. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

In the beginning of June I saw the first better birds on the 2nd day when in Siikalahti I saw a second year Heuglin’s Gull, in Suurisuo a Pintail, in Saari Pohjanranta a Black Kite and then in the evening I heard a Great Snipe in an ordinary place. On the 3rd of June there was 3 Ringed Plovers in Suurisuo and in Joukio there was already the first little juvenile with Barnacle Geese. In the afternoon we went to ring a couple of young Ural Owls in Savonlinna Punkaharju Kurkiniemi. We also checked the only owl-nest in Parikkala and there were also 2 young Ural Owls watching from their nest. Unfortunately they were breeding in an impossible trunk to ring them.

On the 5th day we had SSP-ringing and it was the worst morning ever: 1r+1c Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, a Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. A Long-eared Owl was seen and Corn Crake and Golden Oriole were heard. There were also some Common Crossbills migrating.

From 6th to 22nd of June we were in Northern Finland and Varanger Norway. There will be a trip-report soon. Unfortunately we had some problems with our home-sites right now.

When we were back in Parikkala, I dropped Hanna who was sick to Parikkala and continued straight to Imatra Kurkisuo where a Short-toed Eagle had been seen for a couple of days. It was seen again while I was still driving but luckily a couple of friends of mine stayed there and once I got there they helped me to see the bird too. After maybe 30 minutes waiting it was finally flying again.

The Short-toed Eagle was seen most of the time for the next 2 hours. A couple of times it landed behind the forest but soon it was again hanging in the wind. This stunning 3rd year bird was a new South-Karelia tick.

Then we still continued with Sampsa Cairenius and Rami Lindroos to Joutseno Kotasaari where we managed to see a Penduline Tit very briefly. It was very windy so we didn’t see anything else.

When Hanna was OK again we tried to twitch the eagle on the 24th day. Hanna’s sister Elissa and brother Miika were with us and we stayed in Karhusuo for several hours but the eagle was already gone. We did see a family of Great Grey Shrikes.

On the 25th day we did duck-counts in Saari but saw nothing interesting. On the 26th day we had SSP again: a Robin, 2 Common Whitethoats, 3+1c Sedge Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, 7+1c Great Tits, 5 Blue Tits and 2 Reed Buntings. Common Crossbills were migrating and we also found a nest of a Wryneck.

On the 27th of June I saw a family of House Sparrows in Kangaskylä – they aren’t completely extinct yet. In Siikalahti I saw 2 male and 1 female Gadwalls, a Dunlin, a Stock Dove, a family of Thrush Nightingales and in the evening heard a Common Grasshopper Warbler. After midnight I still heard 3 young Long-eared Owls in Kaukola and then still continued to Saari where I heard several Corn Crakes, a Grasshopper Warbler, a couple of Nightjars and a Great Snipe before I finally heard a Black Redstart that Karri Kuitunen had found on the previous night in Kangas. During the day I had surprisingly 2 Oystercatchers in Kangaskylä.

At night 29th and 30th of June we twitched a Quail that Erkko Elonen had found in Koitsanlahti Kapakkasuo. We also heard young Long-eared Owls. Then on the last day there was a Grey Heron in Kirkkoranta and we heard a migrating Whimbrel through open window at home.

On the 1st of July we did another night-trip to Saari. In Rautalahti we heard a River Warbler, but then we heard only Corn Crakes and some Blyth’s Reed Warblers and saw a Long-eared Owl until in Tarassiinlahti we finally heard a Marsh Warbler which was a year-tick. Then another Marsh Warbler was heard in Karinmäki and then we heard more Corn Crakes, Blyth’s Reed Warblers and some young Long-eared Owls, only one Spotted Crake and then another River Warbler but nothing rare was found.

On the 2nd day we saw a male Hen Harrier, 2 Temminck’s Stint and 3 Dunlins and a young Grey-headed Woodpecker in Siikalahti. And on the next days the same Dunlins were still there but nothing new was found.

On the 5th of July we left together with Harri Hölttä towards Luumäki very early at night. When we finally were in Taavetti we immediately heard a Yellow-browed Warbler that Pekka Karhu had found earlier. We listened to this actively singing bird for some time before continued to Joutseno Kotasaari to search for Penduline Tit. Tit was not found but we heard a Reed Warbler and saw a Spotted Redshank, a Ringed Plover, a flock of 700 Starlings and I managed to see a female Citrine Wagtail very briefly.

On the 6th day I saw a young Little Ringed Plover in Kukonkanta where they had been breeding. On the 8th day we did a forest-trip but only a Hazel Hen, a couple of young Goshawks, some tits and Wrens were heard. Then just 200 meters outside Parikkala in Savonlinna Punkaharju Riukonkangas we found a Wood Lark. During the day we did a short field-trip and found a couple of surprises – a Hen Harrier in Lahdensuo and a Great Grey Shrike in Kullinsuo. Anyway the best observation of the day was a Broad-bordered Bee-Hawk (butterfly) that we saw in Siikalahti.

On the 9th day we had SSP again: a Common Snipe, a Whinchat, a Song Thrush, a Sedge Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 11 Common Whitethroats, 4 Pied Flycatchers, 3+1c Blue Tits, a Chaffinch, a Siskin, 2 Common Rosefinches, and 7+1c Reed Buntings which the control was very nice as it wore a ring with a text Budapest – it had been ringed in Hungary!

During the day we went to ring some nestlings of Pied Flycatchers in Tarvaslampi. Then we continued to Saari where in Akonpohja we saw a family of Gadwalls and in Jyrkilä we found a good flooding field with 17 Greenshanks, 8 Spotted Redshanks and 50 Wood Sandpipers.

On the 11th of July we visited to floods in Jyrkilä again and counted 110 Wood Sandpipers, 19 Greenshanks, 2 Spotted Redshanks amd a Dunlin. In Pohjanranta we saw 6 Stock Doves. On the 12th day in evening in Siikalahti we saw the first Great Egret of the season and again a Great Grey Shrike. It is really not normal to see Great Grey Shrikes in summertime. On the 13th of July Hanna stayed whole night in a hide and managed to photograph a Spotted Crake. In the morning she got also pictures of a Wood Pigeon.

On the 14th of July we headed to night-trip to Saari again. We started in Pieni-Matko where we ringed a Grasshopper Warbler and a Corn Crake. The rest of the trip wasn’t very good, just Corn Crakes, young Long-eared Owls, some Spotted Crakes and Nightjars and then one of the River Warblers that we had found earlier. Only one Blyth’s Reed Warbler was heard so it seems that singer-time is over.

On the 15th day the flood in Jyrkilä had dried and there was only some Wood Sandpipers and a single Little Ringed Plover. On the 16th day we had SSP again and 5 Robins, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2+3c Common Whitethroats, a Chiffchaff, 4 Willow Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, a Blue Tit control, a Chaffinch, 2 Siskins and 8 Reed Buntings were caught. Common Crossbills were migrating, a Corn Crake calling and a Golden Oriole still singing.

On the 18th of July I was once again visiting the only are of Siikalahti where it is possible to see some waders and while walking through a field I flushed a Great Snipe! Finally Siikalahti-tick! On the next day I saw a young Hazel Hen in Siikalahti and in the afternoon we went to check one nest that our friend had found and there were 2 young Common Buzzards that were already flying. We also saw 4 young Capercaillies. In the evening we visited Siikalahti where we saw 4 Great Egrets, our friends had seen more.

J.A.