. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 1st of May I woke up early, saw a Redstart and a flock of Common Scoters on the lake and then biked to Siikalahti. A couple of Garganeys and Gadwalls were seen right away and on migration I saw a Cormorant, a Hen Harrier and 15 Whimbrels. About after 4 hours, at 11 a.m. my brother Pirkka and his friend Allan Hamari woke up in the information center and soon they came to dam-road too. They had been driving a long way last evening and night, but now they had rested enough and of course they got plenty of year-ticks right away. A Jack Snipe was seen in flight, a Grey-headed woodpecker was calling a couple of times and a Savi’s Warbler was still singing, but Pirkka found the best bird when he noticed a male Pallid Harrier migrating low over the reeds towards north. We all saw it very well! Soon after that we still saw a Peregrine but then in more than an hour we saw nothing new anymore. At 2 p.m. we picked up Hanna and went to eat and then continued to Saari.

In Rautalahti we saw a Common Sandpiper and 900 geese, in Akanpelto 156 Golden Plovers, in Akanvaara Tetrisuo a Northern Wheatear, in Pohjasuo some hundreds of grey geese with 210 Barnacle Geese and in Pohjanranta 2 Redshanks and 25 Swallows and 26 House Martrins. In Suurenjärvenliete we saw a Lapland Bunting and in Tarassiinlahti a Pheasant and a Redstart and in Kanavalampi a Hen Harrier. Then we still walked in a forest in Myllyjoki and found a Three-toed Woodpecker. But overall Saari was pretty quiet, it was too dry.

On the 2nd of May I biked to dam-road at 7 a.m. and soon Pirkka and Allu came there too. On the way I heard a Wryneck. We watched to the sky for next 4 hours but there was almost no migration at all. It had been even -6 degrees at night, so summer-birds had no hurry to come. A Black Kite was seen well and other goodies were 60 Swallows, 16 Yellow Wagtails, a Blackcap, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a Wren and a couple of Long-tailed Tits. When the weather turned worse we went to check some other places nearby. We checked Vartialahti, Kontiolampi, Kullinsuo, Lahdensuo and Sammallampi but only 3 Lapland Buntings, a flock of 23 Pintails and a Blackcap were seen. In the afternoon we still visited Siikalahti bird-tower where we checked that all ducks were still present but soon we were ready to go to rest as on the next day was a big day!

3rdd of May – Bird-tower competition

It was again a cold night but anyway I biked to Siikalahti after 4 a.m. On the way I heard a Wren and a Coal Tit and a Savi’s Warbler from the dam-road. Soon I met with the rest of the team Hanna, Pirkka, “Allu”, Jari Kiljunen, Matti Lötjönen and Ilpo Kuusisalo and soon we were walking towards the bird-tower. It took again some time to make everything ready in the tower and soon it was 5 a.m. and the race started and only 11 seconds after 5 a male Garganey flew in front of the tower. Soon we had seen all the ducks that included some good ones like Slavonian Grebes, Smews, Pintails, Shovelers and of course Gadwalls. Chaffinches and thrushes were migrating in good numbers so soon we had seen also a Brambling and all 5 thrushes. Black Grouses were displaying, a Water Rail was heard once, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen and several Bitters heard. While I was watching only to the sky the rest of our team were also checking the fields, bushes and reedbeds – but also watching to the sky. 8 Black-throated and 2 Red-throated divers, 3 Hobbies, a Little Ringed Plover, 10 Whimbrels, 5 Spotted Redshanks, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Cuckoo, 2 Sand Martins, a Waxwing and 2 Whinchat were good. Even Jay was easy this year. At 8:24 a.m. a Marsh Sandpiper flew over us and continued towards south and at 8:34 I found a Black Kite migrating towards north. Then we hadn’t got many species before at 10:36 we heard a familiar call and found a caller flying over us – a female Citrine Wagtail!

But then it went boring. The weather was ok but there were no other raptors than the common ones. Finally a male Hen Harrier was seen but then it was quiet again. In a last hour we still heard a Thrush Nightingale calling, found a Redstart and finally saw a flock of 150 Golden Plovers but then it was at 1 p.m. and the race ended.

