. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 1st if September I visited Siikalahti a couple of times, on my lunch-hour I saw a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers, a Common Ringed Plover, a couple of White-tailed Eagles and so on and in the evening we counted 578 Cranes and saw 18 Great White Egrets, 3 Grey Herons and still one late Nightjar.

On the 2nd day I heard a Red-throated Pipit and saw a couple of Black Woodpeckers and in the evening I counted the biggest number of Cranes ever in Siikalahti – 858 birds. 18 Great White Egrets were again flying towards Sokkiinselkä to roost, a Woodcock flew over and still 4 Water Rails were calling. On the 3rd day 6 Hobbies were still hunting and young Common Ringed Plover was flying around the bay with a young Dunlin.

On the 4th day I saw the first flock of Whooper Swans that had arrived from somewhere and surprisingly there was an adult Bewick’s Swan with them. It was an early record. 3 Golden Plovers and a Hen Harrier were also seen on my lunch-hour and after work I twitched a Common Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail in Simpele Kokkolanjoki Lahnanen. Then in the evening we were working hard to make Saari Pohjanranta a better place for waders in the future.

On the 5th of September we started trying if there were any Rustic Buntings moving in Siikalahti and put up a few mist-nets. We caught 3 Dunnocks, 2 Robins, a Redstart, 2 Blackbirds, a Redwing, 4 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blue, 5 Great and a Willow Tit, a Treecreeper and 2 Chaffinches but not a single bunting. From the dam-road we saw also 4 Cormorants, 2 young Honey Buzzards, 2 White-tailed Eagles, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin, a Common Ringed Plover, a Stock Dove and 14 Gold Finches.

On the 6th day we caught a Dunnock, 2r+1c Robin, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcaps, a Goldcrest, 2 Great Tits, a Chaffinch, a Reed Bunting and 4 wonderful Rustic Buntings. At least 3 more Rustic Buntings were calling around the mist-nets and we also saw a Hen Harrier, a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards, a Merlin, 19 Golden Plovers, a Common Ringed Plover, a Stock Dove, 3 Sand Martins, a Bluethroat, 3 Red-throated Pipits and the best bird of the day was a migrating Black Kite.

After I had done a 2 hours run, we still went to Siikalahti to count ducks. We saw a Greylag Goose with 3 Tundra and 1 Taiga Bean Goose, 783 Wigeons, 49 Teals, 592 Mallards, 14 Pintails, 2 Shovelers and so on. The best bird I saw was an eagle that I saw very briefly but it looked like an almost adult Golden Eagle but I couldn’t rule out the same age Eastern Imperial Eagle… Luckily a man who lives next to the place where I saw the bird saw the bird too and he happened to photograph a lot and he got some pictures of it and from the pictures I could identify the bird as a Golden Eagle – but I still don’t understand what such an old bird is doing here in this time of year?

On the 7th day a Bewick’s Swan was still in Huhmarinen with the same geese but on the next day it was gone. Then I counted 578 Cranes, saw a migrating flock of 60 Common Scoters and now 20 Great White Egrets.

The next few days were quiet, but on the 11th day I saw a Great Grey Shrike and the first migrating Coal Tit. In the evening we tried mist-netting again and caught a Redstart, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Garden Warblers, a Blue Tit and a Chaffinch.

On the 12th of September we were ringing whole morning and caught 5 Robins, a Lesser and a Common Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, 2 Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Goldcrests, 3 Blue Tits, a Treecreeper, a Reed Bunting and because of pretty good migration 17 Chaffinches and 3 Bramblings, but again no project-species. We also saw 11 Bean Geese with an early Pink-footed Goose, 10 Cormorants, a Hen Harrier, stunning young Pallid Harrier, 2 Goshawks, a Rough-legged Buzzard, nice flock of 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 small waders that probably were Dunlins, a Little Stint, a Yellow Wagtail and a Nutcracker.

On the 13th day a Bewick’s Swan was found in Särkisalmi with Whooper Swans, 78 Barnacle, 58 Canada and 3 Tundra Bean Geese. In the evening 20 Great Whites, 3 Grey Herons and a Bittern, 580 Cranes, a Whinchat and a Nutcracker were seen. On the next day only new birds were a Red-throated Pipit and 3 Coal Tits.

On the 15th day we did duck-counts again and counted 1019 Wigeons, 393 Mallards, 24 Shovelers, 6 Pintails, 35 Teals, a Gadwall, 22 Barnacle Geese and so on. In the evening we put up the mist-nets but caught only a Robin and a Blackcap. But we estimated 750 Cranes and 20 Great Whites and a Bittern were seen again.

On the 17th day there were already 1000 Barnacle Geese and 250 Tundra Bean Geese with 4 Greater White-fronted and at least 1 Taiga Bean Geese in Siikalahti and I still heard a Water Rail calling. On the next day there were already 3000 local and 3000 migrating Barnacle Geese but better were 1450 Brent Geese in 3 flocks. Also a Lapwing and a couple of Ruffs were seen during my lunch-hour.

J.A.

The change of the month was spent with friend on Lake Saimaa. We still didn’t see any Saimaa Seals but in Taipalsaari I saw a Little Stint and on the way back I saw a White-tailed Eagle and a Grey Heron in Lappeenranta.

On the 4th of August I saw a young Temminck Stint and on the next evening a Great White Egret. a Grey Heron and a Great Bittern. Then on the 6th day I saw a couple of Stock Doves.

