. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

Spring-weather was still pretty bad as it was blowing from north almost all the time. There were a couple of days with good geese-migration and in best moments the sky was full of meat. Unfortunately most of the migration was going on during the week when I was at work. Anyway I have been pretty bored to geese for a long time so I would’ve been trying to find anything else from the sky.

In mid May some observations to mention were on a Black Kite and a Common Swift on the 15th and then on the 17th day there were 3 Greater Scaups in Härskiinmutka, 109 Little Gulls and a Gadwall in Akonpohja, a Pink-footed Goose and 2 Temminck’s Stints in Pohjanranta, a Common Rosefinch in Riionsalmi, 2 Temminck’s Stints and 2 Rooks in Kanavalampi and 2 Wrynecks in Karinmäki. And then the best bird of the trip was a Red-breasted Goose in Poutasenryhmä. It was also nice to find some House Sparrows in Koukkuinnurmet.

On the 18th of May we did our first SSP-ringing session and caught 4 Common Whitethroats, 1r+2c Reed Buntings, a Fieldfare, a Bluethroat and a Chiffchaff. We also heard a Golden Oriole singing and saw 2 migrating Honey Buzzards. Then we headed to Saari again where we twitched a Grey Plover in Pohjanranta where we also saw 10 Temmick’s Stints and in Ala-Ollukka we saw 7 Gadwalls and a Pintail couple.

In the afternoon we went to search for Ural Owl chicks and managed to find one to photograph. Then we still went to twitch a Great Reed Warbler to Siikalahti and a Common Reed Warbler in Kukonkanta.

On the 19th day we had duck-counts but before the counts we went to ring our first ever Tawny Owl mama. We had counted that all the eggs had been hatched now as the mama can’t be caught until that.

In the count we saw less birds as almost all the migrants were gone and the breeding birds were hiding on their nests. But the Greater Scaup was still there and we also saw a couple of Gadwalls. We also saw a flock of 2 migrating Arctic Skuas and I saw a White-backed Woodpecker collecting food. After the count we still stayed on the dam-road and saw a few migrating flocks of Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters and a migrating Short-eared Owl.

On the 20th of May was the huge geese-migration day. But I was out only on my lunch-hour and again I tried to find something better from the sky. I managed to find a Black Kite, 3 migrating Arctic Skuas, 6 Great Egrets that landed to the bay and a few flocks of Black-throated divers (61 birds) with one Red-throated Diver. I did look at the geese enough to find some Brent Geese too. There were already 60 Common Swifts circling on the sky – so I guess it was summer now.
On the 21st of May I started my lunch-hour by twitching a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a Wood Warbler and an Icterine Warbler as Siikalahti year-ticks – then I continued to dam-road. A Great Reed Warbler was singing and a couple of Black Kites were seen. I was about to pack my scope when I noticed an eagle on the eastern sky. It looked promising but it started gliding towards north before I caught it with my scope. Then I still had to help others to find it before I could really concentrate to identifying it. But the bird was just gliding. It was turning a couple of times so I could see that it had paler upperwing-coverts contrasting to dark flying-feathers. The bird was quite far but Tahvo Repo and Mika Huhtinen were trying to get pictures of it. The rest of us were trying to see more with our scopes. But all I saw was a quite clear and big Aquila-patch.

The eagle kept on gliding and I had to put a message about this “Lesser Spotted Eagle” to Lintutiedotus if there was someone north from us. Probably then the bird made a bigger turn and Tahvo managed to get a couple of better pictures of it. Soon I found the bird again but it was already very far. But then it started soaring and I could see that also underparts of the wings had the same contrast. I also noticed something white on the base of the primaries but I thought it was just bigger than normally half-moon patch. For some reason alarm-bells weren’t ringing when I also thought that the bird looked also long-winged, not at all as compact as it had looked when it had been just gliding…

Tahvo hadn’t got a good computer and only a bad screen with him on his cottage, but finally on the next evening he sent me one picture of this eagle. And immediately I could see that there were clear white bars on the underwings! It really looked like a Steppe Eagle. Soon Tahvo sent more pictures and after all it was quite clear that we had seen a Steppe Eagle! It was my 251st species in Siikalahti, 311th self-found bird in Finland.

