. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 19th of August I saw once again a Black Kite in Siikalahti and in the evening I counted 24 Great Egrets and saw a Common Pochard there. On the 20th day there were even 800 ducks visible from the bird-tower with 2 Gadwalls and 6 Taiga Bean Geese. In the evening we counted 250 Common Cranes and again 24 Great Egret and heard 8 Water Rails.

On the 21st we did the first netting trip to the fields and caught 3 Woodcocks and a Skylark. We didn’t see any Great Snipes yet. And on the 23rd day I saw the young Oystercatcher for the last time.

On the 24th we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught 8 Sedge, 3 Blyth’s Reed and 1 Common Reed Warbler, a Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff and a Tree Sparrow. We also heard a possible Red-flanked Bluetail but unfortunately we didn’t catch or even see it. Also a Cuckoo and a flock of 8 Golden Plovers were migrating and a White-tailed Eagle flew over us. In the evening I counted 329 Cranes and amazing 48 Great Egrets!

On the 25th of August we had our last SSP-ringing and we caught 2 Dunnocks, 4 Robins, 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 2 Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Chaffinch, 3 Common Rosefinches and 7+1c Reed Buntings. In the evening we counted 370 Cranes and 38 Great Egrets and saw 2 Gadwalls, a Merlin, a Short-eared Owl and a Great Bittern and so on. We also ringed a Blackbird, 7 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap and 5 Great Tits.

On the 27th we were netting again and caught 3 Woodcocks, a Great Snipe and 3 Skylarks. On the 28th I saw a female House Sparrow and in Siikalahti a Bittern, 20 Great Egrets and 324 Cranes. On the 29th there was a White-backed Woodpecker in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti 34 Great Egrets, 2 Nightjars and a Bluethroat. And from the fields we caught 3 Woodcocks and 2 Great Snipes and saw a Long-eared Owl.

On the 30th day I headed to Saari with Harri Hölttä. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo we saw only a Stock Dove but in Pohjasuo we got lucky! We were walking along a small field-track when we flushed a big passerine. It landed quite far to the field but visible. I ran to get my scope and in a second I realized it was the bird that I had already though it was when it had been flying – a Corn Bunting!

Then I ran to get my camera on tried to get closer to get some pictures. The light was horrible and the bird was shy but I managed to get some pictures. Then I put the news out about the second ever Corn Bunting in Parikkala.

Finally the bird flew towards the farm and after some searching and first found a couple of Red-throated Pipit but then we found the Corn Bunting again and then it was perched on the top of a tree and I managed to get some better pictures. As there were no twitchers yet, we decided to keep on birding.

In Pohjanranta we found 2 Gadwalls, a Cormorant, a Great Egret, 2 Grey Herons, a Common Ringed Plover and a young Little Stint. Then we had to drive back to home as we still had to prepare our ringing place for the next morning.

On the 31st of August we were ringing in Kukonkanta and caught a Tree Pipit, a Bluethroat, 9 Sedge and 4 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 4 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 5 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, 9 Chiffchaffs, 18 Willow Warblers, one nice Red-breasted Flycatcher, 8 Blue and 2 Great Tits, a Red-backed Shrike, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Siskins, a Common Rosefinch, a Yellowhammer, a year-tick Rustic Bunting and 2 Reed Buntings. We also saw 500 migrating Siskins and 50 Tree Pipits and a Spotted Flycatcher and heard a bird that probably was a late Thrush Nightingale.

In the afternoon we still had 39 Barnacle Geese in the village and then we headed to Saari where we first twitched the Little Stint in Pohjanranta and then continued to Pohjasuo. After some searching we found the Corn Bunting which was a lifer for Elissa and a good month tick to my friend Mika I. Koskinen. This was after all the first Corn Bunting in Finland in August for 40 years. This time I managed to get a couple of little bit better pictures of this rarity. We saw also 5 Red-throated Pipits and a Bluethroat and so on.

In the evening we still went to put mist-nets ready to Papinlahti and saw a Nightjar there. This bird had been roosting on our ringing platform. Unfortunately I saw it only when it flushed.

On the 1st of September the same Nightjar was flying around and at 5:30 we had mist-nets up. We had decided to try how our SSP-ringing site is working outside the season as a ringing place. Now we could use bird-songs there. Almost immediately we heard a River Warbler singing weakly but once again we had no luck to catch it. Otherwise the morning was very quiet, but after all we managed to catch a Sparrowhawk, 1+1c Dunnocks, 3+1c Robins, a Bluethroat, a Sedge and 3 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 13 Willow Warblers, 3+2c Bluethroats, 2 Siskins, a Common Rosefinch and 2 Reed Buntings.

After the ringing I headed again to Pohjasuo where I met Veikka Kosonen who was in his army-suit. Soon also Harri Hölttä arrived and together we first managed to see a Wryneck and then the Corn Bunting so I got 2 new September-ticks.

With Harri we still checked Pohjanranta but there were only 2 Common Ringed Plovers and the same Little Stint. While I was driving back to home I saw a Black Kite in Kinnarsalmi.

On the 3rd day I found a young Red-footed Falcon in Siikalahti and in the evening we had mist-nets up there for a couple of hours but we caught only a Blackcap and 3 Robins. But we counted 628 Cranes and 30 Great Egrets and saw also 2 Bitterns, 2 Gadwalls, 33 Bean Geese and a Nightjar again.

