March 2010
Very slowly towards the spring
In the beginning of the March it was still hard winter. It was snowing more and more and temperature was “minus too much” in many days. I wasn’t birding very much because of it was just impossible to find anything new. I had to drive to Lappeenranta for several times because of work so I saw some birds on the way.
On the 3rf of March a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers were drumming in Siikalahti and a Nuthatch was still visiting a feeder in Likolampi. In Kokkolanjoki I saw a Dipper and a Whooper Swan and in Toikansuo a Goshawk.
On the 5th day I saw a Great Grey Shrike in Moskuunniemi and a Fieldfare flying over our house. In Joukionsalmi 4 Feral Pigeons were drinking from the small open water area and somewhere in Rautjärvi I saw a Black Woodpecker.
On the 7th day a Three-toed Woodpecker was calling in Siikalahti but it disappeared surprisingly. A Black woodpecker was seen in Koitsanlahdenkangas. On the 8th day a Fieldfare was flying over Kokkolanjoki and a Twite was finally found in Toikansuo. It was singing with Greenfinches.
On the 9th day I saw a Mute Swan, a Canada Goose and a Cormorant in Vuoksi and a Smew with Goosanders in Lappeenranta Luukkaansalmi. In Kangaskylä I saw a surprise when a Tawny Owl flew in front of my car.
On the 10th day I saw a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers and a Treecreeper in Siikalahti and on the 12th day 2 Great Grey Shriker and the first clearly migrating Hooded Crow. On the 13th day I saw 3 Herring Gulls in Vuoksi and a Pygmy Owl in Mikkeli while I was in a bus to an ice-hockey game.
On the 15th day I saw a Goosander and a Goldeneye in Kokkolanjoki, a male Smew in Vuoksi and the same female with more Goosanders in Luukkaansalmi. Also a Goshawk was seen there. On the 20th day a Dipper was in Joukionsalmi and on the 21st a Mute Swan and now 266 Herring Gulls in Vuoksi.
On the 22nd of March I heard a Whooper Swan calling in Siikalahti but still nothing was seen migrating. On the 23rd day I found a nice surprise, a Great Grey Owl in Tiviä. It is always an amazing bird! Unfortunately I had only a couple of minutes before I had to get back to work so I took only a couple of pictures and a short video with my pocket-camera. Also 7 Black Grouses were seen. On the 24th day I saw a Goshawk and 25th a migrating adult White-tailed Eagle. After a work I went to see Siberian Jays and on the same forest I managed to find also Crested and Willow Tits, Jays, a Pygmy Owl and a Three-toed Woodpecker.
On the 26th of March it finally started to happen! In Siikalahti I saw a local adult White-tailed Eagle that left towards Ladoga and another migrating north. 5 Skylarks, 16 Lapwings, 5 Common Buzzards, 3 Herring Gulls, a Snow Bunting, a Kestrel, 5 Rooks and a Fieldfare were migrating too. Local birds were a Goshawk, Great Grey Shrike and a Starling. It seemed that the spring was coming! But on the 27th day we biked to Siikalahti and watched for migration for 8 hours in a perfect weather, but a Common Buzzard was flying South, both a Lapwing and a Snow Bunting were turning to South, 7 Herring Gulls were flying here and there. Only 2 Siskins and 2 Blackbirds were going north and 2 Common Crossbills north-east. Local birds were a Common Buzzard, 2 Starlings, 2 White-backed Woodpeckers, a Black Woodpecker, a Grey-headed Woodpecker and a Great Grey Shrike. In the evening 2 Whooper Swans were seen in Särkisalmi.
On the next days it was raining. The snow was melting fast but the migration was stopped. On the 29th day 11 Lapwings landed to Siikalahti. Also 2 local Common Buzzards and a migrating Blackbird were seen. A couple of Whooper Swans were calling in Kirkkoranta so we could hear them to our home.
On the last day of March I was birding in Siikalahti both on the lunch-our and after work. The migration was still quiet but 50 Lapwings, 2 Skylarks, a Blackbird, a Wood Pigeon, 60 Snow Buntings, a Goosander, some Common Buzzards and adult White-tailed and a younger Golden Eagle were seen. Local birds were a Rook, a Great Grey Shrike, a Goshawk and Black Grouses, White-backed and a Grey-headed Woodpecker were calling. But in the afternoon it started to rain and came very cold. So the migration hadn’t really started yet!