Summer begins well
On the 1st of June we started early with Hanna, her brother Miika and mother Helka. We went to twitch a Red-flanked Bluetail that I had found on the previous morning. We found it right away when we got out and this time we managed to see and photograph this young male bird much easier. A Greenish Warbler was singing shortly and we also heard a Three-toed Woodpecker calling and I also heard a Parrot Crossbill.
We continued soon to another forest place where we soon found a family of Siberian Jays. Old couple had still managed to get one young which was very good news! A Black Woodpecker also came to make noise close to us.
Then we continued to see the Great Grey Owl again and we found it easily. It was very tired so we took just some pictures and let it enjoy the morning sun. We also flushed a female Capercaillie that flew very beautifully in front of us.
In the evening we did a short trip to Saari with Hanna. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo it was very windy, but after some waiting we saw the 2nd year Montagu’s Harrier again. 10 Black Grouses were lekking even though it was quite stormy.
In Pohjanrata we saw a Marsh Sandpiper, 4 Greenshanks, a Redshank, a Dunlin and a Ringed Plover. 13 Barnacle Geese were sleeping on the field.
On the 2nd of June we did the bird count with Miika. We walked 17 kilometers around Siikalahti starting from our home. It was good to Miika to practice all the common song-birds, but of course we had some better birds too like a Canada Goose, 2 Garganeys, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Black Grouse, 6 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Honey Buzzards, 3 Hobbies, 3 Water Rails, a Little Crake, a family of 4 Cranes that were swimming cross Siikalahti, a Green Sandpiper, 55 Little Gulls, a Long-eared Owl, a Grey-headed and a White-backed Woodpecker, a Wryneck, 3 Wrens, 7 Blackcaps, a Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Marsh and 9 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Wood Warblers, a Long-tailed Tit, a Treecreeper, 3 Golden Orioles, a House Sparrow and a strange Brambling that was singing close to the village.
On the 3rd of June I had to go to work to Imatra. I left so early that I could try to twitch Great Snipes in Rautjärvi but they were already silent. It was raining pretty hard when I got to Joutseno Konnunsuo but luckily it stopped soon and I managed to hear a Booted Warbler singing.
In the afternoon I visited Pohjanranta again and saw a couple of Marsh Sandpipers, a Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Temminck Stint. Now there were only 7 Barnacle Geese but also a Brent Goose.
On the 4th of June I woke up very early as I felt asleep too early in the previous evening. So I was birding again before 6 a.m. and soon I was listening to the Red-flanked Bluetail again. It really had chosen a territory in a forest in Parikkala! I continued driving around Lake Simpele and soon saw a small Brown Bear on the road! It rose to stand on two feet but soon continued to he forest but stopped there and started to watch what I was doing. I talked and whistled to it and it always looked at me. Unfortunately I had no other camera than my mobile. After some minutes it started to climb to the hill inside the forest and I continued birding. All I found were a couple of River Warblers, so pretty soon I was back at home.
During the day we went to check all the owls we had and two Pygmy Owls had 7 chicks that were big enough to ring. Tengmalm’s Owl chicks and one Pygmy owl chicks were still too small. The last Pygmy Owl had even 2 dead chicks in the nest so there wasn’t enough food in the forest.
In the afternoon we did a short trip to Saari with Harri. In Tetrisuo we found a Short-eared Owl and in Pohjanranta we saw 11 Barnacle Geese, a Brent Goose, a Garganey, 2 Little Ringed and 1 Ringed Plover and still 2 Marsh Sandpipers and a River Warbler was singing.
On the night of 5th of June I still went to listen that Little Crake was sill in Siikalahti. In the afternoon we left to a longer trip to Urals!
J.A.