Then we still went to fields where we caught 4 Woodcocks, a Skylark and a Tree Pipit. The only Great Snipe we saw was too shy to catch. We also heard a Red-throated Diver calling.
On the 4th day there were a Red-breasted Flycather and a Rustic Bunting calling in Siikalahti and in the evening I counted 32 Great Egrets and saw a Tengmalm’s Owl in flight a couple of times. On the 5th the weather was still very hot but you could tell that autumn was coming as there was a flock of 7 Common Scoters in Härskiinmutka and in Siikalahti there was a flock of 68 Brent Geese migrating.

At weekend my parents came to visit so we did easy birding in Saari, Siikalahti and Rautjärvi Kokkolanjoki. At mornings we ringed in Kukonkanta but in warm and calm weather there weren’t many birds. We ringed altogether a Tree Pipit, 6 Dunnocks, 7 Robins, a Bluethroat, 2 Sedge Warblers, 2 Lesser and 3 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 5 Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs, 10 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, 6 Blue and 2 Great Tits, a Tree Sparrow, 3 Chaffinches, 4 Rustic and 3 Reed Buntings. While watching Cranes and Great Egrets in the evening we ringed a Wren, 2 Robins. 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Willwo Warbler and 2 Great Tits. Otherwise we saw a couple of Red-throated Pipits, a Red-backed Shrike, a couple of Smews and so on. In Kokkolanjoki we saw 4 Grey Wagtails, 11 Great Egrets, a Grey Heron and a Cormorant. On Sunday evening we still visited one field with Hanna and ringed a Woodcock and a Great Snipe. On the way back home we still saw a Long-eared Owl.

J.A.

On Saturday the 17th of August we woke up early and at 5:30 we were already driving towards Helsinki. Bird fair was once again in Viikki and Hanna had to be there. She also had BirdLife meeting on Sunday.

On the parking place in Viikki we met Kai Hilditch who told he was going to continue to Parainen Utö island which was also my plan. He still went to try to twitch an American Wigeon first. So I went to see many friends that were still building their tents and making everything ready for the fair. When the fair was about to begin I had to start driving towards Parainen.

Olave Kemppainen sent an update that Cretzschmar’s Bunting was still in Utö so I called to him and asked if he was going to be there also in the evening. Then Olavi told me that he also had an accommodation for 3 by only himself there. So I asked if “Kaitsu” could also stay there, but of course Olavi had to first ask if it was OK for the house-owner. But anyway I called to Kaitsu and we planned to continue driving with one car. So I stopped to Lohja ABC to eat and soon we were continuing with Kaitsu’s Mercedes.

Soon we got a message that the price for the night in the apartment was extremely high so we decided to stay in our ordinary plan. Kaitsu had a tent I had planned to sleep under the sky. We were talking all the time and time went fast. So we were already on the ferry to Nauvo when we realized that we were in a really bad hurry! So we drove fast the last 20 kilometers and were in the harbor 4 minutes before the ferry was about to leave! And sometimes the ferry leaves early…

Anyway we managed to get all our stuff into the ferry and Kaitsu managed to park his car and run to the ferry in time.

We climbed up to the deck and seawatched all the way but there really weren’t many birds. Just one Black Guillemot, some Arctic Skuas and a family of Velvet Scoters and so on were seen.

Finally we were in Utö at 5:45 p.m. and we carried our stuff next to the chapel and soon found Olavi and a big group of twitchers that had been searching the bunting whole day. After Olavi had seen the bird in early morning they had only heard it calling and a couple of other people had seen it breafly. The last observation was already 4 hours ago.

So we spread to a couple places where the bunting had been seen most, next to the chapel and next to the lighthouse. I once saw a good-looking candidate in flight and landing almost to a top of one tree bit it just vanished. We were searching and searching and also Ville Wallinmaa, who had found the bird again after it had been missing for 5 days, came to help us but the bird wasn’t found.
The twitcher-group had to leave with their rental-boat but we kept on searching until the evening. Then I got a call from Olavi that the price of the accommodation had been a mistake (or then the owner just wanted to get some money) and it was now 50€ per person. So soon we were carrying our stuff there.

We still made a late evening walk with Kaitsu but found nothing really. But it was good to get familiar with the island. Then we went to sleep early.

On Sunday the 18th of August we woke up at 5:30 and at 6 we were already out and searching for the bunting. At 6:30 we met with the rest of birders, Toni Kukkola and 3 twitchers from Savo who had been sleeping in their tents. First we tried to play some call in the place where Olavi had seen the bird on the previous morning but we had no luck.

So soon we spread again to those two main-areas where the most observations had been made. We went to the lighthouse and while we were walking there I saw a good-looking bird flying over us but it disappeared behind the buildings. After some waiting and playbacking we met Jorma Tenovuo who is the only resident birder on the island. He told that most observations had been made right in front of us but the best way to find the bird wasn’t waiting or playbacking but walking through the vegetation.

So when all the birders were there we started to walk through the area very carefully. We walked through the best looking area but found no bunting. Anyway we decided to walk back through the same area and then suddenly Kaitsu saw a good-looking bird landing to bushes close to us. We walked around the bush and then started to walk towards the bush so the rest of us could surely see it coming out from the bush in good light. And soon the bird flushed in front of me and landed to the rock – there it was! It was just behind a bush for me but I took a couple of steps and saw the Cretzschmar’s Bunting extremely well and managed to get some pictures too before the bird flew to the next bushes.