But let’s go back to the eagle-day. After the bird had glided far north and disappeared behind the trees I had to hurry back to work. But after work I had to hurry to Lappeenranta Joutseno Kotasaari to twitch a Long-billed Dowitcher that Totti Toiskallio had found. It was my 311th species in South-Karelia. With Veikka Kosonen we checked the rest of the pools and we saw a Ruddy Turnstone, 3 Marsh Sandpipers, a Dunlin, 2 or 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Temminck’s Stints, a Citrine Wagtail couple, 2 couples of Garganeys, a Slavonian Grebe couple, 6 Little Ringed Plovers and we also heard a couple of Common Moorhens, a Common Ringed Plover and a Spotted Redshank. It is quite a bird-paradise! Before I drove back to home, I still twitched an Ortolan Bunting in Konnunsuo.

On the 22nd day a Grelylag Goose couple was again in Siikalahti, in Lahdensuo I saw a Red-backed Shrike and in the evening we went to check our ordinary field and saw 6 Great Snipes and heard a Corn Crake. We ended the trip by twitching a River Warbler that was singing on Harri Partanen’s garden in Moskuunniemi.

On the 23rd day I didn’t see anything special on my lunch-hour and Saari-tour in the afternoon wasn’t much better. A Black Kite and a Hen Harrier were seen and a Blyth’s Reed Warbler was heard. In Kangas we noticed a big nest-box that was now visible because of some trees had been cut and there was a Ural Owl chick perched on the branch in front of the box.

On the 24th day we did part of the night-count in Siikalahti and heard 6 Spotted Crakes and a Nightjar and saw a Long-eared Owl. During the day I saw a Greylag Goose and a Gadwall couples, a flock of 550 Brent Geese, 11 migrating Honey Buzzards, a Black Kite and a Spotted Flycatcher. But the end of the trip was bad as our car broke down. Luckily I got a ride from Matti Lötjönen. In the evening we did as short trip with Tahvo and Harri and saw 3 Great Snipes and heard Corn Crakes and found a new River Warbler.

On the 25th day I had to go to count birds to Siikalahti by bike. Only better bird I found was a Red-backed Shrike. I also heard a possible Bailloin’s Crake, but it stopped calling too soon. I managed to get only 3 weaker notes videoed with my phone. And of course it wasn’t heard later even though we tried several times.

Our car had broken down at the worst possible time as we both had two works to do. Surprisingly I found out that there was a possibility to rent a car in Parikkala. I called to Tarmo Kosonen and found out that he also had a big truck that could take my car to a service. Then he also helped me to contact a service and soon we were towing our car there. It was Sunday but on the next morning I got a call from the service that they would look at our car even though they were fully-booked. And soon they called me that it would take at least this week and maybe next one too to repair our car – but at least it was still possible to repair.

So we also rent small VW Polo and managed to keep on working in Siikalahti. But the next day it was raining so I couldn’t do much. But on the 27th day I saw a couple of flocks of Brent Geese (550 birds) on my lunch-hour. In the evening we did duck-counts and there were fewer birds now as almost all migrants had gone and breeding birds were hiding on their nests. Greylag Geese and Gadwall couples and 3 female Smews were seen and a Wryneck was heard.

On the 28th of May I saw a Black Kite again and then twitched a Marsh Warbler in Moskuunniemi. In the evening we went to ring Tawny Owl chicks but only 2 of them were big enough to get their rings.

On the 29th day we did more counts and rowed around the southern part of Siikalahti. We saw a Long-eared Owl, Greylag Geese again and heard 3 Corn Crakes, a River Wabler and a Common Reed Warbler. Later there were more singers along the dam-road when there were a Common Reed, a Marsh, a Blyth’s Reed, a Great Reed and a Savi’s Warbler singing. During the day we headed to Saari again and saw a Heuglin’s Gull on the way in Kinnarniemi. In Pohjanranta we heard a Common Grasshopper Warbler and saw a Temminck’s Stint and in Akonpohja we saw a White-backed Woodpecker feeding youngsters to nest. In Hiekkaniemi we saw a Tundra Bean Goose and heard a Golden Oriole, in Ala-Ollukka we saw 2 couples of Gadwalls and in Saarenkylä we heard another Golden Oriole.

