. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

After 3 day hardcore birding the normal life started and it was pretty boring. It was dark before and after work so I could do only a little birding during my lunch-hour.

On the 4th of January I saw a Treecreeper, a Coal Tit and a European Nuthatch as a year-tick and altogether 15 species included also a Whooper Swan and a Great Grey Shrike in Tyrjä. On the next day I managed to twitch a Common Kingfisher which was a new winter-species to Parikkala. Other year-ticks were Bullfinch, Willow Tit and Jay. On the 6th day I saw a Sparrowhawk and also a Black Grouse and a Goshawk, at least one Goldcrest was still alive.

On the 7th day I drove to work in Imatra and saw a Ural Owl flying across the road on the way. On the 8th day the only year-tick was a Grey-headed Woodpecker. On Saturday the 9th we saw a couple of Nuthatches that were already cleaning their nest that they had used on the previous year. But even though we did a long walk in quite cold weather, we saw almost nothing else. So I was happy to twitch a Greylag Goose that was found in Imatra Vuoksi in the afternoon. It was one more species to my list that I have seen every month. With Petri Salakka we saw also a Little Grebe and some Cormorants.

On Sunday the 10th day the only year-tick was a Chaffinch and also a Blackbird was seen on the same feeder in Kannas. In the afternoon I went running and saw a Great Grey Shrike in Tetrisuo.

On the 11th of January I finally saw a Dipper in Tyrjä but then the weather turned really cold. Even I did some birding there was almost nothing to see. Probably these cold days were too much for the Kingfisher too as nobody saw it anymore. And after a long cold period the next birds to mention were 3 Chaffinched in Tiviä on the 22nd day.

On the 23rd day we had been in a boring birding trip with Hanna and once we were back home we got amazing news – Hanna’s sister Elissa had found a possible Slaty-backed Gull in Kouvola Kuusankoski! There was only one previous record in Finland and only 8 records in Western Palearctic! I had twitched the first for Finland.

Of course we got Elissa’s pictures soon and tried to make them as good as possible but as they were phonescoped pictures the quality wasn’t really good. But luckily the bird hadn’t been too far and it really looked promising. Luckily Elissa had immediately sent some pictures to local birders who had sent them to Petteri Mäkelä who had made the first identification. Unfortunately the bird had disappeared soon and only one another birder had seen it in flight briefly. And even though local birders were searching for it in a big area it wasn’t found. But it seemed that it might have stayed in the area so there were birders going in the next morning again.

We had been planning to go to birding to Imatra or Lappeenranta anyway so it was easy to decide to do so as we were much closer to Kouvola then. But we never thought that the gull would be found on it’s ordinary place already very early in the morning. So we had just quick breakfast and started driving to Kouvola.

We got a couple of messages that the bird had disappeared somewhere but luckily it always came back to the river. And when there were already lots of twitchers they started to feed ducks and also this Slaty-backed Gull came to eat bread.

So when we arrived to Kuusankoski the bird was in flight right in front of numerous twitchers. Elissa and also Hanna’s brother Miika were there and so were many friends. The gull was showing extremely well but it was very dark day to get good pictures.

The Slaty-backed Gull was with 4 Herring Gulls but it was the bravest and only gull that came to catch bread. We also saw a female Teal and a couple of Whooper Swans there.

Finally we decided to go to see other birds in Kouvola with Elissa. Also Antti Peuna and Nicolas Ordax-Sommer followed us to the first place that was in Elimäki Ropsala where we soon found a flock of 6 Grey Partridges.

Next we continued to Koihanaho where had been a big flock of carduelis with several species. But there was only a Merlin on the field so no passerines at all. Also 2 distant Black Grouses were seen but nothing else.

Then we drove back to Kuusankoski and managed to twitch a Hawfinch in Takaharju but a Song Thrush wasn’t found in the next place. Finally we drove back to see the gull which was now perched on the ice on the opposite site of the river, so it was too far to get any pictures. When we were walking back to our car the Slaty-backed Gull flew right over us a couple of times in the middle of the city.

It was getting late when we were driving back home and in Lappeenranta we stopped in Kourulanmäki and managed still to find a flock of 4 Twites that had been there for a long time. Then we did some shopping before continued to Joutseno Anola where it was already quite dark, but the Hawk Owl was perched on the wire next to the road so it was an easy twitch. We still ate in Imatra before drove back to home. It had been a great twitching day! Thanks to Elli!

J.A.

We slept over the year change and woke up at 1 a.m. Pirkka had driven whole day from Kemijärvi and now we had slept only a few hours and continued towards south. It was time for a traditional The first of January trip, which we had missed on last 2 years because we had been abroad.

The first stop was made in Lappeenranta where we saw and also heard 2 Eagle Owls and also heard a couple of wintering Teals that were with Mallards.

Then we continued a long way to Salo where we met our old friends Kalle Larsson and Mika Kaukinen. Together we tried to find Jack and Common Snipes that they had seen earlier but we weren’t lucky. I only got my boot wet as I dropped to one ditch.

It was still dark when we followed Marko towards Naantali and finally parked next to Luolalanjärvi bird-tower that was on the N-E corner of the lake. There were already some birders and they told us where they had just found the bird that we were searching for – and soon we also saw a Great Egret that was hiding behind some reeds. We saw also Grey Herons, Goosanders, Goldeneys and heard Great Tits and a distant Wren but Gadwall was missing.

