walked to the hotel and got a big room for 7 birders. Also Ina-Sabrina Tirri, Risto Suksi and Tarmo Lehtilä had come with Eivor. We had been lucky to get this simple room for us as all the places in Utö had been full for a long time! Jouko Olkio visited our room and told us what had been seen in the island and where the Fox Sparrow had been seen during the last days. The bird had been extremely difficult to see as it had been really elusive! We even went to see the best places so we would be ready in the morning.

Later it started to rain very hard so we spent the year’s change in our beds – only some rockets were heard.

On the 1st of January we woke up before 8 a.m. and at 8:30 we were walking towards the best feeder. It was still raining but luckily the rain stopped after an hour. But during that our we had seen only Great and Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Common Gulls a Black-headed Gull and a Herring Gull and the same Smew than 1.5 weeks earlier.

After a half an hour more waiting Risto and Tarmo saw the Fox Sparrow in another feeder so we almost ran there but the bird was already gone. I decided to walk back to the first place and on the way I saw 2 Rock Pipits flying over me and a couple of Cormorants flying on the sea. But then I got a call tat the bird had been found now from school’s feeder. It was a long way to run and I was sweating a lot and of course I was there too late! Only a handful of birders had seen it again. But even 2 birders that had just arrived with a smaller boat had seen it. But all we saw were tits, a Redpoll and a Tree Sparrow.

Then I decided that Jorma Tenovuo’s feeder would be the best place to stay as it was in the middle of the island and on a narrow place. I was right! We had been there maybe 15 minutes when Mikko found the bird hiding in a bush just in front of us! Luckily it stayed there for a long time and everyone saw it finally!

So finally we were free to do something else. We decided to go to walk around the shore and saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldeneyes and then a flock of 5 Velvet Scoters and a Common Scoter – I had already got 3 First of January ticks!

Mikko and Sari left to get their cameras and with Potu we walked some more and saw 9 Red-breasted Mergansers, Mute Swans, 2 Greenfinches and then we decided to climb to the lighthouse where almost all other twitchers were seawatching. After a couple of minutes we found a duck swimming pretty far but managed to identify it as a female plumaged Steller’s Eider! Then we went to twitch the Rock Pipits for Potu too before we had to walk back to hotel to pack. And soon we were walking towards the ferry where 2 Ravens were flying over it.

Eivor left at 1 15 p.m. and it was full of birders! Even some twitchers that had just arrived with a bigger boat had managed to get to it as they had seen the Fox Sparrow right away. They had been in troubles during their journey to Utö, so they wanted to get a safe journey back. We had been coming to Utö with that boat too but luckily we had managed to get a place to stay and so managed to come with Eivor.

After we had left Utö we saw right away a Black Guillemot and soon a couple of them more! Also 2 Red-throated Divers were seen but no Razorbills that we were all hoping for. In Jurmo we saw a couple of Hooded Crows, 6 Waxwings, a Goosander and a Fieldfare and in Nötö we saw 2 Black Grouses but soon it came too dark.

In Pärnäs we hurried to our car so we made it sure we fit to the Parainen ferry. It was a long drive again to Veikkola where my father was waiting for me. I said goodbyes to my friends and then in Kirkkonummi I packed everything and soon started a long drive to Parikkala. On the way I saw an Eagle Owl in Lappeenranta. I was finally at home at 1:30 a.m. – my sick leave was over and I had to be at work on the next morning.

J.A.

I drove staright to Helsinki where I headed to Viikki sewage plant where after some searching I found the right place where it took only a couple of minutes to find the bird I was looking for – a Rock Pipit! It was a nice year-tick and also a winter-tick.

Then I continued to Kirkkonummi where I turned to Hirsala and after 10 more kilometres turned to Änkarlaxintie. After 500 metres I stopped and started to scan the trees and soon found a Great Grey Owl perched on the top of one trunk. It moved on soon but luckily I found it again when I was already leaving and managed to digiscope a couple of good pictures before it moved on again.

At my parent’s place I rested for an hour before my father drove me to Helsinki to Laser-Tilkka hospital. There I had to wait for 3 hours before my operation started. The operation took almost 2 hours but surprisingly I was able to walk away from the surgery room to my own bed. I slept very well until next morning and my father picked me up before 9 a.m.

When I was back in Kirkkonummi I got a message that a new bird-species for Finland had been found on Utö island. Luckily it was the same Fox Sparrow that I had already twitched in Estonia so I wasn’t very worried. Anyway I sent a message to my friend Kalle Larsson if he would be going there next morning I might be joining him. Kalle answered that he wasn’t going so I started to sleep.

I woke up some hours later and Kalle had sent me a message that after all he was arranging a big twitch to Utö. He had arranged a huge M/S Aspö to get even more than a hundred twitchers to the island. I was feeling better and better all the time so I booked myself in. Then I relaxed the rest of the day and in the evening I checked all my messages again and there was again a surprise – after all Kalle wasn’t able to join the twitch so I decided to send a couple of messages to some other friends if I could join somebody else’s car – I didn’t want to drive until Turku alone. Luckily I managed to get a place with Heikki Vasamies and Andreas Uppstu. We decided to meet in Andreas’ place at 03:15 a.m. next morning!