On the 30th of May our car was fixed! But as Hanna needed our car to make her counts in Siikalahti, we left twitching in the evening with Tahvo, Minna Terävä and Merja Laari with Merja’s car. It was a long drive to Kuhmo Hirvivaara but once there my friends Veikka Kosonen, Pyry Laurikka and Teo Ylätalo were already there and pointed where our target-bird was – and soon we heard the second Oriental Cuckoo for Finland! We spent several hours there listening and sound-recording this cuckoo and after all we managed to see and photograph it too!

The drive back was long and we had to stop in Saari Pohjanranta to stay awake. There were 3 Long-tailed Ducks. Then we ate delicious meat-crepes before continued to Parikkala. The rest of the day I was sleeping.

On the last day of May I did some extra-counts as Hanna was still busy with her school-work. The biggest surprise was a flock of about 100 Red Knots that migrated over me. I also heard a Savi’s, a Great Reed, 2 Common Reed and 2 Marsh Warblers. In the afternoon we still did a trip to Saari where we saw a stunning Grey Plover in two different places – in Pohjanranta and in Ala-Ollukka. In Karinmäki we found once again a Eurasian Curlew that has been ringed in 1997 in Lincolnshire England.

J.A.

My brother Pirkka came once again to spend traditional Bird Tower competition weekend in Parikkala. He has came from Lapland to get some spring-feeling every year since 2013. We started the 1st of May in cold Siikalahti where we saw nothing special but Pirkka of course got plenty of year-ticks. The best bird was a Peregrine Falcon but also a Gadwall, a Garganey, a Whimbrel and a Whinchat were seen. Funny observation was an Elk that was wading in the middle of the bay. In Kangaskylä we visited one Nuthatch.

During the day we were birding in Saari where weren’t many birds as there is no floods at all this spring. In Akonpohja we saw a Gadwall couple, in Pohjanranta a Black Kite and a Little Ringed Plover, in Jyrkilä a Short-eared Owl and in Valkialampi a Slavonia Grebe couple. Late in the evening we still went to Siikalahti where a Spotted Crake was calling.

On the 2nd of May, on my birthday, we started in Moskuunniemi where a Wood Warbler was singing and then saw a flock of Red-breasted Mergansers in Särkisalmi. Then we continued to Saari where we saw a Black Kite in Jyrkilä before we continued to new platform to Kuposenmäki. Finally it was southern wind but it was probably too strong and nothing really was seen. I saw a couple of Yellow Wagtails. After we had made some sausages on the fire we continued to Ala-Ollukka where we checked one more flock of geese and found one Red-breasted Goose. But then we saw nothing else really. In the evening we again visited Siikalahti and saw a couple of Common Redshanks.

3.5. On the 3rd day was the Bird Tower competition. And once again we were in Siikalahti main-tower with # x Aalto and Matti Lötjönen, Miika Soikkeli and Erkko Elonen. When we walked to the tower before 5 a.m. it was raining heavily, so we were soon completely wet.

And it kept on raining whole morning so the beginning was pretty bad but slowly we started to gather good number of species. Some better ones were a couple of calling Spotted Crakes, a couple of Whimbrels, a couple of distant flocks of Common Scoters with at least one Velvet Scoter, a Red-throated Diver, a Red-breasted Merganser, a Gadwall, some Garganeys, a Common Redshank, a Ringed Plover, a Stock Dove, a Sand Martin, a flock of Waxwings, a Gold Finch, a Linnet, a Long-tailed Tit, a Lapland longspur and so on. It started to feel like we were really doing well.

We were really freezing but as there were all the time something new, it was easy to stay focused. But we were really hoping to see something better too and then finally saw some strange-looking bird flying right over us and it was a Nuthatch!

Finally the rain stopped but in same time it started to blow from west. Of course we didin’t get som many new species anymore as at 9 a.m. we had already got 93 species! But still we saw a Greylag Goose couple, a small flock of Cormorants, several White-tailed Eagles, a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Hen Harrier, 2 Merlins, a Goshawk and a Spotted Redshank. But there were still many common species missing like several raptors, woodpeckers, waders and especially passerines. And unfortunately our best observation had been a Beawer – and of course the Nuthatch. When it was 1 p.m. we knew we had got a really good species-list but it started to rain again, so we decided to count our list at home.