More birders were arriving and also the another tower on the opposite side of the lake was full. One man had probably missed whole Covid as he was coughing all the time. It was continuous and he did nothing to protect other people so after we had seen or heard only Jackdaws, Hooded Crows, Greenfinches, Yellowhammers and a Siskin, we decided to move on.

We followed on kind birder to Karvetti where we tried to find a Nutcracker without luck. Only a Blackbird, Magpies and Tree Sparrows were observed. So soon we continued to Raisio Raisionlahti, seeing a Goshawk on the way, where the same birder was again helping us and told us where to find 2 male Gadwalls. We also saw a Tufted Duck, a Mute Swan, a couple of Whooper Swans and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Then we tried again just briefly to see the Nutcracker but soon continued to Kaarina Piikkiö Viukkala where we found some White Wagtails easily. After some searching we found a rare Pied Wagtail too that had been with the flock for some time. Also a flock of 3 Common Redpolls were seen and soon we were driving again past some Rock Doves in Piikkiö.

In Salo Jaakola we noticed a Merlin that was perched on the wire and soon stopped in Kinnarpyöli fields where a Hen Harrier had been seen. A Black Grouse was “singing” and a flock of Gold Finched and a flock of Starling were seen. After some time we noticed a raptor perched on the top of a pine behind a bigger perch but could identify the bird as a Hen Harrier. We also saw another Merlin.

Soon we passed a flock of 8 Whooper Swans and 3 Greater White-fronted Geese and saw a Common Kestrel and a Black-headed Gull before we arrived to Halikonlahti where we soon saw some Common Pheasants. We tried to see Wigeons that had been present on the bay but had no luck. Only some more Pheasants and a couple of Black-headed Gulls were seen. We found out that they had been seen on a different place that wasn’t easy to reach, so we soon kept on driving.

We had a longer drive to Raasepori Pohja where we saw a Common Gull and a Common Buzzard before got to Brödtorp where a Common Crane was found very easily. So soon we were driving towards Helsinki and still saw a Great Grey Shrike on the way.

Finally we were in Helsinki Viikki where we walked towards the bay through Etu-Viikki fields that had some Canada Geese. In Hakalanniemi we heard some Goldcrests and Blue Tits before we climbed to the tower where we met some friends. Luckily they showed us a Lapwing right away as it was hiding so well that we couldn’t have found it by ourselves in darkening evening. Also a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls were seen.

Soon we continued to Purolahti tower nearby where we met some friends again and there had been both a Jack and a Common Snipe seen during the day. We counted 330 Canada Geese going to roost and I saw a lonely Herring Gull. With Hanna we heard a Water Rail calling a good series of calls but others missed it. It was already getting dark when an Eagle Owl was found perching on the nest of White-tailed Eagles.

We still hurried back to our car and drove to one forest where we had got information about a Woodcock. After about 30 minuted waiting we heard a shout “Janne!”. Kalle and Marko were about 150 meters from us but they had identified us as we were standing under lights. A Woodcock was flying towards us! It was calling like in summer-night and flew right over us! I had never thought to see this to happen in January!

It had been a long day so we decided to book a night from airport-hotel. As Pirkka had arrived from Lapland we had decided to stay at least for another day in Southern Finland. In a hotel we ate well in restaurant where were only a couple of customers. Our plan to avoid corona had been great.

During the day I had got 7 The first of January ticks, 5 month-ticks which Crane and Lapwing I had now seen in every month in Finland. We had seen altogether 50 species which only Pirkka had seen a Sparrowhawk and Hanna had heard a Black Woodpecker. Next year, if we are in Finland, I have a possibility to reach 150 The first of January ticks – which is quite a big number.

On the 2nd of January we had slept well and woke up before 7 a.m. and soon headed towards Hanko. On the way we saw a Pygmy Owl flying across the road in Karjaa. Finally we parked in Långören where a Grey Wagtail had been present for some time. We met Ossi Tahvonen and together scanned the sea first. We saw Long-tailed Ducks, some Greater Scaups, a couple of White-tailed Eagles and a Cormorant before checked the shores by walking around. We found no Grey Wagtail but a Wood Lark which had been also around for some days but we had somehow missed messages about this bird so it was a nice surprise.

We were already driving when we got a message that a Kittiwake that had been seen almost daily in different shores of Hanko was still on the same place as on the previous afternoon in Gåsörsbukten. Our got lost on the way and saw only a couple of House Sparrows but finally got to Gåsörsbukten where lots of Common Gulls were flying over the sea. After 5 minutes scanning I found the Kittiwake which was flying quite far but luckily turned towards us and after all we saw it very well.

In Varisniemi I saw a Crested Tit briefly and in Kalasatama we saw some Black-headed Gulls and 2 female Common Eiders. Soon we continued to Tallholmarna where the visibility was great and quite a lot od same birds had seen but only new bird was a Great Crested Grebe,

In Täktbukten we saw a big flock of ducks and I counted even 68 Greater Scaups from the flock. We scanned the sea too but saw nothing new. As a couple of other birders were heading to Vedagrundet, we decided to go to Högholmen. 5 Velvet Scoters and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were seen there.

It was getting late so we headed to Raasepori Tammisaari Stadsfjärden but it had started to snow and also wind was very strong. We still counted 120 Common Coots but found nothing else new there.

It had been another long day and we still had plenty of places to visit, so we took a room from the same hotel again. In the evening we did a short run in heavy snowfall with Pirkka before we went to eat well again.