On the 8th of August we were ringing in SSP-project again. Bushes were wet so birds weren’t moving much. We caught a Whinchat, 4 Sedge Warblers, 8 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, a Chiffchaff, 7 Willlow Warblers, a Blue and a Great Tit, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, a Common Rosefinch and 2 Reed Buntings. A Golden Oriole was singing still shortly and we heard a bird that was calling like a Red-flanked Bluetail but we never saw it. Luckily soon after this mysterious bird had disappeared we heard a Grey Plover calling from the sky so at least one good bird was ticked.

In the evening we did duck-count in Siikalahti and there weren’t much to tell – 305 Mallards. There seemed to be more Great White Egrets so we stayed until the evening and after sunset saw 10 birds leaving to roost. We also counted 80 Cranes and heard at least 6 Water Rails.

On the 9th day we headed to Saari where was as quiet as we had expected. In Pohjasuo we saw a Linnet and a Gold Finch. Then I Suurenjärvenliete I had just said that: ”I wonder if we will see any single bird”, when I noticed a big raptor flying over us – it was a 2nd year Greater Spotted Eagle! Soon the eagle left towards south and luckily Juha Vesaoja saw the bird in Saari Selänne continuing towards Russia. I still saw a Nutcracker briefly but nothing else was seen later.

On the 10th of August a couple of Nutcrackers were in Kangaskylä and on the 11th day there were quite some raptors in Siikalahti. A couple of Hen Harriers and White-tailed Eagles were seen but I had only my lunch-hour so nothing better was seen.

On the 12th day a couple of Goshawks and again 10 Great White Egrets were seen. It was already dark when we were on the way back home and in Muttelinmäki we flushed a Nightjar from the road. On the next evening I saw a Temminck Stint, already 320 Cranes and heard a Nightjar.

It was quiet on the next days too and on the 15th day a visit in Saati was extremely quiet. Only 5 Meadow Pipits and 214 Cranes were seen – and a Nutcracker in Kangaskylä.

On the 16th f August we were ringing again and caught a Dunnock, 2 Common Redstarts, 2 Sedge Warblers, 8 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 7r+2c Willow Warblers, a Great Tit control, a Greenfinch and a Reed Bunting. In the evening I did along run in Melkoniemi forests and saw a few Black Grouses, a Hazel Hen and a female Capercaillie.

On the 17th day I saw a White-tailed Eagle and a Ringed Plover and on the 18th there were 94 Great Crested Grebes, 10 Cormorants and a White-tailed Eagle in Härskiinmutka. In Siikalahti we saw a Smew, 9 Great White Egrets and on the way back home we saw a Nightjar.

On the 20th of August the duck-hinting started so I was in Siikalahti waiting for ducks to come there to safety. Some small flocks arrived during my lunch-hour. Also 15 Cormorants and a Ringed Plover were seen. In the evening we did duck-counts to see if there were more ducks but only 148 Wigeons, 97 Teals and 416 Mallards were numbers to mention.

On the 21st of August I was running a long run in Melkoniemi again and saw a male Capercaillie. In the evening we tried to catch migrating Nightjars but only one bird was heard calling shortly.

On the 22nd day we stayed in Siikalahti dam-road for a few hours and saw a couple of Nutcrackers, a White-tailed Eagle, a Stock Dove and a flock of 12 Long-tailed Tits. It was till very quiet! On the next day I was running again and saw a Common Redpoll in Kangaskylä, a White-tailed Eagle in Härskiinmutka, a Hazel Hen in forests and a Hen Harrier in Tetrisuo. In the evening we saw another Hen Harrier, 8 Great White Egrets and the last Swifts of the summer.

On the 25th of August a flock of 5 Bean Geese were flying around and on the next day I saw a Short-eared Owl flying high over Siikalahti. On the 27th day a 2nd year White-tailed Eagle was seen and elsewhere an adult and young were still visiting the nest. On the 28th day I heard a Brambling, saw a young Hen Harrier and 2 young Honey Buzzards. In Kangaskylä I heard a Redpoll again.

On the 29th of August we had the last ringing in Papinlahti. We managed to do all 12 ringings. We caught a Dunnock, a Bluethroat, 2 Sedge and 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Lesser and a Common Whitethroat, 3 Willow Warblers, a Blu Tit, 2 Greenfinches and the best bird we had ever caught in this place – a young Red-breasted Flycatcher! During the day we drove to Simpele Kangaskoski to twitch a Common Kingfisher. Hanna managed to see it briefly but the rest of us only heard it calling. Also a Gret Wagtail had been found so we twitched it too in Ritakoski. It flew to Lahnanen where we managed to see it better and get some pictures too.

In the evening we did duck-counts and the also crane and egret-count. 223 Wigeons, 96 Teals, 550 Mallards, 15 Pintails, 26 Canada Geese and so on were counted. I also saw a Ural Owl and heard a Moorhen. In the evening we counted exactly 700 Cranes and 15 Great White Egrets, 2 Grey Herons, 3 Bitterns and also saw 3 Lapwings, a Woodcock, 5 Hobbies, 5 Bean Geese, a Greylag Goose and then 3 small dark geese which one was very small. Maybe they were 2 Greater and one Swedish Lesser White-fronted Geese that had been seen in Parikkala earlier in summer? We also heard altogether 11 Water Rails.

Next evening I spent again in Siikalahti and counted cranes. It was very cloudy so birds were difficult to count even though they arrived earlier. I managed to see 669 Cranes and even 18 Great White Egrets. Also 305 migrating Wigeons and 10 Golden Plovers were seen but nothing else. And then on the last day of the month only bird to mention was a Hen Harrier.

J.A.

