. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

Searching for Lesser White-fronted Geese in Enontekiö Pöyrisjärvi 1999 (Pirkka Aalto Finnish, Janne Aalto translation)

In June 1999 we spent unforgettable 2 weeks in Enontekiö Pöyrisjärvi wilderness with my little-brother Janne and Aappo Luukkonen. Our goal was to find Lesser White-fronted Geese that hadn’t been known to breed in Finland for many years anymore. We searched a big area in the wilderness between Naltijärvi, Pöyrisjärvi and Norwegian border.

On the 11th of May Janne and Aappo took a bus from Oulu to Enontekiö Hetta and came to stay in our house. In the evening we already got used to stay in tent as we went to watch Circus Finlandia show! On the half-time we met a man that told us about a Little Bustard that had been on his garden (well, we thought it might have been just a Ruff). Many people came to talk about a flock of Bee-eaters that had stayed for a week in Hetta in the beginning of June. Some people said they had seen more bee-eaters in neighbouring counties too.

The next 2 days we were shopping a lot and packing everything ready. At last in the evening of 13th of June we drove via Nunnanen to Kalmakaltio where we were supposed to begin our work. The first better bird was seen on the way when somewhere between Hetta and Vuontisjärvi we saw a Swallow that was first ever in Enontekiö to me.

To wildernes

We left our car to Kalmakaltio and continued with a local Markku Karkalo’s 4 wheel-drive towards Naltijärvi cottage. The road between Kalmakaltio and Naltijärvi was really bad so most of these 15 kilometres were like on a rollercoaster. It was amazing to see in what kind of places it is possible to drive with a good Toyota four-wheel drive. We were driving through bogs and rivers and on the way pine-forest ended and then there were only birches and willows anymore. The drive took almost 2 hours and several times we had to stop and get out and straighten our legs and spines because of it was really hard to sit in the car. On these stops we saw some birds like Long-tailed Ducks, Common Scoters, Ringed Plovers and Red-necked Phalaropes, a Rough-legged Buzzard and a Kestrel.

Finally we arrived at Naltijärvi. It was a beautiful evening! Sand Martins and House Martins were flying around the cottage and Bluethroats were singing on the birches of fjelds. Markku left us soon and we realized we were really in wilderness! We carried our luggage to the cottage and at 11 p.m. we left to walk around the wilderness nearby.

Naltijärvi rules!

First we walked to Kotajärvi where we heard immediately several Temminck Stints and Spotted Redshanks. After some time I noticed something big on the top of one pine on the other side of the lake and soon it flushed and it was a juvenile Golden Eagle. I shouted to boys and soon we were all watching this majestic eagle soaring on the sky. Soon we saw some Long-tailed Skuas and a Short-eared Owl attacking the eagle! Amazing! We had been only a couple of hours in wilderness and we were already seeing something like this! We watched this show for some time before we continued along the shore and soon found a stunning male Long-tailed Duck that really looked beautiful with Aappo’s new Swarovski with 60 times zoom.

We walked around the Naltijärvi area for whole night and Janne was keeping the trip-list. From the lakes and ponds we found Black-throated Divers, Wigeons, Teals, Tufted Ducks, Common Scoters, Velvet Scoters, Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Golden Plovers, Snipes, Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes, Common Gulls, Arctic Terns and so on. Passerines we saw were Meadow Pipits, White Wagtails, Bluethroats, Northern Wheatears, Redwings, Willow Warblers, Bramblings, Redpolls, Lapland Buntings and Reed Buntings. Some better species we saw were several Bar-tailed Godwits and Long-tailed Skuas and Janne managed to see one Great Grey Shrike too.