On the 3rd of January we had breakfast and then headed towards Kirkkonummi Porkkala. It was still snowing and too hard as the visibility was poor. So we saw only a couple of flocks of Velvet Scoters and a couple of White-tailed Eagles. We waited for some time for the snowing to stop but also haze was bad so there was no point to try to see Purple Sandpipers from distant rocks. So pretty soon we started driving inland.

In border of Kirkkonummi and Espoo we saw a Goshawk and a Common Buzzard and after a long drive we were in Riihimäki. Behind a small K-Market there was a feeder and under that there was a Crested Lark. But soon a stupid man tried to get pictures of the bird with his cell-phone and bird flew to a worse place behind the bushes. So we decided to keep on going.

In Lahti we found to Ala-Juhakkala small pool where were some birders already. With help of Arto Laakso and Antti Vaalgamaa we saw a Grey Wagtail immediately and after some waiting we found also one Little Grebe. Then we headed towards Vesijärvi Ankkuri.

We soon found a Common Scoter and then headed to twitch a Collared Dove that Arto and Antti had just also twitched. We got really good instructions how to find the bird so it was seen immediately. Then we walked only about 200 meters to see a couple of long-staying Barnacle Geese. We also saw a Velvet Scoter, a family of Mute Swans and some Herring Gulls.

We still had time to drive to Polttimo where we found a couple of Wigeons in flocks of Mallards. We then realized that these Wigeons could have been seen from Common Scoter place too, but at least we now saw them better.

Then we started a long drive to Parikkala. We ate in Lappeenranta and were finally at home about 7 p.m.In the evening we ran 10 kilometers just because of we had been sitting too much in car. And Pirkka still had a long drive back to Kemijärvi on the next day.

J.A.

In the end of 2014 Sami Luoma sent me an email and asked me to join a competition where birders were going to count how many species they see every month. Of course I joined the competition where were participants around Finland but mostly close to the sea-shore.

After one year I asked if people would count species they will see in their home-region and county. But for some reason I was the only one to start counting them too. Some participants were counting only self-found birds, so I counted them too.

After every month Sami sent the results and after the year he had counted all the lists together. Of course those birders who were twitching most, were of course getting biggest lists every month. Jörgen Palmgren was winner the first 3 years and then Ari Vuorio won the last 2 years.

The winners year-results were from 1680 to 1755 (“Jösse´”s record) and my totals were 1331-1468. On every other year than 2019 when we did several longer trips abroad I got over 1400, so every year my results were pretty much the same. I also was 4th, 5th or 6th every year (about 12 to 15 participants).

The best month-result ever was Jösse’s May 2016 216 species. I got once 212 and once 211 species in May. In winter best was Jösse’s 110 in February 2015, in summer Ari’s 212 in June 2017 and in autumn Jösse’s 174 in September 2017.

In South Karelia my best year-result was 1348, in Parikkala 1273 and self-found birds 1563. The best January was 86, in South-Karelia 60 and in Parikkala 44 (58 self-found). February total 82, S-K 50, Pla 42 (self-found 71). March 89, 80 and 78 (84), April 150, 150 and 137 (147), May 212, 191 and 187 (205!), June 184, 145 and 132 (180), July 167, 142 and 132 (143), August 163, 140 and 137 (160), September 164, 146 and 139 (163), October 146, 111 and 110 (143), November 88, 80, 75 (73) and December 79, 63 and 51 (62).

To me the most interesting thing in this competition was to compare months between years in Parikkala. From six years results I can say that Parikkala is quite bad place to do birding in winter. Actually I have ever seen only 98 species here in winter. In spring it is possible to see really good selection of species – especially in May. Early summer is also very good but then autumn is very pretty poor comparing to sea-coats.

The competition lasted 5 full years and started again in January 2020 but then in February we got awful news, Sami had died. I immediately decided to continue the rest of the year just to finish the year as Sami would have liked. And now I decided to make this kind of article too just to make sure that this won’t be forgotten. I didn’t ask permits from other participants so that’s why I mentioned only some top-results as I am sure these birders won’t mind.

Thanks Sami (R.I.P) and other participants – J.A.

In December there weren’t many birds left in Parikkala. A flock of Common Gulls with some Herring Gulls were still in Kirkkoselkä and on the 3rd day I found a Bewick’s Swan that was with a couple of hundreds of Whooper Swans in Siikalahti.

On the 4th day I headed to Kouvola where with Teo Ylätalo we still did some birding with torches and found a Jack Snipe.

On the next morning we left birding with Teo and Antti Vänskä and found a Woodcock, Pheasants, Mute Swans, Velvet and Common Scoters, Cormorants, Canada Geese, Nuthatch and so on. Durng the whole day we found about 40 species which wasn’t very good.

On the 6th of December we participated Kymenlaakso Independence-day rally but stayed only in Kouvola. We found same Cormorants, Pheasants, Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Common Scoters but other prepared birds had disappeared. A White-backed Woodpecker, a Dipper and a Pygmy Owl were nice bonuses and then also a known Nutcracker was seen and after a long search we also got Waxwings and Fieldfares to our list. The best bird was seen while driving – a Hawfinch. Only gull we saw was a lonely Herring Gull and finally our last species was Velvet Scoter. Only 42 species were found but after all we were 3rd in a race and won the another Kouvola-team quite clearly.

On the 7th day I still saw the same Bewick’s Swan with about 100 Whooper Swans but Siikalahti was freezing fast.

