. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 1st of September there were about 200 Cranes flying around Siikalahti. A Great White Egret was still shortly visible and from the tower I saw the 1st Smew of the season. On our garden I saw a Merlin landing to a top of a perch-tree and in Kangaskylä I saw a Nutcracker again. In Joukionsalmi there were only 2 Barnacle and 1 Canada Goose – no idea where the geese go from there in this time of year? In the evening I was once again in Joutseno and tried to see the Rock Pipit, but found only a Red-throated Pipit.

I was staying in Joutseno for next night with my friend and visited a couple of times more the Rock Pipit place but only heard it in flight once. 3 Red-throated Pipits were seen and in a big flock of Canada Geese I saw a Barnacle Goose and a Greylag Goose.

On the 3rd day there was a flock of 16 Tundra Bean Geese, 6 Canada Geese, 8 Honey Buzzards, 2 Hen Harriers, once again a young Pallid Harrier, 3 Ringed Plover and a Dunlin migrating in Siikalahti. We visited Saari in the afternoon where we found a Red-backed Shrike in Pohjanranta and 2 Red-throated Pipits and a Bluethroat in Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete.

On the 4th day there was again a young Pallid Harrier and a Ringed Plover migrating in Siikalahti. Also a White-tailed Eagle was seen. On the 6th day I went to see Nuthatches to Likolampi and found 2 birds easily. During the day I saw only a Curlew in Siikalahti but in the evening we were there again counting Cranes in dam-road. We saw 320 of them and again 2 Great White Egrets. But the best bird was an Eagle Owl that tried to catch a Crane from flight! I hadn’t seen an Eagle Owl in Siikalahti for more than 10 years and actually in whole Parikkala for many years.

On the 7th day a couple of young Little Gulls were seen in Härskiinmutka and there were some for more than week, even 32 birds in 11th day and still one in the end of month. In Siikalahti I saw one more Ringed Plover and heard a Grey Plover.

It was raining a lot but anyway I tried go birding whenever it was possible. On the 9th of September I was in Siikalahti for whole morning and saw 350 migrating Wigeons, 45 Pintails, a Bittern, a Great White Egret, 2 Grey Herons, 3 Honey Buzzards, a Golden Eagle, 90 Golden Plovers, nice surprise were 2 Dotterels, 2 early Waxwings, a Bluethroat, 20 Sedge Warblers, a Blackcap and very late Wood Warbler.

On the 10th of September I headed to Mikkeli to twitch a warbler that my good friend “Potu” Suojarinne had found on the previous day. He had got some pictures where the bird looked like a Paddyfield Warbler. I was early in the morning in Kenkävero but the weather was very poor. Anyway we found the bird and it really looked strange! It was extremely pale with pale feet and short primary-projection. But it was extremely shy and we saw it only for seconds. We had tried to see it better for 5 hours when it started to rain. And exactly then we got a message that there was a local Sabine’s Gull in Keuruu. We decided to go twitching! After all I was already on half-way!

It was a long drive to Keuruu Kaukanen but luckily stunning adult Sabine’s Gull was still swimming there on Keurusselkä! After some waiting it flew a nice round around the bay and landed very close to us but behind the reeds. But soon it was flying again and flew only some 60 meters from us and cameras were clicking! Soon it flew back to the same rocks, where it had stayed most of the time.

We also saw 2 young Little Gulls, some flocks of Wigeons and a Scaup in a flock of Tufted Ducks. In the evening we still went to see the warbler in Mikkeli and manage to see it much better but it was already quite dark, so the pictures Potu got were still quite poor. Late in the evening we still visited Tuukkala fields where we saw some Ruffs and Ringed Plovers and in Pursiala we saw a late Nightjar. But then I had to start driving back to Parikkala. Luckily on the next day Potu got some better pictures of the warbler and it is still not sure what the bird really was! But at least we have some pictures…

On the 11th day a Grey Plover was seen from Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti I saw the 1st Rough-legged Buzzard of the season. On the 12th day a Cormorant had arrived to Härskiinmutka and there were 1 to 3 birds every day until the end of the month. On the 13th day a Marsh Harrier was still seen in Siikalahti and in Kullinsuo I saw a Hen Harrier, 5 Dunlins and a Lapland Bunting. While I was jogging in the evening I saw a flock of 500 Brent Geese in Kirjola and later in Siikalahti another flock of 180 birds. Thick fog ruined the evening trip to Siikalahti where only 4 Wood Sandpipers were seen.

On the 14th day 4 White-fronted Geese were found in Kullinsuo amd in Siikalahti I saw a flock of 14 Red-throated Divers. In the evening we counted 322 Cranes, 4 Grey Heron and again 2 Great White Egrets. On the 15th day I counted 1350 ducks in Siikalahti, mostly Wigeons and Mallards, but also 100 Teals, 8 Shovelers, a Pintail, some tens of Tufted Ducks, 1 Scaup, 2 Pochards, 4 only Goldeneyes and 2 Smews.