After trip to Lapland we went to sleep early as we had to wake up very early on the next morning. And on the 28th of June we were putting up the mist-nets when the sun was rising. It was still pretty quiet and we caught only a Robin, 2 Fieldfares, 2 Redwings, a Song Thrush, 4r+4c Sedge Warblers, 1+1c Garden Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, a Blue Tit, 9 Great Tits, a Greenfinch and a Common Rosefinch. Only better bird seen during the ringing was a migrating Whimbrel.

After sleeping we still went to count ducks in Siikalahti and had 8ad+10pull Whooper Swans, 52 Wigeons, 22+6 Teals, 198+12 Mallards, 4 Pochards, 5 Tufted Ducks, 17+33 Goldeneyes, 2 Black-throated Divers, 4 Great Crested and 10 Red-necked Grebes, 4 Grey Herons, 15+21 Coots, some common waders and only a handful of gulls and terns without any young. Only other bird to mention was a Red-backed Shrike.

On the 29th day I saw a Black Kite flying around the bay and later I heard that the nest that I had found in spring had been abandoned for some reason.

On the 1st of July we counted 160 adults and 50 young Barnacle Geese in Joukio and found that one birds had a satellite on its back. We soon found out that it was a Dutch bird that had been visiting Siberia on previous summer but now it was with breeding birds in Joukio. We visited the farmers on both side of the road and got permits to catch geese later. We actually noticed that the antenna wasn’t well attached on the goose’s back and we agreed with Dutch people that it’d be good to get the satellite off from this bird. On the 2nd day I also counted 6 adult and 15 young geese in Kangaskylä.

On the 3rd day I still saw both Black Kites on the bay and in the evening we went to ring nestlings of Wryneck that were on one nest-box in Särkisalmi. These birds were very big and after a couple of days they left their nest-box.

On the 4th day we had ringing morning again and caught 2c Sedge Warblers, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroats, 2r+1c Garden Warblers, a male Blackcap, 2 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Blue Tit and 4+1c Great Tits, a Common Rosefinch, 2 Yellowhammers and 4 Reed Buntings. Long-eared Owl fledlings were calling whole morning on a spruce-forest nearby and a couple of Golden Orioles were singing.

On the 5th day I heard a couple of Two-barred Crossbills while jogging and then on the 6th day we went to catch Barnacle Geese with a few friends. And like almost every time nothing went as planned but after all we managed to get between water and a quite a big flock of geese. Then we put up the fences and the trap and walked the flock to the trap. When we had just managed to get whole flock to the trap we noticed 2 grey geese swimming with a big flock of Barnacle Geese. There was a Greater White-fronted Goose but another bird looked promising. Juho Saukkonen took some pictures of the bird and from the pictures we could identify it as a Lesser White-fronted Goose! But we were in the middle of chaos with lots of Barnacle Geese in the trap so we had to concentrate on ringing them.

When the first adult was caught all birds that were able to fly tried, and mostly succeeded, to escape. But still we had lots of adult and young birds to ring. After all we ringed 13 adults and 32 young birds and controlled 2 birds that we had ringed a couple of years earlier.

When we were ready we noticed that grey geese were closing the shore and soon walking towards the field. We waited for them to go further from the shore and then with Juho we ran between them and the lake. Unfortunately Greater White-fronted Goose was flying well but after a quick run, I managed to catch the Lesser White-fronted Goose! Unfortunately it was again a Swedish ”plastic-goose” with color-rings.

Anyway we took quite a lot of pictures of our exotic goose and then released it to follow its companion that was different species. I hope they are not going to do anything more together…

In the evening we visited Saari Pohjanranta briefly and hoped to see some waders but saw only some Wood Sandpipers.

On the 7th of July I saw a Nutcracker in Kangaskylä, which was a year-tick. On the 8th day I checked Pohjanranta again but saw only a few Greenshanks and Wood Sandpipers. In Joukio both grey geese were still around. And in the evening we went to check that a Grasshopper Warbler that had been heard in Papinlahti was really that species.

On the 9th day we went to catch geese again with a bit smaller group of friends and managed to catch only a small flock which surprisingly many adults were able to fly and in the chaos also some young geese managed to escape. Anyway 2 adults and 11 young birds were ringed and again we controlled one 2 birds that had been ringed 2 years ago. On the other side of road all birds were already running when they saw our car, both grey geese with them.

On the 10th of July I found a Great White Egret in Siikalahti and after all there were two birds together. Also a Spotted Redshank was heard.

On the 11th day we left early to Joutseno. In Konnunsuo we tried to twitch a Quail but managed to see only a Hen Harrier and a Short-eared Owl and hear an Ortolan Bunting and a distant flock of Two-barred Crossbills. We tried to twitch another Quail too but without luck. Then we headed to Lappeenranta to twitch a European Serin and after an hour I heard a couple of seconds song and then we both heard flight calls that were good for Serin. It would have been a Finnish-tick for Hanna, so she decided not to take a tick as she heard it still quite bad.

When it started to rain, we headed to Toikansuo and twitched a family of Moorhens on the way. On the hill we met Pekka Punnonen and Matti Vanhapelto and after some waiting we had seen only some local waders. But then 10 Dunlins and 3 Temminck Stints landed to feed to the pools. We also saw an Oystercatcher, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Green Sandpiper before it started to rain too bad. So we went to visit a couple of shops which was the first time for months because of Covid19.

In the evening I went to check if there were any waders in Siikalahti and found a Black-tailed Godwit again but also 5 Dunlins. And on the next day there were 2 Dunlins and 4 Temminck Stints. So I managed to get my 200th species in Parikkala this year. We visited also Pohjanranta again and there was a young Black-tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel and 3 Temminck Stints.

