. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

After a trip to Jurmo I didn’t waste my time sleeping as I had to go on the first morning to Saari to twitch a couple of White Storks in Akonpohja. Then I drove back to Siikalahti where I had stayed only some minutes when I found a Greater Spotted Eagle from the sky. This eagle was very worn and it had quite pale stomach. After soaring some time on the western sky it continued towards Särkisalmi where it was also seen. Otherwise Siikalahti was quiet so soon we continued again to Saari with Hanna.

We did some migration watching in Kanavalampi with Arttu Valonen, Juha Kettunen and Arto Laaksi and saw a couple of Honey Buzzards and Swifts and heard a Corn Crake, a Wryneck and a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

On the 16th of May we participated to a Garden Twitch. We started at 5 a.m. and immediately found some Long-tailed Ducks, Common Scoters and even 7 Greater Scaups from the lake. There was almost no migration but anyway we saw lots of species. We continued until 2 p.m. continuously and then had a 1.5 hours brake and went to check that Ural Owl chicks were still too small to ring and we also tried to reliese an adult male Hen Harrier that had been living with us for a week after it had hit a window in Saari. But the harrier was still too weak to go. Then we still continued in our garden and saw the best species: first a Pink-footed Goose was seen migrating with other geese and then a Black-tailed Godwit was flying towards south. Altogether we saw 88 species from our garden.

On the 17th of May we did duck-counts in Saari again. In Akonpohja we saw a Gadwall and a Little Ringed Plover, in Kanavalampi a couple of Gadwalls and in Pohjanranta a couple of Pink-footed Geese and a couple of Marsh Sandpipers that left to continue their migration. In the evening we still twitched a Savi’s Warbler in Akonpohja and went to listen to Great Snipes and heard on bird in an ordinary place.

On the 18th day it was time to go to work again after a good birding holiday. In the afternoon I was planning to sleep a little but then I got a message that there were 2 Red-breasted Geese in Tetrisuo and of course I had to go to see them as it is only a couple of kilometers from our home.

On the 19th day I had a great 15 minutes before my work. First I twitched a Golden Oriole in Moskuunniemi and then stopped in Härskiinmutka where some Brent Geese were seen in flocks of Barnacle Geese and then I found 3 skuas coming over me and there were 2 Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine Skua! In the afternoon we twitched a Quail in Akonpohja and heard also a Blyth’s Reed Warbler. A short stop in Pohjanranta was good too as there was a Marsh Sandpiper.

On the 20th day only bird to mention was a Pygmy Owl in a nest-box with 8 eggs. On the 21st day between the rains I saw 1717 Brent Geese, 450 Long-tailed Ducks, 160 Common Scoters, 20 Velvet Scoters, 141 Black-throated Divers, amazing 340 local Common Terns and a flock of 12 Arctic Skuas in Härskiinmutka. In the evening we finally managed to check the rest of the owl nest-boxes. And once again we had a bad owl-year.

On the 22nd of May we went to duck-counts again to Saari. On the way we noticed a raptor on a field in Akanpelto and stopped to check it and it was a Lesser Spotted Eagle! The eagle was eating something but soon flew behind a small forest and we decided to move on.

The count went without surprises but a Black Kite was seen in Kanavalampi and then in Jyrkilä we found a flooded field where were 4 Broad-billed Sandpipers, a Temminck Stint, 10 Ringed Plovers and then in a big flock of Barnacle Geese there were 2 Red-breasted Geese!

In the evening I had to go twitching as an Avocet had been found in Savitaipale Lavikanlahti. It was good to see a new South Karelia tick but also several old friends! Also a couple of Marsh Sandpipers, a Redshank and a Temminck Stint was seen there.

On the 23rd day we started SSP-ringing in our still flooded site. Only birds caught were Sedge Warbler 1r + 1c, 2 Common Whitethroats, 1c Willow Warbler, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Common Rosefinches and 1c Reed Bunting. A migrating female Hen Harrier was also soon and a couple of Golden Orioles were calling.