I woke up at 2 a.m. and after half an hour I was driving towards Matinkylä. And on time we were driving towards Turku. We stopped once in Salo and finally at 5:55 a.m. we were in Turku Pansio where our boat was leaving. We parked inside the gates with tens of other twitcher’s cars and soon walked inside the M/S Aspö where we all 97 twitchers paid 120 euros for the ride!

All the seats were soon taken so we walked down to the lowest floor where we got a cabin. There we slept for the next 4 hours and woke up at 10:15. We climbed up and there some birders told that the bunting had been seen again and we were closing to a place where the twitchers that had gone to Utö with a smaller and quicker boat had seen a Peregrine Falcon. Soon we passed the Kvinskär island and soon saw the Peregrine perched on a beacon.

Soon we were in Utö and there we got some instructions and then started to walk towards the middle part of the island.

Soon we were close to the place where the bird had been seen and the founder of the bird Jarmo Koistinen told us where the bird had been seen. We got instructions to stay on the roads and then we started to search for the bird.

We decided to walk to a place where the bird had been seen last and started to check the bushes carefully. Soon I saw a brown bird under the densest bush but it disappeared too soon. But then Eino Repo who was standing just next to me said that he had the bird – but then it disappeared again. Luckily after a couple of minutes Heikki found it perched on a tree just some 50 metres from us. I climbed next to Heikki and managed to see a Fox Sparrow for some seconds before it flushed and flew 100 metres away behind some buildings.

Of course most of the twitchers had missed the bird and a chaos started. I decided to stay in the same place when almost everyone else rushed after the bird. But luckily they found it again perched on a tree and everyone saw it easily! And soon it moved to Jarmo’s own garden where it first perched on the bushes and then to the feeder and there it stayed for so long time that we could watch and photograph it well.

The weather was really cold, windy and snowy so soon I had got enough and together with Andreas Lindén we decided to go to try to twitch a Rock Pipit from the southernmost tip of the island. But the bird hadn’t been found by other twitchers so we gave up soon and walked back to the middle part of the island. There we managed to see a young Smew and a Long-eared Owl that was roosting on a pine before we had to start walking back towards the harbour.

At 1 p.m. our boat left toward Turku again. We got a cabin again but anyway I decided to spend a couple of hours outside on the deck. Not many birds were seen, just some gulls, Goldeneyes, a Cormorant and a White-tailed Eagle – and the same Peregrine again. At 4 p.m. it started to get dark so I went to the cabin to sleep.

About at 6 p.m. we were in Turku again and started to drive back. A couple of hours later I said goodbye to Heikki and Andreas and drove to Kirkkonummi to my parents. I had really had different kind of second recovery day thatn I had expected before the operation!

On the 22nd of December I had planned to take easy. I slept until 10 and then started to update my sites and this blog. But then I got a message that there was a male Black-throated Thrush in Espoo Eestinmalmi. Anyway I finished with my blog before I left so once I had driven all 18 kilometres to the place, there were already many twitchers. The bird was pointed to me right away as it was perched in a tree above a feeder. It was really showing well so I took so many pictures that my camera batteries started to run out because of the cold weather and my fingers started to get completely frozen.

Next I drove just some kilometres to Olari where a Capercaillie had been spending already a couple of weeks under some pine trees in the middle of big buildings. I parked to Alaportti and walked only 20 metres before I found it. It was standing under a pine and I of course started to digiscope it. The light was bad and the bird was too big and too close for digiscoping but luckily I managed to get some pretty good pictures.

The rest of the day I took easy. I even did some Christmas shopping, but mostly I was just relaxing – after all I was having a sick leave…

On the 23rd of December I slept long again but at 11 a.m. I decided to go to check Ämmässuo rubbish tip as there had been 3 Glauscous Gulls. Only gull counters are able to get inside the rubbish tip but there is one place where you can see most of the gulls outside the gates. But to get there I had to walk a kilometer in a deep snow which was pretty hard and I had told not to do any sports for a couple of weeks. Anyway I got there but it took some time. There were good numbers of gulls perched on the hill and in half a minute I managed to find a young Glauscous Gull with numerous Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. I took some pictures and a couple of videos and then after I had checked all the gulls several times and managed to see 2 Starlings in flight, I started to walk back.

Then I still decided to drive to Hirsala to check if the Great Grey Owl was still around. I was almost there when I got a message that Heikki Vasamies had just found a Ural Owl in the same place. Unfortunately it disappeared before I got there and I didn’t find it anymore. After some searching I decided to drive back to my parents and take it easy for the rest of the day.

The Christmas days I was relaxing, eating and spending time with my family. It was really snowing a lot! Hanna came also in the Christmas day. So on the Boxing day we were birding together in Espoo. First we went to see the Black-throated Thrush. It was chasing all Blackbirds all the time so it wasn’t easy to photograph.

Next we continued to photograph the Capercaillie which was showing extremely well in a pine tree.