On the 13th of July 2 Great White Egrets were seen again in Siikalahti and surprisingly there were some waders feeding right under their feet – Wood Sandpipers, a Dunlin, a Temmink Stint and even a Curlew Sandpiper.

On the 14th day in the evening we did duck-counts again and saw 7ad+10juv Whooper Swans, 51+26 Wigeons, 50+12 Teals, 334+11 Mallards, 3 Shovelers, a Pochard, 4+2 Tufted Ducks, 4+22 Goldeneyes, 2 Great Crested and 10 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Grey Herons, 8+44 Coots, 71 Lapwings, 15 Common Snipes, 6 Dunlins and again only some gulls and Common Terns which one couple had 3 youngsters.

On the 15th day a female Hen Harrier was migrating in Siikalahti and on the 16th day I counted 67 Rock Doves in Kangaskylä. The white-tailed Eagle was seen last time on the nest – now we are hoping to see it somewhere outside the nest soon.

Next days I visited Siikalahti and hoped for some more waders and on the 16th day I saw 3 Dunlins. Also Golden Orioles were heard here and there – it seems that there are some more than on previous years.

On the 18th day we went to ring again and caught some more birds: 20 Reed Buntings, a Robin, a Blackbird, 2 Fieldfares, a Song Thrush, 5 Redwings, 3 Sedge, 4 Blyth’s Reed and 3 Garden Warbler, 4 Common Whitethroats, 2 Blackcaps, 3 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Great Tit, a Red-backed Shrike and the biggest surprise was a Jay. But even bigger surprise was a skylark-like ”sriiu” call that we heard from the sky and saw a slim, yellowish wagtail with dark throat flying over us – a young Citrine Wagtail!

In the afternoon we were about to go birding to Saari when I noticed a dead woodpecker on the ground on our neighbor-building – it was a young White-backed Woodpecker… In Saari we saw a Hen Harrier and a Grey Heron in Tetrisuo, 3 more Grey Herons and a couple of Stock Doves in Pohjanranta, a rare midsummer record – a Tundra Bean Goose in Suurenjärvenliete and 2 more Stock Doves in Jyrkilä.

On the 19th of July we were some hours in Siikalahti where 2 Great White Egrets were still around and also a Spotted Redshank, a Yellow Wagtail and so on were seen. The most interesting record was made in our own garden where we saw a family of Common Redpolls.

On the 20th day I saw a Dunlin and again a Curlew Sandpiper and a Stock Dove was calling actively. On the 21st day I saw a migrating Great Grey Shrike which was again one more strange mid-summer record. Actually I had seen 4 species in 3 days that I had never seen before in July in Parikkala.

Hanna spent some time in a hide that she had built for wader-photographing. She had also been hard-working to make the surrounding muddy. She managed to get excellent pictures of Wood Sandpiper and Common Snipes – hopefully there will be also other species soon…

On the 24th day I counted a record of 74 Rock Doves and in Siikalahti a Great White Egret and a Dunlin were seen and Golden Oriole still singing and calling. And on the 25th day I saw again a Curlew Sandpiper.

On the 26th we had ringing again and we had hoped to catch lots of birds but bushes were probably too wet. It was very quiet almost whole morning but on one round we got more than 30 birds. Altogether we caught 24r+2c Great Tits, 7+1c Willow Tits, 3+1c Lesser Whitethroats and Reed Buntings, 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and Red-backed Shrikes, 1+1c Sedge Warblers, a Robin, a Common Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler and a Yellowhammer. A Golden Oriole was calling a and a Linnet flew over us. In the evening I saw a Dunlin and a Curlew Sandpiper in Siikalahti.

The end of July went without any better bird-observation even thought I did some birding every day. Great White Egrets were seen every day but only one or two birds. On the 30th day I saw again a Greater White-fronted Goose that had been hiding well for a long time, a Cormotant, a couple of Hen Harriers, probably the same long-staying Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Dunlins and 2 unidentified small stints that probably were Broad-billed Sandpipers but I saw them too briefly.

J.A.

On the first of June it was Monday and once again I headed to Siikalahti on my lunch-hour. Lots of Swifts were flying on the sky and I saw a couple of Hobbies catching one of them as a prey. A Black Kite was seen once again but a Black-tailed Godwit was an unexpected surprise.

In the evening we made another try to see migrating waders in Moskuunniemi and the weather was perfect. In an hour we saw only a single Ruff but then Hanna found a flock of waders from the sky – they were Red Knots! And soon I found another flock and in these flocks were altogether 260 birds. On the way back home we stopped in Kukonkanta and heard a Marsh and a Reed Warbler.

On the 2nd of June my lunch-break was even better when I found a 2nd year Lesser Spotted Eagle. Later I heard that this bird had been flying around for whole morning. In the evening we were back in Siikalahti with a couple of eagle-twitchers and we saw an amazing flock of 660 Red Knots! Also a lonely Broad-billed Sandpiper and a White-fronted Goose were seen but only eagle we saw was seen too briefly – all we could say was that it wasn’t a White-tailed Eagle.

The next days I was seeing mostly the same birds – Black Kite and a Marsh Warbler that was singing very beautifully next to the dam-road. On the 4th day we did a short trip to Saari and heard a River Warbler in Akonpohja. In a couple of days Hanna was photographing in Siikalahti and the best she found were fledlings of Long-tailed tits. Then in the evening of 5th day we went to put up the mist-nets and found 2 small Common Snipe youngsters that we of course ringed.