We still carefully pushed the bird visible once and then it stayed on the rock for a couple of minutes. So we managed to get some more pictures before it finally flew a little bit longer distance and landed close to some buildings. So we decided to let it be as there were more twitchers coming in the afternoon.

We decided to go birding to other parts of the island and saw a Common Shelduck, a Gadwall, a couple of Slavonian Grebes and a young Red Knot flew over us and so on. We also tried to find a family of Barred Warblers that probably were still around but didn’t find them.

The day started to get hot and birds were really difficult to find so at noon we walked back to the lighthouse with Toni and soon the next group of twitchers arrived. We told them what we thought was the best way to find the bunting and soon they started walking through the same area. But then I saw a bird landing to a top of a tree in opposite direction and there it was again! Soon it landed to a bush next to one building but luckily the whole group managed to find it from there. There was at least one birder who had already his third try to see this bird!

We were already in hurry so we couldn’t go to get more pictures of the bird but we had to start walking towards the harbor. I picked up my stuff from the apartment and soon climbed to the deck of the ferry again.

The ferry left at 1 p.m. and we were again seawatching most of the way back to Pärnäs. But we saw only a Long-tailed Duck and a Caspian Tern, nothing else really.

Finally we were in Pärnäs and soon we had packed Kaitsu’s car and started driving again. In Salo we stopped to eat and then we tried to twitch a Ferruginous Duck without luck. It was already too late and even though we found a promising-looking bird it was already too dark to identify it as it was only sleeping. Soon we were in Lohja ABC and it was time to say thanks and goodbye to Kaitsu.

I continued to Vantaa Jumbo where I picked up Hanna and we still had a long drive to Parikkala. On the way in Simpele Kokkolanjoki we saw an Eagle Owl in flight and right after we had arrived at Parikkala we saw a Ural Owl. We were at home at 2 a.m. It had been a long twitching trip but it had been really fun!

J.A.

On the 17th of July we had SSP-ringing again. I had to leave early to work but Hanna continued the last hours. We caught a Tree Pipit, 7 White Wagtails, 2+1c Sedge and 3 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a Lesser and 17 Common Whitethroats, 12 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Blue Tit, 2 Great Tits, a Yellowhammer and 10 Reed Buntings. We also saw 2 Yellow Wagtails and heard a Black Woodpecker. In the afternoon Oystercatchers were in front of our home again.

On the 18th of July I saw a Grey Heron and a Black Kite on my lunch-hour and on the 19th day a Great Bitters, a few Great Egrets, at least 7 Honey Buzzards and the first young Marsh Harriers. In the evening I visited Saari Pohjanranta and saw a Black-tailed Godwit, a Spotted Redshank and 65 Lapwings and so on.

At night I decided to go twitching and drove a long way to Valkeakoski. A Dusky Warbler had been singing in Tykölänjärvi for a couple of days but I tried to find it for 5 hours without luck. It was gone. A Blackcap was only active singer and I also saw many other warblers, a White-backed Woodpecker, 4 Pochards and heard a Black and a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

On Sunday the 21st we woke up early and headed to Kukonkanta to do ringing. With 5 nets and different kind of bird-songs playing we caught 11+1c Sedge, 13 Blyth’s Reed, 3+1c Marsh and 3 Reed Warblers, 10 Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 8 Willoe Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, a Common Rosefinch and 4+1c Reed Buntings. We also saw a Red-throated Diver, the same Oystercatcher adults and so on. In the evening we visited Saari and in Pohjanranta we saw 3 Grey Herons and a Spotted Redshank and in Pohjasuo a Short-eared Owl.

During the week I saw a White-tailed Eagle, a Black Kite and finally a Dunlin as a Parikkala year-tick in Siikalahti. On the 24th we did the SSP-ringing again and caught a Tree Pipit, 3 Whinchats, 2 Icterine Warblers, 3 Sedge and 13 Blyth’s Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser and 14 Common Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 7+1c Willow Warblers, 2+1c Great Tits, 3 Common Rosefinches, 2 Yellowhammers and 13+2c Reed Buntings. We also heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker. And in the evening the whole Oystercatcher family was seen the last time.

In the end of the week I had taken a couple of days holiday and on Thursday the 25th of July we had a Aalto family-meeting in Mikkeli. It was good to see relatives after a long time! In the evening we continued driving west and finally put up hammocks to Hämeenkoski Ahvenainen.

After we had awaken we heard some forest-tits and a Black Woodpecker and soon continued driving towards Tampere. We had plenty of time so we visited a museum and bought new summer-tires before drove to Lempäälä Ahtialanjärvi where we still managed to sleep an hour in the car. At 6 p.m. we met Jani Vastamäki and soon we were all wearing pairs of waders and were rowing to gull-island. There Jani showed us the routines of the ringing station and left us to put up the wader-traps.

Soon we had about 40 traps ready and we hid inside the ringing-cottage to wait for catches. In the evening we caught only White Wagtails (13) but at night we finally got some waders too – 2 Common Ringed Plovers, 7+1c Dunlins, 6+1c Wood Sandpipers, 3 Common Snipes. We also saw a couple of Great Bitterns, a Great Black-backed Gull, a Little Ringed Plover and listened to a Spotted Crake calling all the time.

In the morning we rowed back and found a place to sleep in Mutastenmaa. When we finally woke up we heard again some forest-tits and then went to shopping an eat to Idea-park before headed back to Ahtialanjärvi.

On the shore we met the gull-island’s maker Rainer Mäkelä and Niklas Paulaniemi who also rowed to gull-island to cut hay. It is really tough work to keep the island good for breeding gulls and ducks and migrating waders!