On the 24th day I got information that waders were on the move and some had dropped to flooded fields here and there. So on my lunch-hour I drove quickly to Saari Akanvaara Tetrisuo to check this usually best field and found 130 Grey Plovers, 3 Red Knots and 80 Dunlins. Also a Short-eared and a Long-eared Owl were seen. After work I hurried back to Saari but some of the waders were already gone but now a Dotterel was found. In Jyrkilä I found an amazing flock of 670 Dunlins and with Barnacle Geese there were a Pink-footed and a Bar-headed Goose! Dunlins, Ringed Plovers and some Grey Plovers were found in other fields too but no new species. On my third visit to Akanvaara Tetrisuo I saw a Common Shelduck that had been found on the previous day. In the evening we went to check some fields in Parikkala and in Kullinsuo we saw about 100 Dunlins, 4 Broad-billed and 17 Ringed Plovers and in Kontiolampi 21 Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin and a Broad-billed Sandpiper. Some Stock Doves were seen during the day here and there which is nice.

On the 25th of May there were still some waders around and on my lunch-hour I saw 19 Ringed Plovers, 8 Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Little Stint in Kullinsuo. In Kontiolampi I heard and also saw a Marsh Warbler. In the evening we went ringing some nestlings and it started awfully as the forest around our Ural Owl nest had been cut and the nest was empty! A Pygmy Owl still had too small youngsters but Starlings had almost too big ones, some had maybe left their nest-box already? Then our first Nuthatch looked bad too as when I opened the box I first noticed a dead female laying on the bottom! But there were 7 quite big nestling and male seemed to do well with feeding them continuously. So we ringed these nestlings with color-rings and hope to see them in the future again.

On the 26th day I took it easy – and went to run 3 hours and 28 kilometers… On the next day I had to go twitching again and drove to Lappeenranta Joutseno Korvenkylä pool to see a nice female Grey (Red) Phalarope. The light was poor so I didn’t stay there for long – this time a new South-Karelia tick was the most important thing.

J.A.

On the 5th of May after finishing duck-counts in Saari, I packed our car and started a long drive. It started to rain soon so after all I drove until Turku where I did some shopping and then continued along Saaristotie. It was already dark when crossed by ferry to Nauvo and there I drove to the same place where I had been tenting last autumn. Now I had to sleep in a car.

On the 6th of May I woke up early and drove to Nauvo to do the last shopping. Then I dropped my big bags to Baldur ferry, parked my car to a big parking place close to the shops and then walked to the ferry with my optics. The ferry was now leaving from Nauvo as Pärnäinen harbor was under construction.

It was still raining so I went to sit inside the ferry, but pretty soon the weather cleared and I climbed to the deck where a couple of birders were already. A couple of Arctic Skuas, 10 Black Guillemots and 12 Razorbills were seen before I decided to go to eat to the restaurant. And soon Jurmo was visible in the horizon.

Once I got to Jurmo I tried to find milk-wagons but there were none. Then I started to think if I had arrived in right time and day. I called to one man that was in the ringing station and they hadn’t expected me to come yet. I had come one day too early! So I carried my optics a long way to the station, took wagons and walked back to the harbor to pick up the rest of bags.

While walking I already got many year-ticks: Common Redstart, Whinchat, Pied Flycatcher, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Wryneck. Most of these species had arrived to the island today but now there were plenty of them.

There were already 7 people on the station so it was full. But I left my bags outside and took my place from sauna. Luckily I knew all the people and they knew that I didn’t need too much space. And anyway 3 of them were leaving at 5 a.m. on the next morning.

I still had time to go to do some birding so I walked first to Sorgen and then inside the forests and managed to see a Hen Harrier, a Hobby, some Common Shelducks and even a Little Tern. During the day there had been several Ring Ouzels, a Black Redstart and even 2 Avocets had been seen flying over the island but it seemed that most of the birds had moved on.

On the 7th of May we woke up very early and Jussi and Pekka Virtanen and Kari Tuominen were leaving. Kim Kuntze and Meri Öhman left to put up the mist-nets and together with Vesa Virtanen and Timo Palomäki we left to do morning migration watching which is done every morning for 2 hours.