On the 12th day we saw the last Whooper Swan that was wintering in Tyrjänjoki with 10 Mallards. On the next day we visited Siberian Jays and saw also a Goshawk, a Black Woodpecker and a flock of Long-tailed Tits.

Before Christmas I saw mostly tits and Goldcrests that were more numerous than ever in winter. Let’s see how they will survive…

On Christmas Eve we visited Simpele with Hanna and Miika but saw no Dipper at all. 60 Whooper Swans, 8 Goldeneyes and 9 Mallards were seen in river and in Kivijärvensalmi we heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker and in Kangaskoski we saw a Pygmy Owl. In the evening we saw another Pygmy Owl in Punkaharju Laakkee while visiting Hanna’s relatives.

On Cristmas Day I did winterbird-count and saw a Hazel Hen, 28 Black Grouses, a Goshawk, a Sparrowhawk, 3 Rock Pigeons, a Black and a Grey-headed Woodpecker, 6 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Goldcrests, 42 Blue, 70 Great, a Coal and 7 Willow Tits, a new europaea-Nuthatch, 4 Treecreepers, only one Jay, 65 Jackdaws, 19 Hooded Crows, 34 Tree Sparrows, 36 Greenfinches and 4 Yellowhammers.

On Boxing Day we found a flock of 31 Gold Finches in Tiviä and saw a Great Grey Shrike in Siikalahti. We also saw the oldest Nuthatch ever in Finland again as we saw rings of one familiar bird again.

On the 28th day I saw a White-tailed Eagle in Hernesaari and then on the last days I saw only Goldcrests, a Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Black Grouses, a Great Grey Shrike and still 12 Gold Finches. The weather was awful and it was raining and windy.

The year 2020 will be remembered because of Corona. It was also the reason why we couldn’t do any trips abroad. So we were birding even more than normally in Finland and especially in Parikkala. So after all I got 259 year-ticks which more than a long time. In Parikkala I saw 212 species and in Siikalahti 193. When Corona started I started to go jogging and after all I ran more than 1200 kilometers. I counted bird-species than I saw while running and altogether I saw 130 species, which 126 were seen on the runs that I made from home.

J.A.

Once we were back from Säppi I was sick. I had even corona-test so I had to keep away from work for a couple of days more. I had already been sick in Säppi as last days I had been extremely tired, but at home I was freezing all the time and totally powerless.

But I didn’t feel too bad, so I did some twitching and after seeing a couple of Starlings in Kangaskylä I headed to Lappeenranta to twitch a Hume’s Leaf Warbler as South-Karelia tick. After a couple of hours searching I heard it well but never managed to see it at all.

Next morning I went to Simpele to search for a Kingfisher and during the day I counted ducks in Siikalahti. A Teal, a Scaup, a Long-tailed Duck, a Velvet Scoter, 14 Smews and so on were seen. In the afternoon I felt very sick again and visited health center and got medicine for borreliosis!

After the firs pill I started to feel better already and when I got negative corona-results I decided to have only one more day free. I went to forests and checked some lakes but saw only an asiatica and an europaea Nuthatch, 11 Cormorants, 21 Scaups and a Starling again.

On the 29th day I went to work where I had new machines. During the lunch-hour I saw a couple of adult Cranes that were still in Siikalahti.

On the 30th day I twitched a skua that Harri Partanen found in Härskiinmutka and identified it as a Pomarine Skua. It was still around in the afternoon and also a Black and a Red-throated Diver, a few Velvet Scoters, 8 Cormorants, 16 Great Crested Grebes and in Rautalahti 19 grebes, 2 Common Scoters and in Siikalahti a late common Snipe were seen.

On the 31st day I did winter-bird count. Pomarine Skua was still around and other goodies were a Bewick’s Swan, 4 migrating Bean, 6 Greater White-fronted and ”only” 7 Barnacle Geese, 5 Wigeons, 7 Tufted Ducks, a Scaup, 13 Long-tailed ducks, 5 Goldeneyes, 7 Smews, a Black Grouse, a Great Crested Grebe, 9 Cormorants, 5 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Cranes, 2 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Grey Woodpeckers, a Black Woodpecker, a very late Meadow Pipit, 25 Long-tailed Tits, a Coal Tit, 6 Treecreepers, a hybrid sparrow, 6 Common Crossbills and of course some other more common birds.

Then November started and traditional November-competition. So in the first day I tried to see 50 species. We started with a surprise as we heard 2 Water Rails in Siikalahti! A Bewick’s Swan, 2 White-fronted Geese, a Scaup, a Long-tailed Duck, 3 Velvet Scoters, a Smew, a Black Grouse, a Black and a Red-throated Diver, a Great Crested Grebe, Cormorants, White-tailed Eagles, Cranes, Black-headed Gulls and so on were still around. Also a couple of Goshawks and a Crested Tit were seen and finally after a couple of hours trying a Pomarine Skua was seen again, but a bigger surprise was a Golden Eagle that was also seen in Härskiinmutka. Finally I got 51 species.

On the 2nd day I saw the skua in a second but then I never saw it again. Weather turned worse and for some reason most twitchers arrived too late. Only new November-species I got were a Willow and a Coal Tit.

On the 3rd day I saw 3 Canada Geese in Muikkulahti, 4 Scaups in Tarvaspohja and in a horrible weather a Pygmy Owl in Siikalahti. Next day twitchers found a Little Gull in Härskiinmutka and also a Black-throated Diver was still there. Siberian Jays were seen in their forest. On the 5th day only new bird was a Gold Finch.

