. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

On the 30th of April after I was free from work we were planning to go to Siikalahti, when I got a message that a Spotted Eagle was migrating there. We tried to see it from our balcony and found a big raptor soaring far in South. But then we realized our telescopes were in our car. Of course when we were back in the balcony with a scope we didn’t find the raptor anymore, but we saw a flock of 30 migrating Common Scoters.

In Siikalahti we met lots of birders that had arrived to Parikkala to celebrate the 1st of May. They had seen 3 species of eagles in a short time and also a small harrier earlier. But soon most of them left and we started to scan the sky together with 3 birders from Turku. A Whinchat was singing when someone found a harrier from the sky and it was a second calendar-year Pallid Harrier! It flew straight over us and Hanna manged to get a couple of pictures of this 3rd Pallid Harrier for us in 3 days!

Soon we walked to the bird-tower where we saw that whole Siikalahti was now open. 5 Canada Geese, 5 Wood Sandpipers, 20 Swallows with about 10 smaller martins were seen in bad light and too far to identify. Along the path flowers were already flowering and a tame Chaffinch let Hanna to photograph itself. A Pied Flycatcher was already singing carefully.

In the eveing we went to sauna to Tarvaslampi. On the way back we photographed Spring Pasque flowers and checked Särkisalmi where we saw 93 Great Crested Grebes and 18 Red-necked Grebes. In Liuharanta we still saw 101 Tundra Bean Geese and 10 White-fronted Geese.

On the1st of May the weather had changed and a cold northern wind made it impossible to be in Siikalahti. We checked the wader-area where were 67 Greenshanks, 6 Spotted Redshanks and 2 Ruffs, 2 Tree Pipits and a Yellow Wagtail. Then we checked some bays nearby which all were surprisingly open!

After a couple of hours birding Hanna had to go home to do some painting-work and I continued to Saari with Harri Partanen.
We started at Akanvaara Tetrisuo where we saw a Hen Harrier, in Pohjasuo we saw a Merlin and then in Pohjanranta bird-tower there were many birders keeping the wind. 110 Greenshanks, 24 Ruffs, 22 Wood Sandpipers, 4 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Common Terns were seen.
Next we continued to Suurenjärvenliete where we met Jarmo Pirhonen. Only 19 Pintails and some geese were seen before we continued to Jyrkilä where we counted a flock of 750 Wood Pigeons. In Kanavalampi area we saw 126 Greenshanks and lots of Wigeons. The best bird was an adult Peregrine Falcon which was flying around the lake.

In the afternoon we went to check owl nest-boxes in Tyrjä and Siikalahti area. They were all epmty and one was missing. We still decided to see if there was anything breeding this year at all and went to check a nest-box where a Ural Owl has been breeding in 6 years in a row and luckily it was there again incubating 2 eggs. After a couple of more nest-boxes we still checked Tarvaspohja but nothing new was found.

On the 2nd of May I got a nice birthday-present when on my lunch-hour I checked 3 nest-boxes (or actually 2, one was again missing). In a Ural Owl nest-box there was a Tengmalm’s Owl incubating 2 eggs. After work I still went to check 5 nest-boxes, 2 of them were empty, one was missing (again tree had fallen in a storm and someone had taken the nest-box), a Goldeneye was living in one and then the biggest surprise – a nice Pygmy Owl was incubating again 2 eggs in one! What a great birthday present again!

On the 3rd of May other birders saw good birds in Parikkala but I was at work. In the afternoon I managed to twitch 4 Steller’s Eiders that Jari Kontiokorpi found in Särkisalmi.

J.A.

On the 25th of April I had time only for a couple of short visits to Siikalahti. A Barn Swallow was seen migrating and soon after that a Hobby – the enemy number one for a Swallow – was migrating too. Also 11 Rough-legged Buzzards and 2 Redshanks were seen. On the 26th day I got the first year-tick already right after midnight when I heard migrating Common Scoters. Then on my lunch-hour I saw a male Gadwall, a Garganey, 3 Slavonian Grebes and 2 Common Sandpipers.

On the 27th of April we started a long drive to Oulu. We had planned to visit my brother’s family, of course do some birding and also visit The Liminganlahti Bird Photography Festival. On the way we saw a Nutcracker in Punkaharju and a Pheasant in Vieremä.