Next we checked if a Hen Harrier was seen flying around in Soukka but we weren’t lucky. 5 White-tailed Eagles were seen. Then we still drove to Kaitalahti where we saw amazing flock of 65 Reed Buntings!

Hanna left back to Parikkala and after a wet and rainy day the weather was nice again and on the 28th of December I went birding to Kirkkonummi Porkkala. Te walk to the shore was hard because of the snow but I managed to get there. The shore was on ice but there was some open water behind the closest islands. There were lots of Goldeneyes, Goosanders and Mallards, 13 Mute Swans and 5 White-tailed Eagles were perched on the rocky islets. Far behind the bigger islands I could see big flocks of Long-tailed Ducks – at least 2500 birds. After some time I noticed a bird perched on a top of a dead tree on a tiny islet – I needed some time to realize that it was a Hawk Owl! After I had walked back to my car I drove to my parents and took it easy for the rest of the day.

The 29th of December it was really foggy. Finally in the afternoon the weather cleared and I decided to go out. After I had checked that the Black-throated Thrush was still present I drove to Soukanlahti to see gulls flying to roost to the sea. It was really something! In an hour I saw at least a couple of thousands of Herring Gulls, tens of Great Black-backed Gulls and even 2 young Glauscous Gulls! It must have been the first time ever that I had enjoyed watching gulls! I was in so good mood that I still went to buy a new television…

J.A.

On the 6th of December, Independence Day of Finland, we woke up at 4:45 a.m. and at 5 o’clock we were out and listening to owls. Unfortunately there were no owl calling at all so we decided to try to see or hear a couple of Whooper Swans that had been in one river nearby, but they weren’t found either. So after all we had to start driving towards Porvoo, where we picked up Markus Keskitalo, our 3rd team member at 7:15 a.m. Then we got our first species too, a Bullfinch.

After we had seen some Rock Doves in Porvoo centrum, we continued towards Emäsalo where we parked to the end of the road. It was still completely dark so we had plenty of time to arrange everything ready for the rest of the day. Finally we walked to the shore and climbed to the bed-rock to start seawatching. But it was very quiet on the sea – just some Goldeneyes; but it was still very dark. So we walked towards the tip and soon started to see something more: Goosanders, Herring Gulls, a flock of Redpolls with a good surprise – an Arctic Redpoll! A Scaup looking bird was too far to identify but a Tufted Duck and 3 Common Scoters were seen well. Soon a Cormorant flew over us and a couple of Common Gulls were found from the sea. Then I found 3 Long-tailed Ducks and soon also a Velvet Scoter so it started to turn good!

While we were walking back towards our car we heard Coldcrests and saw 4 Mute Swans and 8 Whooper Swans in flight. In Emäsalo we still searched a couple of bays where we saw a Great Black-backed Gull and several feeders where Blackbirds, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Pine Grosbeak, Blue, Great, Coal and Willow Tits were found.

Once we were on the main road we tried to find a Hawk Owl which had been seen on one field in several days but we weren’t lucky. Soon we saw a Sparrowhawk chasing Hooded Crows and after some searching we found a Nutcracker and the luckily stopped in a place where was a flock of 50 Siskins. Then we continued to Huhtanen which trees were still full of berries. So there were lots of Waxwings, Blackbirds and Fieldfares too but we also found a Hawfinch! Then we got a message that the Hawk Owl was found a couple of kilometres from the place we had been just searching for it. So we went to twitch it and found it pretty soon.

Next we drove to Kiiala where a Great Grey Shrike was found immediately and after some walking we found a big flock of Yellowhammers and luckily found a Chaffinch with them. In Bjurböle we checked one great feeder and saw about 10 Bramblings and our easiest missing species a Greenfinch and a House Sparrow.

Then it was time to continue towards Lapinjärvi. On the way we stopped in Loviisa Liljendal Sporrasbacken on of Ralf Rikberg’s summer-cottage. Ralf was in our team last year. There we found a Grey-headed Woodpecker easily but the last easy species a Pheasant and a Treecreeper were still not found.

In Lapinjärvi we tried to twitch a Collared dove but without luck. In Lindkoski and Markusbacken we were checking several fields but didn’t find anything new. It was snowing all the time so it started to get dark too soon. So we continued toward Heikinkylä where a Snowy Owl had stayed for several days but it hadn’t been found during this day at all. But we thought the evening could be the best time to see it. The owl was not found but luckily we saw a flock of more than 40 Snow Buntings. We still tried to find Black Grouses without luck and when it was already dark we still tried to find the Collared Dove but it was already useless. So we gave up and drove to Juha’s apartment from where I left to drive towards Parikkala and Juha and Markus left to Porvoo to the log.

I had already been in sauna on Hanna’s parent when I got a message that our 47 species had been enough to get to the 2nd position in the race! We had been doing very well!

On the 8th of December I had a floorball tournament again but in the evening I left towards south again. In Lappeenranta I picked up “Potu” Suojarinne and together we continued to Espoo Matinkylä to Andreas Uppstu’s place. There together with Andreas and Margus Ellermaa who was also visiting Andreas, we talked until midnight.

