March 2011
Waiting for the spring in vain
In the beginning of March we were still in Morocco and Western Sahara – Morocco and Western Sahara trip-story (210 species, meny WP-ticks, more than 6000km driving and so on!).
When we were back from Morocco, we just needed to relax for several days after the hard trip. On the 12th of March I decided to go to try to twitch a sibiricus Great Grey Shrike that had been seen again after a month. In a very early morning I saw a Whooper Swan in Joukio and in Suomenniemi I saw a Fieldfare before I finally was in Mäntyharju Kinni at 8 a.m. Miika “potu” Suojarinne was already there and together we tried to find the shrike for several hours without luck. We did see a couple of Grey-headed Woodpeckers, a couple of flocks of Common Crossbills, Black Grouses, Hazel Hens and so on. After we had given up we drove to Mäntyharju centre, where we twitched a Marsh Tit. On the way back home I stopped in Imatra Vuoksi where I saw 410 Herring Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull. In the evening we went to sauna to Tarvaslampi and there was Tengmalm’s Owl calling.
On the 13th day I went to Siikalahti but only bird I saw was a displaying Sparrowhawk. On the next day I found a Nutcracker from our garden sembra. And later this bird was on that tree almost every day until the end of month.
On the 18th day I was in Siikalahti for 3 hours and I saw 5 migrating White-tailed Eagles. Also 30 Herring Gulls were flying south; they had probably found out that there was no reason to go any more north than Vuoksi. Also a Black Woodpecker was seen.
On the 19th of March we had a traditional wilderness rally. We were in area of most distant corner of Rautjärvi and Ruokolahti. In Utula – Hauklappi – Akkala villages and forests we saw and heard altogether 26 Black Grouses, 3 Hazel Hens, 2 Pygmy Owls, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Black Woodpecker, 14 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 52 Willow Tits, 18 Crested Tits, 14 Bullfinches and 8 Common Crossbills. So the area wasn’t very good! Surprisingly we managed to win the team that was left last by 2 points marginal. The evening was fun as there were many friends that we hadn’t seen for a long time.
On the next day I was in Siikalahti again and saw 3 migrating White-tailed Eagles, a flock of 25 crossbills, a Great Grey Shrike, a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
On the 22nd of March there was a first couple and also flock of 3 Whooper Swans in Siikalahti. White-backed Woodpeckers were drumming and a Sparrowhawk was in flight again. On the 23rd day I saw one more White-tailed Eagle and on the 24th the Nutcracker was trying to sing on our garden. So it was a feeling that spring might be coming, but it was still very cold during the nights and far too much snow on the ground.
So the last days of the month were also extremely quiet! One more family of Whooper Swans arrived to Siikalahti and on the 31st of March I saw the first migrating Common Buzzard. But still when the month changed it was more than -10 degrees, but finally the forecast promised warmer for the next days.