The morning was amazing. On one small lake we were watching Ruffs, a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Dunlin and a Ringed Plover when a lonely Broad-billed Sandpiper flew around us. In the middle of the lake there was a tiny island where a Willow Grouse was perched on the highest place. 3 more Willow Grouses were laughing around the lake. We were thinking that there can’t be too many raptors because of these grouses weren’t hiding at all. But soon we found out that we were wrong. We had just continued to walk towards Naltijärvi when I noticed a raptor flying just behind us. And it looked promising. It disappeared soon but luckily we found it again soon and it was a Gyr Falcon, a lifer number 310 and a self-found tick of course! The falcon seemed to continue to the lake where we had seen a Willow Grouse standing on the island. It was amazing to see a Gyr Falcon flying on hunting flight.
The last observations before the cottage were still good as we saw a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Three-toed Woodpecker, a Sedge Warbler, a Redstart and a Raven. It was already 6:15 a.m. when we finally went to sleep.

Lenkihaka and Naltijärvi

The first trip had told us that we had made the right choise to do all birding during the night. In the midnight sun the light is really good and birds had been very active already in very early morning. Only the couple of first hours after midnight had been a little bit quieter. Anyway the hot sunny days would have been even quieter so then it was good to get some sleep. On the evening we had packed everything again and left with our luggage towards Tseärbmakjohka, Lenkihaka cottage. In Lenkihaka hillside we saw the first flock of geese when 3 Taiga Bean Geese flew over us. Lenkihaka was more fjeld nature and there was a good selection of waders. Golden Plovers were everywhere, but also a Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Temminck Stint a Dunlin, a Spotted Redshank, 2 Red-necked Phalaropes and 3 nice Dotterel were seen. Somewhere we saw a big falcon again which probably was the same Gyr Falcon again. We were already close to the cottage when Aappo scared us and himself when he stumbled and flew to rocks with his head first. Luckily his back-bag was so big that it was higher than his head and he wasn’t hurt at all. But when Aappo realized that his Swarovski was on the top of his bag, he got really scared. Luckily nothing was broken and we could continue the last kilometres to the cottage. We left our bags in and still went to check the nearest lakes and ponds where we found 4 Willow Grouses, 2 Short-eared Owls and 13 Long-tailed Skuas. Then we finally went to our cottage to rest.

At night we left to walk again and climbed up to the top of Pahtavaara where the most common birds were a Meadow Pipit and a Lapland Bunting, but also Golden Plovers and Long-tailed Skuas were numerous. We checked all the lakes and ponds with our scopes before continued to Katajajärvi. Between Pahtavaara and Katajajärvi we checked many ponds and found some Whooper Swans and Long-tailed Ducks, a Golden Eagle, the first Red Fox of the trip. Finally we put up our tent to the north-eastern shore of Katajajärvi where – like on our previous “garden” – Long-tailed Duck, Short-eared Owl and Long-tailed Skua were seen.

Tsuugisautsi

Next evening we left walking again while a Jack Snipe and a Cuckoo were calling around us. We hit Suukisjoki river close to 3 small ponds where we saw Whooper Swans, Tufted Ducks, Common Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Goldeneyes and Red-necked Phalaropes, and also lots of Reindeers. We continued along the river towards the next cottage Tsuugisautsi. During the walk we saw a Hen Harrier, a Golden Eagle, 6 Willow Grouses, a Jack Snipe and 3 Short-eared Owls. Very close to Norwegian border we heard a Bullfinch and a Redstart.

Tsuugisautsi cottage was really something… It was situated in the middle of nowhere very close to Norwegian border and it’s attic was full of empty booze-bottled and on the wall there was a huge sprayed text “Smell a big P”. Luckily we hadn’t planned to stay on this cottage but we left some of our luggage there and continued towards the highest fjeld of the area, 600 metres high Valkamapää. There we checked Kalkujärvet and Rautujärvet that were summer-places for sami-people; the latter lakes were on Norway. We saw some Black-throated Divers, Common Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks. On Valkamapää we saw of course lots of Golden Plovers but also Bar-tailed Godwits, Spotted Redshanks, Dunlins and Red-necked Phalaropes. On the top of Valkamapää we also managed to get our heavy ARP-phone to work and managed to contact our wifes and girlfriends. We also called to Markku Korkalo and agreed the day when he picks us up.