Then on the 6th day we were ringing and caught maybe the biggest surprise ever in these sessions – a Crested Tit. What it was doing in the reeds? We also caught a male Red-backed Shrike, 3 Sedge Warblers, 1+1c Common Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 1c Willow Warbler, 1c Great Tit, 1 Chaffinch, 3 Greenfinches, 1 Bullfinch and 1+3c Reed Buntings. During the day I managed to see a White-tailed Eagle nestling for the first time in the nest that we had found earlier. In Siikalahti we saw 150 Swifts, a Black Kite again and a couple of Stock Doves.

On the 7th day we had counts again and we started at midnight. I was rowing more than 10 km during the night and morning around Siikalahti. 2 Garganeys, a couple of Smews, 4 Grasshopper Warblers, 2 Marsh Warblers, a Red-backed Shrike, the family of Ural Owls and a couple of Black Kites were seen.

In the evening we went to check a couple of Great Snipe places and heard 2 + 1 birds before it started to rain.

Again mostly the same birds were seen until the 9th of June when we did counting again. Because of the rain we started late, so we did only the northernmost part of Siikalahti. Then we headed to Saari and saw a Black Kite in Rautalahti on the way. We tried to find Ortolan Buntings but didn’t find any – it is really going to extinct. In Pohjanranta we saw only one wader but it was a Marsh Sandpiper! Also a Grey Heron was seen there. Common Crossbills were on the move and flocks were heard and seen everywhere. In Jyrkilä we saw 2 White-fronted Geese, a Stock Dove and a couple of Short-eared Owls. In Karinmäki we still saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker and heard a Golden Oriole like also in Akonpohja.

On the 10th day I did the rest of the count in the northern part of Siikalahti. After the count we headed to Haukmäki and Soininmäki forests and found altogether 4 or 5 Red-breasted Flycathers, a couple of Crested Tits and a nest of a Coal Tit. But still we found no Greenish Warblers.

11th of June Hanna did the last counts and in the afternoon we went to ring the nestling of the first ever breeding pair of White-tailed Eagles in South Karelia. Pertti Koskimies did all the hard work while we were helping as much as we could, but he is so professional that after all there wasn’t much we could do.

On the 12th day I spent my lunch-hour in Siikalahti together with Aki Aintila and we saw 2 Black Kites. In the afternoon our friend Teo Ylätalo came to do birding with us for the weekend. In the evening we made everything ready for the next morning ringing and then visited a couple of places where we found some Great Snipes. We also saw a couple of adult and heard a few young Long-eared Owls.

On the 13th day we started early with ringing and there were also a couple of young birders from Kerimäki with us. It was pretty quiet morning so with Teo we also caught a Corn Crake that was calling nearby. During the morning we got a couple of Whinchats, 1r+1c Sedge Warblers, 3+2c Common Whitethroats, 4 Garden Warblers, 2+1c Willow Warblers, 1c Pied Flycatcher, 1 Siskin, 1 Common Rosefinch and 2+2c Reed Buntings.

But we had a couple of surprises during the morning. First we heard a loud sound like a fighter plane flying over us – it wasn’t a plane but a flock of 10 migrating Red-throated Divers that were rocketing down from the heights lower down. Then at 8:22 in the full sunshine a Nightjar was singing shortly.

After some sleep we went to see a couple of Parikkala-ticks for Teo and then headed to Siikalahti where a day-calling Spotted Crake wasn’t even a big surprise anymore. A Black Kite was seen and Hanna caught a Thrush Nightingale to ring nearby. Then we went to check one more place in Siikalahti where we found a Black-tailed Godwit and even more surprisingly a Caspian Tern! Also a couple of Golden Orioles were singing there.

In the evening we did a short drive in the forests but saw only a Red-throated Diver on its breeding pond in Savo-side of the border.

On the 14th of June we started at midnight and while driving we heard a River Warbler singing even though we had all windows closed. Then we surprisingly found 3 lekking Great Snipes in a new place!

After we had heard a couple of families of Long-eared Owls , a couple of Nightjars, some Corn Crakes, only a few Blyth’s Reed Warblers and one Grasshopper Warbler, we found some more Great Snipes. It seems this is a good year for this species that still some years ago was extinct in Finland.

We still heard a couple of Spotted Crakes, Golden Orioles and some species already mentioned and then in Akonpohja tried to catch some singers to ring but had no luck. But on the way back home we caught the same River Warbler that was singing next to the main road.

After some sleeping we still headed to Siikalahti where the same white-fronted Goose and also the same Black-tailed Godwit was seen again. A flock of 5 Brent Geese was seen migrating so I finally got a year-tick. Also a lonely Barnacle Goose and a Garganey were seen before Teo left towards Kouvola and I went to sleep again.

During the week I saw mostly the same birds every day. Only surprise was on the 15th day a male Hen Harrier in the middle of the night while listening to Great Snipes. Then on the 16th day I saw the first 6 Ruffs that are already on their way towards south.

On the next couple of days I saw only the same familiar birds. And finally on Thursday the 18th of June we started a holiday that we hadn’t really planned much. We headed towards north and Lapland.

J.A.

On the 19th day I saw only 21 divers migrating in Siikalahti but in the evening we headed to Saari, We did the first stop in Akonpohja and saw a couple of Gadwalls, Honey Buzzards and Whimbrels. We were just about to leave when I noticed a lonely duck sleeping close to reeds on the other side of the lake. It was all the time facing towards me but I managed to see that there was white on the flank and maybe a little bit greyer behind the white area. I waited and waited but the bird stayed in same position.