But when we counted our species, we found out that we had beaten our record and got even 96 species!

I biked back home and still saw a couple of Long-tailed Tits and Bullfinches and so on, so I had seen even 103 species in Siikalahti!

While we were eating, I got a message that there was a Green-winged Teal in Saari Kanavalampi. So soon we were driving towards Saari with Pirkka and Allu. The light was awful but after 30 minues we saw a good-looking teal landing to the reeds with a female teal. After some more waiting I finally found the Green-winged Teal and Allu got a lifer and I got my 300th May-tick. We still checked Pohjanranta but saw only 2 Redshanks, a Little Ringed Plover, a Sand Martin and a Lapland Bunting. Back at home we found out that we had been 8th best tower in the whole country and once again the best inland tower. Then it was time to go to sleep again.

On the 4th of May Pirkka and Allu had left early towards north. I slept a little bit later but at 8 a.m. I was again on the dam-road. There were quite a few other birders too and even though the weather looked really bad everywhere around us, we had pretty good weather all the time. Savi’s Warbler was singing almost all the time, a Spotted Crake was still calling and we saw a Jack Snipe displaying – maybe the night had been so cold that these birds were still active during the day? A Wryneck was calling too, so there were even 4 species that I had never had on the bird-tower competition from the tower.

At 10:28 a.m. we heard again a familiar call and saw a male Citrine Wagtail landing to the reeds. Soon we found a Peregrine from the sky, a Bewick’s Swan migrated over us in a Whooper Swan flock and also a White-backed Woodpecker was seen. Savi’s Warbler kept on singing so people were very happy! Then 11:20 a.m. we noticed a raptor just above us and immediately realized that it was a spotted eagle. We got it to our scopes and it was easy to identify as a Lesser Spotted Eagle! Very nice! After 1 p.m. the weather turned worse so I gave up. I still biked a longer trip to Melkoniemi where I checked everything was OK with one of the Pygmy Owls. Ib the eveing it was raining so I just relaxed.

Next morning the ground was covered by snow and more was still snowing until the afternoon. There was no reason to do anything. So the only birds of the day were a twitched Black Redstart in Särkisalmi, a Jack Snipe that was found from the pool and a Common Sandpiper on the way there. The snow melted before the evening, but still on the next day the northern wind was so cold that all I did was a drive around Siikalahti. In Peltola I stopped to check the flock of geese and I found a Pink-footed Goose.

J.A.

On the 22nd of April I spent my lunch-hour in Siikalahti and saw 2 White-tailed Eagles, 5 Wood Sandpipers, a Redshank and an early Spotted Redshank. In the afternoon I did a couple of short biking trips and tested that my cyclocross was working well. I saw a Woodcock. At night we biked to Siikalahti and heard a Savi’s Warbler and a Jack Snipe with Harri Partanen. Spotted Crakes and Water Rails were active too and I heard once a Red-necked Grebe.

On the 23rd fay we went to check more owl nest-boxes with Jari Kiljunen and we also climbed one artificial nest for a Great Grey Owl to a tree. In 3 hours we saw 2 Capercaillies, heard a Wren and finally found some owls too: a Pygmy Owl was incubating 10 and Tengmalm’s Owl 4 eggs.

On the 24th day the northern wind was very cold so I kept on checking the nest-boxes. In the afternoon we climbed one Ural Owl nest-box to a tree and later went to check the rest of nest-boxes in Melkoniemi and all nest-boxes in Punkaharju. Again we saw a Capercaillie, a Hazel Hen and many Black Grouses and heard a Wren. We also found one more Pygmy Owl that was same that had been breeding in another nest-box about 3 kilometers from this one last year. It had 9 eggs now.

On the 25th day I visited Siikalahti briefly but only bird to mention was a Willow Warbler which was a year-tick. After work I drove to Rautjärvi to check 4 owl nest-boxes that we have there and surprisingly there was a Tengmalm’s Owl with 4 owlets in one of them. Then I continued to Lappeenranta from where we left to Jyväskylä to a rinkball tournament that was on Saturday.

