. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

Our team to Kymenlaakso First of May bird-race gathered our accommodations parking place. And soon together with Hanna, Teo Ylätalo and Elissa Soikkeli, we headed to owl-forests. It was only 5 minutes to 3 a.m. when we heard a female Ural Owl calling but unfortunately it stopped calling 2 minutes too early. So at 3 a.m. we had to start the race with some common songbirds.

Luckily later we found some good night-species like a Jack Snipe, a Spotted Crake and finally an owl too as a Tawny Owl started calling actively. Soon we headed towards south and in Hamina Kirkkojärvi we heard a couple of Water Rails and a Savi’s Warbler. Then we ticked a Moorhen that was calling very weakly and saw a Red-throated Diver migrating and a Northern Wheatear almost in the city. Then we continued towards Virolahti Harvajanniemi while making some stops on the way and the best birds we heard were a Grey-headed Woodpecker and some Tree Pipits.

There wasn’t much migration on the sea but we got some better species like Common and Velvet Scoter, Gadwall, Slavonian Grebe, Caspian and Arctic Tern.

After searching a Collared Dove without luck we stopped in Lupinlahti where some Pochards and Little Gulls were seen and also a flock of Barn Swallow and House Martins. Then in one nice forest we searched for some time before we found a Treecreeper and a Nuthatch and heard a Stock Dove calling, but new woodpeckers weren’t found.

Then it was time to head inland and to Kouvola where we visited quite a few bird-lakes and also an old forest. We suffered finding new species but luckily a flock of Waxwings, a Hazel Hen, a White-tailed Eagle, a Merlin, a Little Ringed Plover, a Wren, a Crested and a Willow Tit were found. We also tried to find a Kingfisher and a Black Redstart but without luck. But then a desperate search of a Wood Lark was a success.

We were running out of time and Teo counted our species and fell on agony as we had about 20 species than on normal year. But I had a feeling that the spring was just so late that there weren’t more species. So we decided to push until the end and luckily Lesser Black-backed Gull and Golden Plover were seen before we headed to our last point to Jaalanlahti.

There had been good numbers of waders in Jaalanlahti in the morning but they were almost all gone so no new wader-species were seen. But luckily Canada Geese, Garganeys, a Smew and a couple of Hen Harriers were seen before it was 6 p.m. and the race ended.

After all we had got 122 species which was about 20 species less that the winning result had usually been. But I was sure that if any team had got 130 species – they were lying… Because of Covid19 the results were sent by email and quite soon we were driving towards home.

On the next morning we got the results and we had won with our 122 species. The second team had got 2 species less and the 3rd had got 113 species. Altogether there had been 6 teams.

On the 2nd of May we slept long and were in Siikalahti only after 8 a.m. We stayed on the dam-road for a couple of hours but only Bramblings and some Lapland Buntings were moving. We also saw a couple of Wood Sandpipers before we went to eat. Then we headed to Saati to make the counts again. It was my birthday and I had my self-bought present Canon R5 with 100 to 500mm lens finally with me. The shipment had been problematic so Hanna still hadn’t got her lens and all our memory-cards were still somewhere. I had managed to get one memory-card in Kouvola on the previous day thanks to Elli! In Särkisalmi we saw a Nuthatch and then in Saari the best birds were a Peregrine in Pohjanranta, a Great White Egret and a Cormorant in Tarassiinlahti, a couple of Short-eared Owls, a twitched Citrine Wagtail in Suurenjärvenliete, a couple of Pink-footed Geese and a Spotted Redshank in Kanavalampi.

On the 3rd day a Red-throated Diver, a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers and some Cormorants was seen in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti a couple of Little Gulls and 5 House Martins were seen. In the afternoon we ringed the Nuthatch in Särkisalmi. On the next day the only birds to mention were 65 Tufted Ducks in Siikalahti.

On the 5th of May I had the first day of my holiday. In Härskiinmutka I saw a flock of 20 Oystercatchers and soon we were driving towards Saari with Arttu Valonen who helped me in duck-counts. A Gadwall, a Willow Warbler and a Hawfinch were seen in Akonpohja, a couple of Pink-footed Geese were still in Kanavalampi, a male Greater Scaup in Tarassiinlahti and also a couple of flocks of Common Scoters, a Hobby, altogether 30 Whimbrels and a Stock Dove were seen and then in Suurenjärvenliete we saw a Citrine Wagtail again and also a Jack Snipe.