From Valkamapää we walked down to Rautujärvi where we stayed on border guardian’s building. There was even a sauna! So during the morning we were cooking crepes and having sauna. Even though the lake was still partly frozen Janne went to swim. On the garden we saw a couple of Ringed Povers, Temminck Stints and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits. Janne saw a Red Fox from the outhouse and a lonely Taiga Bean Goose was also seen.

Windy

We left again to walk back to Tsuugisautsi in the evening and we picked up the rest of our luggage. Then we continued along the border over Riehtiskero to Liulama where we had promised that we cold stay on a reindeer owner’s cottage. During the walk we saw 6 Whooper Swans, 13 Long-tailed Ducks, 30 golden Plovers, 9 Red-necked Phalaropes, 14 Long-tailed Skuas and some Spotted Redhanks, Dunlins and Temminck Stints and hundreds of reindeers.

Then we had the only misfortunes of the trip (if we don’t count Aappo’s all the time wet boots). We were extremely tired when we finally got to the reindeer-men’s cottage and soon we found out that there was no key to get in anywhere! From the window we saw that the floor was under renovation so there we really no floor at all. The problem was that we were on the treeless and rocky nature and during the night wind had started to blow so strong that it seemed to be impossible to put the tent up. We rested for some time on the stairs of the cottage and saw a Golden Eagle, a Rough-legged Buzzard and a Kestrel and a couple of stunning Bar-tailed Godwits. Then we decided to keep on walking and finally we somehow managed to get our tent up, but then we realized we were too close to a Lapland Bunting’s nest and we still had to move it a little bit. Somewhere northeast from Tseäbmaoaivi, on the shore of a small lake we finally managed to get some sleep.

Summerbirds and ice-hockey

After midnight we walked to Tseärmakjavrrik and walked around several ponds nearby. Then we continued to Pierkkujärvi where we put up our tent next to a reindeer owner’s cottage. In the morning we walked to check some ponds next to the border and also checked Ravddojavrre on the Norwegian side of the border by binoculars. On this walk we saw a beautiful Arctic Redpoll and during the night we had seen altogether 14 Long-tailed ducks, 19 Long-tailed Skuas, some Ringed Plovers, Ruffs, Spotted Redshanks, Temminck Stints and Red-necked Phalaropes.

On the last night of our first part of the trip, 19th of June, we walked from Pierkkujärvi to Naltijärvi. Along this walk we saw the first human of the trip when we saw a couple of reindeer-men fishing. We managed to find nests of a Temminck Stint, a Long-tailed Skua and a Dotterel. Dotterel was of course photographed well, it is a brave bird and you can photograph it very close when it is on it’s nest. Also a couple of Mallard, 4 Rough-legged Buzzards, 2 Hen Harriers, a Short-eared Owl and 2 (Parrot) Crossbills were seen.

In Naltijärvi cottage we slept very well and while we were sleeping there was a thunder-storm going over us. From the windows we saw Willow Warblers, Bluethroats and even a Greenfinch. 2 Whooper Swans visited our shore while I was carrying cooking and drinking water from the lake. In the evening Markku picked us up and we had again a slowly drive to Kalmakaltio. (Markku told that he had been stuck in a bog for an hour both when he had driven us to Naltijärvi and now when he was coming to pick us up.) After some coffee there we finally drove to Hetta where we were at midnight.

We had planned to sleep well but we found out that there was the 7th Stanley Cup ice-hockey final at night. Dallas Stars and Jere Lehtinen won the final after we don’t know how many overtimes. I gave up but Janne and Aappo were watching the whole game.

When I woke up in the morning I was wondering where the boys had disappeared but they had moved to sauna to sleep so they could sleep late without disturbances until the evening.

To Pöyrisjärvi

On the 20th and 21st of June we were laundering and shopping and of course birding. We visited Periläkoski where we saw Siberian Tits and in Sotkajärvi. Of course we spent time with my family too, my boy was now 1.5 months old.