On the 28th of April we started at 6:00 a.m. and drove to Liminganlahti to Lumijoki Sannanlahti bird-tower. I managed to get to the tower first and started to check the ducks that were swimming on a small open water area or perched on the ice. Soon I found something strange – a duck with white on its head and something strange on it’s back, something orange – a Mandarin Duck! Luckily it soon climbed to the ice and started to sleep so Hanna and some biology students managed to see it too even though it was very far. A new self-found tick!

I head a Ringed Plover and a Grey heron was seen in flight, a Little Gull was flying with other gulls, 2 Black-tailed Godwits were in Pitkänokka, a Whimbrel was standing on ice and 2 Caspian Terns were flying around. After a couple of hours in windy Sannanlahti we continued to Tyrnävä to see geese. In Ritokorpi we checked a small flock where were mostly Taiga Bean Geese, but some Pink-footed Geese and 4 White-fronted Geese. Then we saw a harrier landing to a field and it looked interesting. Hanna went to photograph it and flushed it and it was a 3rd c-y Pallid Harrier!
Soon we found amazing big floods on some fields in Jokisilta where were about 2000 ducks but only interesting were 2 Garganeys. We continued to Ängeslevä fields where we found amazing 266 Pink-footed Geese! It probably doubled the number of Pink-footed Geese I’ve ever seen! There were only some 30 Taiga Bean Geese in the flock. In Murto we saw some 25 Pink-feets more and then we continued to Liminka Virkkula.

The parking place was absolutely full and there were 200 metres cars parked along the road too! Luckily there was just a lunch-break so we managed to meet many friends in information centre. The new exhibition was very good and of course we visited a bookstore and camera equipment stores. After we had made some sausages on the fire we walked to a new bird-tower. 4 White-tailed Eagles and 22 Black-tailed Godwits were the best birds. 2 Bewick’s Swans were with a big Whooper Swan flock on the field nearby.

Then we drove towards Oulunsalo. On the way we saw a Collared Dove in flight in Liminka village and huge floods in Temmesjoki. In Koivukari we didn’t see anything special and in Kempeleenlahti we saw 7 Shelducks and 5 Little Gulls. Then we still drove to Oulu Toppila where we didn’t find Ring Ouzels that had been seen there earlier during the day but managed to twitch a nice male Black Redstart. Also Oystercatchers were heard which was another year-tick again.
Then we drove to Heinäpää to see my nephew’s football match. He had been injured for months but was the top goal scorer of the tournament which the won later. The rest of the evening we were with my brother’s family.

On the 29th of April in the afternoon we started a long way back to Parikkala. In Siikalatva Pulkkila we saw a stunning male Pallid Harrier flying across the road. In Vieremä we saw 2 Hen Harriers and in Rantasalmi we stopped in Putkilahti where we heard a Bittern and saw a Red-necked Grebe. We still visited Siikalahti where we heard Bitterns and at least 5 Water Rails but nothing else interesting yet.

J.A.

After good breeding islets have over grown, there has not been enough landing and islets for gulls and terns to breed. Also waders haven’t had places to land. Our local birding club managed to build 2 floating islets. These 2×3 meters wide platforms are on plastic pontoons that will keep the surface nicely just over the water level.

We wanted them to look as natural as possible so platforms are covered with stones, mud, dead grass and reed. Hopefully gulls don’t take and carry away our covering material! In other case, if birds accept these artificial islets to their nesting site, they will carry lots of new material. Weather was very foggy so birds did not notice that we were there.

Thanks for all those who participated in building and designing!

After our trip to Sicily we found out that in Finland the spring hadn’t taken any long footsteps. We had got several SMS that told us that we had really chosen tmiing of our holiday perfectly. On the 11th of April when I was again in Siikalahti, it seemed that our luck was even better, it was the first better spring day! I was there only for a couple of hours and saw a Bean Goose, a Hen Harrier, a White-tiled Eagle, even 3 Golden Eagles in 20 minutes, more than 10 Sparrowhawks, about 10 Common Buzzards, 2 Ospreys, 4 Kestrels, a Crane, 25 Lapwings, 12 Black-headed Gulls, 100 Wood Pigeons, 5 Meadow Pipits, 5 Blackbirds, a Fieldfare, a Great Grey Shrike, 6 Snow Buntings and 4 Reed Buntings.