On the 16th of September I was participating to a forest-run in Melkoniemi forests where I ran about 18 kilometers in very hard terrain in 2 hours and 10 minutes. In the afternoon the first 5 Barnacle Geese were in Kullinsuo and also a Bluethroat, 2 Whinchats and a Sedge Warbler were found. In Siikalahti I saw a Rough-legged Buzzard and heard a Red-throated Pipit and in the evening we were trying to catch some owls in Tarvaslampi and caught one Tengmalm’s Owl.

On the 17th day I was again in Siikalahti for whole morning until afternoon and saw 2 Tundra Bean Geese, 45 Barnacle Geese, 2270 Brent Geese, 31 Black-throated Divers, 13 Grey Herons, a White-tailed Eagle, 28 Sparrowhawks, 17 Common Buzzards, a Kestrel, a Peregrine, a Hobby, 37 Golden Plovers, a nice flock of 6 Arctic Skuas, 2 Grey-headed Woodpeckers, 2 Black Woodpeckers, 12 Swallows, 5 Chiffchaffs, 5 Goldcrests, a Spotted Flycatcher, 10 Coal Tits, 5 Redpolls and a Nutcracker.

On the 18th day I saw once again a young Pallid Harrier. I got some pictures of the bird and it is not certain if the bird is a hybrid between Hen and Pallid or a pure Pallid. I also heard a call from the sky that sounded like an Olive-backed Pipit but never saw the bird at all, so hopefully it was just a strange Tree Pipit… A couple of Barnacle Geese flocks were promising that soon they are everywhere again…

On the 20th day the geese were migrating, but on very western route so it wasn’t that awful to be at work. While on my lunch-hour I saw a flock of 1100 Brent Geese while walking towards Siikalahti tower. Under the tower there were several Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers so I started pishing and amazingly found a Yellow-browed Warbler! It was only my 2nd ever in Siikalahti and in whole South-Karelia! Because of Lake Ladoga which is right next to us in east, they are very rare here!

On the 21st day I saw about 3000 Barnacle Geese, 34 Brent Geese and about 150 White-fronted and 80 Tundra Bean Geese. A couple of Tufted Duck flocks were also migrating and in one of the flocks there were 2 Scaups and 2 Long-tailed Ducks. 2 White-tailed Eagles were scaring 11 Grey Herons that were still around but Great White Egrets weren’t seen at all anymore.

On the 22nd of September there was lots of geese already in Tetrisuo. There was still only a small patch treshed, so birds were difficult to count, but with some thousands of Barnacle Geese there were hundreds of Tundra Bean and White-fronted Geese, 200 Whooper Swans and 4 Bewick’s Swans. While driving along the field-road I flushed a Jack Snipe.

On the 23rd day I ran my first ever marathon in Joutseno. It was hard but even though I had almost too tired in the end I managed to finish after 4 hours and 22 minutes. In a half-way I was still in 4 hours speed, but after 25 kilometers the last 17 were awful. It took a long time to take a shower and eat and just sit and wait before my legs felt better and I walked to my car where my phone told that there had been a Black-winged Pratincole in Joutseno for almost whole day! It had been very difficult as it had been flying around but the last observation was just minutes ago, so I decided to drive there – after all it was just 10 kilometers to Kivisaari! But even though there were some other twitchers too, the bird wasn’t seen in the afternoon at all. I did see a late Little Ringed Plover, 2 Long-tailed Tits and a Merlin and a White-tailed Eagle. In the evening we still tried to catch some owls in Tarvaslampi, but thick fog covered the area too soon, I only heard one Tengmalm’s owl high from the sky.

On the 24th day we were in Siikalahti for whole morning until afternoon and saw a Vewick’s Swan, 6 Grey Herons, 2 White-tailed Eagles, 3 Rough-legged Buzzards, an Osprey, a Ringed Plover sp, a White-backed Woodpecker, a Sedge Warbler, a Great Grey Shrike and a Parrot Crossbill. In the afternoon we visited Saari with Miika and saw a Lapland Bunting in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, a Hen Harrier and a Little/Temminck Stint in Pohjanranta, a White-tailed Eagle and a Red-backed Shrike in Suurenjärvenliete and of some big flocks of geese with nothing better than some Bewick’s Swans.

On the 25th I surprisingly heard a Moorhen in Siikalahti and still saw a Lesser Whitethroat. On the 26th a Hobby was still seen and in the afternoon we went with Miika to twitch a Desert Wheatear in Kitee Puhos. The bird was seen easily thanks to some locals and of course the finder Kimmo Järvinen. It was only my second Desert Wheatear in Finland.

On the 27th of September I visited Siikalahti tower briefly on my lunch-hour and finally saw my first ever Red-breasted Goose in Siikalahti! It was my local-patch tick number 241! There were some 10 000 Barnacle Geese so it wasn’t easy to see, but luckily Mikko Karkia spotted the bird! In the evening we tried to twitch the bird with Hanna and there were also some Desert Wheatear twitchers stopping on the way back to Helsinki, but the bird wasn’t found. We did see a migrating flock of 30 Common and 4 Velvet Scoters and 6 local Scaups and there were even more geese now – about 12 000 Barnacle and 2000 grey geese! Still 2 Swallows were also seen.

