. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

I wasn’t birding much in August. The weather was still nice and warm so it was nice to do long biking trips. Many birds disappeared early – early spring and good summer had made it possible to breed early and successfully start autumn migration earlier than normally.

Some better birds I saw or heard on the beginning of august were a calling Wryneck in the 2nd of August, altogether 4 Nutcrackers that stayed near railway-station and a family of Barnacle Geese that were feeding on the grass on the swimming-beach.

On the 9th day I drove to south and visited Espoo Laajalahti where I saw 11 Dunlins, 3 Temminck Stints, a Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, some other common waders, lots of ducks and 25 Caspian Terns. 10th of August we went to watch Super-Match Manchester City vs. Arsenal with my friends. It was the last preparing match before the Premier League. The game was in Helsinki Olympic Stadium which was sold out – there were more than 41 000 people. Then on the 11th day I visited Laajalahti again and saw some of the same birds than a couple of days earlier, 6 Little Stints and also a White-fronted Goose.

On the 14th of August I saw 2 Little Stints and 2 Temminck Stints in Saari Pohjanranta – I hadn’t seen any stints in Parikkala for a couple of years. But even better were 3 Arctic Skuas that migrated over me there. Then on the next day I saw a Temminck Stint and a Ringed plover there.

On the 21st of August it started to feel more like autumn. I saw a flock 13 Golden Plovers migrating in Siikalahti and already 250 Cranes were in a flock in Joutseno Kivisaari. On the 23rd day we went to Saari with Harri Partanen but didn’t see anything special: 160 Cranes, 5 Hen Harriers, quite a few Whinchats, a Grey Heron and so on.

During the weekend Hanna participated to BirdLife Finland meeting in Helsinki and she managed to get a butterfly-lifer – a Yellow-legger Tortoiseshell.

On the 25th day I twitched 2 Nuthatches in Likolampi. There were again altogether 4 birds visiting the feeders. They hadn’t been seen almost for a year after visiting the feeders for several years all around the year. On the same day I saw a Goldfinch and 2 Long-tailed Tits on my biking trip and 9 Taiga Bean Geese and 2 Smews in Siikalahti, where I still saw 2 young Slavonian Grebes on the next day.

On the 27th day I went to walk to Kullinsuo fields where I saw a Hen Harrier, 5 Red-throated Pipits, a Lesser Whitethroat and so on but only 2 Snipes and no Great Snipes that I had hoped to find. I did the same walk in the 29th day but then I saw only 2 Curlews, a Red-throated Pipit and a Snipe.

On the 1st of September I participated to Tour de Helsinki -biking competition together with my friend Juha Honkanen. It took 4 and half hours to bike 140 kilometers. The first half it was raining very hard but luckily it stopped. It was really fun and we weren’t really tired at all after that.

J.A.

During the last weeks I hadn’t been birding much. The biggest reason had been me ear that had went worse than ever 3 weeks after the second surgery. I am almost half-deaf now which is quite depressing… Of course another big reason is that this time of the year is very quiet in Parikkala. Anyway I had been sporting very much.

On Saturday the 28th of July we left twitching to North Karelia. We drove straight to Kontiolahti Jukajärvi Kylmäsuo where a couple of days earlier had been a Pectoral Sandpiper. It hadn’t been found anymore on the previous day but the place is very good so we decided to check it anyway. The weather was very nice so it really wasn’t optimal for waders but anyway we managed to find this Pectoral Sandpiper with help of some local birders. It was quite distant but I managed to get some kind of video of it. Other birds there were a Little Stint and a Temminck Stint.

We also walked on the other side of the area and heard and saw a young Citrine Wagtail briefly in flight. We saw the Pectoral Sandpiper from the other side too and it was now hiding under some vegetation so it wasn’t visible from the place where all the new twitchers were. So we had to help them to see the bird which finally started to walk and came well visible. Only other birds were 3 more Temminck Stints.

Next we continued to Joensuu to eat and do some shopping. A couple of hours later we continued to Liperi Ahokylä fields where we immediately found a Lesser Grey Shrike that had been there for a long time. It wasn’t shy so we managed to get some good pictures and videos. There were also at least 5 Red-backed Shrikes.