Like usual there weren’t much migration but some Common Eiders, Common and Velvet Scotersm Long-tailed Ducks, Black-throated and a few Red-throated Divers, Razorbills and a Black Guillemot and so on were seen. We managed to see a flock of Purple Sandpipers far on the western tip of the island which was a new May-tick for me. It was very cold and I hadn’t go time to organize my thngs yet so I didn’t have enough clothes. So after 2 hours I hurried to the station to eat warm breakfast.

The day continued with station routines so Timo and Vesa did counts in east I went to count birds in west. And the rest of the trip I did every second day west and east counts. My count started well with a Little Tern and a Turnstone and then I found a couple of Purple Sandpipers and managed to get quite good pictures of another bird. From the pictures I realized that it had a flag and soon I got information that it had been ringed here in Jurmo a couple of years earlier.

Other birds seen were a couple of Common Shelducks, common ducks, Oystercatchers, a Curlew, a Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Redshanks, Common and Arctic Terns, gulls, a Yellow Wagtail as a year-tick and so on. In the afternoon Petri Puolakka arrived as the second ringer – he came by the ferry that I was supposed to arrive too.

In the afternoon and evening I walked around the island and photographed a couple of Rock Pipits but as I found nothing interesting I went to tick a Water Rail that had been calling on the bog for some days already.

On the 8th of May we started from the hill and did migration watching again. But no I was wearing almost all clothes I had with me. We saw quite good geese migration with some flocks of White-fronted Geese, a single Bean Goose and of course Barnacle Geese which I really didn’t care to see… Other birders were happy with the geese but I was much more interested to see a collybita Chiffchaff that Kim caught from the mist-net. It was good to study and photograph this subspecies which seems to be much more common in southern Finland that has been thought.

The walk in east was productive even though there were quite a few tourists walking on the shore. I managed to find a stunning male Ring Ouzel and a male Black Redstart too. But they were both too shy to get almost any pictures.

Other birds during the day were a Gadwall, a Smew, an Osprey, 25 Whimbrels, a Turnstone, a couple of Little Terns, Rock Pipits and 2 more Black Redstarts in the harbor. Before the log in the evening we still saw a Common Whitethroat from the window. The log was long again and it was very late when we went to sleep. And then Petri came from the mist-nets with a couple of Mallards! Of course we had to see these rare mist-net birds – and then the alarms were on again about at 4 a.m.

On the 9th of May morning I went to help Petri to bog mist-nets. Finally the wind was south-western, so there were quite a few Song Thrushes, Robins (still too many Robins, altogether 348 ringed), a Tree Pipit, Common Redstarts, Blackcaps, some Lesser Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Goldcrest and a Thrush Nightingale and so on. Best birds were a Swedish and a Swiss Robin)

I climbed a couple of times to the hill to see migration and once I was there on the right time as an amazing flock of 270 Song Thrushes rose from the pine-forest to the sky.

In west I was on the south-western tip counting the birds that were outside the counting area when a flock of Purple Sandpipers landed to the shore. I tried to get close with my camera but they were moving a little bit further. I still decided to try another part of the flock and surprisingly they didn’t care at all. So after all I was laying down just 2 meters from the actively feeding birds. It was amazing! Birds were also calling actively and I did my best even though I still haven’t got time to study my camera almost at all.

Again I managed to get pictures of birds with flags too so it will be interesting to hear where are they from. After a half of an hour photographing I had to continue my count and I slowly moved further from the birds that still didn’t care at all.

On the lake I saw 12 Dunlins and after the count I heard calls of a Little Ringed Plover. Other birds during the day were a couple of Short-eared Owls and several Rock Pipits. In the evening Petri went to the west with a net and a flashlight and managed to caught some birds which a Teal and a Common Ringed Plover were the most interesting ones.