On the 9th of December we woke up at 5:30 a.m. and a half an hour later we were driving towards Helsinki with Potu and “Uppan”. In Lauttasaari we picked up Vesa Jouhki and then Frans “Fräne” Silvenius was picked up near the harbour. Our ferry to Tallinn left at 8:30 a.m.

After 2 hours we were in Tallinn and soon we were driving towards Haapsalu. About 10 a.m. we parked to the gate of sewage works of Haapsalu. We hadn’t got any better instructions but luckily we saw a man walking with a camera and he pointed us to a right direction. Soon we had walked along a clear path to a corner of the fence where between two lines of bushes was lots of seeds for birds – and there it was a Fox Sparrow! The bird was feeding just behind some branches so mostly we saw only its tail and sand that it was kicking with its feet.

Soon the bird flew inside the bushes but after about 5 minutes it came back to feed. Then after some time it disappeared again and came back again after 5 minutes. It was pretty cold and my batteries were running out of power very fast but finally the bird stopped between the bushes and started to feed so it was well visible and me and Uppan got some better pictures too.

While we were photographing the Fox Sparrow we heard a Water Rail, saw a Goshawk, a Robin and some Reed Buntings. We were lucky that there weren’t almost any other twitchers, only a couple of locals that had seen the bird earlier too, so we could take as many pictures as we wanted. The place where the bird was feeding was possible to see only to a small area so it would have been difficult to work with more photographers.

Of course the light was very bad between the bushes but after all we got good enough pictures. So we continued to harbour of Hiiumaa ferries where we saw lots of gulls, Goosanders, Smews and a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers. We also saw some flocks of Waxwings and 3 Black Grouses before we continued back to Haapsalu to eat and do some shopping.

We had lots of time to waste as all except the last ferry of the evening had been booked full. But after all we drove back to Tallinn and tried to change our tickets to an earlier ferry but we weren’t lucky. So we went to old town to sit in an old restaurant and walk around the old town. At 9 p.m. we drove to the harbour and finally drove to the ferry which really was full of cars and people! The ferry left at 10:30 p.m. and we tried to sleep on the floor which was almost impossible. Anyway I tried. At 00:30 we arrived at Helsinki and it took more than 30 minutes to get out from the ferry. Then we dropped Vesa, Andreas and Frans to their homes and started a long and tired drive back towards Lappeenranta. It was already early morning when I dropped Potu and finally at 6 a.m. I was at home. And after an hour and half of sleeping I had to go to work. But anyway the Fox Sparrow had been worth it! It had been one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen.

J.A.

On the 18th of November I had stayed overnight in Lappeenranta and with Pekka Punnonen we participated to twitch a Thrush Nightingale which had been already for weeks in Seppo Löfgren’s garden. It was the latest ever in Finland. But unfortunately it wasn’t found anymore but it was nice to see Seppo’s garden where he has seen amazing number of birds. Even now we saw a Barnacle Goose, a Coal Tit, 2 Chaffinches and Common Crossbills. Then we continued to Ylämaa Väkevänjärvi where we saw a Bewick’s Swan and 2 Wigeons and just a kilometre in Miehikkälä side a Great Grey Shrike.

On the last days of November I still saw a Red-necked Grebe, some Great Crested Grebes, a Chaffinch, a Canada Goose, a Scaup, a Red-throated Diver and a Pine Grosbeak. A huge flock of 352 Whooper Swans were still in a field in Tetrisuo. But once it came cold again they left towards south. The last species I saw was a Nutcraker which was my 61st species in Parikkala-Rautjärvi area in November. All but a Dipper were seen in Parikkala.

Turku area winter-bird race

On the 30th day I left to drive towards Salo. On the way I saw 10 Pine Grosbeaks in Orimattila and after 5 p.m. I parked to Kalle Larsson’s garden. We had a fun evening but we had to go to sleep early as the race would start 7 a.m. next morning.

On the 1st of December we woke up early and at 6:30 Mika Korkki, Markus Ahola and a French birder Julien Terraube, that Markus had got to know in the university, came and at 7:00 we were out and birding.

Our first species was seen in Salo railway-station – Rock Doves. Then we continued a long way to Särkisalo. We parked as close to the sea as possible but it was still too dark to start birding. So we had good time to get to know each others. It was soon clear that even though the weather was extremely cold and we didn’t expect too much for the rally, we would have lots of fun for sure!

When there started to be some light we walked to the shore and found out that there was really bad visibility. Haze and fog made it impossible to see far. Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Goosanders, Ravens, Hooded Crows, a Goldcrest, a Treecreeper, a Siskin and then finally a couple of small flocks of Velvet Scoters were seen. The visibility was so bad that the scoters were easier to identify with binoculars than with a scope!

After some walking around the spit we saw some migrating flocks of Whooper Swans, a couple of White-tailed Eagles and then after a short drive we stopped again and found a Pine Grosbeak, Smews, Tufted Ducks and Mallards.