We saw an adult and a young Caspian Tern flying over the island and there was a Little Stint with a flock of Dunlins. Niklas and Rainer saw 3 Curlew Sandpipers too but they never came to the ringing area. We put all the traps up again and then I rowed to pick up Lassi Toivakka to accompany us.

Rainer and Niklas were working until late evening. Maybe it helped us too as many birds were now on our side of the island. So we caught again 21 White Wagtails but also waders much earlier. During the night we caught 25+2c Dunlins, a Common Sandpiper, 8+1c Wood Sandpipers, 3 Common Snipes, 3 Sedge Warblers and then we managed to catch the Spotted Crake too!

In the morning we saw a couple of White-tailed Eagles and soon all the waders had moved to the other side of the island and we unloaded the traps and rowed back to our car. From the bird-tower I still saw a Gadwall and 9 Pochards before we started a long drive towards east.

We slept again in Ahvenainen and then continued to Parikkala in the evening.

On the last day of July we visied Saari once again and in Pohjanranta we saw a Tundra Bean Goose, a Cormorant, a Grey Herin and a Little Ringed Plover and so on and in Pohjasuo we saw 2 Linnets.

At weekend we were ringing again and on the 3rd of August we had SSP and we caught 1c Sedge, 10 Blyth’s Reed, a Reed Warbler, a Lesser and 2+2c Common Whitethroats, 4 Garden Warblers, a Red-backed Shrike, 7 Common Rosefinches and 2+1c Reed Buntings. We saw 400 Barn Swallows getting up from their roost, a Black Woodpecker was calling and a Crested Tit was moving through the bushes but it didn’t hit the nets.

On the 4th day we were in Kukonkanta and caught 11 Sedge, 17 Blyth’s Reed, 4 Marsh and a Reed Warbler, a Lesser and 11+2c Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, 22 Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycather, 6 Red-backed Shrikes and 8 Common Rosefinches. We also saw 22 Canada Geese, a Cuckoo, 2 Nutcrackers, Goldfinches and a Linnet.

On the 5th of August I saw a Red-backed Shrike and on the 6th day a Black Kite in Siikalahti. In the evening we went to cut some trees and bushes on out SSP-site in Papinlahti and saw 2 Great Egrets there. On the 8th day I saw a Black Kite in Kullinsuo and still an adult and 2 young Oystercatchers were in our yard.

On the 10th of August we were in Kukonkanta again and caught a Grasshopper Warbler, 11 Sedge, 3 Blyth’s Reed and 3+1c Marsh Warblers, 4 Lesser and 5 Common Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers, a Chiffchaff, 17 Willow Warblers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, 3 Common Rosefinches and 2+1c Reed Buntings. We saw again 2 Nutcrackers, a Nightjar and a Temminck’s Stint. Then we still visited Pohjanranta where we saw 5 Great Egrets, a Tundra Bean Goose, a Cormorant and a Temminck’s Stint.

And on the 11th day we had SSP: 4 Robins, 4 Icterine Warblers, 5 Lesser and 6+1c Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warblers, 4 Red-backed Shrikes, 5 Common Rosefinches and 4+1c Reed Buntings. Now we saw even 1000 Barn Swallows and we also heard a Golden Plover and a Thrush Nightingale.

On the next day the 3 Oystercatchers were still feeding on the grasses in Kangaskylä – often on our yard. During the week I saw again a White-tailed Eagle, a couple of Black Kites and a flock of 18 Cormorants in Siikalahti but nothing else really.

But I think it is crazy how well we had caught warblers on our ringings – we had ringed 59 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and bunch of other warblers too.

On the 12th of August Aurora-season started very beautifully and Hanna was photographing the, for hours.

During the week I saw a couple of Black Kites again, there were already 11 Great Egrets and more than 100 Cranes and raptors, mostly Honey Buzzards were moving. In Härskiinmutka I counted even 63 Cormorants.

J.A.

In the end of June and the beginning of July it was very quiet in bird life. All birds were breeding and hiding. The best observations we made were butterflies as we saw plenty of Poplar Admirals, Purple Emperors and Lesser Purple Emperors and some Yellow-legged Tortoiseshells and finally our first ever White Admirals. We also saw a couple of very interesting clytie-form of Lesser Purple Emperors

There weren’t many birds to see. On the 1st of July in Siikalahti I saw a Gadwall and a Common Redshank and then we found a nest of a Lesser Spotted woodpecker. In Kangaskylä I saw an Oystercatcher with the youngsters so they were still alive.

On the 5th of July I saw 3 adult Oystercatchers and in Siikalahti I saw the first Great Egret of the year. In the afternoon we visited Saari Pohjanranta where we saw a Grey Heron, 2 Whimbrels, 6 Ruffs, 2 Temminck’s Stints, a Common Redshank and a Stock Dove. On the way back home we saw 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a couple of Stock Doves in Särkisalmi.

On the 6th day we had SSP-ringing again and we were expecting to get more birds but it was one more disappointment again. We caught a Robin, 2+2c Sedge Warblers, 3+1c Common Whitethroats, 2+1c Willoe Warblers, 3 Pied Flycatchers, a Yellowhammer and 1+1 Reed Buntings. Meanwhile our friend Kalle Hiekkanen had a bit better SSP-ringing session in Siikajoki where he caught the first ever Yellow-browed Bunting for Finland and the second ever Pallas’s Reed Bunting in an hour! So our weekend-plans were clear. Hanna stayed the last rounds on empty mist-nets while went pack everything ready. When I came back we did the last round and of course then we caught most of our birds. But after all we managed to get mist-nets off in time and still went to pack last things, ate a little and soon started a long drive towards Siikajoki.