At home we counted that we had got 101 species which was our new record by one species. And after all we were the 6th best tower in whole Finland which was clearly the best position ever! But anyway at least I felt very disappointed as we could have got several more species with some more luck. And of course it didn’t help that Team Tarassiinlahti had got 102 species and now got the all time inland-record.

With Pirkka we went to eat to Iloinen Pässi and then decided to visit Simpele Kokkolanjoki where we easily saw 3 Grey Wagtails. And in the evening we went to try to ring a Ural Owl mama on one of our nest-boxes. But surprisingly there weren’t any adults at home but 4 big young owls. So we decided to ring them.

On the 4th of May we visited Siikalahti briefly and then went to twitch a couple of Red-breasted Geese that Harri Hölttä had found in Järvenpää. Then we continued to Saari where we saw a Black Kite in Kanavalampi, Common Scoters and a Long-tailed Duck and heard a Lesser Whitethroat in Tarassiinlahti, but then we had to drive to Särkisalmi to eat and Pirkka had to start a long drive back to Kemijärvi. And he really had a long way as there was a snow-storm in Kuusamo and he had summer-tires. So he had to drive via Oulu and Rovaniemi.

With Hanna we still went to check some owl nest-boxed and finally found on Tengmalm’s Owl with 3 very small nestlings and 3 eggs.

The next days the weather was bad so I didn’t do much else than rested. On the 6th of May I saw a Citrine Wagtail flying over me in Siikalahti. It looked like an adult male but later a 2nd year male was found in the same place.

In the evening we did duck-counts and managed to see this Citrine Wagtail very well and while photographing it, we found also 3 Rustic Buntings. It was nice to hear one of the buntings to sing shortly. On the count we saw nothing special.

On the 8th day I checked some more nest-boxes and I was just driving towards the dam-road when Arttu messaged that he had found a Savi’s Warbler. It took some time but finally I heard it singing shortly.

On the 9th day I also started mapping counts in Siikalahti which Hanna had already started on the previous morning. It was much easier than ever to walk in Siikalahti as it was so dry – and overgrown. I could do the counts wearing only rubber-boots.

During the morning I found a nest of a White-backed Woodpecker and a couple of pairs of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and Long-tailed Tits. I also saw a Blackcap of the year and heard a Common Whitethroat.

On the 10th day we did night-counts and mapped altogether 28 Water Rails, 6 Spotted Crakes, 8 Great Bitterns and 10 Sedge Warblers and so on. I also heard a Thrush Nightingale briefly. The night was very cold and we thought that it was the reason why we didn’t hear neither of the Savi’s Warblers but then they weren’t heard later either. We still continued with mapping-counts too but didn’t find anything better.

On the 11th day we still had some mapping to do and found one very nice bird but I have to keep it as a secret so it can breed without any disturbance. After the counts we still went to the bird-tower where we saw a Greater Scaup, a Slavonian Grebe, 4 male Gadwalls and nice flock of 8 migrating Bar-tailed Godwits.

In the evening we made a good tour in Saari but as there are no floods at all it is really not so good this spring. On the 12th the only better observation on my lunch hour was a migrating 3cy Golden Eagle. And on the 13th day we went to check Tengmalm’s Olw nest and it wasn’t a surprise that only 2 young birds had survived until ringing age. But even bigger surprise was that Tawny Owl had still only 1 very tiny nestling and 3 eggs so we have to still wait for them to grow up.

It really starts to feel like this is the worst spring ever – at least around here…

J.A.

On the 13th of April I was once again on the dam-road but after short back-winter it was very quiet. For some reason Curlews had arrived and I saw more than 100 of them. Other year-ticks were a Rough-legged Buzzard, a Green Sandpiper and an Osprey. Several Water Rails were calling and also a Rook was seen again. In Särkisalmi I still found an Oystercatcher and a Great Crested Grebe.