I Förby we found 4 Nutcrackers, and a Common Scoter which Mika, Markus and Julien saw in a harbour while we were searching for tits with Kalle. Of course we heard a Black Woodpecker then but there we not enough of us then. In Finby we walked for some time but found only some common species like a Jay. On the bridge away from Särkisalo we saw a Sparrowhawk.

Then we continued to Perniö and in Latokartano rapids we sae a Dipper easily. Lake Saarenjärvi was frozen so only a lonely White-tailed Eagle and an Otter were seen by the open river. Then after some driving Markus saw a raptor flying over the fields and it was a stunning young Golden Eagle!

In Tuohittu fields we searched for Canada Geese and a Crane that had been there still a couple of days earlier but they had left. Luckily Kalle found a Hawk Owl perched on the top of a spruce and Julien got a nice lifer.

Soon after that we got a message that an Iceland Gull had been found in Salo rubbish tip. We weren’t far but we decided to stop a couple of times on the way as we had planned. We saw a flock of 25 Chaffinches and 5 Bramblings, heard a Linnet and finally saw a Fieldfare too. We were only 5 minutes from the rubbish tip when we got a message that the gull had left towards Halikonlahti. That was where we were going too but again we had a couple of stops on the way. After we had seen 2 Collared Doves, we drove to Halikonlahti but soon found out that all the gull places were completely frozen! So we continued to a forest nearby but the feeder was empty and there were no birds at all. Luckily we found one of our worst missing species a Crested Tit, but still no Willow or Coal Tits. We knew that we wouldn’t find them anymore as we had only time for Halikonlahti anymore.

In Halikonlahti we walked towards the fields first and tried to find a Pheasant. We were following the footsteps of some Pheasant when we saw a huge flock of Jackdaws flushing because of the had scared of something. And we found a Red-throated Diver flying low over them just 10 metres over the field! Soon we found our first Pheasant and then soon 100 more of them! Luckily we checked them carefully and found 4 Grey Partridges with them. Then we flushed a male Teal from one ditch and saw a Starling flying over us. Then Mika found a White Wagtail and soon after that we saw a flock of 50 Goldfinches flying over us. It was already getting dark when at 3:22 p.m. I saw a flock of 5 geese flying towards us. Of course we thought they were Canada Geese but suprice they weren’t – they were Greylag Geese! We had seen 8 new species in last hour but then we didn’t see anything anymore and we had seen altogether 52 species during the day.

The log was in Turku in a restaurant Koulu. Altogether 19 teams had participated to the race and soon it was clear that 4 teams were better than the rest. Luckily we were one of them. Unfortunately we were the 4th after all and lost to the 3rd only by one and to the second by 2 species. The winner had got eve 60 species!
Anyway we were really happy, we had seen 3 species that nobody else had seen and we had really had fun! After all we were one of the only teams that had stayed only in a smallish area and we had been talking 2 languages and another wasn’t Swedish but English.

After all we stayed in the restaurant until the midnight before drove back to Salo to sleep.

On the 2nd of December we woke up at 8 a.m. and at 9 o’clock we were driving towards the rubbish tip. We of course hoped to see the Iceland Gull there. I stayed there for a couple of hours and saw even 5 species that we had’t seen a day before but no Iceland Gull. So when I was absolutely freezing I started my long way back home.

I drove along the coastal road and after an hour driving I got a message that an Iceland Gull was now in Kirkkonummi Ämmässuo. I checked the distance from my navigator and found out that I was only 20km from the rubbish tip! So when I parked to the end of Kauhalantie there were only a couple of cars before me. We had to look to the rubbish tip far outside the gates and it took some time before the Iceland Gull was seen in flight but not everyone saw it then. After I had seen it in flight already 4 times it finally flew towards us and landed to a small flock of Hooded Crows and then all the other twitcher that had managed to get there already saw it. It was a nice year-tick for me. After the parking place was getting emptier again I left to drive towards Parikkala where I was in the early evening.

J.A.

In November we decided to have a bird-competition. On the 1st day I saw a Canada Goose, a Wigeon, a Tufted Duck, 2 Common Scoters, 2 Great Crested Grebes, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Blackbird and a Redwing and so on and on the 2nd day a Coal Tit and flock of Long-tailed Tits and so on.

On the 3rd day we had a floorball tournament but during the day I had a message that the first ever for Finland and only 4th for Europe and WP Slaty-backed Gull had been seen in Espoo Ämmässuo rubbish tip! Anyway I decided to play the games but in the evening I called to Pekka Punnonen and in the evening I drove to his home to Lappeenranta.

On the 4th of November we woke up at 3 a.m. and a half an hour later we picked up Mikael Rytkönen and started to drive towards south. Before 7 a.m. we were in Kirkkonummi Vitträsk where the bird had still been seen late in the previous evening and soon we had walked to the shore of the lake. There were already some 20 twitchers and more were coming all the time even though it was still completely dark!