During the day I started a long drive towards South-west. My destination was Jurmo island where I was about to stay for more than a week!

J.A.

After Easter I visited Siikalahti daily and spring had taken small steps. On the 6th of April I saw 15 White-fronted Geese, a White-tailed Eagle, a female Marsh Harrier, an early Osprey, a Kestrel, a Stock Dove and 50 Woodpigeons. On the 7th day a Bittern was calling weakly and a White Wagtail was escaping towards south as the weather was turning bad again. Also the first 5 Redpolls of the spring were seen and in the evening 4 Canada Geese and a Goldcrest were seen in Lemmikonsalmi and there and also in Särkisalmi were some Goldeneyes and Goosanders. In Siikalahti already 4 Water Rails were calling and there was a flooded field in Aittavaara where some Wigeons were seen.

On the 8th day a Greylag Goose, Teals, even 370 Mallards, 4 Pintails, 19 Canada Geese, a Grey Heron and a male Pochard were seen and a Common Snipe wad heard in different places in Siikalahti. On the 9th day a male Smew, a Coot and quite a good numbers of grey geese and Chaffinches were seen.

On the 10th of April some Barnacle Geese, a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards, a Heuglin’s Gull and a few Mistle Thrushes were seen. In Aittavaara there were already flocks of Black-headed and Common Gulls and also 3 Common Redshanks.

On the 11th day we started early. Hanna went to photograph birds to Aittavaara and I headed to check a lekking place of Capercaillies. The wind was strong so I found only a single bird that was high on a pine. When I drove back I stopped first in Särkisalmi where a male Tufted Duck was seen. Then I continued to Siikalahti I stopped in Torokanniemi where I heard a Robin and a Wren. I was on the dam-road at 6:30 a.m. and after all we stayed there until 3:30 p.m. A couple of Bewick’s Swans, a Pink-footed Goose, about 900 grey geese, 30 Barnacle Geese, 15 Cormorants, 4 White-tailed Eagles, 5 Hen Harriers, 20 Sparrowhawks, 3 Ospreys, 4 Kestrels, a Peregrine, a Merlin, 5 Curlews, 4 Green Sandpipers, 2 Stock Doves, a White-backed Woodpecker, 2 Meadow Pipits, 6 White Wagtails, 53 Gieldfares, a Song Thrush, 15 Redwings, 12 Mistle Thrushes, a few Gold Finches, Linnets and Redpolls were seen.

The week started with a Hen Harrier, 3 Rough-legged Buzzards and Green Sandpipers and a small flock of Lapland Buntings. In Särkisalmi I saw a couple of Smews and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. On the next day only birds to mention were a Brambling and a Linnet and on Wednesday only Hen Harrier and a Woodcock were seen. On the 15th day a better bird was a Black Kite in Siikalahti and also a Great Crested Grebe had finally arrived at Särkisalmi.

On the 16th of April a Black Kite was seen again and after work we went to Saari to do duck-counts to Natura-areas. Places to visit were all parts of Suuri and Pieni Rautjärvi: Akonpohja that is counted from 2 spots, Nivalahti, Tarassiinlahti (2 spots), Kanavalampi (3 spots) and Pohjanranta (2 spots). On the way we saw a Black Kite in Rautalahti and on the count we saw 37 Bewick’s Swans in Kanavalampi but nothing else better. Some of the areas were still frozen but swan and Mallard numbers were already high. We of course visited some other places too in Saari but saw nothing special. In the evening I went jogging again and heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Moskuunniemi.

On the 17th day we stayed in Siikalahti for 6 hours and saw a Black-throated Diver, 8 Cormotants, again a Black Kite, a Merlin, 15 Curlews, 12 Green Sandpipers, heard a couple of Lesser Spotted, a Grey-headed and a White-backed Woodpecker and finally saw the first Waxwing of the year – year-tick number 151. Redwings were already everywhere.