On the 14th day an Oystercatcher couple had arrived to Kangaskylä to their territory. But otherwise I saw nothing really, but on the 15th there was an early Red-necked Grebe in Särkisalmi. In the afternoon we did waterbird-counts in Siikalahti and finally there were some Pochards and also 3 Garganeys and a couple of Greylag Geese. In the evening we visited Särkisalmi again and there was a nice surprise – a female Common Shelduck.

On the 16th of April I visited Siikalahti bird-tower and saw a Gadwall, a Slavonian Grebe and a migrating Black Kite. Greenshank and Song Thrush were other year-ticks. On the 17th day the new arrivals were a Dunnock and a Lesser Black-backed Gull – and again a saw a Black Kite.

On the 18th of April we stayed for a long time on the dam-road but only one more Black Kite was seen. It was so quiet that after all I decided to visit Rautjärvi Simpele Lahnanen where I saw a Grey Wagtail couple easily.

On the 19th day we did a proper Saari trip which started well as we found a male Pallid Harrier perched on a field in Akonpohja. From Akonpohja tower we saw 4 Gadwalls, in Pohjanranta a Common Sandpiper, a Gadwall and a migrating Red-throated Diver, in Pohjansuo 5 House Sparrows, in Karinmäki a Northern Wheatear couple and on the way back to Parikkala we twitched 2 Barn Swallows and 3 House Martins in Särkisalmi. Then we still visited a small flood in Lahdensuo where we found 8 Ruffs. In the evening I still twitched a Common Scoter couple in Lake Lahdenpohja. The weather had still been cool but there had been extremely warm just eastern side of the border so some migrants had arrived to Parikkala earlier than ever.

On the Easter Sunday the weather was even colder and wind was northern. It was very quiet so we decided to count the waterbirds again. On the dam-road I saw an early Whinchat, on the northern side of the bay a Chiffchaff and on the western side a Common Redstart and a couple of Redshanks. On the count we saw altogether 8 Gadwalls and also a Cormorant was seen on the count-area. In the evening we visited Lahdensuo again and saw a Little Ringed Plover.

On Monday the 21st of April we visited Saari again. We saw two more Pallid Harrier males, one in Pohjanranta and another in Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete. They were my 100th and 101st Pallid Harriers in Finland and it seemed that you have to see more than a hundred of them before you can get any better pictures of this beautiful species.

In Kanavalampi we saw a Black Kite and in Tarassiinlahti 3 Pied Flycatchers. Other early arrivals were a Barn Swallow and a couple of Common Sandpipers and so on. In the evening I still saw a couple of Black-tailed Godwits in Kullinsuo. When it was completely dark we still went to check some fields with thermal-camera. We ringed a couple of Skylarks and a Northern Lapwing but then we surprisingly found 3 Great Snipes too! We didn’t try to catch them as they were on their lekking area. We had no idea that they could be there so early in spring! We also heard a Short eared Owl and a couple of Long-eared Owls hooting and especially Short-eared Owl was very nice to hear well. In Siikalahti we heard the first Spotted Crake of the spring.

On the 22nd day the weather was very bad so we decided to start checking our owl nest-boxes. We had hopes high as there had been lots of owls calling in late winter but for some reason our boxes were empty. In Tarvaslampi we saw a Whimbrel and in the forests one female Capercaillie.

During the rest of the week only birds to mention were a couple of Black Kites, a couple of Black-tailed Godwits and an early Willow Warbler in Siikalahti on the 24th day.

Hanna went to see Capercaillie lek for night and early morning.

On the 25th day we did waterbird-counts again but found nothing special. No there were 3 Black-tailed Godwits and Common Redshanks were having territory. On the 26th of April we celebrated the 15th year of our local Parikkala and Rautjärvi Bird-club. The weather was really bad but we had plenty of food with us on the dam-road and it was nice to chat with the most active birders on our area. Meanwhile we saw at least 3 Black Kites and a Little Gull and heard a Lapland Longspur.

In the afternoon we checked some empty nest-boxes again and only year-tick for me was a Tree Pipit. We also checked one Nuthatch territory and found their nest. In the evening I still saw a Common Tern in Särkisalmi.