On the 28th day I saw a Peregrine, 10 Long-tailed Tits, a late Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs and heard a couple of times calls that really sounded like a Pallas’s Warbler but I didn’t find anything like that… One Little Gull was still flying in Härskiinmutka.

J.A.

August started well when I saw a migrating Nuthatch in Siikalahti. In the afternoon we went to ring some more Barnacle Geese and managed to get 3 adults and 5 youngsters ringed.

On the 3rdd of August the only better bird in Siikalahti was a Dunlin but in the afternoon we visited Saari Pohjanranta where we found a Great White Egret! Also a Little Ringed Plover was seen.

On the 4th to 6th of August I was in Lake Saimaa with my friends. Not many birds were seen but we really had great time even though the weather could have been better.

I was birding every day at least during my lunch-hour but the next bird to mention was a twitched Red-breasted Flycatcher that Matti Lötjönen found on the11th day in Kangaskylä. Only better bird in Siikalahti was a White-tailed Eagle. When it was warmer moments which were quite rare this summer, we went to see butterflies to Siikalahti. We managed to get pictures of Lesser Purple Emperor and Map Butterflies.

On the 12th day I saw a flock of 19 Cormorants, 4 White-tailed Eagles, 10 Grey Herons and again a new Great White Egret in Siikalahti. Also the same Great White Egret was still in Pohjanranta.

On the 13th of August I had to go twitching as there was a possible Southern Grey Shrike (actually a Steppe Grey Shrike but the taxonomy is a mess) in Asikkala. On the way I saw a couple of Wood Larks in Rautjärvi Lamminkylä and then picked up Sampsa Cairenius and Pekka Punnonen in Joutseno and Lappeenranta. The bird was still there but unfortunately it was once again just a homeyeri -type of Great Grey Shrike. Also a young normal Great Grey Shrike was seen there.

On the way back we stopped in Lappeenranta Askola where we saw 31 Ringed Plovers, 21 Golden Plovers, 4 Temminck Stints, 5 Dunlins and an Oystercatcher.

On the 15th day again a new-looking Great White Egret was found in Siikalahti, an adult bird this time. On the 16th a Parrot Crossbill was seen and heard flying around Kangaskylä and on the 17th I saw a Nutcracker.

On the 18th we visited Pohjanranta in the evening and found 3 young Black-tailed Godwits. Unfortunately these birds were too far to see well, but they looked long-billed. On the next days there started to be more islandica-Black-tailed Godwits in Finland than ever.

On the 19th day one of the Great White Egrets was seen again in Sikalahti and 13 Cormorants and 34 Golden Plovers were migrating. In a bigger flock of plovers I saw also an adult Knot. Another flock of 7 bigger waders were too distant but they were probably Knots too.

In the afternoon we ran a half-marathon with my friend Juha Honkanen in Joutseno. It was a hard route and not a competition; we just did it for fun… On the way I saw a Merlin.

On the 20th day there were 2 Great White Egrets in Siikalahti, another one was once again a new bird! 20 Grey Herons, 3 White-tailed Eagles, a female Hen Harrier, a Ringed Plover, a Little Ringed Plover and a Spotted Redshank were seen or heard.

On the 21st of August 2 Great White Egrets were again seen but they weren’t the best birds of my lunch-hour – I saw exactly what I had been hoping to see in this rainy weather – a flock of 21 Grey Plovers and 12 Bar-tailed Gotwits were migrating over the bay. Also a Lapwing and a Temminck Stint were seen.

On the 23rd day I saw a couple of Pochards and a Grey-headed Woodpecker. And once again I found a new-looking, completely yellow-billed Great White Egret! I had just got my first self-found Great White in spring and now this was already my 6th! In the evening we got a young female Goshawk to take care. It had flight to window and had also bacteria-infection. So we had now a Goshawk and also a young Swallow at home. This Swallow had lost most of its flight-feathers.

On the 24th day we headed to Savonlinna with Miika Soikkeli. After sme searching we found what we had been looking for – a male eclipse Mandarin Duck. We also saw a couple of Nutcrackers there while searching for the duck.

On the 25th day one Great White Egret was seen again in Siikalahti and in the afternoon I heard a Red-breasted Flycatcher calling in Moskuunniemi.

On the weekend the 26th and 27th of August we were in Helsinki where on Saturday was BirdFair. On the way we dropped our Swallow and Goshawk to Pyhtää bird-hospital. I was birding on both days and saw some waders like 3 Spotted Redshanks, a Temminck Stint and 2 Dunlins in Helsinki Viikki and islandica Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Little Stints, 2 Temminck Stints, a Dunlin, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 50 Ruffs, 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Caspian Terns, a Reed Warbler and 4 Bearded Reedlings in Espoo Laajalahti. I also visited Espoo Finno but saw only 2 Moorhens.