It was a long and tiresome drive as I had been watching football at too many nights. We stopped only to fill up the tank and in the afternoon we finally parked to Tauvo. Then we had a couple of kilometers walk to Kalle’s SSP-site. There we found plenty of twitchers who had arrived all around the country, but they hadn’t seen anything yet.

In the evening we saw a flock of 3 Dunlins migrating and from the bushes we found just a Crested Tit, a couple of Blackcaps and one extremely skulky bunting which was giving a couple of “tic” calls but was seen only too briefly and mostly in flight. But it could have been a Yellow-browed Bunting. All reed buntings we found were just Common Reed Buntings.

We slept on hammocks next to the bunting place and continued the search early in the morning. We couldn’t find the ticking bird at all but both male and female and also young Common Reed Buntings were found – and they were all extremely skulky. While searching we saw a flock of 4 migrating Common Shelducks, a Northern Pintail, a Whimbrel, a Caspian Tern, 122 Common Crossbills and some passerines that were hiding on the bushes which 2 Blackcaps were mostly making false alerts.

Some twitchers had brief views to one promising-looking reed bunting a couple of times and finally with a couple of friends we also managed to see it flying a couple of times on the reeds. It was seen only briefly flying towards the spit and we managed to see that it looked quite contrastic and small. We followed it and checked all the bushes until the last ones but it had disappeared. I was the only one to continue until the rocky spit and of course I flushed it from there! I saw it quite well and it really looked small too! But of course I couldn’t see grey small-coverts and it didn’t call. So I shouted to other birders who were next to the bushes that the bird was flying towards them but when they heard me shouting they started to run! So they didn’t see the bird passing them flying over the reeds very close by.

Of course we went after the bird but found again only Common Reed Buntings. I thought that my bird had flew a little bit more along the shore but people started to be too tired and the weather was also getting much worse. So soon everyone else left before the rain was coming. We went to sleep to our hammocks and slept for several hours while it was heavily raining.

When we woke up it was very bad wind and the next rain was soon approaching. So we decided to give up too and walked to our car.

As we had been sleeping well we decided to drive to Luoto where the Bonelli’s Warbler had still been singing and calling in Eugmo Fränsviken. We were finally there about at 5 p.m. and a couple of hours earlier our friend had still heard it singing shortly. The bird had been some hundreds of meters in different place than where I had got it in the change of May and June. We were searching for it for some time until Hanna finally heard it singing once quite far inside the forest. We walked about 100 meters into the woods and soon found it singing again. Then we also managed to see it briefly moving on the trees with a couple of Willow Warblers. It had been ringed since my last visit. But at least Hanna had got a Finnish-tick.

On the way we still stopped in Evijärvi Särkijärvi again where we saw 8 Black Terns but they were all the time very far so we couldn’t get any pictures. We also saw a Grey Heron, a Hobby and a Marsh Harrier there before we started a long drive back home.

In Juva we still saw a Ural Owl, in Savonlinna Kerimäki a big owl that probably was an Eagle Owl and then in Särkisalmi a Short-eared Owl, We were finally at home at 2 a.m. and I was having a normal week.

On the 8th of July I visited Siikalahti where I saw again a Common Redshank and in the evening we visited the main tower and we saw 5 Gadwalls, a Smew, 3 Great Egrets and a couple of Stock Doves. On the 9th day I saw at least 2 Black Kites and a White-tailed Eagle and quite a few other raptors and on the 11th day again a Black Kite and a White-tailed Eagle. During the week Hanna was having our car as she was making atlas and photographing trips.

On the 12th of July I had managed to sleep enough to do some birding so we headed to Saari at 2 .m. to search Lanceolated Warblers or something else better. We checked all the best places but all the fields had been cut and we found only some Corn Crakes, 2 Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a Grasshopper Warbler. We also saw a Short-eared Owl, a Grey Heron and a couple of Whimbrels. In Pohjanranta we saw a young Common Redshank. We ended the trip in Siikalahti where we saw an adult and a young Great Grey Shrike and I saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

I had to go to work at 7:30 a.m. but I was back in Siikalahti on my lunch-hour and I managed to see a migrating flock of about 30 Bar-tailed Godwits and one Knot. I also saw 3 Gadwalls, a Pintail and 3 Great Egrets before I had to go to finish my work-day.

In the morning there were again news from Siikajoki where Teo Ylätalo and Antti Vänskä had been birding together with Kalle Hiekkanien on Kalle’s SSP-site. After a long search they had managed to see and hear the Pallas’s Reed Bunting and there were some rumours about a ticking bunting too. So after my work we packed our car again and were soon driving to Siikajoki again.

We were in Siikajoki at 9 p.m. and I had probably got speeding-ticket on the way. There had been no sightings of any rare buntings so the place had been no protected as Kalle was going to have his SSP-ringing next morning.

We weren’t too tired yet so we waited for Hanna’s sister Elissa for an hour and then headed to Tauvo Ulkonokka. There we walked quite a lot before we found any birds, but for us inlanders it was good to see Common Shelducks, an Arctic Skua, Caspian Terns, even 10 Little Terns, 40 Dunlins, 4 Curlew Sandpipers and 2 Little Stints. Then we put up a camp close to Tauvo-road and started sleeping.