On the 27th day we were birding in Saari again but saw some Gadwalls, a Hobby and a singing Great Grey Shrike and so on. In the evening I twitched a 2nd year male Citrine Wagtail in Siikalahti before went to pick up Hanna from Pohjanranta where she had stayed the afternoon and evening on a hide. There I saw a Short-eared Owl. Then we still did a short drive on a couple of fields and heard a Jack Snipe, a flock of Common Scoters and in Siikalahti a few Spotted Crakes.

On the 28th of April there were three small flocks of Common Scoters in Härskiinmutka and on one flock there were a couple of Long-tailed ducks too. During my lunch-hour I saw a Black Kite again. On the 29th there was a Wood Warbler singing in Moskuunniemi but again the wind was northern so nothing else really happened. So I went to check some more nest-boxes and finally it happened – a Tawny Owl flushed from one of the boxes. I checked that it had 4 eggs and left soon.

On the last day of April I still hope to see some early arrivals but saw only some Barn Swallow and House Martins. Nothing else really.

J.A.

Because of the weather forecast was really horrible there couldn’t be any better idea than drive through whole Finland. On Saturday the 12th of April we met in our parking place with Elissa Soikkeli and Veikka Kosonen at 4:30 a.m. and started a long drive towards Northern Ostrobothnia. Thermometer was showing -14 degrees and on the way there were huge snow-clouds so the driving was very slowly. Finally in Siikalatva snowing stopped and in Rantsila we saw a flock of Snow Buntings.

After long drive we turned to Tyrnävä, drove through the village and soon arrived at the fields. And there we started to stop and check every flock of geese carefully. Our goal was to find famous “Klenkka” – a Cackling Goose that had arrived to Western Coast every spring or autumn or both since 2019 mostly to Pori or Tyrnävä where it had now again been seen in a couple of days during last week. The nick-name of the bird was given because it had always had problems with its left leg and it was limping quite badly. This bird was still the second ever tickable Cackling Goose in Finland after the first one which we had found in Parikkala with Hanna on the 1st of May in 2013. But Elli and Veikka still hadn’t seen this species in Finland and for me it was about the time to see it again after the first one.

There were lots of Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese, some White-fronted Geese but amazing numbers of Pink-footed Geese. I had never seen so many! We also found a couple of Barnacle Geese before we continued towards the next fields. We saw a Common Pheasant along the road and soon stopped to scan the next flock. It was so windy that we had to be careful with our scopes.

We were again changing to next fields when Veikka noticed that there was a message in Lintutiedotus that the Cackling Goose had been found in Jokikylä – less than 2 kilometers from us! I asked Veikka to call to the observers and keep their eyes to the bird as we would be there in a couple of minutes.

Soon we parked next to Otso Valkeeniemi and Heikki Jakkula who were watching the goose. And soon we also found it hiding behind some Pink-footed Geese in a small ditch. It was mostly lying down but when it was walking we could see it limping very badly. The locals told that its leg was now worse than on the previous years.

After 30 minutes the goose flew a bit further to the field and wasn’t visible anymore. While we had been observing it, we had seen also a Peregrine Falcon and a couple of flocks of Snow Bunting and of course more other geese.

Then Veikka noticed a message again. A Snow Goose that had been some days in Lumijoki was again there in Lumikari. So we decided to go to twitch it even though Snow Goose is not tickable nowadays but you never know what is the situation in the future? This bird had thought to be an atlantis-subspecies which is the best option for a real-deal.

So we drove quickly to Lumijoki but there were only other geese in Lumikari. When we continued towards next fields Veikka found a couple of Grey Partridges on the field. And soon we saw the next flock of geese and there was a bright white bird with them. Snow Goose was showing very well so we had to take some pictures of it. It really was a big bird, with big bill with grinning-patch and somewhat triangular head. So it really could be atlantis-race.

Next we drove to Liminka to eat very well and then continued to Virkkula where we visited my very good friend Mikko Ala-Kojola and Anni Koskela. It was really good to see Mikko, Anni and their dogs! But after all we had to leave as we had a long driving ahead. Everything had gone so smoothly that we had decided to drive back to southeast. Our ordinary plan had been to stay overnight somewhere and keep on birding on the next day if necessary.

