On the 8th day I still saw some Common and Herring Gulls in Härskiinmutka but on a brief visit to completely open Siikalahti I saw only a lonely Redpoll. On the 10th day we saw a Black-throated Diver in Härskiinmutka and on the 11th day a Velvet Scorer and a White-tailed Eagle in Vartialahti.

On the 12th day I saw a Great Grey Shrike in Tetrisuo and 5 Whooper Swans, a Greater Scaup and a White-tailed Eagle in Vartialahti and the biggest surprise was a Rough-legged Buzzard in Tiviä – it was another new Parikkala winter-tick.

At weekend the weather started to get much colder but on the 13th day the Rough-legged Buzzard was still on Tiviä and we saw a Velvet Scoter flying around over freezing Vartialahti as a White-tailed Eagle had scared it. We also saw several Nuthatches and a Sparrowhawk too. On Sunday we found one more Nuthatch, a Great Grey Shrike, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Hazel Grouse, Black Grouses and then surprisingly saw a Capercaillie in Tetrisuo.

During the week I still saw a few Great Grey Shrikes and a flock of Redpolls. In the end of the week the weather changed warm again and there were even 13 Herring Gulls and a couple of White-tailed Eagles on the wet ice in Härskiinmutka. At weekend our long-awaited winter-holiday started and we headed to Uganda.

When we were back from Uganda on the 6th of January the first year-ticks were seen in Helsinki-Vantaa airport – a Jackdaw and a Hooded Crow. But soon sun set and nothing else was seen.

The winter had really arrived to Finland and In Parikkala there had been very cold! So there weren’t many birds around. On the 7th of January I visited Siikalahti and our feeders and saw a White-backed and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jays, Magpies, Blue, Great, Willow and Long-tailed Tits, a Nuthatch, Tree Sparrows, a Greenfinch and Yellowhammers. On the 8th day the only year-tick was a Black Grouse and on the 9th a Treecreeper.

On the 10th of January it was time to do winter-bird counting again. The weather forecast was completely wrong and it was very windy and snowing almost all the time and also -10 degrees. Anyway I walked and skied around Siikalahti and saw 4 Hazel Grouses, a Rock Dove, a Goshawk, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 4 Jays, 5 Magpies, 13 Jackdaws, 3 Hooded Crows, a Raven, 31 Blue, 40 Great, a Crested, 6 Willow and 11 Long-tailed Tits, a Nuthatch, a Blackbird, a Fieldfare, 4 Tree Sparrows, 37 Greenfinches, 10 Redpolls, 28 Siskins and 5 Yellowhammers. There were fewer birds than ever on my route but also the weather was the worst ever.

On the 11th of January we twitched a wintering Robin in Siromäki and also saw Bullfinches and a Coal Tit there. In Särkisalmi we saw a Blackbird and in Tarvaslampi a Sparrowhawk and a couple of Coal Tits.

During the week there really wasn’t anything new. The only year-tick was a Great Grey Shrike in Tetrisuo. A Fieldfare was seen a couple of timed in Kangaskylä, a White-backed Woodpecker was visiting out feeder and I saw a flock of 15 Redpolls.

On the 17th of January we did a short walk in forest in Eskola Lähdekallio and managed to find a Three-toed Woodpecker couple. We also saw one Goldcrest which seems to be rare this winter. We also went to fill our feeders in Siikalahti and saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Nuthatch, Long-tailed Tits, a Bohemian Waxwing and a few Siskins.

On Sunday the 18th we saw a White-backed Woodpecker in Särkisalmi and a Dipper in Tarvaslampi. Then we continued to search fore the probably last Siberian Jay but couldn’t find it. It was very quiet in the forest but again we found one Three-toed Woodpecker and also a couple of Red Crossbills. On the way back we stopped in Tarvaslampi again and saw 2 Coal Tits. In Kangaskylä we saw 3 Fieldfares and 2 Blackbirds.

During the wee only better bird I saw was a male White-backed Woodpecker on our feeder. On the 24th day we spent a couple of days photographing bird on our feeder. We got pictures if a White-backed and a Grey-headed Woodpecker and Long-tailed and Willow Tits. We also saw a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. We also participated to Garden Twitch. On Sunday Hanna went to photograph to our another feeder but I decided to drive around in some forests. And it was worthy as I found a Ural Owl in Yrttitarha. In the afternoon we did Garden Twitch in Koitsanlahti where we saw a White-backed Woodpecker and a Nuthatch and so on.

The last week of January the weather was very cold so I didn’t really do much and saw nothing. On Saturday the 31st of January we surprisingly found a Three-toed Woodpecker in Siikalahti and then saw a Dipper again in Tarvaslampi. Then in the afternoon before a ice-hockey tournament in Rautjärvi Simpele I stopped in Kokkolanjoki and saw a male Common Goosander, 2 female Goldeneyes and a Dipper in a small open water area near the main road. In the evening we surprisingly heard a Long-eared Owl in Oronmylly.

J.A.