On the 13th of July we met with other twitchers at 3 a.m. and soon walked to a place to the shore where we had visibility to the bunting-bushes but we were far enough from the ringing site so we wouldn’t disturb the ringing-session. If Kalle was going to catch anything rare he was of course coming to show it to us.

While discussing with many friends I was mainly seawatching and I saw a Long-tailed Duck, 3 Black and 4 Red-throated Divers, a Honey Buzzards that came from the sea, 9 Razorbills, an Arctic Skua, Whimbrels, Dunlins, a Temminck’s Stint, a Ruddy Turnstone, a couple of Caspian Terns and so on. After a long waiting some birders that were standing on the shore closest to the bushes first heard some promising calls and then saw a reed bunting species on the top of one willow and it looked promising. I was behind them and I couldn’t see the bird until it was flying on the sky and disappeared again. Unfortunately nobody had managed to get any pictures and it seemed that it hadn’t been seen well enough for ticks.

The shore was fully crowded so I walked to the sea where I got good visibility to all the willow-tops. Then we again just waited something to happen. Kalle’s 4-hours ringing session was soon over but we soon heard that some promising ticking calls had been heard on the ringing site. So we were still hopeful and decided to stay still on the same place.

I felt that my wellington was leaking but after a long wait Jani Vastamäki saw a bunting with his scope just accidently walking on the ground. He started to tell the identification marks and it was soon clear that he was watching the Pallas’s Reed Bunting. I was very close to him but there must have been some plant or rock between me and the bird so I couldn’t find it. I moved one meter and then saw the bird with my binoculars but of course it then flushed and flew behind the bushes again. And still most of the twitchers hadn’t seen the bird at all.

So we kept on waiting but luckily pretty soon a reed bunting was seen flying to the bush closest to the tip. So everyone took good positions and a small group led by Sami Tuomela with his thermal camera started approaching the bush. Sami was about 3 meters from the bush when the bunting flushed and flew quite a long way to the bushes but this time at least a couple of photographers managed to get pictures of it and it was clearly a Pallas’s Reed Bunting! And I must say that I had seen the bird as well as on the previous Sunday – expect then nobody got pictures.

So it was time to start searching for the ticking bunting. This bird had proved to be even more difficult to see so we just went in the middle of the bushes to wait for it to show up.

We were waiting and waiting and a couple of some birders with good hearing and good positioning managed to hear some tick-calls and a couple of times some saw a bunting very briefly. I also managed to see it once on the top of pine and once in flight. All identification-marks that were seen were good for a Yellow-browed Bunting but still nobody saw it well – for example nobody saw the yellow eyebrowe.

During the day we slept a couple of hours and then came back to search. But the evening was very quiet until quite late we heard some tick-calls again but again we saw nothing.
When twitchers decided to give up I went to get my recording-stuff from our car while Hanna put up a camp close to the site again.

On the 14th of July we slept until 4 a.m. and then soon found other twitchers who had already managed to see the Pallas’s Reed Bunting. But then it had flight at least 500 meters to the other side of Kaasa-lighthouse.

So we could start searching the ticking bird again. And we didn’t have to wait for too long before we heard ticking. I started to sound-record it but of course some impatient twitchers started to move. I even managed to see the bird with my thermal camera and I was just about to get my camera and take pictures from the bush where I knew the bird was when someone walked right in front of me! I leaned a little to see the bush but then I saw the bird flying towards the sky and soon it disappeared behind the trees.

But at least now we had managed to get some recordings of this bird and the calls were analyzed very soon and the sonograph looked very promising for Yellow-browed Bunting – they were clearly different than Rustic or Little Bunting calls.

We stayed on the place until mid-day but no buntings were seen or heard. Other birds we had observed had been Bramblings and Common Redpolls and so on. We still decided to visit Ulkonokka again. Water was very low now so there were lots of sand-beaches now. But there were almost no birds at all. We saw only the same Common Shelducks, Caspian Terns and one young Little Tern and a Bar-tailed Godwit. Finally we walked back to our car and started a long drive back to home. We stopped to eat with Elissa on Pulkkila ABC but then we continued driving. In Iisalmi we saw a Pheasant and then we still visited Savonlinna Kerimäki Tänkky as a possible Black-winged Pratincole had seen flying over a field nearby. But we saw only a couple of Ruffs and Wood Sandpipers.

We were finally at home at 8 p.m. and I managed to sleep for 2 hours before I had to wake up to watch the football Euro final. Luckily the best team, Spain, won.

In the beginning of the week there weren’t any interesting bird in Siikalahti or Saari Pohjanranta. We still saw quite a few butterflies and now Silver-washed Fritillaries, Map Butterflies, Wood Whites and some other species were flying. We still saw one Lesser Purple Emperor too and some friends had still seen several White Admirals.

J.A.

On the 2nd of June we headed to Melkoniemi forests and found altogether 6 singing Red-breasted Flycatchers but still no Greenish Warblers. A Three-toed Woodpecker was drumming and it was a year-tick. Young Tengmalm’s Owl was looking at us from the nest-hole but in the afternoon it was already out.

We continued to Saari where in Akonpohja we saw a Brent Goose and a Black-tailed Godwit. In the evening I saw a Short-eared Owl in Siikalahti and a female Hen Harrier in Tetrisuo. At night we visited the best places nearby and heard 4 Spotted Crakes, 4 Marsh Warblers, a couple of Great Snipes, lots of Corn Crakes and so on.