On Saturday evening when I got back home, our old friend Ilkka Jarva had came to us and after a few of hours sleep we left birding at 5:30 a.m. 4 Gadwalls, 4 Little Gulls, quite a few migrating Tree Pipits, a Ruff, a migrating Black-tailed Godwit and a female Pallid Harrier were seen from the tower. During the mid-day we stayed on dam-road and saw a Hobby, a Whimbrel, 3 more Ruffs, another Black-tailed Godwit, 51 Greenshanks, a Spotted Redshank, a White-backed Woodpecker and a Hen Harrier were seen and Savi’s Warbler was of course heard again.

After we had eaten, we continued to Saari where in Pohjanranta we saw a Redshank and a Spotted Redshank, 4 Little Gulls and 6 Waxwings. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we saw a Hen Harrier and in Suurenjärvenliete 260 White-fronted, 140 Bean and 53 Barnacle Geese, In Jyrkilä we saw a Peregrine and in Rautalahti 138 Whooper Swans, a Bewick’s Swan, 10 Common Scoters and a Northern Wheatear.

On the 28th day I saw 3 Long-tailed Ducks in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti I saw a Sand Martin and a couple of Garganeys. In the evening I went to ring the Pygmy Owl that had escaped already a couple of times from the nest-box. On the way I saw a female Capercaillie. On the 29th day I saw some Common Terns, heard a Sedge Warbler and Savi’s Warbler and saw a couple of Gadwalls, 8 House Martins and 2 Hobbies in Siikalahti and again a couple of female Capercaillies now in Kolmikanta.

On the 30th of April I saw 8 Common Scoters in Härskiinmutka, 3 Smews, already 35 Swallows, a Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat and a Pied Flycatcher on a short trip to Siikalahti.

J.A.

On the 6th of April I saw a Great Black-backed Gull in Siikalahti, other observations were a White-tailed Eagle and a couple of Long-tailed Tits. In the evening I went to Lahdenkylä. Peräsuo where I counted 312 Tundra Bean Geese, 18 White-fronted Geese, 2 Pink-footed Geese and a Barnacle Goose. On the 7th day I saw 3 Curlews, 15 Common Crossbills and counted 160 Whooper Swans in Siikalahti. In Peräsuo I counted 530 Wood Pigeons and in Särkisalmi I saw a Greylag Goose. On the 8th day I saw a couple of Pochards,a Green Sandpiper and an Osprey in Siikalahti and on the 9th I counted 420 Tundra Bean Geese, 60 White-fronted Geese, 10 Pochards, 4 Tufted Ducks and saw also a White-tailed Eagle and a God Finch. On the 10th day I visited Lappeenranta and saw 2 Grey-headed Woodpeckers on the way in Simpele, Kangaskoski. In the evening I saw 2 Great Crested Grebes in Särkisalmi. On the 11th day I heard a Wren and a Song Thrush in Tiviä and saw 22 Pochards, 5 Smews, a Baltic Gull and then some ashy-backed Lesser Black-backed Gull in Siikalahti.

On the 12th day we went to Lappeenranta to do some shopping. On the way we saw a Wood Lark in Joutseno Muukonkangas and then on the way back a Peregrine in Peräsuo. In Siikalahti we saw only a White-tailed Eagle. On Sunday 13th I biked to Siikalahti and saw 90 migrating Whooper Swans, 4 Canada Geese, 6 Barnacle Geese, 2 Shovelers, 8 Smews, 5 Black-throated Divers, a Cormorant, 9 Marsh Harriers, 25 Rough-legged Buzzards, 2 Peregrines, a Merlin, a Greenshank, a Stock Dove, a Rock Dove, 7 Waxwings, 2 Linnets, 40 Bramblings and 400 Redwings.