After some waiting we started to see some shapes of swimming gulls and grebes and after 15 minutes more we saw that there was only one dark-backed gull on the lake. Of course we thought it would be a Great Black-backed Gull but we kept on looking at it as it was our only hope. The light was still bad and there was more fog coming all the time but after maybe 15 minutes waiting again it finally opened its wings and it really looked good! We had already thought that the secondaries had a wide white border but it was clear when it had opened its wings! Maybe we really had the right bird! Soon the bird flushed with some Herring Gulls and we could see it even much better – it really was a Slaty-backed Gull! It was still far but when it was flying against the dark forest on its back-ground we could see the colouration of its wings and the dark hood and even its moulting in its secondaries.

About 100 twitchers were happy now but there were still many more coming but the bird had already disappeared to the fog. But we thought that it had just left to the rubbish tip again so we left there too.

Ämmässuo rubbish tip is a closed area so we drove along a bad road to a place where it is a best visibility inside the area. Luckily we managed to park our car even though there were already too many cars. And soon we were watching to the foggy rubbish tip. Some Pine Grosbeaks were flying over us and one stopped to the top of pine to sing for a minute. Soon the visibility came better and we could see some hundreds of gulls but there were thousands more behind the rubbish-hill. All gulls were flying a couple of times but all dark-backed gulls we saw were Great Black-backed Gulls. Then Tero Linjama found another interesting gull – a Caspian Gull! It was a classic-looking 1st calendar year bird and even though it was far, it was possible to identify as we saw it opening its wings. But soon all birds were flying again and we lost it.

The Slaty-backed Gull wasn’t found but soon we got a message that it was again in Vitträsk. All twitchers left and of course there was a chaos on the muddy road. We weren’t in that bad hurry but we decided to leave soon too. After all it was a false alarm – there had been a dark Herring Gull or some kind of hybrid. Anyway we stopped there briefly and saw a Red-necked Grebe, Black Woodpecker and a Nutcracker. But then we decided to do something else. We drove to Espoo Laajalahti where we saw 40 Gadwalls, 36 Smews, 4 Grey Herons, a Pine Grosbeak, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and so on. Then we drove to Kirkkonummi Saltfjärden where we found a Hawk Owl and heard a late Reed Bunting. Then we still drove back to Vitträsk where still were lots of twitchers and also lots of gulls but not the right one. It was already getting dark when we decided to start our long way back home. I was in Parikkala at 10 p.m.

On the next days I tried to increase my November bird-race list and on the 5th day I heard a Hazel Hen and saw 2 Siberian Jays and on the 7th day I saw 4 Velvet Scoters, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, a Great Grey Shrike and finally 4 Pine Grosbeaks (first ones for me in Parikkala for a couple of years). On the 8th day I saw a Smew and some Common Crossbills and on 9th day a Dipper and so on.

On the 10th of November I did a winter-bird count with Matti Lötjönen. We started from my garden and walked around Siikalahti. In 6 hours we saw 37 species and 1156 birds. The best birds were 313 Whooper Swans, a Canada Goose, a Long-tailed Duck, a Hazel Hen, a Black Grouse, a Pygmy Owl, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Coal Tit, a Crested Tit, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Starlings, a Pine Grosbeak, a Gold Finch, 260 Redpolls, an Arctic Redpoll, 8 Common Crossbills and so on.

J.A.

On the 6th of October we participated to a national Birding place -competition that FotoFennica had organized. It was a good idea to organize this kind of happening on international EuroBirdWatch -weekend. In this competition a team had to find birds in one place by feet. The competition started already at midnight but we went to Siikalahti at 6:30 a.m. just about 45 minutes before the sun rise. And then we stayed there in Siikalahti until the end of the competition, 6 p.m.

In our team there were me, Hanna “Potu” Suojarinne, Matti Lötjönen and Veijo Vilska. Hanna spent the first 6 hours in a tent that we had put up to the field where the geese were feeding. She took more than 25 gigabytes of pictures!

The weather was perfect and southern wind stopped more and more geese to the fields and to the bay, only White-fronted Geese kept on migrating and we counted altogether 7000 White-fronted or unidentified grey geese. 4 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Goshawks and some hunters were scaring the local geese and at least 11 000 Barnacle Geese were flying over us many times and it was amazing!

Other birds we saw during the competition were: a Golden Eagle, a very late Marsh Harrier, 2 Rough-legged Buzzards, 2 Common Buzzards, a Merlin, 2 Red-throated Divers, 21 Long-tailed Ducks, a Golden Plover, 3 White-backed Woodpeckers, 2 Wrens, a Chiffchaff, 350 Waxwings and altogether we saw 78 species!

During the day many people visited Siikalahti and they all got amazing experiences with the geese!

The last our of the competition we spent again in the tower where we could see all the geese again coming to the bay to stay over night. Amazing!

We came 4th in the competition. The winner was Lappeenranta, Joutseno Konnunsuo where were more than 70 birders in a huge area (and I am pretty sure they all weren’t walking). The second was Espoo Laajalahti (85), 3rd Parainen, Korppoo Utö (81) and 5th after us was Lemland Lågskär (75). Altogether 21 places were participating.

On Sunday 7th of October Hanna went to photograph geese again but many Barnacle Geese had left during the night and there were many hunters so Hanna didn’t get that many good pictures. I did a brief visit to Saari where I saw still 5000 Barnacle Geese and a late Northern Wheatear.