We still stopped briefly in Rantakylä where we saw one more flock of Snow Buntings and a Merlin. Then we still drove to Kempele Koskela where we easily found a couple of Collared Doves. Then it was time to start driving back to Parikkala. Luckily the weather was now nice and finally at 11:30 p.m. we were back in Parikkala. Veikka still continued to Lappeenranta where he had left at 3 a.m. after night-shift at work! We had really had a long day!

J.A.

After a couple of trips I wasn’t very motivated birding in snowy Parikkala. During the week I did short lunch-hour trips but without any special observations. Then at weekend on the 22nd of February it was time to make winter-bird count again. I saw a Goshawk, 11 Rock Doves, a Pygmy Owl, 2 Grey-headed, 5 Great Spotted and 1 White-backed Woodpecker, 8 Blackbirds,3 Goldcrests, 12 Long-tailed, 63 Blue, 81 Great, 1 Coal, 2 Crested and 8 Willow Tits, a Nuthatch, a Treecreeper, 2 Great Grey Shrikes (another one darker bird again), 8 Jays, 9 Magpies, 80 Jackdaws, 9 Hooded Crows, 2 Ravens, 13 Tree Sparrows, 3 Greenfinches, 63 Bullfinches and 21 Yellowhammers. In the evening I still saw a Hawk Owl in Kannas.

On the 23rd day after a couple of tries we managed to see Hawfinches in Siromäki. There were now 4 birds.

Om the last day of February there was a flock of 53 Black Grouses in Siikalahti and at night we did a proper owl-trip to Melkoniemi and heard 11 Tengmalm’s, 1 Ural and 1 Long-eared Owl.

On the 1st of March we saw the first Herring Gulls in Härskiinmutka and in a short trip around Siikalahti we saw even 8 Grey-headed Woodpeckers and a White-backed and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Alseo same Great Grey Shrikes were seen and there were now 2 Hawfinches in Siromäki and on the 2nd day there were also 2 Siskins.

On the 5th of March I stopped in Rautjärvi Simpele Kokkolanjoki where I saw 3 Whooper Swans. And on the 7th day 2 swans were already in Siikalahti where also a couple of White-tailed Eagles, a Goshawk, a Sparrowhawk, 4 Lapwings, 6 Herring Gulls, a Black and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and a Great Grey Shrike were seen. Some Jäckdaws and Hooded Crows were also migrating. So it really felt like spring.

On the 8th day I saw already 14 Lapwings and a Rook. On a short forest-drive I saw a Pygmy Owl. On the 9th day I saw 3 White-tailed Eagles and a Starling and on the 13th day 3 Fieldfares in Satumäki.

Spring was coming slowly even though there was almost no snow at all anymore. On the 15th day I did a forest-trip again and saw a Capercaillie and a couple of Parrot Crossbills. During the day I was in Siikalahti and saw a Common Buzzard, 5 White-tailed Eagles, 4 Sparrowhawks and 12 Starlings. On the 18th day I saw a Rook in Lahdenkylä.

On the 20th of March only new arrival was a Canada Goose and on the 21st day I saw already 5 Common Buzzards but otherwise it was still very quiet. At weekend it would have been perfect weather for raptors but we took part BirdLife meetings in Kuopio. On Sunday evening we did a short owl-trip to Saari and heard a Tengmalm’s and a Long-eared Owl in Jyrkilä.
On the 24th day I got 3 year-ticks on my lunch-hour: a Kestrel, 2 Woodpigeons and 2 Mistle Thrushes. On the 25th day I finally saw the first flock of Redpolls of whole winter. And on the 26th day I saw 3 Taiga and 18 Tundra Bean, 15 White-fronted Geese and a Canada Goose, 3 Common Buzzards, 3 Kestrels, a Crane, 3 Stock Doves, 3 Woodpigeons and a pipit that was flying south. It could have been a Rock Pipit.