On the 28th I still saw a Cuckoo in Siikalahti and on the next day there was still a Great White Egret. In the evening I heard a Three-toed Woodpecker calling in Eskola while I was jogging.

On the last day of August I went twitching to Joutseno where Jarmo Pirhonen had found a Rock Pipit. It had been raining and when I found the wet bird I couldn’t identify it. But luckily I saw the pictures that “Jamppa” had taken and it was easy to see it was the same bird. It was a new species in South Karelia for me! On the way back I saw 2 Cuckoos flying across the road in Korvenkylä.

J.A.

On Wednesday the 26th of July we started a long weekend holiday. We drove first towards Koli and made the first stop on an orchid-bog where we found Early Marsh-orchids, Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchids and of course common Heath-spotted Orchids. Unfortunately the weather was very cloudy so we couldn’t get very good pictures. The clouds also made us do a U-turn in Koli parking-place as the whole hill was behind the clouds. So we headed next to Juuka Tuopanjoki to twitch a Lanceolated Warbler. We were there far too early but surprisingly heard the bird almost immediately. We had planned to put up the tent somewhere nearby and visit the place later in the evening again, but as we heard the bird already, we decided to keep on driving.

We headed to another orchid-place to Pieni-Valkeinen where we put up the tent, ate well and went to sleep.

The 27th of July. We slept well and then went to search for orchids. Right away we found lots of Common Spotted Orchids and in a couple of hours walking in the woods and bogs we found also Common Twayblades, Lesser Butterfly-orchids, Early Marsh-orchids, Fragrant Orchids and the best one was a Dark-red Helleborine. We also found some birds; a Hazel Hen was seen briefly, some Common Crossbills were flying around, a Chiffchaff and some Wrens were still singing and the best bird was an alarming Greenish Warbler.

Then we headed towards Kuhmo. After we had seen a family of Black Grouses we parked along one lake to prepare lunch. After we had eaten we continued to Kuikkajärvi where was a lodge of Arctic Media. We were there exactly in time at 4:30 p.m.

We met Antti Selin, who told us all the instructions for the hide and at 5:15 p.m. we left towards the hides. Most of the people were going to different hides as there were hides in three places. So together with Hanna we got the most luxurious hide in Paradise which was along a big bog. To our neighbor single-hides we had 3 more photographers.

We organized all our things so that we could be as quiet as possible and soon Antti came with a pig that he tied up to a tree about 70 meters from us. When Antti left we started to wait for some action.

Soon the first Ravens, Common and Lesser Black-bagged Gulls arrived. There were even 55 Ravens in one time. One of the 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls was quite pale but probably not a Heuglin’s Gull. After about a half an hour waiting the first Brown Bear arrived and this big bear had some scars, it had been fighting a lot. It missed almost half of its ear too. But it seemed to be hungry as it started eating the pig and after some time we started to fear that it was going to eat it all!

After another 30 minutes 2 smaller bears arrived but only one of them went to the carcass after the big bear had left. Another one seemed to be afraid of everything – even Ravens. And after these 2 bears came soon the 4th one but then the half-eared big one came back and all other bears ran away. But surprisingly the fifth bear that arrived made this big one move even though it was much smaller. Also this one had some scars and the biggest one was on its butt. Maybe it had won the half-ear recently?

From time to time the carcass was empty as all the bears had moved back to the forests. Of course some Ravens and gulls were there all the time. The 6th bear was the biggest of all but it just walked soon to the carcass, picked up a big meat and walked back to the forest.

About at 10 p.m. most of the birds had gone to sleep but still some Ravens and gulls stayed. It was already getting quite dark when a huge bear with a pale collar came but while I was watching it with my binoculars I saw something pale behind him moving – a Wolf! There were 2 wolves standing behind some trees and soon they started to walk across the bog from right to left. They were maybe 300 meters from us, but there was still some light to get some pictures and videos. We had been advised not to take too many pictures of the wolves at one time as they were extremely shy. So we took most of the pictures when they were moving and the only one at time when they had stopped. These animals were absolutely gorgeous! The pale older female was really beautiful and light-brown, thinner male looked somehow much wilder. Unfortunately they just crossed the bog and were seen only once later very briefly on the back of the bog disappearing to the forest.

Soon after the wolves one more big pale-shouldered bear arrived and then it came so dark that it came difficult to identify the bears anymore.

The 28th of July. Still some Common Gulls were staying around the feeder and also 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls payed a visit. After 1 a.m. a big bear visited the carcass and soon after that I heard a Willow Grouse calling a couple of times. Hanna was then sleeping. After this I still saw a couple of smaller bears but then the half-ear arrived again and chased them away.

Just before the sun was rising fog started to cover the whole bog. The view was like from a post-card but of course the bog made it more difficult to see to the carcass. Soon the first birds started to call; Magpie Hooded Crow, Raven, Willow Tit and at 5 a.m. it was morning when Wagtails arrived.