When I was back in Siikalahti I saw an extremely late Honey Buzzard migrating. Soon Hanna had got enough of geese too and when the weather was changing worse we decided to drive home to rest.

J.A.

After an hour my brother Pirkka came too and the rest of the evening we were eatling, having sauna and having good time! We went to sleep about at midnight.

19th of September – rally-day! We woke up about at 5 a.m. and after an hour we were driving towards Riisinnokka. Our team was Harry, Jassi, Pirkka and me, but also Antti V, Antti P and Mikko had decided to start in Riisinnokka. On the walk through the forests we flushed a Woodcock but it was 15 minutes before the race started. A couple of minutes later we found a Three-toed Woodpecker and we decided to wait until seven and start the race with it.

When we had walked to the coast, there were already 3 other teams. It was very quiet on the sea but luckily there were lots of ducks and some better birds with them like 10 Scaups, Smews, Mute Swans, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Scoters and so on. 2 Golden Povers flew past us and a Dunlin was flying here and there. At least 4 White-tailed Eagles were flushing the ducks and other better birds were a Hen Harrier, a Marsh Harrier, a Merlin, a noisy Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and finally something from the sea – a young Arctic Skua.

We walked back to our car through the forest but we couldn’t find anything better – not even that Woodcock. Of course we gor many common species to our list.

In Kirkkosalmi bird-tower we met 2 new teams but luckily they weren’t all the time in the tower. There we saw at least 7 more White-tailed Eagles and another Hen Harrier and some new species like Gadwalls, Shovelers, a Sparrowhawk, a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Blackbird and 2 Swallows.

Next we decided to continue to Ulkokarvo where we saw 5 Slavonian Grebes and 2 Bean Geese but nothing else new. Then we made some empty stops, before we continued to Ojakylä where House and Tree Sparrows and 2 Rock Pigeons were seen. Then we continued east to Huikku where only new birds were 2 Velvet Scoters. Pökönnokka was worse than ever even though we really hammered it well. Only Skylarks were found. Well we saw also a flock of 20 Golden Plovers and 1 Dunlin but it was really a big disappointment.

So soon we continued back to the central part of the island and to Järventakusta fields where we saw only more Skylarks. In Koivukylä fields we saw a Kestrel and a Jackdaw before we continued to western tip of the island to Marjaniemi. But again the sea was empty – only new bird was a Red-necked Grebe.

Then we took the bad and extremely long road to Keskiniemi and there we walked through meadows again but nothing was found. From the shore we found 2 Ringed Plovers but nothing else and also the sea was almost empty, luckily we found about 10 Black-throated Divers but no Red-throated at all.

We had still 1.5 hours left when we decided to drive to Kuivasäikkä to see if there were any waders there. We hammered again lots of meadows but no Jack Snipes were found. A big flock of 40 Golden Plovers and finally 2 Grey Plovers were found. Then we flushed a Lapland Bunting and found a flock of 15 Dunlins with one more Grey Plover but no new species were found anymore.

The results were given in Hailuoto school and surprisingly there was only one more team that we hadn’t met. So many old and good teams hadn’t participated this year. So we almost knew we or our friends’ team would win. We hadn’t been very lucky so it wasn’t a surprise that they won with 85 species and we came 2nd with 82 species.

The evening was fun as we could celebrate our victorious rally! We ate a lot, had sauna and had lots of fun! The weather was turning bad when we went to sleep.

29th of September we woke up at 7 a.m. and the weather was so bad that we just cleaned the cottage and visited only Ulkokarvo before we continued to the ferry at 10:30 a.m. We said goodbyes to everyone and started a long way back home. I dropped Jassi to Kuopio at 2:30 p.m. and I was finally in Parikkala at 6 p.m. after I had stopped shopping in Savonlinna.

J.A. (Pictures Harry Nyström, Pirkka Aalto and Mikko Ala-Kojola)

In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we found 4500 Barnacle geese and 500 of them were migrating. A White-taile Eagle was also seen. Next local geese we found in Jyrkilä where some 4000 geese were feeding on a field. I started to check them carefully and found the same, or at least similar minima Cackling Goose that I had twitched in Kitee some days earlier. Rolle managed to see it too but then the flock flushed for no reason and we could see that there had been even more birds on the lake. We counted 9000 geese on flight. We also saw 290 Cranes and a Hen Harrier there.

Next we continued to Kuposenmäki to see if the geese came to overnight to Lake Pien Rautjärvi. There were already thousands of geese on the fields but soon also birds from Jyrkilä and maybe some other fields started to arrive too. Altogether we saw about 20 000 Barnacle Geese! When it started to come too dark we left to home.

On the 26th of September I visited Siikalahti again on my lunch-hour. The migration was still going on. Geese had been migrating whole night. 1500 local and 1100 migrating Barnacle Geese were counted. Cranes were migrating too and I saw 134 of them in less than an hour. After a long day at work I still drove to Saari Kuposenmäki where at least 12 000 Barnacle Geese came to the lake again.