On the 6th day a Little Gull was still as were the Cranes too. Finally I got a Nuthatch and in the evening I heard a late Common Snipe in Siikalahti.

On the 7th of November we headed to Saari with Harri and saw Common Crossbills in Rautalahti, some Teals and a Scaup in Pohjanranta, 2 Grey-headed Woodpeckers in Jyrkilä, a Sparrowhawk in Karinmäki and the best bird was a Shoveler in Kanavalampi.

On the 8th day 2 White-fronted Geese and a Bewick’s Sean were still with Whooper Swans in Tetrisuo. In forests 4 Siberian Jays were seen again but also at least 3 Pine Grosbeaks were heard.

Then a few days were too bad for birding and even though I visited some places, I saw nothing. White-fronted Geese were seen still on the 10th day and the Bewick’s Swan had got a friend on the 13th day. During the weekend only a couple of Nuthatches and a Siskin were seen.

On the 19th day I counted 340 Whooper Swans in Tetrisuo and saw also some Long-tailed Tits and a Crested Tit. Also some Goldcrests were seen and it seems that there are more of them and Treecreepers than ever trying to overwinter.

On the 20th of November a couple of Sparrowhawks were seen and a Grey-headed Woodpecker was still calling actively.

On the 21st day only a new asiatica Nuthatch and a couple of Common Scoters were seen on our morning-trip. Then we went to move one Ural Owl nestbox to Siikalahti and saw a Hawk Owl, a Pygmy Owl and still one more big owl that was either Great Grey or Ural Owl.

On the 22nd day we were in Rautalahti when we got a message that there was a Mute Swan in Saari Akonpohja. Of course we went to twitch this South-Karelia year-tick. We stopped also on the way back in Rautalahti and saw a Fieldfare and a Chaffinch.

during the week it was again dark and boring. A couple of Common and Velvet Scoters and a White-tailed Eagle were only birds to mention until on the 27th day there was a Starling in Siikalahti.

On Saturday the 28th day we started well as we found a Glaucous Gull in Hernesaari – it was a new Parikkala-tick for us! Only a couple of birders managed to twitch it before it flew towards north-east an disappeared. In Särkisalmi we found a Smew and in Härskiinmutka we saw a White-tailed Eagle.

On Sunday the 29th day I drove around Lake Simpele with Miika Soikkeli but we saw only some tits and Goldcrests. In Simpele we twitched a couple of Nuthatches and saw a Blackbird. In Kangaskoski I finally saw a Dipper which was my 77th species in November and all were seen in Parikkala and Rautjärvi which was the competition area.

On the last day of November I still saw a couple of Black-headed Gulls in Härskiinmutka and a Hazel Hen in Siikalahti. Then on the next day it was officially winter…

J.A.

Towards Pori

On the 9th of October we had packed our car and left driving toward Kouvola early in the morning. In Kouvola we met Teo in a place where I had been sleeping one day earlier. We left our car to the garden and packed everything in Teo’s car and started driving toward Pori.

Driving went quickly and finally we were in Pori where we still bought lots of food and I must say that our car was completely full when we were driving towards Kuuminainen.

In the harbor we met my brother Pirkka who had traveled from Kemijärvi to Helsinki by train, then picked up Arto Aaltonen from Kerava and also ”Jände” and Tom Nordblad had driven from Helsinki. Soon ”Fish-Tommi” arrived and we started to carry our stuff to the boat. And soon we were on the way to Säppi-island.

Finnish-tick right away

The ride was bumpy and we were soon wet and all our bags were wet too. After 30 minutes we finally arrived at harbor next to Prakala where we could see one birder, Jani Vastamäki, standing and watching to his feet. All birders were changing in the island so everyone else was on the harbor and Petteri Mäkelä told us that they can move all the stuff away and to the boat, so we can hurry to Prakala. So we were almost running towards Jani and there he had Asian Desert Warbler just two meters from him!

Asian Desert Warbler that had been in Prakala for a few days already was showing extremely well so we got some pictures right away so soon we left the photographers with the bird and went back to harbor to say thanks and goodbye to everyone, especially to Jani and Petteri. Soon the boat left and we still walked back to watch the warbler.

After some more photographing the warbler and a Tundra Bean Goose that was standing next to us too, we started to carry our luggage towards the bird-station. We had booked the family-part of the station for ourselves with Hanna, Pirkka and Teo, so Arto, Jände and Tom went to the station-side.

New ringing-species to the station

It was already getting late while we were settling down to the station and then we still had to put daily observations to Tiira even though we had seen only the warble rand the goose. After the log Teo went out with a headlamp and a hand net as he wanted to try to catch some snipes. It didn’t take long when he came back carrying a Tundra Bean Goose! It was a new ringing-species to the station and even though it was extremely tame it seemed to be alright.

Routines begin – well

On the 10th of October we started to run the routines. Hanna and Pirkka were the ringers so they left early to Peräkulma to put up the mist-nets and then ringed as long as there were birds coming, or at least Hanna stayed there so long. Then when sun was rising migrating birds were counted in Prakala for two hours. On a couple of mornings it was quite busy with birds in Peräkulma, so I was also helping ringers but then walked to the station when migration-watching was over. After a couple of days it was getting more quiet with ringing, so I stayed in Peräkulma only for an hour or so and then in the end of the week Hanna and Pirkka didn’t need me at all anymore, so I could sleep a little bit later. Unfortunately also migration was very quiet almost every morning. On the first morning we had one of the best mornings as a couple of small flocks of Brent Geese, Eiders, Common and Velvet Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, some Black and Red-throated Divers, a couple of Red-necked Grebes, 60 Razorbills, some Black Guillemots and one lucky had also a Common Guillemot. Also 4 Purple Sandpipers were seen, but in most mornings it was much more boring. Then after 2 hours we usually had so-called second breakfast and after that we left to walk around the whole island.