On the 18th of April we were on the dam-road at 6:15 a.m. Young birders had a national eco-rally so Veikka Kosonen and Oskari Saunisto who live in Kerimäki had arrived to Parikkala to race. They also arrived early to Siikalahti which of course is the place to see variety. There wasn’t much migration going on but a Black-throated Diver, a Cormorant, 4 White-tailed Eagles, a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Merlin, 32 Curlews, 12 Green Sandpipers, 3 Greenshanks, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Stock Dove, a couple of Black Woodpeckers, a few Gold Finches, a Linnet and a couple of Redpolls were seen. The best birds were a Black Kite again and a Greater Spotted Eagle that was soaring over the bay for some time. When we left to eat boys still continued towards Särkisalmi by bike and after all they got 81 species and were 4th on the competition.

In the evening I had nothing to do so I left to Joutseno where I twitched an American Wigeon in Suokumaanjärvi. While the sun was shining quite low the green on wigeons head turned red in some angles so I started to think about a hybrid. But after all we found out that it can be normal in certain light-conditions. Also a Pink-footed Goose and a couple of Long-tailed Tits were seen there. And a Nutcracker was twitched in Konnunsuo on the way back.

On the 19th day a Black-tailed Godwit was seen on migration and on the bay there were a Greylag Goose and a Slavonian Grebe.

On the 20th day we did duck-counts again in Saari. The spring had been fast and Mallards and Teals were mostly gone already. A couple of Garganeys were seen in Pohjanranta and a stunning Great Grey Owl near Suurenjärvenliete.

On the 21st day I counted 3500 grey geese and saw a male Gadwall, a couple of Red-necked Grebes and a Chiffchaff on my lunch-hour. In the evening I did very long run and saw a couple of Black Grouses, a Grey-headed and a White-backed Woodpecker, surprisingly a Jack Snipe and heard a Wren and some Dunnocks.

On the 22nd day the weather was cold again and only a couple of Slavonian Grebes and Bewick’s Swans were seen. And on the next morning I saw my earliest ever in Parikkala Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters in Särkisalmi. On lunch-hour a Black Kite and 10 Rough-legged Buzzards were seen.

On the 24nd of April we stayed in Siikalahti for 4 hours and the best birds were a Barn Swallow and a House Martin that were flying towards south together. Also a flock of 40 Golden Plovers were flying fast towards south as the weather was getting worse. In the afternoon we counted in Saari again and the best observations were 57 Bewick’s Swans in Kanavalampi and 10 Cormorants in Tarassiinlahti. In Jyrkilä we saw 7 Stock Doves. Finally all the roads were driveable as the rain had smelted snow shadows too.

On the 25th day the weather was bad so we started checking owl nest-boxes. On the next day a Pygmy Owl was found incubating 8 eggs. Other birds seen in the forests were Black Grouses, a Hazel Hen and a Crested Tit. On the 27th day a Common Tern was flying behind the health center and in Tarvaslampi I saw a Short-eared Owl migrating while I was cooling down on the terrace of sauna.

On the 28th day we counted in Saari again and saw 3 Pink-footed Geese, 32 Bewick’s Swans, 3 Garganeys, a White-backed Woodpecker, a Great Grey Owl and the best bird was found after the counts in Akanvaara Tetrisuo where a Red-breasted Goose was in a big flock of geese. On the next day only bird to mention was a Ural Owl in a nest-box with 3 eggs.

On the last day of April we left towards Kouvola. Where we met Teo Ylätalo and did a short evening trip with him and Antti Vänskä. Only year-tick was a Ruff. Then we went to an accommodation that Teo had once again offered to us and went to sleep early as we had a race on the next day!

J.A.

On Maundy Thrusday the 1st of April which was also April fool day, I spent lunch-hour in Siikalahti and saw 8 Bean Geese, a White-tailed Eagle, 44 Starlings, 5 Chaffinches and so on. After work we packed our car completely full and when we were sitting in a car, we discussed where we were about to go. We put Kristiinankaupunki Siipyy to our navigator and started a long drive across the whole country.

We planned to start Eastern in Kristiinankaupunki where we had never been birding together, I had only been there a couple of times very briefly.

On the way we saw a Great Grey Shrike in Hämeenlinna and a flock of Bean and White-fronted Geese in Pälkäne. In Tampere we stopped to get some food and when it was getting dark we saw a couple of Woodcocks in Harjavalta and Ulvila. The rest of the drive was made in darkness.