On the 27th of September the migration was almost stopped because of the wind had changed. In Kullinsuo I found 2500 Barnacle Geese and 2 Bewick’s Swans and in Vartialahti there wasa flock of 1500 Barnacle Geese. After my work I drove to Saari again where I counted 2500 Barnacle Geese in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 4000 in Pohjasuo, 8000 in Jyrkilä and 6000 in Kuposenmäki. Some of the birds in Kuposenmäki were same than I had seen already in Jyrkilä. Other nice birds were 2 Great Grey Shrikes in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 30 Bewick’s Swans in Pohjasuo and a Grey Heron in Kuposenmäki. I saw still only some tens of Bean and White-fronted Geese so at least most of White-fronted Geese were still coming.

On the 30th of September once I had just driven from Hailuoto and I was unpacking my car I saw a flock of 290 White-fronted Geese migrating over me. On the next day, 1st of October, I visited Siikalahti and there were 200 Bean Geese, 60 White-fronted Geese, 600 Barnacle Geese, 325 Whooper Swans and 6 Bewick’s Swans. I also saw again the same Nutcracker and a Chifffchaff was calling next to my working place.

J.A.

Then the autumn came with rains and winds and only on the 20th of September was the next good evening. When the sun was setting we started with Pygmy Owl tape and played it for more than an hour but no owls were seen or heard. When it was completely dark, we changed to Tengmalm’s Owl tape and very soon we head an owl calling. We checked the net every half an hour but again after sauna we just heard the owl calling. Then on the next check it finally had flight to the net.

This big 2nd calendar year female Tengmalm’s Owl was ringed, measured, weighted and of course photographed before we relieved it to the back-yard. At midnight we stopped and left to home to sleep.

On the 21st evening we were again in Tarvaslampi. Harri Partanen joined us too. Unfortunately no owls were observed at all and at midnight we gave up again.

And there we were again on the 22nd of September. The weather was optimal and soon there was the first owl calling close to the net. And before 11 p.m. it was hanging on the mist-net. This Tengmalm’s Owl was small 2nd calendar year male. When we were relieving this bird there was another bird calling close to the net again, but this bird wasn’t caught.

Hopefully we have good weather soon again. Tomorrow it rains…

J.A.

We continued along the border-road towards Saari and first 2 stops were quiet. In Tyrjä we heard a Wren calling and Kanavalampi was almost empty. In Tarassiinlahti we stayed for an hour and saw 2 Sedge Warblers, a Bluethroat, at least 5 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff and again we heard a Rustic Bunting. Some flocks of Geese were migrating and a White-tailed Eagle was soaring on the sky.

In Jyrkilä we found about 400 Cranes, 123 Whooper Swans, a Bewick’s Swan and even 1100 Barnacle Geese. Only about 10 Tundra Bean Geese were on the fields but some flocks were seen migrating. Also some hundreds of Barnacle Geese were seen on the sky. A Hen Harrier was hunting along the fields.

Pohjanranta was empty and so were Ratila and Pohjasuo fields. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we walked a lot in the fields but found only a Whinchat, 3 Northern Wheatears, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. Another White-tailed Eagle was seen too. The best bird was seen when we were already leaving when a Nutcracker was migrating towards north. Then we left back towards Parikkala.

After lunch Hanna left with us too and we drove towards Tetrisuo fields. On the way I found a Peregrine from the sky, but soon it continued its migration towards south-west. On Tetrisuo fields we saw Golden Plovers, Skylarks, some Snipes and Northern Wheatears and a Lapland Bunting. 80 Barnacle Geese were searching for a place where to land, a Rough-legged Buzzard and a Hobby were also seen.

Next we stopped by the dam-road again and we saw a White-backed Woodpecker flying over the bay. Otherwise nothing special was seen, only lots of thrushes flying here and there. So we continued to Kullinsuo where 3 Snipes, a bluethroat, 13 Golden Plovers and a Ruff were seen. Last we walked in Lahdensuo where only Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were found. A Rough-legged Buzzard was soaring on the sky.

The next goose-trip we made on the 22nd of September and to Saari again. We stopped first in Tarvaslampi where we heard a Rustic Bunting. There were good numbers of other passerines too, even though it was raining. We continued to Akanvaara Tetrisuo where we walked on the fields for some time and found 80 Meadow Pipits and a Tree Pipit. Black Grouses were lekking on the fields.

It was quiet in Ratila, Pohjasuo and Pohjaranta but in Jyrkilä we found about 2000 Barnacle Geese. When we were back in our car I found a harrier flying over us. It was a female Pallid Harrier and Hanna managed to get a couple of pictures of it even though it continued straight towards west.

Tarassiinlahti and Kanavalampi were empty too so we continued along the border to Siikalahti where the rain had finally stopped. A flock of 80 Brent Geese, a Smew and a Pochard were the only better birds there.

In the evening I twitched together with Pekka Punnonen a Cackling Goose in Kitee Puhos. The bird was with about 2000 Barnacke Geese but luckily it was easily observed from the road. I am not quessing which sub-species it was as I don’t know where to find the right information about the sub-species, if it is even possible to find somewhere…

J.A.