On the 14th day I did a short trip to Saari where I found lots of birds in Pohjanranta. I counted 650 Tundra Bean Geese, 90 White-fronted Geese, 9 Barnacle Geese, 80 Pintails and 64 Curlews but there had been even more birds earlier during the day and also all the better species were gone. Other places were surprisingly quiet: In Riionsalmi I counted 400 Mallards and in Kanavalampi I saw a Hen Harrier and a Greylag Goose. On the 15th day I saw a White-tailed Eagle and heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker again in Siikalahti. I changed summer-tires to my car in Tarvaslampi and heard a Black Woodpecker there. On the 16th day I saw a Peregrine again in Siikalahti and after my work-day I left to Saari again. On the way I stopped in Rautalahti and saw 770 anser geese, 184 Whooper Swans and a nice Black Kite! In Akanvaara Tetri suo I saw a Hen Harrier and in Pohjansuo a Great Grey Shrike. Pohjanranta was more quiet but best species were a Grey Heron and a Redshank. Other places were very quiet. On the 17th day I saw a Golden Eagle and a White-tailed Eagle on my lunch-hour in Siikalahti. After work I still saw a female Pallid Harrier so my Eastern-holiday got a good start! In Kangaskylä I twitches a local rarity, an Oystercatcher and in the evening we went to check some owl nest-boxes with Matti Lötjönen but they were all empty.

Eastern:

On Friday we woke up at 7 a.m. and drove to Siikalahti. In 4 hours we saw 2 Canada Geese, 7 Barnacle Geese, 250 Teals, a White-tailed Eagle, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin, 6 Golden Plovers, a Greenshank, 300 Bramblings, a Gold Finch and the bird of the day a Nuthatch that was flying east. In the afternoon I did a Saari-trip with Kristiina Järvenpää but we saw only 19 Barnacle Geese and a Goldfinch in Rautalahti, a Northern Wheatear in Akanvaara, Tetrisuo, a Hen Harrier in Pohjanranta, 11 Barnacle Geese and 51 Pintails in Suurenjärvenliete and a couple of Stock Doves in Jyrkilä. In the evening I drove Hanna to Siikalahti and then followed soon by bike. I had planned to collect some eco-competition ticks during next day’s migration watching day.

On Saturday we woke up in information center at 4:30 and soon walked to the dam-road tower. A Spotted Crake and Water Rails were calling but they stopped soon. At 5 a.m. there were already plenty of birders participating to the day. We counted all migrating birds for 10 hours and the first hours were OK but the afternoon very quiet. The beginning was good when we saw a Mute Swan landing to the flock of Whooper Swans. We counted 943 Fieldfares, 518 small thrushes, 986 Chaffinches, 276 Bramblings, 178 small carduelis, 694 unidentified passerines, 328 Wood Pigeons, 41 Barnacle Geese, 14 Black-throated Divers, a Hen Harrier, 6 Common Buzzards, 10 Rough-legged Buzzards, a Merlin, 2 Grenshanks, 12 Green Sandpipers, a Stock Dove, 16 Mistle Thrushes, 7 Jays, 18 White Wagtails, 38 Starlings and then the best bird of the day that was migrating in the quietest time of the afternoon – a White Stork! Best local birds were a Garganey and a Slavonian Grebe. The weather was perfect but after all the migration pretty bad. Anyway we had really good time as there were almost all local birders for whole day!

On Sunday 20th of April I biked to Siikalahti at 7:30 and heard a Wren in Torokanniemi and started migration watching at 8 o´clock on dam-road tower. Harri Partanen was there almost all 6 and half hours too. The best birds were a Chiffchaff, 19 Barnacle Geese, 6 Black-throated Divers, 12 Rough-legged Buzzards and 5 Common Buzzards. During the day the migration was so quiet that Harri planned to cut some willows along the road but after all gave up and stayed with me and enjoyed the sunshine. At 11:40 there were a couple of noisy women on the tower and then I heard something calling behind us. I walked to the road and then heard it again – a Penduline Tit! Soon I saw it landing exactly to those willows that Harri had planned to cut! I shouted to Harri and e saw it again right away. We followed the bird and managed to get some recordings and pictures of it before it disappeared. Soon we heard it again and surprisingly found 2 birds together! But soon they flew further to the reeds.