Finally at 11:15 p.m. we parked our car next to Siipyy bird-tower and soon we had found out that the best place for the tent was almost under the tower. Soon we had everything ready and went to sleep.

We had forgotten that summer-time had just started so we woke up an hour too early. But it was good as we heard one or two Tawny Owls calling around us. We still tried to sleep a little but then a car parked to the parking place and the first birder climbed to the tower. So we packed everything, wore lots of warm clothes and climbed up to high tower too.

Ilkka Iivonen was already seawatching and soon also Jukka Koskelainen arrived, both were familiar names but soon we found out that they were very nice birders. Jukka was bookkeeper and soon there were Common Eiders and other birds to book. It really was easy to see why Siipyy is probably the best seawatching place in Finland as the light was really good there. So even the furthest birds were possible to identify. It was still very early when Ilkka shouted that a Common Guillemot was migrating with a couple of Razorbills and we got the first good year-ticks. There was also Black Guillemots flying around their breeding island.

Matti Pajunen arrived soon too and later also Paavo Sallinen, both of them I had met before and they were also very nice people so the morning was really enjoyable – quite a lot of birds and lots of stories to listen and to tell. One very thick snowfall went through but it didn’t stop birds moving as an Oystercatcher was moving high in the sky. Also Common Scoters, Velvet Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks and Smews were seen and the first Rock Pipit and only Meadow Pipit were seen too.

Other birds seen during the morning were Greylag Geese, some Common Shelducks, a couple of Wigeons, Teals and Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers and Goosanders, 5 Red-throated Divers, a Kestrel, the best birds was a lonely Shore Lark, a Mistle Thrush, some Starlings, 54 Chaffinches and a couple of flocks of Common Crossbilss. Also another Common Guillemot was seen migrating together with a Velvet Scoter.

At midday it was pretty quiet already so the rest of birders left. We still stayed there on the tower with Hanna and Jacob Wasenius who had just arrived. On the second flock of Common Eiders I found a reddish female which shape was also different. Luckily there was also one female Common Eider on the flock with 10 males and this female King Eider!

At 2 p.m. there were several tourists climbing to the tower so we decided to go cooking some dinner. We still saw a Goldfinch, a Rock Pipit and a local Great Crested Grebe before we left to check some other places nearby.

In Storsjö we saw a color-ringed Crane, some Teals and Wigeons and a Grey-headed Woodpecker. Then we stopped in one bird-tower that was in bad condition and saw nothing interesting. Then in Härkmeri fields we found some Greylag and Bean Geese with 2 White-fronted, 9 Barnacle and one Pink-footed Goose.

In the evening we drove back to Siipyy and decided to put up the tent to the same place again. And it was 9 p.m. when we were ready to go to sleep.

On the 3rd of April the first birder arrived when we had just awaken – and we thought that we were early. Soon we climbed up to the tower when Veikko Forsberg was already working. Soon also Jukka and Matti arrived and we seawatched until midday again but it was more quiet morning. Anyway we counted more than 1500 Common Eiders, 28 Red-throated Divers, 28 Razorbills and new arrivals were a Red-necked Grebe, 7 Northern Pintails, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and also 41 Snow Buntings were seen migrating between the waves. Again also a Kestrel was seen.

But again the atmosphere on the tower was nice and many good stories were heard.

In the afternoon we did almost the same round as on the previous day but saw nothing new.

On the 4th day the expectations were high as the wind was finally turning south, but after all the day wasn’t that good. Veikko was there already before sun was setting which meant that we had soon packed our tent and were climning up too. Jukka arrived also soon and then later also Staffan Blom and Aki Linkolehto.

Again it was nice and productive seawatching and until 12:30 p.m. we had seen 17 Bean, 11 Pink-footed, 138 Greylag and 73 unidentified geese, 17 Common Shelducks, 2350 Common Eiders, 147 Long-tailed Ducks, 758 Common Scoters, 107 Velvet Scoters, 340 Goldeneyes, 7 Smews, 128 Red-breasted Mergansers, 250 Goosanders, 31 Red-throated and a Black-throated Diver, 4 Red-necked Grebes, 708 Cormorants, 7 Oystercatchers, a Curlew, an Arctic Skua, 13 Razorbills, 20 Black Guillemots, 370 Black-headed Gulls, 1645 Common Gulls, 410 Herring Gulls, 18 Great Black-backed Gulls, a Mistle Thrush and so on.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to new friends as they left. Then we packed our car and as the weather forecast was really bad for the next morning, we had decided to start driving toward home but still do birding and sleep somewhere on the way.