On the first morning Hanna was ringing alone as Pirkka wanted to join the island-walk too as he had never been in Säppi before. On the second year in a row there were almost no berries in sea-buckthorns which was the reason there were much less birds on the bushes. Also only one Skylark and 17 Meadow Pipits were seen and also thrushes and tits were only a few. But there were lots of Chiffchaffs and many of them were calling weirdly ”chiwy” calls and the rest were calling normally, this year there were no Siberian Chiffchaffs at all. 17 Chiffchaffs and 2 Willow Warblers were ringed on the first day. Mouflons were easier to see than ever – in best time we saw 19 in same time.

But the most common bird also here was Goldcrest. On the first morning 115 were ringed. Common Redpolls hadn’t arrived yet as only some were ringed and then of course Treecreepers, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, common tits and so on were ringed.

We had walked until Eteläkari when Hanna sent a Whats App message – picture of a Siberian Accentor hanging on the mist-net! BOOM! It is still an extremely rare bird at least if that one year (2016) is out of count. So we had to hurry to Peräkulma.

There had been tow boats full of twitchers because of the Asian Desert Warbler that was still in Prakala. Arto had been helping them to see the bird and even now there was one group in the island. So Tom sent a message to Lintutiedotus that the Siberian Accentor will be shown in the bird-station after ringing. It is 15 minutes walk from Peräkulma to the station and we weren’t even in Peräkulma yet, so there was plenty of time to every twitcher to get to the station.

Once we were in Peräkulma, Hanna had already ringed the bird and then we of course took lots of pictures. Then Teo and Hanna left towards the station with the bird, Pirkka stayed in Peräkulma and the rest of us kept on walking around the island. Siberian Accentor was freed next to the harbor where some twitchers still saw it very briefly. But only later we found out that one twitcher had probably panicked when the message about the accentor had been sent and she had got lost in a roundish island where sea can be heard everywhere and it is not long walk to the station which is in the middle of the island from anywhere. She had been walking around in the forest for a couple of hours and even the boat had to wait for 30 minutes before she was finally found. I never thought this to be possible in time when everyone has good maps in their phones.

Teo was waiting us already when we were getting to Kräveli and then we still walked around the rest of the island. The best birds we saw during the whole walk were a Barnacle Goose, a Peregrine, a Merlin, a couple of Golden Plovers, a Black Woodpecker, a few Great Grey Shrikes and some Parrot Crossbills. Hanna still had a possible Olive-backed Pipit calling in Peräkulma but it wasn’t seen at all.

In Prakala the Asian Desert Warbler was still around with the same Tundra Bean Goose and in the evening we heard a Pygmy Owl calling a couple of times with Arto, but it didn’t come to garden mist-net even though we played tape for it.

Hard work continues

On the 11th of October the weather was bad so ”standard” was shorter. Only migrants to mention were 18 Greylag Geese and a Merlin. Asian Desert Warbler was still around and again there were twitchers.

Surprisingly it was a busy morning in Peräkulma where 356 Goldcrests were ringed, also 34 Robins and a Lesser Redpoll was ringed.

Walk around the island produced a Grey Plover, 7 Common Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin and a couple of Short-eared Owls. Again Hanna and Pirkka had a possible Olive-backed Pipit and we went to search for it but when we found a good-looking pipit, it was a Tree Pipit. But while watching the Tree Pipit also another pipit was heard calling from the forest.

In the afternoon we walked half of the island again and in Lännennokka we had a good surprise when Pirkka found a Siberian Accentor! Unfortunately it had a bright ring so it was the same bird we had ringed on the previous day.

In the afternoon Tom and Jände left so there were only four of us left in the island. The Asian Desert Warbler wasn’t found in the afternoon even though we tried a couple of times. Luckily the last twitchers had still seen it, but after that either Great Grey Shrike or Short-eared Owl had probably found it too as they were moving also in Prakala. The bean goose was still around and we saw it flying a couple of times longer distances and it seemed to be shyer too.

On the 12th day Hanna and Pirkka headed to Peräkulma but the weather was so rainy and windy that the morning sea-watch wasn’t done at all. Anyway there seemed to be no birds either. It was very quiet also when we walked around the island, just a couple of Short-eared Owls, a Common Redstart and a Blackcap were seen. Anyway mist-nest were catching well between the rains and 190 Goldcrest and 30 Treecreepers and so on were caught. In the afternoon we opened the nets in the garden and so altogether 52 Great Tits were ringed. Siberian Accentor was still seen in the same place but Tundra Bean Goose had left.

On the 13th of October the morning sea-watch was done again but still it was very quiet. I was helping in Peräkulma because of the weather was perfect and we had expected to have a busy morning but after a couple of hours it was already very quiet. Altogether 175 Goldcrests were ringed.

During the walk we saw the same Siberian Accentor still in Lännennokka and once we reached Eteläkari we noticed that there were lots of Cranes migrating over the mainland. We counted altogether 1365 Cranes and also saw some flocks of Barnacle Geese. I also saw a Golden Eagle flying very distant somewhere over Pori but it had turned and started to glide when others found it. Also a distant Rough-legged Buzzard and pretty good crow-migration was seen – including a couple of Rooks. But nothing else to mention was found.