Anyway I told Hanna to get her scope up too and together we kept on looking at the bird. Finally it turned and we could see the side of it well and it really looked like what I had been hoping. But still we needed to see its head. We waited for some time again until it finally woke up and we could see a black tip and white ring on its bill – it was a Ring-necked Duck!

It was only the second Ring-necked Duck in South Karelia and 26th for Finland. There were quite a few twitchers coming to see the bird and luckily it stayed in Akonpohja for some time.

Other birds we saw in Saari were a nest of a Black Woodpecker, a Common Ringed Plover, 3 Stock Doves, a couple of Short-eared Owls and we ended the tour to a place were a couple of Great Snipes were lekking. I still visited Siikalahti before midnight and heard a Grasshopper Warbler, lots of Water Rails and a Spotted Crake.

On the 20th of May a Common Rosefinch was singing in Siikalahti and the same Ural Owl was seen again. It really started to seem that this owl was breeding in a strange place…

On the 21st day after checking that everything was OK with breeding Nuthatches we headed to Saari where we met some friends that were twitching Ring-necked Duck. The duck was showing pretty well with a flock of Tufted Ducks and a couple of Greater Scaups.

In suurenjärvenliete we found about a flock of 20 000 Barnacle Geese and in KAnavalampi we saw a Slavonian Grebe. We were already heading back to Parikkala when we got a phone call that our friends were looking at a good-looking Cackling Goose candidate. We were soon in Kinnarniemi and I managed to see the goose only shortly before the big flock of 8000 Barnacle Geese flushed for some reason. It really looked good unless the neck – it had black too low to the breast so it was after all a hybrid with Barnacle Goose and either Cackling or Canada Goose. Our friends had also noticed the same thing right before we had arrived.

On the 22nd of May we did the duck-count but there were not many ducks to count and Hooded Crows had destroyed all the nests of gulls already. I stopped in Kaukola when I saw Irina Nordman watching a goose-flock and she had just found a Lesser White-fronted Goose that had been seen already on the previous evening shortly – actually it had been identified only from one birder’s pictures. But unfortunately this was one of the Swedish “shite-birds” with color-rings. Actually it looked like some kind of hybrid and it was clearly with one White-fronted Goose. Nice work neighbors!

During the count we heard a Wryneck and an Icterine Warbler and I found an early Marsh Warbler. In the evening we did a short trip to fields neaby and found some tons of Barnacle Geese but not Ross’s Goose that still had been seen in the area a couple of times.

On the 23rd day we had ringing morning but it was the most boring ever. We caught a Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroats, 2 Reed Buntings, which another one was a controlled bird and the only surprise was a Wood Sandpiper. During the day we went to see Northern Crested Newts but only Hanna saw one very briefly. Anyway we saw quite a few Smooth Newts.

On the 24th of May we did night-bird count so I was rowing around Siikalahti whole night and Hanna was walking a lot on the eastern side of the bay. We both continued then also to normal map-counts, so I counted birds from the islands. Hanna found a River Warbler and altogether we heard 4 Grasshopper Warblers that all were in reeds. 20 Water Rails were heard and we also finally could be sure that the Ural Owl was breeding in one stump as we heard young birds begging for food. I also heard a Corn Crake, saw a flock of 10 migrating Ringed Plovers, a Long-eared Owl, a Stock Dove and again a Black Kite.

In the evening we visited Moskuunniemi and saw a flock of 13 Greater Scaups with 3 Common Scoters. A Corn Crake was calling there too.

On the 25th day we had work and then we were sleeping as we were both extremely tired. Anyway I heard a Golden Oriole in Kangaskylä and while lunch-hour I saw some raptors which a migrating Hen Harrier was the biggest surprise as it was quite late to see one still on migration. I also heard several Icterine Warblers. I the evening we went to see Ural Owls and 2 of them were down from the stump and got ringed. The smallest on was still in the nest that was too high.

On the 26th day after sleeping very bad, I woke up at 3 a.m. and soon found out that Blyth’s Reed Warblers had finally arrived. At 4 a.m. I started map-counts and it was hard work once again. I found mostly just common breeding birds but a male Red-backed Shrike, a couple of Long-tailed Tit pairs and a a few Golden Orioles were found too. In the afternoon we did a trip to Saari where Ring-necked Duck was still in Akonpohja where we also heard a Wryneck and 2 Marsh Warblers and saw a Little Spotted Woodpecker. Only other bird to mention was a Short-eared Owl in Akanvaara Tetrisuo.

On the 27th of May I had free day! Luckily the weather had been so good that I had already done all counts and I still had one day free from ordinary work. So I headed to Soininmäki forests and easily found a Three-toed Woodpecker and a Parrot Crossbill but none better songbird. Then I twitched the River Warbler that was still singing in Siikalahti and then headed to Saari to see if there were any waders but had no luck. The Ring-necked Duck was still in Akonpohja with a lonely Slavonian Grebe, I also saw a Map Butterfly there. After long naps we headed to Rautjärvi Simpele Kokkolanjoki and found what we were searching for when we saw a male Grey Wagtail briefly.

On the 28th day Hanna and Matti were counting and saw a flock of 8 Great White Egrets. It was raining a little bit so I expected that there was possibility to see waders but none was seen in Siikalahti, but everywhere else at least Broad-billed Sandpipers were seen. On my lunch-hour I saw only one egret and in the afternoon I drove to Pohjanranta but saw no waders there either.

On the 29th day a Black Kite and a few Garganeys were seen like almost every day. 3 White-fronted and a single Barnacle Goose was left anymore and sleeping in front of the hide. In the afternoon we went to ring Starling in Tarvaslampi and there were altogether 13 youngsters in 3 nest-boxes. In the evening we went once again to check if the third Ural Owl was to be found and after not seeing or hearing it at all in a couple of night it was a surprise that we found it and even got it finally ringed. We still checked one Great Snipe field and heard at least one distant bird. Also Nightjar was finally added to my year-list.