Soon we were heading towards Polvijärvi Solanlampi. This was the tower we had been trying to find with my British friends in early June but we had probably missed the last wooden sign to the tower. we walked to the tower where we met Hannu Palojärvi whi had arrived a little bit earlier. First we saw just a family of Wigeons, a Slavonian Grebe and a young Pochard but then after some time I found the family of ducks we had been searching. The lake was extremely full of water-plants so the ducks weren’t easy to see and they were quite far too. But there were 6 ducks sleeping and 5 of them looked like Shovelers and one bird was a little bit smaller, greyer and differently marked. After some waiting they finally woke up and we could identify the mom of the family as a blue-winged Teal. The youngsters were hybrids between the mom and a Shoveler. I tried to get some pictures and videos but the birds were far. We waited for an hour but they never came closer before they swam behind the reeds. So we decided to leave.

On the way back home we stopped to check several bird-towers that we hadn’t visited before. Rääkkylä Vuoniemi, Kiesjärvi and Jouhtenus all looked good but the time of the year and the time of the day were wrong so we didn’t see anything. In Kitee we still checked Hovinlampi bird-tower which was in so bad shape that it wasn’t aloud to climb there anymore. Anyway I went to check the view but no birds were seen.

On Sunday I drove to Punkaharju where I finally saw Nutcrackers as a year-tick in Laukansaari. Then I was biking the longest trip ever around Puruvesi. In 3 hours and 40 minutes I biked 112 kilometers. And of course on Monday I saw a Nutcracker on my way to work. Then after one week I participated to Puruvesi tour. I managed to drive this 108 km track on 3h22min.

J.A.

Warming climate has changed our fauna and change has been fastest in butterflies and moths. Childhood butterfly books had images of potential new for Finland butterfly species in their last pagers. Nowadays those species are already quite common. Our newest butterfly species were not even mentioned in those 1980 butterfly books.

Our goal is to see these new interesting species. So far we have often been away or done less birding during best butterfly time and that’s why we haven’t seen most of them.

We decided to make butterfly trip to the best butterfly area in Finland; Joutseno. On the way we saw Pine Marten jumping over the road. When we arrived to best butterfly locations, we found out that we were again a bit late. Lesser Purple Emperors were all worn already. Fortunately autumn season butterflies were all fresh.

Butterfly trip to eastern border of Parikkala next day, did not produce new lifers, but one more Lesser Purple Emperor was seen.

Here is collection of pictures taken. Click image to see it larger

This Board-bodied Chaser was seen in Patsaspuisto art garden where we were searching for more butterflies.

H.A.

After birding 8 days in Eastern Finland with my British friends I was absolutely tired. On the 13th of June I visited Espoo Laajalahti where I saw a Barnacle Goose hybrid and some common waders and in Suomenoja where I saw a Moorhen which was a new year-tick. I had planned to go birding Oulu-area but my car was still not ok. So I had to drive it back to service. Luckily I got it back after one day and I didn’t need to pay anything more.

But anyway I managed to relax an extra day in Kirkkonummi before on the Friday evening I left to Helsinki-Vantaa airport to pick up Hanna who came back from England where she had been on 4 days painting course. Together we drove to Ähtäri where Hanna went to celebrate 40th birthday of the zoo, where a new main building was opened and there was Hanna’s paintings. After night in Hotel Mesikämmen, I continued towards Oulu.

In the afternoon I stopped in Kärsämäki where I managed to twitch a Marsh Warbler as a North Bothnia tick. Then I drove to Liminka Virkkula where I saw a Curlew Sandpiper flying in a flock of Ruffs. I also visited Temmesjokisuu bird-tower but saw nothing. In the evening I drove to Oulu Hietasaari where my parents arrived too and they had rented a cottage. We also met my brother Pirkka’s family and together we walked a little in Nallikari beach and saw a Little Tern and 2 Shelducks.

On Sunday we celebrated my brother Riku’s son Eetu’s confirmation parties. It was late afternoon when I had to start a long way back to Parikkala.

After my holiday I went biking every day. On the 18th day I heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Punkaharju Laakkii and in the evening we went to ring Pygmy Owl nestling together with Hanna, Harri Partanen and Antti Peuna who had come to birding for one day and night to Parikkala. There were only 3 nestlings anymore.

In the evening we left birding with Hanna and Antti. First we twitched Great Snipes, then heard several Nightjars and even saw one of them really well. In Kontiolampi we heard a Grasshopper Warbler and in Kukonkanta 2 Marsh Warblers. Blyth’s Reed Warblers and Corn Crakes were still everywhere. Then we left to Siikalahti to count its birds, we found 3 Bitterns, 8 Water Rails, 2 Spotted Crakes, 2 Thrush Nightingales, a Reed Warbler and Great Reed Warbler. Antti had got even 5 lifers during the night! He hadn’t been birding much in South-Eastern Finland before. He still got his 6th early next morning when he saw a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers.

