. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On Tuesday 21st of August I drove south to Kirkkonummi to my parents. On the way I stopped in Lappeenranta Askola where on the pools I saw only 4 Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper and 19 Lapwings. Then I drove until Espoo Laajalahti where were several birders already but not too many birds; a Golden Plover, a Dunlin, 40 Gadwalls and so on. I still drove to Kirkkonummi Saltfjärden where I enjoyed a beautiful sunset with at least 120 Cranes making noise around me.

On the 22nd of August I woke up sick, my throat felt bad. Anyway I decided to drive to Helsinki Viikki but because of the rush-hour it took very long to drive there. Then I had difficulties to find the right parking place from where the path to Lammassaari started. After all it took so long that I decided to give up and drove back to Kirkkonummi where a blue morph Snow Goose had been found again in Storkanskog. The bird had been around for a week.

Luckily the rush-hour was gone and I managed to get to Storkanskog pretty quickly. I found the flock of 400 Greylag Goose easily and then it was easy to find the Snow Goose too! It was only 200 metres from the road so I got some good digiscoping pictures! After 10 minutes a tractor came and pushed the birds further to a longer field and I gave up and drove to my parents.

We had a good lunch and after that I had to go to Helsinki to a meeting that was the reason I was there. In the afternoon I drove back to Parikkala.

J.A.

Ghost Orchid is one of weirdest plant species. Most of the year, this plant grows and lives under ground stealing sugar and nutrients from fungus. If year has been good for fungus, this plant can get enough energy for flowering. Sometimes it can stay under ground for years.

We visited one location for this species. We searched for an hour and in this time we managed to find seven stems. This year was not good for this species since in good year it could be possible to find ten times more flowering stems. Plants were also pretty small.

Photographing was not easy since this plant grows in deepest spruce forest.

H.A.

We have been lazy this summer, we haven’t been birding much in Finland. This Sunday we decided to go birding to Lappeenranta but after all we did almost as much orchid and butterfly searching too. Anyway we leaft after 9 a.m after a lazy morning – we should have awaken earlier. On the way to Lappeenranta we saw a hawk flying over the road in Rautjärvi Pirhola and we immediately realized it was a small harrier. We stopped and luckily the bird started to soar some 300 metres from us. It wasn’t an easy bird but we managed to identify it as a female Montagu’s Harrier! Hanna took several pictures and suprisingly it can be identified from them too!

Our first stop was on Askola pools were we found 31 Dunlins, 12 Ringed Plovers, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Spotted Redshank, Long-tailed Tits were calling on the forest behind us.

Next we continued to our main destination to Haapajärvi. This lake has been dried and it is now really good for waders. Hanna has been counting the birds of this lake in a couple of springs so she really had to see the lake now! On the birdtower we found out that all waders were too far and in very bad light so soon we drove to the other side of the lake, but the waders were even further from there. The light was better but after we had checked all the places we noticed that all waders were now closer to the tower. So we drove back to the tower where we met Matti Vanhapelto who had seen a Knot on the flock of waders which was now on the closest pool. The Knot was gone but we saw 35 Dunlins, 44 Ringed Plovers, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 28 Greenshanks, tens of Wood Sandpipers, 2 Redhanks, 2 Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint. 8 Grey Herons were also seen and an Osprey was fishing over the only deeper water.
Around the lake we saw also lots of butterflies! Surprisingly the most numerous species was a Map Butterfly which still some years ago was a big rarity. We saw our first one about 10 years ago in Värtsilä. Hanna managed to get pictures of one still big rarity, a Large Copper. Many common butteflies were also photographed.

After Haapajärvi a huge thunderstorm came to Lappeenranta so we went to eat. After the rain had stopped, we decided to go again to Askola to see if the rain had dropped any new waders. Surprisingly the main road was flooding so we had to get a smaller road. There was more than a half of a meter water under the bridge! Only 5 more Dunlins were seen and 2 Common Sandpipers so soon we continued to a secret orchid place that Hanna knew.