When the twitchers arrived they ween’t found in an hour, so I decided to drive to the northern side to check if they had gone there. But once I got there I got a call that one Penduline Tit had been found again along the dam-road. After some time almost everyone managed to see the bird. Soon after that I found a Swallow migrating over us and then I decided that I had seen enough and got fartoo much sun and biked back home.

On Monday I biked to Siikalahti again and there were already some birders that had managed to see the Penduline Tits again and more still came. It seemed that the tits were a couple but they weren’t making the nest actively yet. I statyed there for 5 hours and it was a great day! In the morning we saw a Bewick’s Swan migrating with Whooper Swans and then at 10 a.m. we got a message that a Lesser White-fronted Goose had been migrating north-east in Lappeenranta. We counted that it might be possible to see it after an hour and 20 minutes. I even guessed that it might go from the south-eastern side of us like the geese usually did. And exactly in time at 11:11 we sae a right flock coming – 15 Bean Geese and a tiny long and thin-winged anser-goose coming. And unfortunately the used the route I had guessed to they were in bad light. They were also pretty far even though they turned towards us a couple of times. Anyway the size and the shape were clear – but we still hoped to see some pictures that we had heard that had been taken in Lappeenranta. Soon after that Jari Kontiokorpi heard a call that was like a Marsh Sandpiper and soon we found the bird migrating over us. It was also against the sun but the shape and the call confirmed that it was a Marsh Sandpiper! After we had seen a Swallow again, I decided to bike at home. But after an hour we were back with Hanna and Pekka Punnonen. Hanna heard a Penduline Tit singing too and I saw a new butterfly species, Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell! Then we still saw a female Palli Harrier looking bird migrating a little bit too far before we drove back home.

Even though I gad been birding for 12 hours already I still left to check some owl nest-boxes with Harri. In 3 hours we checked about 20 boxes and managed to find a Pygmy Owl with 4 eggs and a Tengmalm’s Owl with 2 small chicks and at least 1 egg from the boxes. We also saw some Black Grouses, 2 Hazel Hens and a Capercaillie and heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker, so we had really good time. On the way back home I saw a Red-breasted Merganser and a Red-necked Grebe in Härskiinmutka. But there was till more to come! At 10 p.m. Ari Myllys called that he was listening to a Savi’s Warbler in dam-road. We drove there and heard it still singing a couple of seconds before it stopped. But we heard also 3 Spotted Crakes, 6 Water Rails and a Jack Snipe – so the Eastern had really been amazing! And at home I saw the geese pictures – it was clearly a White-fronted Goose!

J.A.

Spring was coming slowly as the wind has turned to north. On the 2nd of April I saw 3 Coots and a Snipe in Siikalahti, on the 3rd day a couple of Wigeons and heard a really early Water Rail. On the 4th day I saw a Marsh Harrier and heard a Bittern that was still calling very weak. Otherwise only Bean Geese, Black-headed Gulls and a female Goshawk that was chasing a flock of 225 Wood Pigeons were seen.

On the 5th of April we had the wilderness bird-race again. Together with Hanna and Matti Lötjönen we had an area that had all best birding places in Saari. On the previous evening we planned the race and decided to take bicycles with us. It was aloud to part in 2 groups so we planned that one could bike all the time.

We woke up at 2 a.m. and an hour later we were near Jyrkilä fields where I started to go by bike and Hanna and Matti continued by car. Unfortunately there was nothing heard in the first hour so we had to start the race at 4 a.m. with a Robin and the early Hooded Crow. Luckily Hanna soon heard a Hawk Owl and a Ural Owl.

Then before 5 a.m. we changed so that Hanna continued by bike. Hanna heard soon lots of Goldcrests and tits and with Matti we found a stunning Great Grey Owl. Also 42 Black Grouses, 2 Capercaillies, 9 Hazel Hens, 2 Black Woodpeckers and so on were found. Hanna counted lots of Goldcrests, Willow Tits, Crested Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Trecreepers, Bullfinches and a flock of 15 Common Crossbills that also gave us some single points. Better species gave us more points in this race.