We stopped shortly in Merikarvia Lankoski but didn’t see Grey Wagtails that had been there. Pretty soon we parked in Pori Yyteri where were lots of cars. So we started walking towards the towers wearing masks. Luckily people were along the long paths, so towers were almost empty. We visited 3 towers and saw altogether 11 Common Ringed Plovers, 20 Oystercatchers, 30 Shelducks, 3 Snow Buntings and the best bird was a nearly Bar-tailed Godwit. When we were walking back towards our car, we still heard a Common Snipe.

We still walked to Langoura bird-tower that was close to the parking place and found a male Pochard and 2 Great White Egrets with some Grey Herons. Then we started driving but still turned to check one field in Preiviiki where we saw some Bean and White-fronted Geese. And when we saw a sign to Kaarluoto bird-tower we decided to visit there too. The light was really bad but there were lots of ducks. Some Pintails and Smews and quite a few Wigeons and Teals were seen but soon we were driving again and while driving across Pori we still saw a single Rook.

We had first planned to tent in Pori but the weather seemed to be better the more east we drive, but it was soon getting very late. We checked also hotels in Pori, Tampere and Lahti, but they were closed because of Covid19. So after all we planned to drive until Joutseno where we could start birding in Konnunsuo in the morning but after all we decided to drive until home. We were finally home at 2 a.m. and it had been along drive but we were happy to go to sleep in soft bed.

The Eastern trip had been really good and I am sure we will go there again. Maybe it will be an Eastern-tradition?

Because of the tiredness, very hard wind and rain, on the 5th of April we wereonly an hour and half in Siikalahti. We saw 70 Tundra Bean, 5 Taiga Bean, 5 White-fronted and a single Greylag Goose, a Pochard male, a couple of White-tailed Eagles, heard a Water Rail, saw 2 Golden Plovers, a Meadow Pipit and 10 Fieldfares. In the evening I went to check Särkisalmi and Lemmikonsalmi and saw a Common Gull and a couple of Goosanders.

J.A.

March was still very quiet with birds. It was still freezing cold and lots of snow everywhere. So in the beginning of month I saw mostly familiar birds which the best ones were the same Three-toed Woodpecker in Siikalahti, the same White-tailed Eagle in Härskiinmutka, a Goshawk and a Great Grey Shrike in Tetrisuo and the same woodpeckers and Long-tailed Tits on our feeder in Siikalahti. We tried to ring some birds on our feeder and managed to catch a couple of Grey-headed Woodpeckers and quite a few Long-tailed Tits but with White-backed Woodpeckers we had no luck.

On the 14th of March we saw the first migrants of the month as a Whooper Swan was flying around in Siikalahti and a Herring Gull was flying over the frozen Lake Simpele. On the next couple of days I saw some Herring Gulls more and when the weather was finally good, we went to listen to owls on the 16th day evening. Luckily we heard even 14 Tengmalm’s Owls and a couple of Ural Owls.

On the 18th day I saw 11 Herring Gulls and when we were jogging before sauna with Miika Soikkeli in Tarvaslampi, we saw a Dipper in Myllyjoki. On the 22nd day we did a short evening-drive and saw a Great Grey Owl and a Ural Owl in Oravaniemi.

On the 24th of March it started to feel like spring finally. About 10 Whooper Swans were making noise in Siikalahti and I also saw a couple of White-tailed Eagles, a Sparrowhawk, 3 Common Buzzards, 20 Lapwings, a couple of Herring Gulls, a Woodpigeon, 2 Skylarks, a Blackbird and 7 Starlings. Only year-ticks were Woodpigeon and Skylark as all other species I had seen already on the 1st of January.

On the 25th day most birds had flight back to south as there was still too much snow. Only a Skylark, a Stock Dove and 4 Snow Buntings were seen. And even though the wind was hard and southern, there weren’t many birds to see on the next day either. 13 Lapwings, 2 Woodpigeons, a Black Woodpecker, a Great Grey Shrike and a Snow Bunting were only birds to mention.