On the 10th of May it should have been rainy in the morning so almost everyone was sleeping. But I have used to check the weather in case and again the weather forecast had been wrong. I woke up the ringers and Petri hadn’t been slept for long. Anyway we agreed that I go to open mist-nets to pine forest for him. But Kim and Meri had made a decision to go west to search for rarities. I immediately thought this wasn’t clever as the weather looked perfect for passerines and it would have been good to have all possible nets open.

And the morning was extremely busy indeed! There were amazing numbers of Blackcaps and Common Redstarts and many other passerines too. Pied Flycathers, Whinchats, Lesser Whitethroats, Song Thrushes, a Mistle Thrush, a few Wood Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a Sedge Warbler and so on. If all the mist-nets would have been open, many records would have been crushed. A couple of showers made us hurry even more but luckily it wasn’t raining too much. A couple of Ring Ouzels were seen while being busy.

There were amazing numbers of birds in the whole island. New arrivals that I also managed to see or hear were a Swift and a Cuckoo. Finally Kim and Meri arrived from west and kept on helping Petri. So I was free to go to east again and there I managed to find a male Garganey, a Jack Snipe, a couple of Turnstones and a few Rock Pipits. I also saw a Hawfinch and in the evening there seemed to be Blackcaps and Common Redstarts everywhere!

On the log we made careful counts and the numbers were amazing: 11 Wrynecks, 224 Common Redstarts (68 ringed), 109 Whinchats, 74 Northern Wheatears, 97 Lesser Whitethroats (33), 21 Common Whitethroats, 488 Blackcaps (176), 88 Chifchaffs (44), 31 Willow Warblers and 93 Pied Flycatchers (63 + a Swedish control). With 2 or 3 ringers and all nets all the numbers would have been easily doubled! Also 3 foreign controls were caught: a Russian Robin, an Italian Common Redstart and a Swedish Pied Flycatcher.

And with good migration in the morning too we found out that we had made a record in daily species too as we had seen altogether 122 species during the day! And only rarer bird had been a Great Snipe that Timo and Vesa had seen.

On the 11th day we headed to the bog with Petri while Kim and Meri went to the forest. It was surprisingly quiet and but some better birds were caught like 2 collybita Chiffchaffs, 2 Thrush Nightingales and a Grasshopper Warbler. And finally Kim called that he had caught a beautiful male Collared Flycatcher – it was the species that I had been hoping most! Petri got the flycatcher to his ringing list and then a lot of pictures were taken of course. Later I went to photograph also an Icterine Warbler that was caught.

Finally we left Kim and Meri to check all the nets and left west with Petri. It was very quiet day overall, but we saw some distant Purple Sandpipers, a Bluethroat briefly and then a very strange-looking leucistic Lesser Whitethroat which was one of 109 Lesser Whitethroats of the day!

A couple of Black Redstarts were seen in our garden and a male Red-backed Shrike was seen briefly too. In Sorgen I found probably the same Ortolan Bunting that Vesa and Timo had seen in east and Spotted Flycatchers had arrived. After the log a Nightjar was caught which is always nice.

On the 12th day we were in the forest with Petri and Kim and Meri on the bog. It was very warm morning and it started nicely with a Reed Warbler. But soon it was so quiet that I had to find out something else to do as Petri didn’t need help. So I climbed to migration watch with Timo and Vesa and soon Kim called that he had found another male Collared Flycatcher. It was on the southern forest and we could see it with our telescopes from where we stood. The bird was catching insects on the top of alders. Later I tried to get pictures of this bird but it was too high up on the trees.

In the afternoon Jari Helstola and Ohto Oksanen arrived and Petri left. Ohto put up many new mist-nets around the island and Jari is one of the hardest working birders I have ever met, so the expectations were high that something better will be found soon.

In the evening I went east again and found another Black Redstart and now there were a couple of Garganeys. A couple of Bluethroats were seen in the garden with another Black Redstart. A Reed Warbler was singing next to the pasture and Garden Warblers had arrived, even 22 birds were counted altogether (10 ringed). Altogether 4 Red-breasted Flycathers had been found and a male Collared Flycatcher was found in the pine forest, but it was maybe the same as in the morning. Also the same Ortolan Bunting was still around.