At 11 a.m. we met in Pohjanranta tower where Hanna had just seen a Hen Harrier and a White-tailed Eagle. I stayed there while Hanna and Matti continued to the forests. But the wind has started to blow too hard so there was nothing really migrating and it was impossible to hear any passerines anymore. I still counted some Common Buzzards, Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and the many migrants that gave us only the species points. I still biked to Kuposenmäki, Tarassiinlahti and Kanavalampi but found nothing else than some migrants like Canada Geese and a Pintail. Altogether we saw 62 species, but not enough real forest-species to get enough points. So after all we came 3rd in the race – the winners had got much less species but more points. Anyway the day had been really nice and so was the evening.

J.A.

On Friday I left towards south and made the first stop in Lappeenranta Kaislanen where I twitched a Pink-footed Goose that was with 500 Tundra Bean Geese and 18 White-fronted Geese. Then I continued straight until Helsinki where I picked up Pirkka from the airport. Then we drove straight to Turku where we had some 20 minutes to visit Ruissalo and we managed to find a flock of 62 Barnacle Geese that was a March-tick and an ace (species seen in every month in Finland) for me. Then about at 6 p.m. we picked up Mikko Ala-Kojola and Antti Peuna from the railway-station and went shopping. Soon we were heading to the harbour where we still saw 4 Tufted Ducks and a Pochard and finally at 20:10 p.m. huge Viking Grace ferry left towards Åland.

On the ferry we spent most of the time in puffet where we ate once again too much. Then in the end of the trip we planned a little bit the next day’s Åland bird-race. At 1 a.m. we finally arrived at Lumparland Långnäs and then we still had a long drive to Maarianhamina Solhem to sleep.

On the 29th of March after a couple of hours sleep we woke up to have breakfast at 4:45 a.m. After 5 a.m. we were driving towards Eckerö but at 5:30 when the race started we were still in Hammarland. So the first birds were ticked there: a Robin, a Dunnock and a Wren and some more common species of course. I also saw a Woodcock flying over us but nobody else saw it. In Eckerö Storby we heard a Song Thrush, Cranes and Goldcrests and saw the first Greylag Geese. On a road to Styrsingsudden we heard a Coal Tit and some Siskins and finally we were walking to the southernmost tip of the island to Styrsingsudden. There were already a couple of teams seawatching and soon we started to see Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Black Guillemots and Razorbills migrating. Some other common species were seen too but nothing better! A couple of Ringed Plovers were on the shore, 3 Common Scoters were migrating and 2 White-tailed Eagles were flying over the islands, but I had expected to see at least 5 better species more. Finally we had to leave but luckily right then Mikko found a flock of about 50 Purple Sandpipers landing to an island very far, but we all managed to see them after some waiting. Along the way we heard a Willow Tit and some Treecreepers.

In Skeppsvik we found the first Shelducks, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Teals and a White Wagtail and in Stormossa a Jay crossed the road. In Torp we saw both sparrows and a nice Haw Finch. In Västerfjärden we found 3 Great Crested Grebes (another ace – and new March-ticks were coming all the time). In Degersand we didn’t see anything new but in Storby we saw 2 Rock and 2 Stock Doves. In Böle we tried to see a Moorhen that had been reported there but we couldn’t find it.

In Hammarland we twitched a Slavonian Grebe in Marsund where also a Raven, 2 Common Buzzards and 2 Grey Herons were seen. In Lillbolstad fields we had nothing else than a Linnet, Canada Geese, 2 Sparrowhawks and Golden Plovers. In Bodafjärden we saw Meadow Pipits, a male Pochard, a flock of Scaups, 3 Smews and 7 Great Crested Grebes. Then we headed to Jomala Hammarudda where we had a Grey-headed Woodpecker and an Oystercatcher.

