April 2003
April – Waiting for the spring
In the beginning of April it was very cold and snowy. First arrived migration birds left back to South. So I didn’t find much to photograph. On the 5th of April Timo Kauppinen called me that he has a Ural Owl sitting in his backyard. Owl had been sitting there and watching the traffic of the feeder. So I decided to leave there on my lunch-hour. After some searching we found the bird and soon it flew to sit over the feeding place. Of course the Owl was in a bad shape, it was hungry and that was why it was so brave. So I could take tens of good pictures of it.
After some back-winters I was digiscoping some Woodpigeons in my mother-in-laws backyard in Tarvaslampi. Pigeons were there eating under a feeder because of there was nothing to eat elsewhere yet. With Hannu Siitonen we visited also in Siberian Jay forest, but the birds were not easy. In Tarvaslampi Yellowhammers were very easy to photograph. I Digiscoped them inside, I just opened the window, so birds didn’t flush.
On the 11th of April I left to Oulu to move the rest of our stuff to Parikkala. Hanna was still there studying while I had been working in Parikkala for two months already. On the beginning of my Way I saw a beautiful male Capercaillie standing in a forest. I managed to get just one picture before it flew to the deeper forest. Close to Oulu in Liminka I digiscoped a Roe Deer eating in a snowy field. But in Oulu there wasn’t much to photograph. In Rusko rubbish tip there were just some funny looking Rooks.
Next week I had only time to photograph a Wood Lark which was singing loudly in Sounio, south from Siikalahti, before we left to spent whole Eastern in Varanger North Norway! Norway Varanger IV/2003 (Whole trip report: Yellow-billed Diver, Great Northern Diver, Fulmars, Gannets and very good time!)
After the trip to Varanger I started my work as a bird-guide in Parikkala Siikalahti (the best birding lake in Finland). (I had been waiting for that!) In the end of April Siikalahti was still almost totally frozen! Only small water areas where Coots and Goldeneyes could swim. Other ducks were only few. Some Slavonian Grebes brought some colour. During the last days of April the spring finally came! Migration birds were every day more and more. Every day I could find new species to digiscope. Light was still pretty bad and the weather wasn’t very good but still I managed to get some good photos.
J.A.