In Siikalahti we saw a rare red rainbow which forms from red light that curves sharper in atmosphere than other light when the sun is still behind the horizon. The light bent in small drops so that also inside the rainbow was red.

The next days biking trips weren’t productive. In Midsummer festival day we visited Siikalahti where we saw 2 White-fronted Geese, some Bitterns and Slavonian Grebes. Also the first Poplar Admirals were seen.

On the night of 23rd of June I heard 2 Grasshopper Warblers in Tetrisuo and the first time ever a well calling Short-eared Owl. On the next day I saw 2 Badgers on my biking trip. Altogether I biked 380 kilometers in 9 days but that was it then. On the 26th day I drove to Helsinki to surgery. In December I had been in same inner ear surgery but it hadn’t been successful, now it was time for the second try. I hope this time everything goes fine! When I was driving to Helsinki I twitched a Lanceolated Warbler in Ruokolahti. In the evening I had the surgery and the next day I was in the bed.

During my sick-leave I did a couple of trips to Northern Finland
And Hanna was leading a trip to Georgia

J.A. (& H.A.)

After the North Bothnia bird-race (which was 25th and 26th of May) I returned back to Parikkala very tired. On the 27th day I saw 2 White-fronted Geese and a Tundra Bean Goose in Siikalahti and in the afternoon I went to twitch a lifer. I drove to Lappeenranta where we continued with Petri Salakka and Pekka Punnonen to Virolahti Lintulahti where we were 15 minutes too late – a Whiskered Tern was gone. We waited and waited and finally I saw a black tern with my scope but unfortunately it was a Black Tern! I have never been so disappointed finding a Black Tern. Later we still saw a nice flock of 38 Bar-tailed Godwits before we gave up.

During the next days I saw a couple of flocks of migrating geese, a Hazel Hen, a Red-backed Shrike, a golden Oriole and heard a Red-breasted Flycatcher. On the 30th day I made a bike trip to forests near Siikalahti and heard a Greenish Warbler, a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a River Warbler, a Marsh Warbler, an Icterine Warbler and many Blyth’s Reed Warblers. On the next day I still saw a couple of Barnacle Geese, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, a Long-tailed Tit and finally my first Long-eared Owl of the year.

On the 1st of June I drove to Lappeenranta, where we tried to find a long-stayed Ferruginous Duck in Kaislanen, but only Tufted Ducks, Pochards, a Scaup, 2 Long-tailed Ducks and 7 Brent Geese were seen. In Toikansuo we heard 2 Marsh Warblers but Askola was almost empty. In Kukkuroinmäki we saw 3 Garganeys and in kotasaari 4 Slavonian Grebes. In Kivisaari we heard a River Warbler and in Konnunsuo we managed to twitch a 2nd calendar year Red-breasted Goose that had stayed a couple of days with a flock of Barnacle Geese. On the fields we twitched a couple of Booted Warblers that Pekka and Petri had found earlier. They were quiet but we saw them well. Also a couple of Ortolan Buntings were heard. Together with Pekka we still continued to Vainikkala where we managed to see a Black Redstart very briefly. In Haapajärvi we counted 249 Whooper Swans and saw a male Gadwall. Then I had to continue with my not well working car back to Parikkala

In the afternoon we still went to Saari with Hanna. We tried to find a nest of a Great Grey Owl but didn’t see any owls in the forest we knew some other birders had seen them. Then in Kanavalampi we found a nest of White-backed Woodpecker which the local woodpecker specialists already knew. In Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete we heard an Ortolan Bunting and several Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a couple of flocks of Barnacle Geese were also found.

On the 2nd day we did a long night-trip mostly to Siikalahti where we heard a Savi’s Warbler, 5 Bitterns, 4 Water Rails, a Spotted Crake, 3 Thrush Nightingales, 9 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 3 Golden Orioles and so on. In other places we heard mostly same species, but in Kullinsuo we heard also a Stock Dove. On the next night I went to twitch a Grasshopper Warbler in Kontiolampi and a Quail in Haukkavaara as a year-tick. And on the next night we went to twitch Great Snipes that had been found again from their usual field. They were very far but we could hear and see them displaying. But there were already too many mosquitoes to enjoy birding anymore!

On the 4th day we left towards Helsinki and on the way we checked a nest of a Grey-headed Woodpecker in Simpele that Jari Kontiokorpi had told to us. Then we drove to Helsinki-Vantaa airport where we met our old friend Paul French and his friend Tim Sykes – we were going to do birding together in Eastern Finland for the next 8 days – but it is a different story which can be found here:

J.A.