Maarianhamina harbour had only a Coot and 2 more Oystercatchers. In Lemland Nåtö we had nothing but on the way back towards Maarianhamina a flock of Waxwings crossed the road. In Jomala Gällaräng fields we had only ordinary Cranes, geese and Golden Plovers -nothing new. So then we decided to drive to Salvik Haga fields. In Haga we found immediately a big flock of geese where were 3 Pink-footed and 12 White-fronted Geese. But waders and raptors were still missing like many other common birds too. Luckily we found 4 Pheasants and on Satviksfjärden we saw 20 Teals, 2 Pochards, 10 Scaups, 2 Great Crested Grebes and 2 Coots but not even a Wigeon that was missing. Finally Pirkka found our last species a Great Grey Shrike. But we knew we hadn’t done well. The day had been really nice – lots of birds and very nice weather but we had missed too many common species still and not found enough goo ones.

We still twitched a Chiffchaff in Lemland Nåtö before we drove to Solhem where we had dinner and then the results were given. It wasn’t a surprise that we were only 11th in 14 teams race. We lost even 22 species to the winner-team 88/103. Soon we were ready to go to sleep.

On the 30th of March we had breakfast at 6 (at night had been a change to summer-time) and soon we were driving towards Eckerö again. We tried to twitch an Eagle Owls in Björnhuvud but heard only a Black Grouse. In Böle we saw the Moorhen easily and soon we were in Styrsingsudden again where were already some other birders. Razorbills and Black Guillemots were migrating again and soon we found the first Common Guillemot. Somehow we hadn’t seen any on the race. But now we saw altogether 10 Common Guillemots, 390 Razorbills, 140 Black Guillemots, 120 Bean Geese, 2 Wigeons, 22 Common Scoters, 5 Velvet Scoters, 2 Shelducks, a Black-throated and a Red-throated Dives, 3 Rooks, a Common Crossbill and a Rock Pipit. So the morning was much better than on the race!

At 10 a.m. we headed to Degersand where we twitched a Red-necked Grebe and soon we saw also several Mistle Thrushes. In Jomala Ramsholmen we twitched a Nuthatch that we also had missed on the race. Then we headed to Saltvik Haga again and there we saw pretty much all the same birds than on the race. Still we couldn’t find any Bearded Reedlings but we saw again a flock of Waxwings. Finally we left back towards Maarianhamina and made a couple of stops in Finström and we heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker there.

In the evening we had pizza and sauna and finally went to sleep after 11 p.m.

On the 31st of March we were the only birders left from the race as everyone else had left on the previous afternoon. After the breakfast we headed to Styrs again. Surprisingly there were 4 twitchers that had twitched the Slavonian Grebe as a March-tick. Again we counted 188 Black Guillemots, 132 Razorbills, 7 Velvet Scoters, 26 Common Scoters, 2 Shelducks, 10 Oystercatchers and then had the best bird of the morning a dark Arctic Skua! One of the twitchers made the record of species seen in on March ever and soon he made the number even bigger with a Red-necked Grebe and the only Common Guillemot of the day. Also a male Goshawk, a Redpoll, a Black Grouse and a Snow Bunting were seen so the morning was pretty good again.

After 10 a.m. we continued and saw the Moorhen again ans also a Scaup in Böle. In Hammarland Lillbolstad we had nothing new but Bodafjärden was good again and a Green Sandpiper and 3 Snipes were both new March-ticks. All other birds were also still there and we heard also a Black Woodpecker. In Finström we had another Black Woodpecker but still no Bearded Reedlings, just some more Snipes. The weather turned worse and it was even hailing and snowing. Anyway a couple of Gold Finches were heard singing. In Jomala Gällaräng we saw nothing new, but in Ytterbyviken we had 2 more Snipes again. Then we headed to Gottby where we found 2 Pink-footed and 2 White-fronted Geese in a flock of Taiga Bean Geese. In Hammaruddan we heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker again and saw 6 Shelducks, 20 Wigeons, 7 Oystercatchers and a Red-throated Diver. On the way back to Solhem we stopped in Torpfjärden where we had 210 Mallards, 70 Teals, 6 Shelducks, 16 Grey Herons, 12 Pochards and 5 White-tailed Eagles but nothing better really.

In the evening we had great burgers in local rock-restaurant, had sauna and went to sleep after 11 p.m. again.