On the 5th of June Hanna found a Great Reed Warbler in Särkisalmi and of course I had to twitch it. In the afternoon we visited Saari again and saw a couple of Common Ringed Plovers and a Temminck’s Stint. In Kangaskylä we saw an Oystercatcher and in the evening I twitcher a Grasshopper Warbler in Siikalahti. Then I found another Grasshopper Warbler, heard a Great Snipe, lots of Nightjars and Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a new Spotted Crake. Next day only better bird was a Black Kite in Siikalahti.

An Oystercatcher was seen in the village pretty often and then on the 8th day we saw 3 Oystercatchers flying over Papinlahti where we were having SSP-ringing. We caught only 5 Sedge Warblers, 1+1c Common Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, a Willow Warbler, a Great Tit, 2 Common Rosefinches and a Reed Bunting. A River Warbler was singing nearby and a Grey Heron was heard from the sky. In the afternoon we visited Saari again but saw only a Gadwall couple and a Garganey in Akonpohja and a Little Ringed Plover in Pohjanranta.

On the 9th day we woke up a little bit late but then drove to Lappeenranta Joutseno Kotasaari where a Terek Sandpiper had been seen for quite some time already. We searched for it for several hours in windy weather but without luck. We heard a Marsh Sandpiper a couple of times and saw a couple of Garganeys, a Slavonian Grebe couple, 7 Common and 6 Little Ringed Plovers, 5 Spotted and 4 Common Redshanks, a Yellow Wagtail and heard a Great Reed Warbler. Then we went to Konnunsuo where we found easily 5 Ortolan Buntings, saw a Hen Harrier and heard a Quail. Then we headed back to Kotasaari where we had to keep rain for some time before we had to give up. We were just about to leave when a friendly birder stopped us and told that he had just seen the Terek Sandpiper exactly on the same place where we had just minutes before been. We drove back and there it finally was. It was good to see this personally-looking wader and ever better to hear it calling too.

On the 10th of June I went by bike to check that a couple of Little Ringed Plovers had bred successfully – but they had only 2 youngsters. In village there were again several Barnacle Geese families and on Canada Goose family. I also heard a couple of Marsh Warblers.

On the 11th day at least 12 Hobbies were hunting dragonflies in Siikalahti. In the evening I went to a night-trip with Teijo and Miila Saari. We started with Savi’s Warbler in Siikalahti and then we soon saw a Long-eared Owl and heard plenty of Nightjars and a Corn Crakes before we went to listen to Great Snipes. We found one Great Snipe in a different place too.

Next evening we headed to Saari where we saw a couple of Little Tinged Plovers in Pohjanranta, a Golden Plover in Kuussaari, a Grey-headed Woodpecker in Honkakylä and then in Karinmäki we managed to read a ring of a Curlew that we had seen a couple of years earlier last time with Hanna. It had been ringed 27 years ago in Lincolnshire England! It was already getting dark so we checked a couple of fields but found only the same species. But when we stopped in Jyrkilä I immediately heard a promising song. We walked a little bit closer and then we heard it clearly – a Booted Warbler! Soon we also saw this bird and it was only my second ever self-found Booted Warbler in Parikkala – and a lifer for Teijo and Miila. A Short-eared Owl was hunting over the field too so we were pretty happy!

On the 13th day we met with our old friend Danield Burgas and his two Catalan friends in Jyrkilä. They had driven straight from Helsinki-Vantaa airport and at 8 p.m. they started birding and the first bird was a Booted Warbler which was lifer even for Dani who had lived in Finland for 15 years. We had planned to do birding together at weekend but I had been sleeping so well after work that we decided to do some birding right away. After some watching and listening to Booted Warbler we decided to ring it too. The same Short-eared Owl and Quail were still around and of course several Corn Crakes.

We visited some good places and heard a Spotted Crake, a Water Rail, Great Bitterns, Blyth’s and Marsh Warblers and saw a Long-eared owl.

After my work I slept as long as I could and at 11 p.m. we met Catalans in Siikalahti. Savi’s Warbler was still singing. Then we headed to field where I had heard a distant Great Snipe a couple of nights earlier and there were 3 birds displaying right next to the road!

We continued to Papinlahti where an active River Warbler was also seen quite well. A couple of young Long-eared Owls were heard there too. Then we ringed another Marsh Warbler, found several Reed Warblers and managed to see a Thrush Nightingale well in Kukonkanta. The biggest surprise for us were a couple of Hawfinches that flew over us. Then we decided to ring the young Little Ringed Plovers while a Golden Oriole was already starting to sing.

We still spent some time with Blyth’s Reed Warblers before we headed to Melkoniemi forests. On the way I heard a familiar song through open window and there was finally a Greenigh Warbler! We managed to see this warbler surprisingly well before we continued to try other forest-birds. But the forest was surprisingly quiet. After some waiting we saw a Three-toed Woodpecker visiting the nest that Hanna had found earlier and some of us managed to see a Siberian Jay briefly. Then we ended the trip to neighbor to Savo side of the border where a Red-throated Diver was swimming on the pond with a young.

On the 16th of June we had SSP again and we caught a Marsh Warbler, 2+1c Common Whitethroats, 1k Garden Warbler, a Willow Warbler, 2 Great Tits and a Reed Bunting. Long-eared Owl youngsters, a Spotted Crake and a Water Rail were calling and a White-tailed Eagle flew over.