On the 21st of June we drove to Näkkälä where we met Paavo Laakso who had promised to drive us to Pöyrisjärvi. While having coffee Paavo told us stories about some birds he had seen around Enontiekiö and he had seen a Surf Scoter, a flock of Shelducks, many Kittiwakes and even a Great Skua only a couple of weeks earlier. And all these really sounded good. This Great Skua had even seen in Hetta on very same day by Bee-eater twitchers.

In the evening Paavo drove us by his 4 wheel-drive to Pöyrisjärvi where we got a huge apartment for ourselves. It had been raining whole day and it was still raining very hard so we had to just watch to this huge lake from the windows. Anyway we saw Temminck Stints, Common and Herring Gulls with one sub-adult Great Black-backed Gull and 39 Arctic Terns.

Lifer for all

It was raining until the next afternoon and when it finally started to shine we hurried to the shore with our telescopes. In a short time we saw 2 Golden Eagles, 6 Rough-legged Buzzards, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin, a Peregrine and a Crane, Red-throated Divers, Whooper Swans and some Taiga Bean Geese. Then I saw something strange… I was scanning the sky with my telescope when I noticed a gull-like bird soaring above a flock of gulls. Its shape was strange and its wing-beats were very stiff. I told to Janne and Aappo to check the highest “gull” of the flock and from my voice they could understand there was really something strange now. It took ages for them to find the bird, it was so high but finally they found it when it was already flying away from us against the tops of Termisvaara and they both shouted – a Fulmar!

The bird was already far and I started to think that we hadn’t seen it well enough to get it through a rarity-committee. Soon it disappeared and we thought we had lost it but then we saw it flying again towards us. It flew a round over the lake and we managed to see it well! It was a really rare bird in Finland and a lifer to all of us! The next 3 hours we were still scanning to the lake and making notes about te bird. We also called by ARP to Hanna to Parikkala that she would put the news about the bird to beeper. We also called to our “bosses” Jarmo Pääläinen and Sami Timonen. Pretty soon the weather cleared totally and it started to blow from south, so we guessed that Fulmar had flown back to Norway and to Arctic Ocean. It had probably got lost in a rain and fog that had lasted a couple of days?

In the evening we walked to Termisjärvi but then it started to rain again. On this walk we saw a pale Arctic Skua and many Red-throated Divers, Long-tailed Ducks and Red-necked Phalaropes. Also several Bar-tailed Godwits and migrating Ruffs were seen.

Searching and searching for geese

On the next day we loaned a motor-boat from Paavo Laakso that was in his summer cottage and went to check a couple of lakes that were situated outside the protected bog-area in southeast. While we were leaving a 4 wheel-drive came to the cottage with 2 birders from Helsinki, they had decided to try to twitch a Fulmar! They had been twitching a White-winged Lark in Kalajoki, then driven back to Helsinki to pick up all luggage and now they were in Enontekiö wilderness – crazy!

We gave them some instructions (of course we didn’t except them to see any Fulmars) and left by boat to the easternmost part of Pöyrisjärvi and from there along the river to the crossing of Pöyrisjoki and Kalkujoki. From the boat we saw the only Pintails of the trip and some Wigeons, Teals, Tufted Ducks and Goldeneyes. 22 Snipes were displaying along the river and 11 Sedge Warblers were singing. Other birds were a young Golden Eagle, 4 Broad-billed Sandpipers, a Hooded Crow and a Sparrowhawk.

After we had left our boat we walked around several lakes that Paavo had told to be the most possible area to find Lesser White-fronted Geese. Anyway we didn’t find any geese and we saw a Long-tailed Skua catching a tiny Bar-tailed Godwit nestling while the adults were alarming because of us. We felt really bad. Then it started to rain again and on the way back we had serious problems with the motor of the boat. Luckily we finally made it back.