During the morning we still saw 2 bears behind the bog, but everything had been eaten from the carcass. I had slept a couple of hours and Hanna a little bit more. At 7 a.m. there were only White Wagtails, some Yellow Wagtails and surprisingly we saw also 2 Rustic Buntings. At 7:30 a.m. we had packed everything and left towards the car where we met the others. We drove to the lodge and it seemed that everyone was happy! On another hide people had seen a couple of Wolverines too, but not so many Brown Bears. But I had a feeling that I still had missed something, I really wanted to see Wolves better and maybe also some eagles – there had been a couple of White-tailed Eagles visiting the carcass in front of Paradise one day earlier. But luckily we had booked another night too – so we already told to Antti that we would stay in Paradise again.

We prepared lunch and heard a Red-throated Diver calling while flying over us. Then we drove a little bit to a river where we put up our tent and went to sleep.

We slept long and before 4 p.m. we drove back to the lodge. We ate again and at 5:15 we left again towards the hides. There were more people now and also more of them were coming to Paradise. So we got a little bit smaller hide foe ourselves but anyway it was very comfortable. There were already 2 White-tailed Eagles, an adult and 3rd year bird, perched on the trees with Ravens when we arrived. Soon we had organized our things and then Antti came to drive a bigger pig-carcass to the bog with snowmobile. He tied it very well again and soon we started waiting again.

About after an hour waiting the first bear arrived. It was one of the big ones and it started to eat well immediately. Soon we saw also a second adult White-tailed Eagle arriving to the trees behind the bog.

Before 8 p.m. another big bear with pale neck arrived and then at 8:20 p.m. we saw a brown Wolf coming behind the bog. It was hiding behind the trees for some time but then walked in the middle of the bog and laid down there so only ears were visible! And soon the pale Wolf arrived too. It walked to the brown one and together they continued crossing the bog again.

When they had reached the left edge of the bog they attacked to a Brown Bear! Unfortunately they we behind some trees and bushes but it seemed that this bear had some meat with it and Wolves stole it.

Once the Wolves had continued behind the trees a big pale-necked bear took a big piece of meat and walked to the forest. We were afraid that Wolves would follow it and not come to visible anymore. These animals were so smart that they didn’t like to go to the middle of the bog. They didn’t want to get wet. So they were often just waiting in the woods that a Bear would come with a big piece of meat and then steal it. The tactic was that one Wolf was attacking and another one stole the meat once Bear dropped it.

At 9 p.m. the big bears were gone and there were 3 familiar smaller ones around. The shyest one wasn’t visiting the carcass but shouting from the distance. And the one with hole in its ass was doing whatever he wanted.

At 9:10 p.m. a pale wolf was surprisingly left from the carcass and cameras were clicking! Again we didn’t take too many pictures as we didn’t want to scare it away. But it seemed that there was too much traffic around the carcass and it turned back to the forest. But anyway we were now taking lots of pictures as both adult White-tailed Eagles were now feeding with bears and ravens.

But at 9:45 it finally happened! Both Wolves arrived from the forest and surprisingly the shyest bear was following them to the carcass! The brown Wolf didn’t go to the carcass but walked around it and marked its territory. But the pale beauty came to the carcass and took a big piece of meat and carried it just a little bit further to the bog and started eating!

After all brown Wolf was visible maybe 10 minutes but the pale stayed around the carcass for 40 minutes showing all the time! It visited the carcass a couple of times and after taking a big piece of meat with her, it either ate or just laid down watching other carcass-visitors. It was funny to see that White-tailed Eagles that were extremely shy to visit the carcass were afraid by Wolves and smaller bears, especially in flight.

Soon it came dark and once the pale Wolf had also disappeared to the forest there were only 2 smaller bears around. Then we saw a young 1 year old bear coming towards the carcass but it was too afraid of other ones and never made it to the meat.

At 10:40 p.m. we saw the pale Wolf crossing the bog carrying a huge meat. And 10 minutes later the brown one did the same and also it had managed to steal a big piece of meat from some bear. Meanwhile there were 4 smaller bears visiting the carcass which one of them was new.

At 11:30 p.m. it came so dark that we decided to start to sleep. I woke up a couple of times to see that a couple of smaller bears were still doing something further on the bog and also half-ear had arrived close to the carcass.

The 29th of July. At 1:30 a.m. a couple of bears were fighting in the middle of the bog, but it was too dark to see if they were playing or really fighting – anyway the noise was amazing! At 7:30 we had packed everything and met extremely happy people on the parking place! It had been the best night ever!

At the lodge we did some food again and heard a Parrot Crossbill flying over us. Then we said goodbye to everyone including Antti, a South-African photographer who had stayed there for a month already and a Norwegian man who had been visiting the place every summer for 30 years!

As we had been sleeping quite well, we decided to start driving. We stopped once along a bigger bog and heard a Golden Plover and a Whimbrel before we continued towards Juuka.

