Wilderness race 2017
On the 1st of April we had the traditional wilderness bird-race again. Our area was almost too familiar as t had Kangaskylä, Siikalahti, Kullinsuo and so on in it. It’s really the least wild are in Parikkala but as there was once again 8 teams exploring different area, it was our turn to have this area.
We started at 3 a.m. searching for owls and drove around the best forests in the area and stopped many times but heard nothing. At 5 a.m. we met Miika Soikkeli in Kannas and as I had driven mine and Hanna’s bikes there already in the previous evening, we could soon start biking. In this race it is OK to split in two groups, so Hanna started to bike towards Kolmikanta and with Miika we headed towards Siikalahti.
In this race points are given differently, only one point is given from most of the species, but wilderness-species can give you different amount of points per individual. So with Miika we concentrated on woodpeckers which we knew are common around Siikalahti.
In Kaukola we saw 3 Roe Deers – points are given also from mammals. Then closer to Siikalahti we heard our first Grey-headed Woodpecker which really was the species of the day – altogether we heard and saw 11 individuals! Around Siikalahti we found also a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a Black Woodpecker and plenty of Great Spotted Woodpeckers (altogether 40 were found during the day).
Only 3 female Black Grouses were seen during the day and none were heard displaying. A Goshawk and a Sparrowhawk were seen in Siikalahti and 9 Common Buzzards altogether. A Stock Dove was seen migrating and during the day we saw some flocks of Tundra Bean Geese and a couple of single White-fronted Geese. In Torokanniemi a Wren was singing shortly and in Peltola we saw a Rook. Only 16 Willow Tits, 10 Treecreepers, 29 Bullfinches, 13 Jays and 27 Ravens were seen. Hanna saw 5 Common Crossbills, a few flocks of Snow Buntings were seen and a single Linnet. The best bird of the day was seen by Hanna in Lahdenkylä where she found a Nuthatch. Other better species she saw were a Goldfinch, a Hazel Hen and a Black Woodpecker. But of course many common point-species were seen in the forests. With Miika we biked along tracks in Siikalahti until we ended up to a track that was still full of snow and we had to turn back. So we headed to Siikalahti dam-road.
Once Hanna had biked until the main road 6, we went to pick her up and continued to Kangaskylä. In Ristimäki we saw a flock of Waxwings, in Kirkonkylä a Coal Tit and in Kangaskylä Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows. Then I was dropped back to Siikalahti and Hanna and Miika continued towards Särkisalmi. But the weather had changed windy and the afternoon birding didn’t produce much. I had hoped to see some eagles but saw none. We still visited Tyrjä where we found the 3rd White-backed Woodpecker of the day but not much else.
Finally the race ended and the results were given in Rautjärvi Pitkäjärvi. The winners were once again Jussi, Arttu and Perttu Valonen with Ari Parviainen, they had been in Rasvaniemi-Kirjavala-Kesusmaa area. Arttu and Perttu had been biking almost whole day. Some very nice birds had been seen and heard like 2 Great Grey Owls, a Hawk Owl, a Tawny Owl, quite a few other owls too, 4 Wood Larks, 30 White-backed Woodpeckers, 38 Grey-headed Woodpeckers, 88 Black Woodpeckers and so on. But only 1 Capercaillie had been seen and it had been migrating over Lake Simpele!
The evening was long but after all we had to drive back to home in extremely bad weather!
On the 2nd of April I saw a couple of Mistle Thrushes, some Fieldfares and 3 Gold Finches in Siikalahti before I had to drive to play the final of this year’s rinkbandy series to Lappeenranta. We won after penalties.
On the 4th day there were already 40 Tundra Bean and 10 White-fronted Geese in Siikalahti. 2 White-tailed Eagles were migrating, 2 Marsh Harriers and a Meadow Pipit were also seen.