The next days weren’t that good: On the 12th of April I saw a White-tailed Eagle, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Hen Harriers, a Rough-legged Buzzard, 2 White Wagtails and a Redwing and on the next day I visited also Särkisalmi and Lemmikonsalmi where I saw Wigeons, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Curlews were already here and there and in Siikalahti I saw 5 White-fronted Geese with Bean Geese, a Mistle Thrush and on the next day for example a Dunnock and a Linnet.

On the 15th of April I had planned to visit Siikalahti only briefly as the weather was pretty bad. The western wind was very cold and it was raining and snowing but also the sun was shining when the clouds moved away for a while. But when we climbed to the tower we saw 10 Rough-legged Buzzards migrating on the sky. In next 5 hours I saw altogether 42 Rough-legged Buzzards, 20 Common Buzzards, 6 Ospreys, 8 Sparrowhawks, 2 Goshawks, 3 Hen Harriers, 2 Marsh Harriers and 4 Kestrels. 2 Barnacle Geese, Canada Goose, a Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and a Stock Dove were other better birds. On the 16th of April the new year-ticks were a Pochard in Särkisalmi and a Common Snipe in Siikalahti, where also 2 Rooks were seen.

On the 18th day a Moorhen was found in Särkisalmi and on the next day I saw 5 species of geese when Bean, White-fronted, Canada Geese, 1 Barnacle Goose and 2 Greylag Geese were seen. Song Thrush was also seen and on the 20th of April a Great Crested Grebe was in Särkisalmi and in the evening I saw a Woodcock while I was jogging.

On Saturday 21st of April was a tradiotional migration watching day. We met with Harri Partanen in Siikalahti at 5 a.m. or I was 5 minutes late and missed a migrating Woodcock. The day was a disaster because of the fog! The first 8 hours we were waiting for the fog move away and saw only little bit more than 100 migrating birds – mostly thrushes. Between 7 and 8 a.m. we saw only one migrating bird which was a Green Sandpiper and then after that we had an hour without any migrating birds.
And it was very quiet still after that for a couple of hours. Only better bird was a Bittern that moved from a reedbed to another…
But then finally at 12:30 p.m. the fog cleared and suddenly there were thrushes and Chaffinched migrating. Altogether we saw 1370 migrating thrushes, and 1387 Chaffinches but nothing better. Greenshank, Golden Plover and Lapland Bunting were yearticks. In the evening I still saw a Northern Wheatear in Särkisalmi.

On the 22nd of April was much better! The weather was amazing! In the afternoon I was wearing only t-shirt! The migration wasn’t very strong but the quality was good! One of the first birds was a migrating Montagu’s or Pallid Harrier female, unfortunately we didnät see it very well. Then we saw a 2nd c-y White-tailed Eagle, a migrating Black Kite, a migrating 2nd c-y Golden Eagle, 2 adult White-tailed Eagles and then the best an adult looking Greater Spotted Eagle! 4 migrating Cormorants, a Red-throated Diver, 3 Black-throated Divers and a couple of Smews were also nice. There were lots of people in Siikalahti and everyone really enjoyed the day!

On the 23rd of April the new yeartick species was a Shoveler in Lemmikonsalmi. A Moorhen was still in Särkisalmi and in the evening 2 Water Rails were calling in foggy Siikalahti.

J.A.

On the 31st of March we had a traditional Wilderness rally again. We woke up at 1:45 a.m. and a half an hour later we picked up Matti Lötjönen and started to drive north towards out area in the most northern part of Parikkala in Uukuniemi. At 3 a.m. we crossed the border of out area and started to try to find some owls. We were driving a lot and stopping many times in a freezing -15 degrees weather but it was a perfect weather otherwise, no wind at all. But maybe it was too cold, we heard only one distant Eagle Owl.