On the 30th of May Hanna was sleeping long as it was finally her holiday. I headed to Siikalahti where I saw a Black Kite, a Red-backed Shrike, 17 migrating Black and 13 Red-throated Divers and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers. Then I had to go home to sleep some more too.

In the afternoon we headed to Saari and finally managed to find 5 Broad-billed Sandpipers in Pohjanranta. Also a Ringed Plover was seen and in Akanvaara Tetrisuo we saw a Short-eared Owl and in a couple of fields a couple of Stock Doves. In Akopohja we didn’t find Ring-necked Duck anymore so maybe it has moved on or then is just hiding better than before.

On the last day of May we headed to forests and hoped to find Greenish Warblers but found “only” a couple of beautiful male Red-breasted flycatchers. Hanna even managed to get some pretty good pictures of another one.

J.A.

After the long weekend it was again normal week except Hanna was still teaching from home. Usually the best time of the year to see rare birds in Parikkala is in the beginning of May and the end of April had already been good. But now there was no floods at all so waders were completely missing.

On the 4th of May I was again in Siikalahti on my lunch-hour and together with Esa Sojamo we saw a migrating adult Greater spotted Eagle. Also a couple of White-tailed Eagles, a Black Kite, an early Swift and a Whinchat were seen. In Härskiinmutka I saw 14 Cormorants and a Common Sandpiper and in the evening a Hobby was seen and heard in Tarvaslampi. After sauna we still went to Siikalahti where we heard a Slavonian Grebe and saw a small flock of Ruffs.

During the next day’s lunch-visit I heard a Little Ringed Plover and a Lesser Whitethroat and saw a Northern Wheatear and a White-tailed Eagle. In the evening we went to put everything ready to our ringing place and saw a couple of Lapland Buntings there.

First ringing morning

On the 6th of May we woke up early and at 5 a.m. we had mist-nets up. It was very quiet but some Reed Buntings, a Lesser Whitethroat and a few Willow Warblers and Great Tits were caught. We also heard a Rustic Bunting calling. I had to go to work but Hanna stayed a few more hours but it started to wind and only a few Willow Warblers were caught. Altogether 13 birds were ringed and 2 were birds that we had ringed in the past in the same place.

During my lunch. hour I saw a Black Kite, a couple of White-tailed Eagles and a migrating Golden Eagle. A Common Whitethroat was singing and a flock of 100 Golden Plovers were flying far on the southern side of the bay.

On the 8th day I saw nothing on my day-visit but in the afternoon we went to Siikalahti again. Surprisingly a couple of Marsh Sandpiper arrived to the bay and flew a couple of times over us calling and then continued towards north with some Wood Sandpipers. Other year-ticks were a Spotted Redshank, a Sedge Warbler and a Sand Martin. At least 3 Black Kites were seen and 2 Stock Doves were still around so it seems that they are breeding somewhere nearby.

Because I realized that I had 199 year-ticks I visited several places in the evening but saw only a Greylag Goose. After all I had to twitch a Thrush Nightingale as a year-tick number 200 before midnight.

Garden Watch

On the 9th of May it was the time for Garden Watch. Because of COVID19 the traditional Bird-tower competition had cancelled and birders were competing in their own gardens. We had always known that our garden is a really good place to see birds, but we really hadn’t put it as a test, so it was finally nice to see how many species we could see in our garden during the day.

At 5 a.m. it was raining but it was only good as some ducks had landed to the lake and some waders were also landing or flying low. We soon saw some Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters, Wood Sandpipers, Ruffs and even a Little Ringed Plover.

When the rain stopped birds started to sing and soon we heard a Redstart, a Dunnock, Willow Warblers and even a Wren. But still we had expected to hear more song-birds.

Cranes were calling and a Black Woodpecker drumming but of course a Grey-headed Woodpecker, that had been calling actively on the previous morning, was quiet.
We kept on scanning the sky and found some Red-throated Divers with Black –throated Divers, a couple of small flocks of Velvet Scoters, a couple of White-tailed Eagles, finally a couple of local Cormorants and it seemed that there was all the time something migrating – at least passerines very high on the sky. Redpolls, Tree Pipits and Yellow Wagtails were identified and also a couple of Bullfinches flew over us. Also a Reed Bunting was seen.

From the lake we managed to find some Mallard, a couple of Wigeons and Shovelers and a lonely Teal. 3 Scaups were seen in flight and they landed to a small distant flock of Common Scoters. Bitterns were heard but a surprise was a Grey Heron that was migrating.

In early morning we saw a Merlin and later a couple of Hobbies were chasing passerines all the time. Other raptors we saw were a couple of Marsh Harriers, Ospreys and Sommon Buzzards but then we saw a 2nd calendar year Pallid Harrier and also a Black Kite migrating. Finally in the end of the watch we saw also a Sparrowhawk.

New waders were also seen as Lapwings were migrating, a lonely Spotted Redshank was heard from the sky, Common Sandpipers were flying over the lake-surface and a Common Snipe was displaying on the other side of the lake. But some more waders could have been possible.

It started to get windy and we didn’t get almost any new species in a couple of hours, finally some Rock doves and a Slavonian Grebe were seen, but when the wind got easier we saw a Stock Dove, a Cuckoo, some House Martins, Mistle Thrushes, a Yellowhammer, a Redwing and a Meadow Pipit. Still some common birds weren’t found at all, maybe Song Thrush was the most ridiculous one.