On the 18th day an Oystercatcher youngsters were seen in an island close to Kangaskylä. On th 19th day I saw a Gadwall in Siikalahti but otherwise I didn’t see much during the week. Hanna was birding every night or morning but mostly she concentrated photographing or atlas-birding.

On the 21st, mid-summer day we slept long but then headed to Saari where in Akonpohja we saw a White-tailed Eagle and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. The Booted Warbler and the Quail were still in Jyrkilä but almost nothing else was found. After we had eaten well, we headed to check that everything was OK with Three-toed Woodpeckers. The nestlings were still very small as a male was inside the nest. Then it started to rain and it was a relief as I really needed some sleep.

But on the next night we were birding again. We checked some new nightsinger areas but found only Corn Crakes, Blyth’s Reed Warblers, a couple of Marsh Warblers and so on. During the day there wasn’t much in Siikalahti either, just a Golden Oriole, 10 Hobbies and the same Savi’s Warbler still. It really seemed that the best birding time was over.

So during the weekend only other things to mention were ringing 2 Oystercatcher chicks that were now on the shore in Kangaskylä – actually they were ringed almost in our back-yard where we also saw a strange flock of 6 other Oystercatchers. Then on the 23rd day we had SSP again and caught a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2c Sedge Warblers, 2c Common Whitethroats, 2c Garden Warblers, a Willow Warbler, 2 Blue and 7 Great Tits and 2 Reed Buntings. In the afternoon while running with Hanna’s brother Miika we saw a female Capercaillie. And at night I twitched a River Warbler as a Siikalahti year-tick.

On the last week of June it was getting very quiet. A short night-trip at 26th showed that even Savi’s Warbler had gone quiet or moved somewhere and only a single Great Snipe was calling only once. Booted Warbler had also disappeared after our last observation. There is still time to find some singers until bush-crickets start their noise. After all the highlight of the week was a House Sparrow family in Kangaskylä – the last pair is still alive.

On Friday the 28th of June we drove to Loviisa with Hanna and Hanna’s sister Elissa. In Pernaja Särklax there was a flooded field where were some waders and we had to really work hard in bad light and haze before we managed to find a Lesser Yellowlegs. A couple of other twitchers were happy to tick a sleeping Greenshank…

On the 29th day we were in Siikalahti for a few hours but saw only a Black Kite. And on the last day of June we did a long boat-trip to Lake Simpele with Arttu Valonen. We surveyed gulls and other birds and found out that there aren’t many pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls left. We also made sure that Cormorants aren’t breeding yet. Then we still visited Rautjärvi Simpele Kokkolanjoki where we checked that 2 pairs of Grey Wagtails were still around and breeding. The rest of the day we took easy.

J.A.

On Friday the 31st of May after work I started driving towards Luoto, where a Bonelli’s Warbler had been singing for almost a week already. It was a long drive but I didn’t stop at all on the way and finally parked to Luoto Eugmo Fränsviken. Willow Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat were singing all the time but I had to wait for some time before I finally heard the Bonelli’s Warbler. I took lots of sound-recording and also managed to get some pretty good pictures of this bird. It was also calling actively so it was good to record the calls too.

I met a local birder at Bonelli’s Warbler place and he told me that a Dark Junco that had been in Luoto a couple of weeks earlier had probably been recorded in Kokkola a couple of days earlier. Merlin App had made the identification. And then there was also a possible record this morning but nobody knew where it had been made.

It was already late evening when I drove to Kokkola and I was driving around the place where the Junco sound-recording had been made. I spent a couple of hours there but then I decided to drive Harrbåda where I tried to sleep a little but without success. When the sun was rising, I drove back to Luoto to tick the Bonelli’s Warbler as a June-tick.

Then I still drove back to Kokkola and searched for Junco for an hour before I drove back towards Harrbåda. First I visited Elba bird-tower and saw a couple of Shelducks. Then I walked along a path to Rummelö bird-tower which was closed because of construction work, but anyway I walked until the tower. A Water Rail was calling on the way and close to the tower I saw a Ural Owl. From the tower I saw a couple of Broad-billed Sandpipers.

Then I drove to the end of the road to Harrbåda and planned to start to sleep. I had already been awake for 24 hours and driven hundreds of kilometers so I as very tired, but anyway I decided to check Harrbåda first. The shore where the birds were was in very bad light but I managed to identify some Common and Lesser Ringed Plovers and then I found a nice Red Knot. I though I had checked all the birds many times already when I noticed a sandpiper that was right back on the shore and in the worst light. I immediately thought it was a Pectoral Sandpiper. But it was all the time behind some rocks so I couldn’t really see it well. But I managed to see that it had yellow legs and very dark throat. I was wondering why it didn’t have a distinct V on its back. I decided to move my scope if there was any other bird nearby for a size-comparisation and soon found a couple of Common Ringed Plovers. I then turned my scope back towards the sandpiper but it was gone! I searched for some time but couldn’t relocate it. So I couldn’t be sure if it had been a Pectoral Sandpiper or a strange, maybe dirty Temminck’s Stint.

There were other birders coming to the shore so I decided to go to sleep. Also my friends visited this place later and they didn’t see any small waders there. But later in the evening a Pectoral Sandpiper was found right on the same spot…

When I woke up I started driving back towards South-East. On the way I stopped in Evijärvi Särkijärvi where I photographed breeding Black Terns in a very hot weather! After all most of the pictures were pretty bad because of the haze.

I still had a long drive back to Parikkala but finally I was at home. It had been a long but successful twitching trip.

J.A.