On the 13th of May I went to migration watching with Vesa and Timo. It was quiet but the “Hessu” called that some birders were watching a possible Pied Wagtail somewhere on the moor. We saw the birders and almost immediately saw a good-looking “yarrellii” in front of them. I ran to get my camera from the station but of course the bird was long gone already. But these birders had got really good pictures and it really looked good for a young male Pied Wagtail. I went to search it from Sorgen but saw only a Gadwall and a Red-breasted Flycatcher. I soon climbed to the hill again and we kept on watching migration which almost wasn’t at all, but then Vesa said: “There is something interesting on the track”. I found the bird soon and immediately said: “It’s a female Siberian Stonechat or Stonechat!” And then the bird flight and showed its creamy-white rump without stripes and it was easy t identify as a Siberian Stonechat.

The Siberian Stonechat was extremely mobile so I could get close to get any good pictures but luckily it stayed on the open area for so long time that everyone managed to see it before it disappeared. Then I still stayed on the hills for some time and found 4 migrating Caspian Terns. And while I was walking to the station I heard calls of a Collared Flycather close to the last mist-nets but couldn’t find the bird. And once I was in the station, Kim called that there was a female Collared Flycatcher on the mist-net exactly where I had heard the calls. It was good to get a possibility to study a female flycatcher well.

During the day I did western count again and it was very good. Little Terns were seen at least 4, amazing flock of 350 Purple Sandpipers were flying on the islets and finally I saw the local pair of “schinzii” Dunlins and even managed to get good pictures of them. Also a Temminck’s Stint was seen and a couple of Ruffs. While I was walking back I found probably the same Siberian Stonechat but it disappeared almost immediately. Other goodies during the day were a Marsh Harrier, a Black Redstart and altogether 5 Red-breasted Flycatchers.

In the evening Kim and Meri had ordered berry-pie from the hotel to celebrate Siberian Stonechat that had been a Jurmo-tick to everyone else except Timo and Ohto, even to “Hessu” who is the leader in Jurmo-ticks.

On the 14th of May we woke up early and we had packed everything already with Vesa. Then we did a short walk near the church and heard a Common Rosefinch as a year-tick. Soon we had to start walkimg towards harbor.

On the ferry we climbed to the deck where a couple of birders coming from Utö were already. We didn’t see many birds but before Nötö Vesa found a couple of alcids and immediately I realized that they were different in size and shape. With scope it was easy to see that one was a Razorbill but another one was a Common Guillemot. These birds were flying towards Jurmo, so we called to “Hessu” and surprisingly they managed to see these birds but from very big distance.

We also saw a Grey Heron, a Black Guillemot and a dozen of Slavonian Grebes. Finally we arrived at Nauvo where we carried our bags to our car and started driving. I dropped Vesa to Kaarina and continued alone.

I had been sleeping very badly on the previous night and overall I hadn’t got enough sleep as days are extremely long in Jurmo. So I decided to do some twitching on the way. There had been a Montagu’s Harrier and a Mandarin Duck in Vantaa, but once I got near the harrier was gone already. So I tried to find Mandarin Duck in a couple of places but wasn’t lucky. It was very hot day, so I started to feel that my long underwear was too much…

There had been a Hoopoe in Porvoo, so I continued next to Bosgård where I met a few birders who hadn’t found the bird. I kept on searching for it for an hour and already gave up once but still decided to come back after I had driving accidently towards wrong direction and I had to drive past the place again. Then I was lucky and saw a Hoopoe flying high over me.

I had planned to go to Virolahti for the next morning but there had been so many good birds in Parikkala that I decided to drive home after all. I still made a stop in Joutseno Kotasaari where together with Sampsa we heard 3 Great Reed Warblers, a Wryneck, saw 3 Sand Martins and a Little Ringed Plover but nothing better than those.

Finally I was in Parikkala where I still went to listen to a Nightjar in Sounio and a Spotted Crake in Siikalahti. Finally I was at home and I was extremely tired but happy – the trip to Jurmo had been excellent!

J.A.

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.