Wader season starts
After my trip to Turkey I really needed some rest. So I only visited Siikalahti a couple of times. On the 6th of July I twitched a Quail in Tetrisuo and on the couple of next nights I heard some Blyth’s Reed Warblers, Corncrakes and a Grasshopper Warbler and a Spotted Crake. On the 11th day I heard a Great Reed Warbler.
On the 13th of July I found a surprice in Siikalahti, Little Gulls had really been breeding well and there were 102 young gulls in a colony. I also saw 75 Lapwings, 20 Ruffs, a Dunlin and a Woos Sandpiper.
On the 14th day in same place I saw 130 Lapwings, again 20 Ruffs, 4 Dunlins, 2 Spotted Redshanks and a nice Bar-tailed Godwit. Some Bitterns were seen on flight and 3 pairs of Honey Buzzards. In the evening we went to Saari with Harri Partanen and saw 118 Lapwings, 6 Golden Plovers and a Ruff in Akanpelto, a 2 c-y male Hen Harrier and 4 Red-backed Shrikes in Akanvaara, Tetrisuo and 2 Grey Herons in Tarassiinlahti.
On the 15th of July very early in the morning I drove to Lappeenranta where I picked up Pekka Punnonen and we started birding already after 6 a.m. In Askola we saw only a Dunlin, so we continued to Haapajärvi. This lake has been dried almost completely because of it is supposed to be cleaned and then filled again. So it is now a paradice for waders. On the way there we still saw a family of Great Grey Shrikes which is not normal breeder this south.
In Haapajärvi we went straight to bird-tower and found out that it wasn’t the best day for waders, there weren’t many as many stints as earlier during the week. We saw only 7 Dunlins, 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a Broad-billed Sandpiper – anyway they are good species in South Karelia. We drove around the lake and checked it from every angle and counted 150 Lapwings, 90 Wood Sandpipers, 60 Greenshanks, 12 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers, 5 Redshanks, 3 Spotted Redshanks and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. A Black Kite and a Goshawk were also seen and lots of Sand Martins (140) and Swifts (200). The weather looked perfect as it started to rain in the afternoon but anyway no new waders were arriving to the lake, so we continued to check Vainikkala fields where we didn’t find anything better. In the afternoon we stopped again in Askola where we saw 6 Temminck’s Stints, 2 Dunlins and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. On the way back home I still checked Siikalahti but suprisingly I didn’t see any waders.
J.A.