A little price

On the 14th day I was in Peräkulma again but it was very quiet. But while checking the nets I heard a promising ”tic” call and as I had already a Little Bunting playing next to one of the nets, I just kept on checking the mist-nets. So it wasn’t a big surprise that on the next round there was a Little Bunting hanging on one of the nets. When also an Arctic Redpoll was caught on the same round it meant that Teo and Arto also came to twitch these birds and once again the morning-watch was short.

We left to walk around the island only when we got new people as Anti Peuna, Nico Ordax and Miia Mannerla arrived. After we had carried their stuff to the station we left to twitch Siberian Accentor. But unfortunately it wasn’t found anymore. In Eteläkari we heard a Hume’s Leaf Warbler calling shortly but quite distant. Antti managed to started recording the call but a little bit too late as only the last call was recorded. And of course that call wasn’t very typical as it had probably been called in flight. Soon we found a Jack Snipe and then finally a Rock Pipit which was finally a year-tick. Also a couple of Short-eared Owls were seen again and then we found the same Little Bunting with a ring. It was about 500 meters from Peräkulma, so it tells something that we found the ringed birds later from the field too. It was good that everyone saw this Little Bunting.

And again something better

On the 15th day morning-watch was boring again – it was tough to stay awake. Also walk around the island was quiet but again Hanna stroke as she sent a message of a Pallas’s Leaf Warbler in hand! Of course we all went to see and photograph this one of the cutest birds. Anyway for me the observation of the day was when I finally flushed a Woodcock! I had somehow missed this bird in my every trip to Säppi even though it had been seen at least twenty times while I had been there – sometimes very close… Well of course Pallas’s Leaf Warbler was better…

But while walking we still found anything new – except a couple of Woodpigeons and Arctic Redpolls. The same Little Bunting was still there.

More people, better parties – but still not many birds

On the 16th of October it was still very quiet. Some tits had arrived to the island and we hoped that something better had come with them but nothing was found. The first Snow Bunting was heard which usually means that autumn is over – but we know that the rarest birds are coming very late… 150 Barnacle Geese, 10 Scaups, a Grey Plover, 8 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Woodcocks, 3 Rooks, a Goldfinch and a ringed Waxwing were birds to mention.

In the evening Petteri Mäkelä, Sebastian Andrejeff, Markus Lampinen, Pasi Alanko, Jan Lundgren and Elissa Soikkeli arrived and Pirkka, Arto and Miia had to leave. Elissa came to our side where Antti had also stayed and Petteri, ”Sepi” and Markus went to station-side with Nico while Pasi and ”Lunkka” had arranged a room from Säppi-foundation building where they stayed in small radio-room. Pasi is a radio-amateur and soon he had put up long antennas to the light-house and carried several boxes full of radio-equipment to their room.

On the 17th of October morning was as boring as ever even though there were more pairs of eyes watching. A few Wood Larks were flying around which one of them seemed to stay in the garden. At midday Matti and Mimosa Mäkelä and Mika Bruun arrived and it was Antti’s tour to leave. All newcomers stayed in station-side which was now very full. The island was walked around again but only better bird was the same Grey Plover.

After quiet days a nice hand-tick

The 18th of October was one more quiet day. The best bird in the morning was a young Lesser Black-backed Gull that was flying around the island. Anyway the most memorable happening was done in the garden. Hanna had put up a low mist-net next to a seed-trap that had been on the ground for Wood Lark. Once we came back from an empty walk around the island, we noticed that one Wood Lark was right next to the net. After some time I decided to make a run and managed to push the bird to the net! It was only the second ever ringed Wood Lark in Säppi!

On the 19th day there wasn’t much to mention: A Short-eared Owl was seen and the same Lesser Black-backed Gull again. Weather was bad so in morning sea-watch we were only with Teo. Quite a few better birds were seen during the day by others, the most interesting was seen in the garden where a possible Siberian Accentor was seen and heard briefly. Also a Purple Sandpiper, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Wood Lark, a Blackcap, a ”tic” bunting and a Twite was seen but I saw none of them… But the next day looked really promising, so it was going to be The day.

The day – or at least pretty good

On the 20th of October morning started in hurry as we found out that everyone from the station-side were going to do morning-watch to Eteläkari. And they were already leaving. It is quite far, so we were a bit late with Teo and so we had already missed a Rock Pipit. Migration wasn’t too good but the weather was excellent! The first better bird for us was a Twite the was flying over us. Soon Teo found a lonely diver flying high on the sky and it was very difficult to find with telescope. When I finally found it, it was a Great Northern Diver! I lost it again to blue sky but luckily after some searching everyone found it. Even Mika, who was walking towards us along the shore managed to see it.

Just a little bit later we heard a tit calling and I thought that it is the first Willow Tit of the trip but others were already hearing it better – a Siberian Tit! We played a little bit tape and soon it was flying around us and landing too close to photographers. It stayed so long that also Pasi and ”Lunkka” managed to come to see the bird. Hanna and ”Elli” put a tape to play for it in Peräkulma, but unfortunately it was never seen again.

When we still had a Grey-headed Woodpecker calling visible – another Säppi-tick, a flock of Parrot Crossbills and a Merlin, it is easy to say that the morning had been really good!