In Nurmes we turned towards Lake Suuri-Soramo where we twitched a Ruddy Shelduck that had been found a couple of days earlier. The bird was found easily and so we were soon driving again.

In Juuka we did some shopping and then continued to another orchid-place to Kusilampi (piss-pond). There we walked about 3 hours around the pond and found a couple of new orchid-species for the trip – Coralroot Orchid and Creeping Lady’s-tresses. The funnies observation was to find thousands and thousands of small Common Toads on the shore of the pond.

After a long and hard walk we cooked again and soon were ready to go to sleep to the tent.

On the 30th of July we woke up when a Two-barred Crossbill was calling nearby. It was calling a bit strangely, quite short “tyy-tyy, tyy-tyy-tyy” calls but was easy to identify from the flight call.
After we had eaten again we drove to Hepolampi to search more orchids again. This place was completely different and we had to climb up and down on the limestone-hill. Not many orchids were found but a family of Hazel Hens was heard alarming.

Our last target-place was Merilampi where we walked in bog and forest for some time but then it started to get too hot to continue. We still found a Lesser Twayblade which was the 13th species of orchid during the trip. One not mentioned earlier had been Lady’s-slipper-Orchid which we can’t tell the place where it was found. Some more species would have been possible to find, but as we had no instructions to find any orchids, we were quite happy how many we had found! Some of the flowers must be still identified from the pictures as especially all the red orchids are hybridizing a lot.
About at noon we headed again to Koli and on the way we took better pictures of Early Marsh-orchids and Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchids. The weather was now perfect and we really enjoyed visiting beautiful hills of Koli – Ukko, Akka and Paha-Koli where the scenery is one of the most beautiful in Finland!

Then we still had to drive back to Parikkala where we were in the early evening. We had really enjoyed our trip!

J.A.

It started to feel like autumn even though there really hadn’t been many summer days at all. So when I had been in Lappeenranta on the 11th of July, I decided to make a visit in Joutseno Kotasaari pools. It had been raining and I hoped to find some waders, but found only a Temminck Stint, a Little Stint, 3 Barnacle Geese and 3 Slavonian Grebes.

On the 12th day I saw a Cormorant in Härskiinmutka and when it finally stopped raining in the afternoon, I visited Saari Pohjanranta and found exactly what I went to look for – 4 Curlew Sandpipers. There were also 2 Grey Herons, a Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpipers, 5 Ruffs and 50 Lapwings. Also in Rautalahti I saw a flock of 70 Lapwings but there was nothing better with them.

On Friday the 13th we visited Pohjanranta with Miika Soikkeli and surprisingly the Curlew Sandpipers were still there. All other birds were gone but there was now a young White-tailed Eagle.

During the day I got a message that there was a pratincole-species in Joroinen Pasala fields, but I still had to stay a couple of hours at work. Luckily at 2 p.m. when I was leaving a new message told that it wasn’t a Black-winged which was the only species that I had seen in Finland, so I left twitching! Some id-marks that had been told about the bird fitted actually better for Oriental than Collared Pratincole, so there was a possibility for a WP-tick!

It was a long drive but luckily new messages told that the bird was still there. But then when I had only 7 kilometers to go, my friend “Potu” Suojarinne called me and told the bad news – the bird had left – it had disappeared very high on the sky as disappeared very far. And only after some 5 minutes I was in the place where all other twitchers were smiling and watching their pictures. But still there was no identification.

All I could do was to get my scope and binoculars and start scanning the sky. Potu joined me while almost everyone else, even those who arrived after us were just chatting and wondering what they had seen or missed. After an hour I found a promising looking bird flying strangely, but after all it was just a Kestrel. I also heard that there had been a flock of 170 Lapwings that had disappeared and it seemed that the praticole had left after a couple of Wood Sandpipers. The weather was also perfect for migration – NW wind and getting sunnier all the time. So I started to lose my hope. But then suddenly a flock of at least 150 Lapwings flushed behind some bushes with some Ruffs. At least these birds were still around! And soon after that I found really good looking bird in distance flying quite low towards us! There it was!

I had seen all 3 similar species of pratincoles this year on my trips abroad, but this bird was flying very low and soon landed behind some bushes. Most of the other twitchers had also found it because of my instructions that I had been shouting, but nobody saw where the bird landed. So we had to walk along the road so we could see to the other side of the bushes and it seemed that there was a small patch of lower field behind some higher vegetation. Other twitchers started shouting when they found some Lapwings from the field, but all we could see were the heads of the birds. So with Potu we followed the road until we got a little bit higher and got much better visibility to the field. And soon Potu found the bird! But soon Lapwings flushed the bird again, but at least now everyone saw the bird!

After all the bird was visible most of the evening but never showed really well. I flew a couple of times further to the other side of the field-area and disappeared but always came back pretty soon. Most of the twitcher that had arrived after me were on the other road where the bird could be seen too, so I could only hope that someone could get very good pictures. A couple of timed the bird flew over us and once it was calling quite low and little bit like a Little Gull – “kyik, kyik”. The bird was missing it another long tail feather which made the identification difficult. But it was quite thick, very short-tailed, short and thick-billed and the bill had only quite little red. The upper-stomach had some orange and I couldn’t see any white on the tips of secondaries. So it really looked good for an Oriental Pratincole!