On Friday the 24th of May I left at work to drive towards Oulu. I stopped only once very shortly so I was in Oulu already at 5:30 p.m. We met in Antti Vierimaa’s where Antti Peuna has also stayed as these craze guys had been birding almost around the clock on the previous day and they had just awaken. The fourth member of our team Harry Nyström came there too. During the next couple of hours we talked a lot but also managed to make some kind of plan and schedule for the 24 hour bird-race.

On the 25th day I woke up at 7 a.m. and together with my brother Riku we drove my car to Tupos so it was closer to Liminka where the bird-race results would be given. Then Riku dropped me to Vierimaa’s place and soon Harry came too and we packed our gear to Harry’s Qashqai. We drove to Hietasaari where we had planned to begin. It was Oulu-marathon day so we had planned to begin so that we could leave Hietasaari before it is too crowded. We checked Möljänpää and saw 4 Little Terns, some flocks of Velvet Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Scaups and 2 Black-throated divers and heard a Thrush Nightingale but about at 10 a.m. we moved to inland to listen to song birds. Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff and many other birds were singing but when we found 3 Haw Finches we needed to make a decision to start or not. We followed the finches for 15 minutes and waited for some other good bird to show up and when a flock of Redpolls flew over us we started. Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff were still singing and many other species were listed soon. Then I saw a Long-tailed Tit crossing the road and luckily the rest of us heard it too. Other birds seen or heard in a small area were 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Wood Warbler, a Stock Dove, Common Rosefinches and so on. Then we drove to Möljänpää but there was now a bad haze. 2 Thrush Nightingales and Little Terns were still there and a couple of Velvet Scoters were seen and the Vierimaa found a very distant Black Tern! We stayed there still some time and saw a Red-necked Grebe. Then we had to continue to Oritkari.

On the way we saw some common species and the best ones were a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Starling – they both are surprisingly difficult sometimes. In Oritkari we saw some waders with different bill-shape. Then we continued to Kiviniemi where we heard a Common Whitethroat and saw a couple of Shelducks. In Vihiluoto we saw a couple of Garganeys and Gadwalls, 2 Smews, a Black-throated Diver, a Black-tailed Godwit and nearby also 2 Pheasants. Akionlahti was a waste of time, only Coots and Cranes but on the forest nearby we heard a Willow Tit and a Goldcrest. In Kempele Teppola we had luck as we saw 2 Gold Finches, a Linnet and a migrating Rough-legged Buzzard.

Then we stopped in Iinatti where we tried to see raptors but only a White-tailed Eagle and some Sparrowhawks were seen. Then we went to see a nesting Ural Owl that Antti had found and also a Goshawk that was breeding nearby. On the way towards Liminka we still saw a Hen Harrier. Collared Dove was seen easily in Liminka and soon we were climbing to a bird-tower in Virkkula. It was amazingly quiet in Liminka-bay; our only new ticks were a Ruff and a Wood Warbler. Also a White-tailed Eagle, a Hen Harrier and 16 Black-tailed Godwits were seen.

On the field on the border of Liminka and Lumijoki we heard a distant Ortolan Bunting and then we went to tick a Tengmalm’s Owl from the nest-box. We heard the nestlings calling which was enough. Then we continued to Sannalahti bird-tower and there we saw 2 Arctic Skuas and I found a strange looking very distant wader that started to sleep behind some vegetation. Luckily it woke up and Harry found it again and after some watching we realized it was a Terek Sandpiper! So we found a Terek Sandpiper from Sannalahti in a second bird-race in a raw.

Around the cross to Varjakka Harry saw something standing on the field and he stopped and we returned to the place where he thought he had seen it, but nothing was found. When we started to drive again we saw a Grey Partridge just 100 meters from the place next to the road. Maybe we had returned too far or then the bird had moved? Soon we saw the first Short-eared Owl of the day and in Alhonmäki we walked for some time before we finally heard a Wood Lark. Soon we turned to Tauvo road and saw a Bean Goose flying over us; 2 more Short-eared Owls were seen too. In Tauvo we walked a long way as the water-level was very low. There were almost no waders – usually there always are some. But anyway we heard a Bittern, saw some Common Scoters and flocks of Long-tailed Ducks, a couple of Caspian Terns, heard a Corn Crake, saw 4 Red-backed Shrikes (but no Lesser Grey Shrike that another team had seen) and a Hobby so we really had a good time there anyway. But it was again a long way back to our car so we walked really fast to save some time. Then we continued to Säikänlahti where Pochards were seen easily. There were also 20 Smews and then we saw a flock of 6 geese and one of them was really small! The shape was clear: tiny bill, high forehead, long and narrow wings – a Lesser White-fronted Goose! The light was really bad so we didn’t see any colors and that’s why we couldn’t identify the other birds at all – they were smallish too, maybe White-fronted or Pink-footed Geese.