In one forest there has been Broad-leaved Helleborines that has no chlorophyl. This place is maybe the only place in the world where these flowers can be found at least almost every year. In dry summers the mycelium rests and the verso dies because of the plant can’t photosynthesize itself. But this summer we have got lots of rain and we managed to find three of these magical orchids. Of course there were hundreds of normal Broad-leaved Helleborines but only 3 white ones. These 3 were very weak and full of aphids but still flowering beautifully!

Next we visited Joutseno Kotasaari pools where we met Paavo Rantanen who had already checked all the pools. So we just checked the first one where we saw a strange Barnacle x Canada Goose hybrid, a family of Slavonian Grebes and 2 Little Ringed Plovers.
Then we still decided to drive close to Russian border where we knew some birders had seen some rare butterflies like Scarce Tortoiseshells, Purple Emperors, Lesser Purple Emperors, Great Coppers and Meadow Browns. It was probably too late, both the time of the day and also summer, so we found only a coupe of Meadow Browns, but it was anew species for us.

Finally at 8 p.m. we left back to Parikkala. On teh way we sill saw a family of Wood Larks in Rautjärvi.

On the 5th of August we saw a Grey Heron and heard a Ringed Plover in Siikalahti. On the 7th day we went to Lappeenranta with Harri Partanen. In Askola we saw 52 Dunlins, 6 Curlew Sandpipers, a Little Stint, a Temminck Stint, 42 Ringed Plovers and so on. In Haapajärvi most of the waders were hiding in a vegetation but we managed to count at least 250 Dunlins, 140 Ringed Plovers, 12 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Little Stints, 5 Oystercatchers, 13 Grey Plovers, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Spotted Redshanks, 18 Grey Herons etc. On the way back to Parikkala we visited Joutseno Kotasaari but only the same familiar goose hybrid and 2 younf Slavonian Grebes were seen.

Nutcrackers have came to spend autumn to Parikkala again. At least 4 birds are feeding on trees close to the railway-station.

J.A. & H.A.

This Swift did hit window and it was lying against the glass. Wings were okay and there was no other visible damage. Bird was placed on brick wall. It started immediately climb higher. When it thought that it was high enough, it dropped down and flew nicely away.

We have had very rainy summer and thus mushrooms are growing well. In our forest in Punkaharju it was sometimes difficult to decide where to step. There were so many chanterelles!

Breeding platforms that were build with Parikkala Rautjärvi birding club were success already this summer. Now Tern and Black-headed gull youngsters are flying already, but still there is birds that use these platforms. Today there were several common tern fledglings and common sandpipers. Plants we planted have grown nicely and it is difficult to see that platforms are man made.

Large female Adders live under rowing boat of Siikalahti reserve. Other of them did not want to move from our way, when we were trying to move the boat. After our 3 hours rowing trip it was still waiting inside small pile of grass. It returned under the boat immediately.

H.A.

After my trip to Turkey I really needed some rest. So I only visited Siikalahti a couple of times. On the 6th of July I twitched a Quail in Tetrisuo and on the couple of next nights I heard some Blyth’s Reed Warblers, Corncrakes and a Grasshopper Warbler and a Spotted Crake. On the 11th day I heard a Great Reed Warbler.
On the 13th of July I found a surprice in Siikalahti, Little Gulls had really been breeding well and there were 102 young gulls in a colony. I also saw 75 Lapwings, 20 Ruffs, a Dunlin and a Woos Sandpiper.

On the 14th day in same place I saw 130 Lapwings, again 20 Ruffs, 4 Dunlins, 2 Spotted Redshanks and a nice Bar-tailed Godwit. Some Bitterns were seen on flight and 3 pairs of Honey Buzzards. In the evening we went to Saari with Harri Partanen and saw 118 Lapwings, 6 Golden Plovers and a Ruff in Akanpelto, a 2 c-y male Hen Harrier and 4 Red-backed Shrikes in Akanvaara, Tetrisuo and 2 Grey Herons in Tarassiinlahti.

