Mid-summer
After coming back from Urals I had to go twitching even though the bird was one I had seen and heard many during the last 10 days – the first real Oriental Cuckoo for Finland had been found in Sotkamo! I slept a couple of hours at home after a long travelling from Ekaterinburg and Helsinki and then started a long drive to Sotkamo. I was there in Teerijärvi at 7 p.m. and there were already some twitchers but they hadn’t heard anything in a couple of hours.
At 8:15 I heard a on series of Oriental Cuckoo calling but it stopped immediately. After 5 minutes it started to cal and called for 2 minutes and I even managed to get some recording. But then the next series was heard at 9:50 and right then one car was leaving the place and nobody else heard it and there were quite a few who had arrived after the first calls. And after that I didn’t hear anything even though I stayed there until 4:15 a.m.
On the way back home I stopped in Saari Pohjanranta and saw a Marsh Sandpiper with Greenshanks and Wood Sandpipers. Then I still went by bike to listen to a Reed Warbler in Kirkkoranta. Then I was ready for a long sleep.
In the evening we went to twitch a Great Snipe but it was calling very badly. We counted 188 Curlews and 1 Whimbrel from the field.
On Friday I was in Lappeenranta and Pyhtää celebrating my friend’s bachelor parties. On the way back I went to twitch a Quail in Lappeenranta Hanhijärvi Rantala. On Sunday I participated to Parikkala bike competition and biked 90 kilometers. I was extremely tired and hardly managed to finish. On the way I heard a Great Reed Warbler in Siikalahti and some Chiffchaffs, Icterine Warblers and Wrens. Next a couple of nights I heard a couple of Nightjars and 2 Great Snipes.
On the 1st of July I went early to Soininmäki where the Red-flanked Bluetail was still singing. I also drove to Saari and in Akanvaara Tetrisuo I saw a Black Grouse and in Pohjanranta I heard a Marsh and an Icterine Warbler. During the day I saw a White-tailed Eagle and a Bittern and heard the Great Reed Warbler in Siikalahti. In the evening we saw 5 Great Snipes in, but they weren’t really calling, just flying around. On the next day I saw 12 Hobbies, 2 Gadwalls and heard an Icterine Warbler in Siikalahti.
During the 3rd to 5th day I was biking around Lake Saimaa again with my friends. We drove altogether 250 kilometers as one had to drive a car while 4 were biking. We really were lucky as the weather was better than in whole summer. On the way back home I twitched a Kingfisher in Lappeenranta Haapajärvi and counted 84 Barnacle Geese in Parikkala Joukionsalmi.
On the 6th and 7th day I saw a Nutcracker in Kangaskylä and on the 8th day we visited Saari with Harri Partanen but saw only an Ortolan Bunting in Tetrisuo and a Short-eared Owl in Pohjasuo.
On the 10th of July Jari Kontiokorpi found a Curlew Sandpiper in Kirkkoranta which I of course twitches. There were also 2 Dunlins and 56 Lapwings.
On the 11th day we counted July count around Siikalahti with Hanna and saw a flock of 240 Common Scoters, a Spotted Redshank and a Red-backed Shrike and heard a Corn Crake, 6 Wrens, 2 River Warblers, 6 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Great Reed Warbler and 3 Golden Orioles and so on.
On the 12th day we visited Soinimäki and heard 2 Hazel Hens but the Red-flanked Bluetail was already quiet. We also went to see a breeding pair of Red-throated Divers to Savo side of the border and found them with 2 youngsters.
Next day I saw a Green Sandpiper in Kirkkoranta and on the 15th day saw 2 Gold Finches in Kangaskylä and a Garganey in Siikalahti. On the 16th day I saw 5 Long-tailed tits in a short forest-trip and in Joukiosalmi I counted amazing 147 Barnacle Geese which about half of them were youngsters!
J.A.