During the day we had seen also some 20 000 migrating geese, but finally it was 1 p.m. Our target had been to see 75 or 80 species but after all we saw 93 species! Maybe in this day we finally could have got 100 species in Siikalahti, ot then our garden is just at least almost as good place to collect species in this time of year.

In the afternoon we visited Siikalahti and easily saw 10 species that we hadn’t seen in our garden, best ones were a Black-tailed Gofwit and a Peregrine.

Counts begin

On the 10th of May we started mapping counts in Siikalahti. We started with night-singer mapping and some better birds were a Grey Heron, 4 Spotted Crakes, lots of Water Rails, a Jack Snipe and some migrating flocks of Common Scoters. I saw a Long-eared Owl and Hanna heard an early Grasshopper Warbler. Some other birds we heard were Wood Warblers, Bluethroats and Blackcaps.

After the counts we stayed in Siikalahti for some time and saw a migrating Red-throated Pipit, Black Kites, a Hen Harrier and the same Black-tailed Godwit again.

On the 11th day it was raining so I didn’t see much. Only better bird was a Black-tailed Godwit in Lahdensuo.

On the 12th I had free from work to do counts. From the north-western parts of Siikalahti I found lots of birds which 4 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 3 Grey-headed Woodpeckers, a Garden Warbler, a Wood Warbler, a Blackcap, a couple of Long-tailed Tits and especially a Red-breasted Flycatcher were nice.

During the day we met our old friend Panu Kuokkanen who is nowadays working in Metsähallitus and now working with bird-wetlands. We showed to Panu all corners of Siikalahti and discussed what could be done to make Siikalahti better in the future. We also saw some birds like a Black Kite, a Honey Buzzard, a couple of Bluethroats, woodpeckers and again a Red-throated Pipit.

On the 13th day I still had free so I did duck-counts. There weren’t many birds but 2 males and a female Gadwalls and 3 males and a female Garganeys were good. Altogether 5 Bluethroats were found and a Spotted Flycatcher was heard as a year-tick.

I stayed in Siikalahti until the afternoon and still saw Black Kites, a Honey Buzzard and a Pink-footed Goose and after short naps I headed to Saari where I saw a Gadwall in Akonpohja, a Heuglin’s Gull in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, a Stock Dove in Pohjasuo and a Long-eared Owl in Karinmäki.

Lifer twitch

On the 14th of May in I got a message that a Long-billed Dowitcher had been found in Kontiolaht i already in the previous evening but it had been now identified. I had to stay at work until 3 p.m. but then we keft towards Linnunsuo with Hanna, Miika and Pekka Punnonen. It was a long way but finally we parked our car and started walking towards the place were some birders were. The bird wasn’t visible but we understood that it had been pretty far and had walked behind some mud earlier. After some waiting it came visible and we all got new Finnish-ticks and also it was the first summer-plumage Dowitcher we had ever seen anywhere. The bird was almost all the time behind something but after all we saw it well enough.

Other birds we saw in Linnunsuo were Spotted Redshanks and Redshanks, 4 Common Ringed Plovers, a Jack Snipe, a Dunlin, a few Bluethroats and a couple of Long-tailed Tits. We also heard an Oystercatcher calling.

On the way back to Parikkala we stopped in Pohjanranta where we saw a Little Ringed Plover.

On the 15th of May a couple of Black Kites, a Goshawk, a Stock Dove and a Redshank were better observation in Siikalahti. On the 16th day we woke up early and had ringing session again. It was very quiet again and altogether we ringed a Robin, 2 Common Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers + 1 controlled bird, 3 Pied Flycatchers, a Bullfinch and controlled one Reed Bunting. Other birds seen were 7500 migrating Barnacle Geese and we were just outside the migration line as much more were seen only some kilometers away. In the afternoon we visited Saari and counted about 60 000 Barnacle Geese there – almost nothing else were found, just geese…

Quite a evening trip

On the 17th day we had planned to take it easy as the weather was rainy, but then a Snowy Goose was reported from Koitsanlahti. We headed there immediately and already while driving we saw the birds in a big flock of Barnacle Goose and before we had stopped, I said that it really looked like a Ross’s Goose. Jarmo Pirhonen had accidentally found the bird too so we parked just behind him and he shouted that there was indeed a Ross’s Goose. It was only the 3rd ever Ross’s Goose in Finland but unfortunately this species is in zoo-category. I tried to digiscope some pictures but it was raining so hard that the pictures weren’t good after all.

In the afternoon we drove around the fields around Siikalahti and nearby and counted about 30 000 Barnacle Geese. When twitchers had seen the Ross’s Goose leave from Joukio towards east, we tried to see it in Siikalahti but after all found it in Lahdensuo. Later we saw a Ural Owl that was posing nicely and then maybe the biggest surprise of the day, a small Brown Bear that was running across the road. We managed to follow it with car for some time and Hanna managed to get a couple of pictures of it running inside the forest.

Later we still found a Pink-footed Goose in Siikalahti and a nest of a Nuthatch near Likolampi – so it wasn’t a bad evening trip at all not far from home.

On the morning of 18th of May I saw the Ross’s Goose briefly flying with masses of Barnacle Geese in Lahdensuo. In Härskiinmutka I counted amazing 440 Common Terns and in Siikalahti I saw a Black Kite again. In the evening we went to see Kurhonselkä by boat with Arttu Valonen. The weather was great but there weren’t many birds. Luckily a couple of flocks of Long-tailed Ducks with some Common and Velvet Scoters were found and seen pretty well.

J.A.