On the 15th of July very early in the morning I drove to Lappeenranta where I picked up Pekka Punnonen and we started birding already after 6 a.m. In Askola we saw only a Dunlin, so we continued to Haapajärvi. This lake has been dried almost completely because of it is supposed to be cleaned and then filled again. So it is now a paradice for waders. On the way there we still saw a family of Great Grey Shrikes which is not normal breeder this south.

In Haapajärvi we went straight to bird-tower and found out that it wasn’t the best day for waders, there weren’t many as many stints as earlier during the week. We saw only 7 Dunlins, 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a Broad-billed Sandpiper – anyway they are good species in South Karelia. We drove around the lake and checked it from every angle and counted 150 Lapwings, 90 Wood Sandpipers, 60 Greenshanks, 12 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers, 5 Redshanks, 3 Spotted Redshanks and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. A Black Kite and a Goshawk were also seen and lots of Sand Martins (140) and Swifts (200). The weather looked perfect as it started to rain in the afternoon but anyway no new waders were arriving to the lake, so we continued to check Vainikkala fields where we didn’t find anything better. In the afternoon we stopped again in Askola where we saw 6 Temminck’s Stints, 2 Dunlins and 3 Little Ringed Plovers. On the way back home I still checked Siikalahti but suprisingly I didn’t see any waders.

J.A.

Once we were back from Morocco (trip report here) Hanna stayed a couple of days in Helsinki. On Monday 11th of June after work I left together with Rolf Mortensen and Harri Partanen to ring the rest of our owl nestlings. First we drove to Siikalahti where we surprisingly found mom lying on tiny small nestlings. They were of course too small to be ringed yet.

I thought that the same situation would probably be on the next nestboxes too but anyway we continued to Kolmikanta where we found Tengmalm’s Owl mom owl lying over 2 small nestlings. I already told to Harri and “rolle” that we could leave the furthest nestbox for later but they wanted to go to check it too. So we drove to Melkoniemi forests and found one more Pygmy Owl from the nest with tiny chicks.

We walked a little in the forest and tried to find Siberian Jays that were breeding close, but they didn’t show up. A Chiffchaff and a Greenish Warbler were singing on the spruces so after all the visit was worthy anyway.

On the 20th of June we went to check how big are the Tengmalm’s Owls now. It was a surprice they were already ready to br ringed. The smallest was much smaller than 2 bigger ones but anyway big enough. We also went to check if Pygmy Owls were also big enough but they still need to grow some days. The breeding of owls is really very late this year, owls are leaving their nest in the end of June!

In Midsummer weekend we went to Pudasjärvi Syöte where Janne’s relatives gathered to his brother Riku’s summer-cottage. Janne’s parent’s stayed in Riku’s cottage but together with Pirkka’s family we had rented the neighbour cottage. On the way to Syöte we tried to twitch a couple of year-ticks but Great Grey Owls were out from thei nest and Booted Warbler didn’t sing or show up because of the rain and the time of the day.

On Friday I heard a Two-barred Crossbill but almost nothing else even though we had a nice 6 km walk in the forest.

On Saturday we did a short bird-trip to the Syöte National Park where are very good forests for Red-flanked Bluetail. We started at 3 a.m. and started to stop in evry good looking place. On the 3rd stop we found a Wren and a Three-toed Woodpecker but then on the 4th stop we found a Red-flanked Bluetail! It was a stunning adult male but the light was very bad so we didn’t really see the colours well.
We also walked a couple of kilometres long Vattukuru trail and found another Bluetail, this time a 2nd c-y bird. It was also seen well but only singing on the top of the spruces. Later we still heard another Wren, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Wood Warbler before we drove back to sleep at 7 a.m.

The rest of the weekend we were just relaxing, playing with kids, dog and cats and eating a lot! On the way back home on Sunday we tried to twitch a Siberian Stonechat and a Ruddy Shelduck in Liperi but we failed to find them. We tried only 5 minutes because of it was raining and I wanted to hurry to see Italy-England football match.

On Monday 25th of June we went to ring the nestlings of Pygmy Owls. On the first nest-box in Siikalahti there were 4 nestlings and on the second in Kirpoavankivi there were even 7 nestlings to ring.

J.A.