To Maaterjärvi

The next day was again rainy so we stayed in for whole day. But on the next morning Paavo came 4:30 and he drove us by boat to the northern side of the lake. Luckily the fog started to move away and once we got to the shoe we saw a dark Arctic Skua flying over us. We saw some old Arctic Fox nests while walking towards north.

On the way we saw amazing junipers and also some birds like 40 Golden Plovers, several Ringed Plovers, Whimbrels, Dunlins, Temminck Stints, Red-necked Phalaropes and 20 Long-tailed Skuas. Some Fieldfares and Redwings were flying over us and Aappo found the first Scaups of the trip in Maaterlommot. In Maaterjärvi we saw an Osprey and on the lake we saw a couple of Black-throated Divers and Goosanders.

Finally we were in the last leg of our trip in Maaterjärvi where we had a board guardian’s cottage with sauna arranged. It was mid-summer day and we were in the middle of wilderness! We were swimming on the lake and saw 2 Taiga Bean Geese flying over us. Luckily nobody saw us running up from the lake to check the geese with our scopes.

We had even a radio in the cottage and here we hear the first time a Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Scar Tissue song. It has been one of our favourites since ever since. It was strange listen to radio and stupid drunken people that were celebrating mid-summer when we had more than 30 kilometres to the closest road.

Sunshine and nudity

The last full day we were inventing the lakes and ponds on the eastern and south-eastern side of Maaterjärvi. It was a strange day as we were working during the day. The best bird was seen from the windowbefore we started, a Golden Eagle. During the day we saw Black-throated Divers, Whooper Swans, Tufted Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruffs, Spotted Redshanks, Dunlins, Temminck Stints, Red-necked Phalaropes, Rough-legged Buzzards, Ravens and Long-tailed Skuas. The sun was shining from the cloudless sky and we were swimming on a pool in the middle of nowhere. We were laughing if some NATO-officer was watching the border of Finland and Norway with satellites and saw us walking naked and one of us carrying a machinegun (Aappo and Swarovski).

On our last day I saw a stoat while sitting on a outhouse and later hundreds and hundreds of Reindeers started to gather to the southern side of the lake. Also some people came to the shore and later also a plane landed to the lake. Risto Anunti who was coming to pick us up on the next day was shouting greeting from the plane. He had been fishing on a lake somewhere near and they had had some problems to get the plane back to the air – maybe too many fish? So people had been walking to Maaterjärvi so they could have longer runway.

Last walk

On the last morning we woke up to a strange noise from outside and there were hundreds of Reindeers in our garden! We had counted more than 1500 last evening and now they were in our garden. We hurried to get our telescopes inside. Later with Janne we walked to the top of Maderoaivi where we saw a big yellow pile of stones that was on the border. The place was exactly on Finnish lady’s biceps (watch Finnish map). Finally it was time to leave and when Risto was landing to the lake we saw 5 Taiga Bean Geese flying over us. Unfortunately they weren’t Lesser White-fronted Geese. White we were flying we saw a flock of 1000 Reindeers and finally we landed to Hetta. After a good lunch Aappo took the first bus to Oulu and with Janne we went to pick up my car from Näkkälä. Then we still put a next message to all Finnish birdwatchers: “Enontekiö, Pöyrisjärvi wildernes 12th to 19th and 21st to 27th of June: a Fulmar, 130 Long-tailed Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas, 8 Golden Eagles, a Gyr Falcon, 25 Rough-legged Buzzards, 75 Long-tailed Ducks, 31 Common Scoters, 4 Dotterels, 25 Bar-tailed Godwits, 39 Dunlins, 29 Temminck Stints, 93 Red-necked Phalaropes, 10 Short-eared Owls. Altogether 76 species”. That really told much what kind of trip we had experienced!

Even though we never found any Lesser White-fronted Geese the trip was even better than we had expected. Luckily we were paid searching for Lesser White-fronted geese not only finding. Thanks to Metsähallitus Ylä-Lappi and Sinnish WWF. Also thanks to Rajavartiolaitos.

Pirkka Aalto