During the day Matti and Mimosa left and Tomas Swahn arrived and only then we left to walk around the island. It had been quiet on the mist-nets, so also Hanna and Elli were with us. We didn’t get far when Petteri found a Firecrest in Lännennokka! It was with a couple of tits and Goldcrests and they were very mobile. So not everyone saw it right away but luckily I relocated it a couple of hundreds of meters further and there it stayed in small area almost on the ground for so long that everyone managed to see it.

Other birds seen were a couple of Grey-headed Woodpeckers more, several Great Grey Shrikes, a Goshawk, at least a couple of Twites that were calling in a flock of Common Redpolls, a few Arctic Redpolls and more Snow Buntings, Waxwings. So colder weather had started to bring new birds but for some reason it didn’t show on the mist-nets.

The weather forecast was awful for the next days so The day was celebrated in station-side. Even the log was long and frustrating as some were already so drunk. It was really good that we had own side for us who wanted to sleep.

Rain and misery

On the 21st day we could all sleep longer and relax. It was good as with Teo we had been working hard for several weeks every day! Part of the island was checked by some of us but some were sleeping almost whole day. Luckiest birders had seen a late Greenshank and a Purple Sandpiper but I saw only 3 Jack Snipes. Garden mist-nets were opened a couple of times so some Great Tits were ringed between the rains.

On the 22nd of October the weather was even worse. I decided to walk around the island anyway. There was no wind at all and visibility was great even though it was raining almost all the time. So I managed to see more grebes including a Slavonian Grebe too, 4 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Jack Snipes. The biggest surprise of the day was that when a boat visited the island for some other reason, Petteri, Mika and Lunkka decided to leave.

In the evening Teo cheered us up and managed to finally catch a Woodcock that he had been trying in several evenings. I finally got a hand-tick of this species.

Hanna strikes again

On the 23rd of October the weather was finally better but still we were on the sea-watch with Teo and Pasi only. The same Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen again after a couple of days. In the end we were just waiting for the 2 hours to end as we wanted to hit the bushes. But only a migration Short-eared Owl that landed to the island was seen. About at 11 a.m. Hanna sent a message about a silent Hume’s or Yellow-browed Warbler that had been seen briefly in Peräkulma. We of course messaged back that: “Catch it!”.

And after an hour or so Hanna sent a message that she had a Hume’s Warbler in her hand! We hurried again to Peräkulma and almost ran through Hanhisto, but of course later walked back to check it well. Hume’s Leaf Warbler was one more price for our patient ringing-team that always stayed in Peräkulma late even though it was quiet. Every rare bird we have ever caught in Säppi has been in the afternoon. It was great to have another cute rarity in hand and of course lots of pictures were taken. When we released the bird it stayed on the top of the closest tree for some time and we could see it well but it wasn’t calling.

One more day

The 24th day was quiet in the ground, on the sea and in the air. I managed to dip one more Rock Pipit, which seems to be a habit. Nothing else to mention happened even though we were really trying…

Last day’s hurry”

On the 25th of October we had the last day of our long trip. Luckily winter-time had stated at night so we had an extra hour for us. Hanna ja Elissa still left to Peräkulma and the rest of us to morning-watch. It was quiet but good selection of species were seen, but anyway after an hour we decided to leave and walk around the island with Teo.

In Lännennokka Teo flushed a warbler that he thought was a Chiffchaff. There had been a Chiffchaff in the same bush on the previous day. I saw the bird in flight but I saw some color on its vent. It landed to a tree straight against the sun where it of course looked dark, before it dropped inside the bushes. Soon we heard a Chiffchaff calling and we thought that it had been the same bird again. Anyway I played Radde’s Warbler tape for some time and tried to see the bird again but it had disappered into the junipers. I even said that: ”Maybe there were two birds and something will be found here after we had left”. But soon we continued walking as we didn’t have too much time.

Later we saw a Chiffchaff and we had a feeling that there were quite a few new birds on the island. Nothing better was found anyway and finally we were back on the station about an hour before our boat. Luckily we had packed and cleaned our side on the previous evening as a half an hour before our boat we got a message that Tomas and Sebastian had found a Dusky Warbler – in Lännennokka! Immediately I was sure that it was the same bird we had seen…

We ran to Lännennokka and luckily heard the Dusky Warbler ”tacking” immediately! The bird was also seen briefly before also Hanna and Elissa managed to get there. After some waiting we heard the bird again and then it flew to the Siberian Accentor bush where we saw it extremely well! Luckily the bird had been found early enough for us! It was a WP-tick for Hanna, so after all it was the best bird of the whole trip!

Soon we had to hurry back to the station, carry our stuff to the harbor where Tommi’s boat had just arrived. Soon we were on the way back to Kuuminainen and luckily the ride wasn’t wet this time. In the harbor Petteri was picking up Nico to the railway-station and soon we had packed our cars and left towards Kouvola, Elissa was following us.

Our car stopped once to eat on the way but after a long drive we were in Kouvola where we moved our stuff to our car, said goodbye to Teo and continued to Parikkala.

A long, more than 5 weeks, holiday was finally over. Altogether 175 species had been observed but it seemed that all the best birds had been in Säppi. An Asian Desert Warbler, a Siberian Accentor, a Pallas Leaf, a Hume’s Leaf and a Dusky Warbler had made our trip! Many good birds had been seen also in Oulu-area and Jurmo too, but I think if World is still the same next year, other destinations will change but Säppi stays in program.

J.A.