. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 5th of May I took it easy as I was still very tired after a long birding weekend. In the afternoon I twitched a Black Redstart that Anniina Kontiokorpi found in Särkisalmi sewage ponds. I also found a Jack Snipe there. On the next day I found a Pink-footed Goose in Siikalahti and because of the heavy northern wind also the next days were quiet. I did some trips here and there but saw only a Capercaillie, Hazel Hens, Long-tailed Ducks, Wrens and so on. We also ringed the first Tengmalm’s Owl nestling that had already grown big.

On the 9th day I saw 110 Common Scoters, 7 Velvet Scoters, 40 Black-throated Divers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 25 Spotted Redshanks and 9 Common Swifts in Siikalahti. In the afternoon I counted 240 Little Gulls and 40 Common Terns in Härskiinmutka.
At night I biked to Siikalahti and went to sleep into the information center. When the rain finally started I walked to the bird-tower already before 4 a.m. I had expected to see lots of waders, but the fog was too thick. I did see quite a lot of Wood Sandpiperd and some Spotted Redshanks but the best birds were a female Citrine Wagtail, a 2nd c-y Pallid Harrier and a Black-tailed Godwit. After 6 a.m. I walked to the dam-road where we continued with Harri Partanen and finally the fog moved away and we started to see lots of waders. During the morning we saw altogether 1180 Wood Sandpipers, 114 Spotted Redshanks, 92 Ruffs, 220 Golden Plovers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper, a Temminck’s Stint, 2 Honey Buzzards, 9 Cuckoos, 26 Swifts, 82 Yellow Wagtails, 200 Common Scoters, 35 Long-tailed Ducks, 8000 Barnacle Geese, 1750 grey geese and so on. Savi’s Warbler was still singing and Grey-headed Woodpecker and Spotted Crake calling, so it was very nice day! In the evening we went to sauna to Tarvaslampi and we heard a Wood Warbler. After that we still drove to Saari Pohjanranta to check the waders and found 2 Marsh Sandpipers, and there were also 4000 Barnacle Geese.

On the 11th day we drove to Saari with Harri, but it was raining very hard. We did see the same 2 Marsh Sandpipers, 3 Temminck’s Stints, a Grey Heron and 5 Lapland Buntings in Pohjanranta, but it wasn’t possible to continue anywhere else. So we drove back to Parikkala, where the clouds had moved away and ended to Siikalahti dam-road once again. And it was worthy as I found immediately a Shelduck flying around the bay. It was only my 2nd ever in Parikkala and Siikalahti. Soon I found a Red-backed Shrike and also a Short-eared Owl and Savi’s Warbler was singing and Spotted Crake calling and a coupe of Gadwalls still hanging around so the morning was really good. In the evening I still saw a couple of Pheasants in Tyrjä and did a bike-trip to Melkoniemi forests where I saw a Capercaillie and on the way back a flock of Lapland Buntings.

On the 12th day I saw another 2nd c-y Pallid Harrier, 6 Ringed Plovers, a Temminck’s Stint, 3 Thrush Nightingales, a Spotted Flycather and 2 Rooks. In Rautalahti I saw a White-tailed Eagle but not that Greater Spotted Eagle I was driving after. On the 13th day I saw some Long-tailed Ducks, Common and Velvet Scoters on the lake and in Saari I saw a couple of Ortolan Buntings and a Hen Harrier couple in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 8000 Barnacle Geese, 230 Ruffs and 2 Little Ringed Plovers in Pohjanranta. In the evening I still heard a Wryneck while I was jogging and a Bluethroat almost in our own back-yard.
At night it was raining very hard again so there were water in every field on the next day. Around Siikalahti I saw 200 Ruffs, a Golden Plover and a Heuglin’s type of gull and after work I drove to Saari again and counted 6000 Barnacle, 200 White-fronted, and 100 Tundra Bean Geese and a Peregrine in Tetrisuo, In Pohjasuo I saw 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 54 Little Gulls and in Pohjanranta a couple of Garganeys and Pintails. In Suurenjärvenliete I saw 180 Ruffs, a Ringed Plover and 55 Yellow Wagtails, but Kanavalampi was the place with 800 Ruffs, 150 Wood Sandpipers, 25 Spotted Redshanks, a Redshank, a Marsh Sandpiper and a Peregrine that was chasing the waders. On the way back home I twitched an early Common Rosefinch in Särkisalmi in in the evening I still biked to Siikalahti where I found a Greylag Goose and 2 Dunlins.

On the 15th of May I counted 5500 Barnacle Geese in Siikalahti. After work I drove once again to Saari. In Kinnarniemi I counted 5800 Barnacle Geese, 185 Whooper and 5 Bewick’s Swans, In Akanvaara I saw a male Hen Harrier, in Pohjasuo again 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Bluethroat and in Ratila 5800 Barnacle Geese and in Pohjanranta 1000 more. But then I decided to go twiching. A Kentish Plover had been found in Lappeenranta Konnunsuo and it took a 1.5 hours to get there. Luckily I saw the plover easily and it was a new South-Karelia tick. The fields were very wet so there were lots of birds!

I counted 10000 Barnacle Geese, 600 Ruffs, 100 Yellow Wagtails and there were several goodies like 2 Marsh Sandpipers, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, a Pink-footed Goose, an Oystercatcher, a Gadwall, 8 Temminck’s Stints, 9 Ringed Plovers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers and a Merlin, a Peregrine and a White-tailed Eagle that were hunting – so there were really lots of birds! After these raptors had once again flushed all the birds the Kentish Plover was not found anymore. In the eveining I counted altogether 300 Swallows, Sand and House Martins from the lake and at night we did a short night-trip to Siikalahti with Harri, but all we heard were a couple of Thrush Nightingales, a Savi’s Warbler, 3 Spotted Crakes and 6 Water Rails – it was minus degrees again at night.

J.A.