When the bird had once again disappeared probably hunting, we decided to leave with Potu. I really hoped to see some good-quality pictures later.

The bird disappeared on the next morning and after all really good pictures were never got, but some pretty good ones and also some videos. And luckily at least on the video it was possible to see even the roundish nostril. Also some experts abroad were sure that the bird was indeed an Oriental Praticole which was a new species for Finland!

On the 15th of July I did the last duck-count in Siikalahti and didn’t see many ducklings. I saw the only young Black-headed and Common Gull, really only 1 per species, of the year. Only better bird was a Curlew Sandpiper that landed to the only spot where can be waders in Siikalahti.

In the evening we went to see that the closest Red-throated Diver, which is in Punkaharju side of the border, had managed to get one young. In the late evening we still visited Siikalahti where we heard a River Warbler singing.

On the 16th day we were driving around some places nearby with Hanna. Our goal was to see some better butterflies, but only 4 Poplar Admirals were seen. In Kullinsuo we saw a Goldfinch. On the 18th day I was again in Lappeenranta and on the way did a stop in Kotasaari where were some common waders with 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Temminck Stint. Now there were 4 Slavonian Grebes. In Joukionsalmi I counted 140 adult and 25 young Barnacle Geese.

On the 19th of July we did a short trip to Saari where a Black Woodpecker was seen in Akanvaara, a Goldfinch in Pohjasuo and 2 Grey Herons, 2 Dunlins and 2 Red-backed Shrikes in Pohjanranta. In the afternoon I heard a Golden Oriole singing sub-song very beautifully in Siikalahti.

On the 22th day only bird to mention was a young Yellow Wagtail in Siikalahti and on the 23rd day we visited Punkaharju Laukansaari arboretum where we hoped to find some crossbills but found only Common Crossbills. Only 2 Nutcrackers were heard. We also visited Saari again and saw a Hen Harrier and 4 Red-backed Shrikes in Akanvaara Tetrisuo

On the 25th of July I had the last game in Lappeenranta and once again I visited Kotasaari but saw only 3 Green Sandpipers and 3 Ruffs.

J.A.

After a hard trip to bird-race in Oulu-area, I was extremely tired. Anyway I did some birding and on the 29th of May I saw 8 Broad-billed Sandpiper and a Velvet Scoter in Saari Pohjanranta and 19 Ringed Plovers and a Heuglin’s Gull in Skanvaara Tetrisuo. In Kangaskylä I saw 2 Gold Finches.

On the 30th day a Linnet flew over me in Siikalahti and 2 Icterine Warblers and 2 Great Reed Warblers were singing. On the 31st at night I visited Great Snipes again and 4 birds were heard. I also saw a Nightjar and a Long-eared Owl.

On the 1st of June I was birding together with Harri Orenius and Kirsi Viuhkonen and we visited Great Snipes again and heard altogether 7 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and 2 River Warblers in Raikanniemi. Along the dam-road there were now 3 Great Reed Warblers singing. Later we were accompanied with a couple of foreign birders too and we visited some of our owls and still managed to see a Ural Owl, only 2 young survived Tengmalm’s Owls and Pygmy Owls.

On the 2nd of June I saw 2 Dunlins in Siikalahti, 7 Dunlins and a Broad-billed Sandpiper in Saari Pohjanranta and a late Golden Plover in Akanvaara Tetrisuo. I also drove around some forests in Siikalahti and saw a White-backed Woodpecker and heard some Wood Warblers and 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers.

On the 5th of June we drove to Helsinki where I went straight birding. In Espoo Laajalahti I twitched 2 Great White Egrets and saw also 13 Broad-billed Sandpipers, 2 Little Stints and saw and heard 3 Reed Warblers. In Helsinki Vanhankaupunginlahti I heard 2 more Reed Warblers and saw 4 Bearded Reedlings and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

On the 6th day we visited Kirkkonummi where we twitched a singing Barred Warbler and saw then went to Porkkala where only a flock of 25 Velvet Scoters were seen. In Saltfjärden we still saw 2 Caspian Terns before we drove to Helsinki-Vantaa airport where we had our flight to West-Kazakhstan where we were birding the next 8 days.

Once we were back from Kazakhstan we were again very tired. The weather was still all the time very cold and rainy, so I wasn’t birding very much. We did ring the Pygmy Owls immediately and there were 6 and 7 youngsters. On the way back from the forest, we saw also a Ural Owl.

On the 15th of June we did a night-trip with Harri Partanen. And we had a great start as we saw a Brown Bear running in front of our car! But only better birds were 12 Corn Crakes in one field-area in Lahdensuo, a Long-eared Owl in Kontiolampi and a Grasshopper Warbler in Kukonkanta.