It was almost midnight when we continued to forest-places. On the first stop we heard several Jack Snipes and then we walked quite a lot in the forest before we flushed a couple of Willow Grouses. Then we still heard a Ural Owl that was calling very close to us – really amazing!

Next we ticked a Slavonian Grebe on a small secret lake and continued to Raahe Aittalahti where we surprisigly saw 2 more Slavonian Grebes. I also saw a crake flying shortly but the rest of the team didn’t see this bird that must have been a Spotted Crake. In Lapaluoto we saw first Mute Swans but nothing else. Along the way to Pyhäjoki we saw 2 more Short-eared Owls and finally the first Woodcock. The weather had changed windy so Woodcocks weren’t flying at all. In Heinikarinlampi we heard a strange weak Spotted Crake and in Hietakarinlahti another one with a normal call. Then we made a big decision and turned to Takaranta to check if there were any waders. We had planned to go there in the morning but we were so close that we decided to try. On the walk towards the shore we flushed a Green Sandpiper and then on the shore we saw there were some waders, but it was still too dark and they were too far to identify. We walked closer and saw 4 Broad-billed Sandpipers flying up and leave. Then we saw a Red Knot and 2 Little Stints so we had really made a good decision! But where were all Dunlins and Red-necked Phalaropes? The morning was coming so we really needed to rush to listen to some nightsingers.

We stopped briefly in Parhalahti but didn’t see anything new. But on the way we stopped in a spruce-forest and saw a Bullfinch and first flocks of Common Crossbills. In Penkkatie we didn’t find the Blyth’s Reed Warbler that Anttis had heard there earlier but another Thrush Nightingale, some Blackcaps and a drumming Black Woodpecker. Somewhere on the way we heard another Corn Crake too. Then we turned to a forest where Anttis had heard some forest species but it was very quiet. Maybe the reason was an Eagle Owl that we flushed from a tree? We saw it really well when it flew in front of us to the forest.

Then we had to hurry to do sea-watching. We drove to Elävisluoto and again it was a good choice! Right away we saw 2 migrating Common Eiders and after some time I heard a calling pipit and said I heard something like a Rock Pipit and right then the bird flew over us calling! Rock Pipit is a really rare bird around here! We spent only a half of an hour in Elävisluoto as we needed to hurry to forests. There were too many forest-species missing on our list! Along the road we saw a flock of 7 Parrot Crossbills.

In Raahe Kaijanaro we twitched a River Warbler that another team had found – it was a lifer to Peuna! Then we tried to twitch one Red-breasted Flycatcher but it wasn’t found. Somewhere on the way we saw again a couple of Short-eared Owls and a Black Woodpecker but we continued to forests that Vierimaa had been birding a lot. And it started to go really well: first we heard a Wryneck, then Bramblings, saw 2 male Capercaillies and finally a Crested Tit too. Then we continued to a secret place which we had found a year before and where we had seen 2 male Montagu’s Harriers. We started to scan the open area and found right away a male Montagu’s Harrier – amazing! Then we managed to find Whimbrels and finally a Golden Plover too!

We continued to Siikajoki to try to find some waders but couldn’t find anything new in Sääri or Savilahti. The haze was really bad and water-level very low. Then we had only less than an hour to go and we continued to Alhonmäki. In a few minutes we saw a Honey Buzzard and a couple of Common Buzzards but the last 30 minutes went without new species. Ou rally ended 24 hours from the first species at 10:34 a.m.

When I counted our species I first made a mistake and got 154 species. We were really happy to this result too but then I realized there was a little mistake, one number was wrong and it wasn’t the last number! We got even 10 more – 164 species! We were pretty sure that we had got the winning result as the day hadn’t been so good birding day – there hadn’t been waders at all and many raptors and migrants were already gone. Anyway the most important thing for us wasn’t the result or situation but the feeling that we had done very well once again!

Harry dropped me to Tupos I started my long way back to Parikkala. The results were given from 1 p.m. so I was already in Siilinjärvi and I had been sleeping a little by more than an hour when Harry called me that we had really won! The second team had got 7; and third team even 17 species less than us! But altogether there had been 211 species in the race! So with a little bit more luck we might have beaten our record 165 species which we made a year before. Maybe one year we can beat the all-time record which is 172 species?

J.A.