On the 27th of March we woke up before 1 a.m. and soon were driving towards Heinävesi. At 3 a.m. we were on our area and started to listen to owls. After a couple of hours we finally heard a Ural Owl and a Pygmy Owl. But soon sun was rising. During the morning Hanna was skiing a long way on forests and I was driving every single track and road in northern part of our area while stopping a lot. The best birds we managed to find were a Three-toed, a White-backed, a Grey-headed and some Black Woodpeckers, some Hazel Hens, a couple of Common Crossbills, a few Long-tailed Tits, some Bullfinches, Treecreepers, Goldcrests and plenty of Willow and Crested Tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays that were so called point-species in this Wilderness bird-race. The best bird was a Siberian Jay that I found.

When I had picked up Hanna, we drove every single drivable road in our area but found mostly the same species, mostly just tits and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. One more Hazel Hen, Black, Grey-headed and White-backed Woodpecker were found too and also a Sparrowhawk, A Coal Tit were seen.

At 3 p.m. the race was over and it was only on the next day when we got the results by email. We were second in this race while the winner-team had got much more points, but then the rest were quite far behind us. It had been quite nice to do birding in completely new place, but I must say that our area hadn’t been good.

On Sunday the 28th of March we were 5 hours in Siikalahti and saw 10 White-tailed Eagles, 16 Common Buzzards, 6 Cranes, 70 Lapwings, 3 Stock Doves, 25 Woodpigeons, a Black Woodpecker, 3 White-backed Woodpeckers, 40 Skylarks, 35 Blackbirds, a Long-tailed Tit, 45 migrating Great Tits, 35 Starlings, 12 Snow Buntings and 6 Reed Buntings.

But even though the weather was still good until the end of the month, only birds to mention on the 29th were a Siskin and a flock of 28 Snow Buntings, on the 30th day a couple of Mallards, a Stock Dove and a Goshawk and on the 31st day a couple of Taiga Bean Geese, 2 unidentified geese and a Stock Dove.

J.A.

Winter is hard time for birds. They have to get enough to eat to survive long nights. Sometimes trees are covered with ice and it can be very difficult to find food. In this weather many birds are visiting feeders. I have had three feeding places in different places around Parikkala. On one feeder in a forest there were different kind of food for woodpeckers and tits, some bought from shop but some self-made. I also had a feeder outside my class-window where we could watch birds also with students. But there weren’t many birds as there were bigger feeders quite close. But still there were a couple of Nuthatches and of course quite a few Great and Blue Tits. But on the feeder that was in front of my hide there were plenty of birds, so I had a good opportunity to photograph them.

Bird-photography must be made so that birds are not disturbed. They get used to camera-sounds quite easily but all movements must be avoided. My Tragopan-hide is green so I had to make a white cover to make it usable in winter too. I also made a small stool that can be used inside the hide.

On the forest-feeder I had also Long-tailed Tits visiting which was very nice. Three different flocks were seen there so it was easy to get pictures of them. Also a Treecreeper was visiting our feeders for the first time.

Several pairs of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a couple of Grey-headed and White-backed Woodpeckers were there too. While chasing each other and drumming, they also visited the feeder quite often.

Bright late winter days were good for practising passerine flight-pictures. Wings of tits weren’t completely stopped with 1/8000 shutterspeed!

H.A.

In the end of January the best birds seen were a White-backed Woodpecker that came to our own feeder in Siikalahti. For some reason I hadn’t seen any White-backed Woodpeckers in several months in Parikkala. Then on the 29th day we tried to catch and ring it but all we caught were 9 Long-tailed Tits and some Grat and Blue Tits. Only woodpecker that was caught was a Great Spotted Woodpecker and somehow it managed to escape from the mist-net. In the afternoon we participated to Garden Twitch but it was snowing so only 9 common species were seen in about half an hour.

On Sunday the 31st of January we met Jari Laitasalo in Särkisalmi and then we continued to Tarvaslampi from where we started skiing towards Siberian Jay forests. After only some hundreds of meters skiing we flushed a Great Grey Owl that flew so far that we couldn’t relocate it. After we had seen a Goshawk and some Treecreepers, Willow and Crested Tits, we finally were in the place for Siberian Jays. We had to wait quite a long time before the last 3 birds finally arrived. It was so good to see they were still around!