On the 17th day I did a waterbird-count in Siikalahti and the result was extremely bad! There are no Slavonian Grebes at all; only 1 female Pochard and 1 male Shoveler and 8 Coots were seen! It seems that Hooded Crows had destroyed every gull-colony and not many young birds were seen on common ducks either.

On the 18th of June my Pirkka was visiting with his family. At night we went birding and found some Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Marsh Warbler, a River Warbler, 2 Long-eared Owls and then saw a Heuglin’s Gull in Härskiinmutka. The only Golden Oriole was found in Tarvaslampi and we found nothing better in Soinimäki forests. During the day I counted 41 adult and 12 young Barnacle Geese in Joukionsalmi and surprisingly there were also 3 Oystercatchers.

The next days I saw and heard mostly the same birds again, only on the 23rd day something new was found as we saw a Slavonian Grebe and heard a Marsh Warbler in Valkialampi. We also visited some forests and managed to find 2 nests of Three-toed Woodpecker. But later when Hanna went to ring another nest that was low enough, a huge Brown Bear had destroyed the tree completely and eaten the nestlings.

On the 24th of June we did a nightsinger count in Siikalahti and counted 17 Water Rails but heard no Spotted Crakes or Reed Warblers at all! Only 4 Bitterns were heard and only 2 Golden Orioles. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker had nestlings, some Common Crossbills were heard and the best bird of the trip was found in Eskola where a Greenish Warbler was singing.

On the 25th we did a night-trip again and heard a Great Reed Warbler in Tyrjä, ringed some young Curlews in Saari, where we also found a Black-tailed Godwit in Poutasenryhmä. In Pohjanranta we saw 5 Barnacle Geese and a couple of Red-backed Shrikes.

On the 26th day we drove to Ruokolahti to try to ring fledlings of Hawk Owl that our friend Mika Ohtonen had found. Unfortunately they were flying too well already, but at least these 2 adults and 3 youngsters were the first breeding record of this species for us in South-Karelia.

During the day I heard a Nuthatch in Likolampi where local birders had been seeing them for whole summer. Then later I went jogging to forest-tracks and saw a family of Hazel Hens and a Long-eared Owl.

On the 30th day I counted 60 adult and 30 younf Barnacle Geese in Joukionsalmi and in Moskuunniemi I saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Then in the evening I got a message that a Ruddy Shelduck had been found already during the day in Lappeenranta Askola. Luckily the bird stayed there and I managed to twitch my South-Karelia tick number 297!

I was driving back to Parikkala late so I went to listen to Great Snipes and they were still lekking. I also heard a couple of young Long-eared Owls and found 2 begging Ural Owl fledlings. In the morning I did waterbird-count again and saw none young gulls and very few other young birds either. The most interesting bird was a duck that really looked like a Lesser Scaup but after all was just a Tufted Duck hybrid with some other duck. It was easy to see that the wing-bar was wrong even from a distance.

On the 2nd of July we went to ring nestlings of Wryneck to Saari Akonpohja and there were 9 youngsters! And later during the day we ringed 5 nestlings of Kestrel in Tarvaslampi. In Joukionsalmi we saw a Canada Goose with Barnacle Geese.

On the 4th day I finally found my first ever really self-found Great White Egrets, when 2 birds were flying in Siikalahti and landing behind the reeds. I also saw a Bittern flying in the same scope-picture. In the evening I visited Lappeenranta again and saw the same Ruddy Shelduck there again. In Askola there were also 2 Caspian Terns.

On the 5th day I heard one Nuthatch again in Likolampi and on the 6th I saw one of the Great White Egrets in Siikalahti again. In the evening we went to try to ring some Barnacle Geese youngsters but managed to catch only 4 of them. And on the next day we caught 4 birds again but they were too small to ring.

On the 8th of July we visited Ruokolahti Kummakivi which was an amazing place! Not many birds were seen there, just 2 Crested Tits, but it was quite an experience! Later in the afternoon we went to see motorbike competition to Imatra.

On the 9th of July we were birding in different forest and saw a family of Hazel Hens, heard some Chiffchaffs and Wrens and so on. Then on Siikalahti fields I managed to catch a young Crane that we ringed. We also ringed one Lapwing in another field where we flushed a Great Snipe too!

J.A.

26.5. I decided to try again photographing waders in Pohjanranta. Weather was finally okay after long rainy and windy period. I have photographing tent that is modified of very cheap Lidl tent. I did set it up to good spot near muddy area favored by waders. In the evening birds were still a bit vary, but in the morning they had got used to my tent. In future, I would like to test photographing waders trough mirrored class. Then there would not be any revealing movement.

On the mudflat and shallow ponds were 6 Broad-billed sandpipers, 4 Dunlins, 4 Ringed Plovers, Red-necked Phalarope and few Ruffs, Greenshanks and Wood Sandpipers.
Sun was shining from blue sky. It made light conditions very tricky. Thin layer of clouds would have been great.

H.A.