At November our tradition Parikkala & Rautjärvi bird-race started. I started by doing winter-bird count from Kangaskylä to Siikalahti and back. Autumn had been very warm so there were still plenty of birds around and therefore I had probably the best count ever. I saw even 55 species: 66 Whooper Swans, 88 Greater White-fronted and 100 Tundra Bean Geese, 10 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 Velvet Scoters, 34 Goldeneyes, 7 Goosanders, 35 Tufted Ducks, 3 Shovelers, 1 Gadwall, 23 Mallards, 42 Wigeons, 2 Teals (I must mention that most of Siikalahti is not visible on my route but I also see a part of Lake Simpele), 4 Hazel Hens, 3 Black Grouses, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Feral Pigeons, a Common Crane, 5 Common, 10 Herring and 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 12 Black-throated Divers, 56 Great Cormorants, 2 White-tailed Eagles, 4 Grey-headed and 10 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Great Grey Shrike, 14 Jays, 18 Magpies, 90 Jackdaws, 3 Ravens and 7 Hooded Crows, 181 Blue, 201 Great, 2 Coal, 2 Crested, 19 Willow and 13 Long-tailed Tits, 40 Bohemian Waxwings, 22 Goldcrests, 4 European Nuthatches, 9 Treecreepers, 4 Blackbirds, 141 Fieldfares, 19 Tree Sparrows, a Brambling, 4 Chaffinches, 55 Bullfinches, 36 Greenfinches, 210 Redpolls, a Red Crossbill, a Goldfinch, 2 Snow Buntings and 39 Yellowhammers.

In the evening we visited Harri Hölttä’s birthday-parties but after that I still went to check some fields with thermal-camera. I found even 30 Woodcocks, 3 Short-eared Owls, a Long-eared Owl, 3 Snow Buntings and a Skylark.

On Sunday we went to Saari but didn’t find as many birds as we had expected. Better ones were 70 Greater White-fronted and 10 Tundra Bean Geese, a couple of Common Scoters, Smews, a Pintail, 5 Teals, a flock of 5 Hazel Hens, a flock of even 153 Black Grouses, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Goshawks and the best birds were a Great Egret in Lahdenpohjajärvi, a Red-necked Grebe in Muukkosenselkä and 3 Mistle Thrushes in Pohjasuo. On the way back we still checked Tarvaspohja where we found a Coot.

In the afternoon I still went to check southern parts of Lake Simpele but found only a few Greater Scaups and saw a Redwing on the way.

I had estimated that it could be possible to see 60 species during the weekend but I got my 60th species only at Monday morning when I saw a Black-headed Gull in Härskiinmutka.

Thanks to stupid clock-changing it was again dark before and after work so all birding I could do during the week was on my lunch-break. As Siikalahti was still open, I visited there almost every day. On the 3rd day I saw 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Smews, 3 Shovelers, 6 Pintails and still some hundreds of Mallards and Wigeons. In the evening we had our Birdclub photo-evening where we showed pictures that we had taken in this area.

In the late evening we still went to check some fields and it paid off when we caught and ringed a couple of Snow Buntings. We also saw 15 Woodcocks but ringed only 2 of them and also a Skylark was still seen.

On the 4th day I saw only the same birds than before but again I went out at night and saw 2 Woodcocks, 1 or 2 Short-eared Owls, a Snow Bunting and on the way back still a Tawny Owl.

On the 6th day I saw again 11 Greater White-fronted and 5 Tundra Bean and 8 unidentified geese. And on the 7th day I saw 3 Gadwalls and a Pintail. The same Crane was still on the same field too and on our garden I saw a Redwing. Then after work I hurried to Lappeenranta Kourulanmäki where a Northern Shrike-type of bird had been for some days already but now some better-quality pictures had been available and it really looked much better than any previous ones I have seen. After 30 minutes searching I managed to find the bird but it was very mobile so I couldn’t really look or photograph it very well. I hope this bird will be caught and positively identified.

On the 8th of November we were checking Lake Simpele from every corner but saw only 155 still migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, a couple of Red-throated Divers and the same duck-species we had already seen. A surprise was seen from our garden when I saw a Grey Heron flying above the lake. In the afternoon Birdclub was doing some collectivework in Siikalahti but meanwhile I was doing the last duck-count. Most of the ducks were hiding or gone but I still saw 2 Canada Geese, 3 Gaswalls, 3 Pintails and also a Common Snipe.

On the 9th day we did a forest-trip but found only a lonely Siberian Jay. Also other birders had seen only a single bird there lately which is very worrying. We have to hope that this is just the bird which had been alone also earlier and the couple is just visiting somewhere… Then we went to Tyrjä where we saw a Rough-legged Buzzard and found a new couple of Nuthatches. And of course we still visited Siikalahti where we saw again more ducks with a Shoveler, 3 Gadwalls and 4 Pintails amongst them. And the same young Crane was still feeding on the same field.

But then came the second cold nights of the autumn (the first ones had been when we were in Hanko). Siikalahti was partially frozen but still on the 10th day I saw a couple of Gadwalls. Most of the birds were gone, even the Crane which was never seen again.

During the week I still did short visits to bays but even though the weather was warmer again, it was very windy and rainy. So I didn’t really find anything new.

Finally I had to give up and count that in the first half of November I had seen 77 species. It was very close to my November-record (79) and I could have easily brake it with some missing species like Barnacle Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Capercaillie, owls, Black, White-backed, Lesser Spotted and Three-toed Woodpecker, Dipper, House Sparrow and so on. But at weekend, when it was getting cold, I was going to once again to Costa Rica.

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J.A.