The first bird of the morning was a singing Treecreeper and it was really early – it was still almost dark. In Jyrkilä area we found a Black Woodpecker and a couple of Black Grouses and soon we heard a couple of lekking Black Grouses more. After some more common species we continued to a bird-lake where we had never been before and found a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers and a Winter Wren. A couple of Whooper Swans flew over us and another Treecreeper was found too. Soon also a Goldcrest and a Crested Tit were found.

We continued towards northern parts of our area and in Niukkala we saw 14 Lapwings, 3 Starlings and only House Sparrows on our area, in Kirkonkylä we saw 2 Blackbirds, in Sirkee we found an Arctic Redpoll in a small flock of Redpolls and in Värtsi we found a Snow Bunting which was in a snowy field together with a Linnet. Then we had another surprise when we found another couple of White-backed Woodpeckers, which we later heard was a completely new place! And soon we had one more surprise when we found a Dipper from a small ditch.

It was quiet in Lammitaus but a Grey-headed Woodpecker was nice anyway. Then Hanna and Matti dropped me to Kumpu view-tower where I tried for more than an hour to see migrating raptors, but the weather had changed – it was now a freezing north-western wind! So I saw only Ravens and a Sparrowhawk and 3 migrating Chaffinches. Matti and Hanna weren’t lucky either so after all we spent the rest of the rally by driving roads around without any good birds.

At 4 p.m. we were already in Mikkolanniemi where all teams came soon. After a dinner we counted the results and the winner team was Juha-Matti and Arttu Valonen and Ari Parviainen. They had been skiing 4 hours in Melkoniemi forests and they had seen a lot – for example 5 Siberian Jays and 5 Three-toed Woodpeckers. The rest of the evening was fun but at midnight we left to sleep at home.

The first days of April were freezing so no birds were seen. On the 3rd day we left to Sicilia… So more soon…

- J.A.

A couple of dry summershad done their job and along the wood-path to Siikalahti the wetland was changing to a forest. The thickest birches and alders were already as thick as a wrist. Some years ago there had been a colony of Little Gulls breeding with Water Rails and Spotted Crakes. Also ducks had been breeding on the area where gulls protected them from crows and harriers. But now the area was getting very poor for any birds so we had to start doing something. Before cutting the bushes the area looked like this:

Three persons were cutting the bushes and quite a big area was cleaned. There was still lots of snow so the work was very hard. And there is still a lot to do but this was a good beginnig. Hopefulle the gulls will find the place good for breeding again.

A Forest and Park Service had built a nice camping kitchen. Crows had already been checking the place.

Some first Migrants are coming

There are only a couple of places where the water moves a little so they open from the ice early. Every year the Whooper Swans are coming earlier and earlier becouse they have to fight for their territories.

In the end of March the spring was coming but slowly. After one warmer day it always came several cold days and the birds were gone again.

On the 21st of March I saw a Pygmy Owl in Lepomäki. It was checking small nest-boxes, maybe it had some food in the freezer? On the 22nd day it was the first spring-day with 6 Whooper Swans, 4 Lapwings, 5 Starlings and a White-backed Woodpecker, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a Great spotted woodpecker and a Long-tailed Tit in Siikalahti and 3 more Lapwings in Särkisalmi.

Then it came again a couple of cold days with snow and northern wind. On the 25th of March in Siikalahti I saw a White-tailed Eagle, a Common Buzzard and 2 Snow Buntings and in Tyrjä 9 more snow Buntings. But then it came cold again.

On the 28th day a Goosander and a Coot had arrived at Särkisalmi and in Siikalahti I saw 15 Whooper Swans, 2 Common Buzzards, 4 Lapwings, a Stock Dove, 17 skylarks, 3 Starlings and so on. It really felt like spring – swans were having big fights on their territories. On the next day the first couple of Goldeneyes was found in Särkisalmi and in Siikalahti I saw a White-tailed Eagle, 2 Common Buzzards, 33 Lapwings which were all going towards south (it was coming a back-winter again), a Stock Dove, 4 Wood Pigeons, a Snow Bunting and so on.

But then it came a back-winter again. On the 30th of March “potu” Suojarinne came to do some birding with me and in Siikalahti we saw a White-backed Woodpecker and a Great Grey Shrike and from our back-yard we saw a flock of 18 Herring Gulls with 2 Great Black-backed Gulls!