At weekend we were several hours in Siikalahti on both days. On the 29th day we saw 228 Tundra Bean, 36 White-fronted and 10 Canada Geese, 2 Tufted Ducks, 2 Goldeneyes, 2 Smews, 2 Common Mergansers, 3 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Hen Harriers, 5 Common Buzzards, 6 Kestrels, 4 Cranes, a Glden Ploves, 430 Lapwings, 2 Common Snipes, 7 Black-headed Gulls, 7 Stock Doves, 350 Woodpigeons, a Wood Lark, 68 Skylarks, 19 Mistle Thrushes, 14 Chaffinches, 2 Gold Finches, 6 Linnets, 50 Redpolls and 7 Red Crossbills. On Sunday it was a little bit quieter but still we saw 6 Barnacle Geese, 3 Common Teals, 90 Mallards, 2 Grey Herons, a Marsh Harrier, a Coot, 10 Common Snipes, 90 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Gull, 240 Woodpigeons, 53 Fieldfares, a Redwing, 2 Rooks, 92 Chaffinches, 6 Gold Finches, 9 Linnets and 4 Red Crossbills.

But during the week it was very quiet again. On the 31st day only new birds were a Wigeon and a Robin and also a Hen Harrier and a Merlin were seen. And finally on the 1st of April I saw a Golden Eagle. On the 2nd of April another Golden Eagle and a Greylag Goose were seen in Siikalahti and there was also an early Gadwall in Särkisalmi. On the 3rd day I heard the first Water Rail and saw a White Wagtail. And on the 4th day I saw a Bewick’s Swan in Lahdensuo and in Siikalahti there were already 16 Wigeons, 26 Common Teals, a Northern Pintail and a Brambling.

But then it started to get colder again. On the 5th day I visited Lappeenranta and on the way I stopped in Kokkolanjoki where I saw a Wren and a Dipper. On the 6th day we visited Capercaillies again but saw only one bird. Then we headed to Saari but soon had a flat tire. After a couple of hours we had changed summer tires and were back in Saari but there really weren’t many birds to see. In the evening we still visited Siikalahti where we saw already 35 Barnacle Geese.

On the 7th day I visited Siikalahti bird-tower and there was surprisingly much open water already. There was an early Garganey and also 48 Goldeneyes and so on. I visited the tower also on the next day but there was nothing better – just 900 Tundra Bean and White-fronted Geese.

Then the weather changed much colder and windy and it also was snowing. On the 10th day I visited the tower again and there were 3 noisy Water Rails which one I managed to photograph too. But on the next day the landscape looked like in winter and all birds were gone.

J.A.

The school winter break coincides with the best time for photographing winter birds. By the end of February, the days are already longer, and the snow reflects light in all directions. February often brings the coldest days, when wintering birds visit feeding stations frequently. This winter has been unusually mild, which has been clearly reflected at the feeding stations. The birds visit less often than in previous winters.

I am now focusing on photographing birds in flight. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been in favor of my project, as thick clouds covered the sun on many days. To perfectly freeze the flight of birds, very short shutter speeds are required. The tips of the wings only become sharp at 1/8000-second exposure times. These very short exposure times require a lot of light, which hasn’t always been available. Additionally, the energy needs of the birds are lower during milder winter days, and they do not visit the feeding stations regularly. On the other hand, mild weather allowed for 8-10 hour long shooting days. In normal February temperatures, it would have been impossible to stay outside for such long periods. The photography tent protects from the wind, and it is a couple of degrees warmer inside than outside. Thick winter clothing is essential, as are properly insulated winter boots. Hand warmers based on oxidation are a good addition during long shooting sessions.

The birds visiting the feeding stations are not afraid of the photography tent, as long as the photographer remains as quiet as possible and the tent is stationary. Fortunately, modern cameras are silent, so the birds only notice the aperture narrowing and perhaps the movement of the shutter. The lens should be aimed at the bird as slowly and calmly as possible to ensure that the bird approaching the feeding station is not startled by erratic movements. Winter is a harsh time for birds, and photographing them should not interfere with their feeding. When the birds do not see the photographer, they can visit the feeding stations relaxed and without additional stress.

This winter, at least nine different White-backed Woodpeckers, eleven Gray-headed Woodpeckers, at least twelve Great-spotted Woodpeckers, and one Lesser-spotted Woodpecker have visited my feeding stations. Some hundreds of tits, small groups of Long-tailed Tits, Blackbirds, Jays and Magpies overwinter using these feeders. The numbers of seed-eating birds have been unusually low. There are only small flocks of Yellowhammers, Bullfinches and Tree Sparrows.

H. A.