The first of April we headed to Styrs again but the migration was not very good. We counted 360 Eiders, 160 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Red-throated Divers, 20 Razorbills, 50 Black Guillemots and again a dark Arctic Skua. After 10 we headed back towards Maarianhamina and twitched a Slavoanian Gebe again in Marsund. Then we decided to go to Lemland Herröskatan. On the way we had a Pheasant in Flakan and from the tower we had only 5 Oystercatchers. In Storviken we counted 850 Tufted Ducks and finally it was time to go back to Solhem to pack everything. Soon we had to drive to the Maarianhamina harbour.

Grace left at 2:30 p.m. and the first 30 minutes we were seawatching from the deck but saw only some Shelducks and Oystercatchers and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. Unfortunately no Steller’s Eiders were seen, so soon we went to have puffet again. When we were close to Turku we climbed to the deck again and saw some more Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the same Barnacale Geese in Ruissalo. In Turku we dropped Mikko and Antti to railway-station and soon continued towards Helsinki. There I dropped Pirkka to hotel Pilotti and I still had a long drive to Parikkala where I finally was after 2 a.m.

Altogether we saw 106 species in Åland, 11 of them were new March-ticks and 107th species and 12th month-tick was a Barnacle Goose in Turku. Altogether I got 27 year-ticks and for example Pirkka got about 3 times more year-ticks than he had before the trip! We could have seen more species but we didn’t really try, we had concentrated finding good species. But anyway we had once again had a very nice trip to Åland!

J.A.

On the 21st of March I was in Siikalahti on my lunch-hour and saw 20 Lapwings, 8 Wood Pigeons, 4 Starlings, a Skylark and a Great Grey Shrike and a White-backed Woodpecker.

On the 22nd day I was early and stayed 9 hours in Siikalahti. The weather was really nice so I even managed to burn my face! I had at least 320 Lapwings and 90 Wood Pigeons, 26 Blackbirds, 4 Tundra Bean Geese, a Canada Goose, 2 Goosanders, a Black Grouse, a White-tailed Eagle, 12 Common Buzzards, 4 Stock Doves, a Grey-headed and a White-backed Woodpecker, 8 Skylarks, a Mistle Thrush, a Great Grey Shrike, 4 Rooks, 23 Starlings, a Chaffinch, 2 Reed Buntings and the best bird was the earliest Crane ever in South-Karelia!

On the 23rd day the weather turned worse as there was a rain coming from south. In 3 hours I saw 4 Goldeneyes, 2 Black-headed Gulls and a Meadow Pipit and not so many other migrants. When it started to rain I drove to Simpele where I twitched a Black Redstart in Konkamäki – it was also the earliest ever. In the afternoon I drove around Saari area but heard only a Grey-headed Woodpecker in Kanavalampi.

On the 24th March I was in Siikalahti during my lunch-hour and then after work again. I saw 3 Tundra Bean Geese, 1 Taiga Bean Goose, a couple of Teals, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, a Crane, a Rook, 10 Chaffinches and 16 migrating Common Buzzards. On the next morning I woke up early and drove to twitch a Pheasant in Tyrjä, where 2 birds were heard easily. In Siikalahti I saw 30 Chaffinches, 9 Snow Buntings and a Mistle Thrush. Even though the weather was pretty nice it was pretty quiet so on my lunch-hour I didn’t see anything else than a couple of Black-headed Gulls and some woodpeckers and a Great Grey Shrike.

On the 26th day I saw a White Wagtail, a Kestrel and 10 Waxwings. On the 27th day I saw more than 50 Tundra Bean Geese, 4 White-fronted Geese, a White-tailed Eagle, a couple of Goshawks, a Black-headed Gull, a Stock Dove, a Redwing, a Fieldfare and a Mistle Thrush and some flocks of Redpolls. The best bird of the day was a Golden Plover which I had never seen on March before. The saw Wagtail was there too. On the 28th day I visited Siikalahti only very briefly and saw the same Golden Plover. Then I started driving South – I was going to Åland.

J.A.