February started with very cold weather so I didn’t see any birds on the first week. On Saturday the 6th a couple of Coal Tits and Treecreepers were seen and on the next day I saw the same 9 Long-tailed Tits and a Great Grey Shrike and a Dipper in Tyrjä.

During the week I was working one day in Imatra and on the way back to home I saw a Great Grey Owl and a big flock of Common Redpolls.

On the 13th day we saw a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers and the same Long-tailed Tits in Siikalahti and here and there some Treecreepers and a Crested Tit and a Great Grey Shrike in Tiviä. On Sunday we found nothing new to mention.

On the 17th day I did a short drive in very cold weather and stopped in Ristimäki. Surprisingly there was one more Great Grey Owl perched on a high tree. When I was about to leave my car-battery had died. Luckily it turned on after some trying and I could drive to buy a new battery.

The weekend started with again one more Great Grey Owl – this time in Siikalahti. Last year I didn’t see any Great Grey Owls and now I had seen four in a few weeks. Long-tailed Tits, a Grey-headed Woodpecker and a Great Grey Shrike were also seen in Siikalahti and in Moskuunniemi we managed to twitch a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that had been visiting a feeder. It was about the time to get the first year-tick for February on the 20th day.

On Sunday the 21st day we went to check Kokkolanjoki-river in Simpele. Altogether 9 Goldeneyes, 3 Goosanders, 4 Whooper Swans, a Mallard, 4 Dippers and then also a Little Grebe were found. In the afternoon I did a run in Tarvaslampi and saw a Black Woodpecker which was a year-tick.

And once I finally had started to get year-tick, on the 22nd day a bigger and better was got. It was quite late in the afternoon when we got a message that Hiski Hirvonen had seen a Snowy Owl in Siikalahti! It had been perched on a field in Aittavaara but it had flight towards Huhmarinen. In a couple of minutes we were driving towards Huhmarinen. I dropped Hanna to check the first fields and continued further. I stopped next to Siikalahti parking place to check the fields there and somehow managed to find the owl even though only its head was visible. It was quite close but deep in the snow in the field. I didn’t dare to move until Hanna got there with Harri Partanen, Matti Lötjönen and Hiski.

We photographed the owl for some time until it got bored and flew as far as we could follow to the other side of the field towards Liuharanta. After some planning we drove after it and Matti managed to see the owl again in flight in Liuharanta but he lost it in flight.

It was already almost dark when we decided to go to check the field where we had seen the owl and there it was again. It flushed from the exactly same place with a rabbit on its nails. Luckily it landed further on the same field and Anne Poutanen still managed to see the silhouette of the bird before it was too dark.

Snowy Owl was the first Siikalahti-tick for me after almost 6 year! It was also Parikkala and South-Karelia tick. The last record in South Karelia had been made 16 years ago and in Siikalahti it had been seen only once before 21 years ago. So thank Hiski!

On the next morning we went to check the field but the owl was gone. There were some birders searching for it until the afternoon. I went there again during my lunch-hour and while we were chatting with my old friend Olavi Kemppainen I found a Golden Eagle migrating towards north. So luckily Olavi didn’t had to leave without any better birds. In the afternoon the weather turned awful, so I had to give up with more searching after my work. But I still visited the place where Snowy Owl had been fighting with the rabbit and then been eating. It had been quite a fight.

On the 24th day I visited Kangaskoski again and Little Grebe was still there. Also 3 Dippers and a Goosander were seen and from the main road 6 I saw 4 young Whooper Swans and a Goldeneye on the river. On the way back I saw 3 Elks in a snowy field.

On the 26th of February a White-tailed Eagle was seen in Härskiinmutka and on the next evening a Tengmalm’s Owl was calling in Tarvaslampi. On the last day of February we did winterbird-counts with Miika Soikkeli and saw a Hazel Hen a Goshawk, a Sparrowhawk, 61 Rock Pigeons, 6 Great-spotted, a White-backed and a Three-toed Woodpecker, 109 Great and also 109 Blue Tits, 2 Crested Tits, 3 Willow Tits, 2 Treecreepers, a Great Grey Shrike, 9 Jays, 108 Jackdaws, 36 Hooded Crows, 5 Ravens, 48 Tree Sparrows, 9 Greenfinches, 28 Bullfinches and 17 Yellowhammers.

J.A.