. . Lintuharrastajan päiväkirja Birders diary . .

June birding

On the 1st of June I drove right after midnight to Joutseno to twitch a Turtle Dove. On the way I heard 2 Grasshopper Warblers and Corn Crakes in Koitsanlahti. The Turtle Dove was found easily and also a flock of 70 Brent Geese were seen. Later we continued birding in Joutseno together with Pekka Punnonen and Jari Kiljunen and we saw several flocks of Brent Geese, a Common Crossbill and a Bean Goose. In the evening in Myllymäki together with Veli-Pekka Lehtonen we saw 2 migrating cormorants and another bird was much smaller. It was too far to identify but it might have been a Shag! We still went to Laaksola forest where we found a Red-breasted Flycatcher. Also a Three-toed Woodpecker and a Coal Tit were found.

Kuusamo bird race

On the 4th day I started a long drive to Kuusamo. I had got a good offer to join to Kuusamo bird race in team Takaveto together with Andreas Lindén, Vesa Jouhki, Jukka Salokangas and Jaakko Aarniala. The rest of the team had been preparing the race for a week or even more. I drove directly to Kuusamo where I birded a whole night but I couldn’t find anything really special. At early morning of 5th day I went directly to sleep to our cottage where the rest of our team was already sleeping. And in the evening we all woke up and made the last plan for the race.

A couple of hours before the race we packed our rental-Pajero and went to check that a couple of good species were still where they were supposed to be – a Capercaillie and the last nestling of a Tengmalm’s Owl were seen.

At midnight of 6th day the race started. We had a good start with 5 Cormorants and 2 Woodcocks. The Capercaillie was still on its place but the nest of Tengmalm’s Owl seemed to be empty! Luckily 2 young birds started to call and beg for food soon. And soon we found a good surprise species when a Bluethroat was heard singing.

Soon we had a Red-throated Diver, Common Scoters, a Rustic Bunting, a female Pygmy Owl calling, a Three-toed Woodpecker drumming and a Kestrel before we continued to a good bog-area where a Jack Snipe was found immediately. 6 Red-throated Phalaropes, a Spotted Redshank, a Black Woodpecker and finally a Broad-billed Sandpiper were found too.

Along the small roads we heard another Rustic Bunting and saw 2 Willow Grouses. 2 calling Pine Grosbeaks were also found and a Two-barred Crossbill flew over us in the same forest-place. While driving along the main roads we were again lucky when we first found a Rough-legged Buzzard and soon also a Common Buzzard.

The morning was late when we headed to Iivaara where we had to spend almost 2 hours to find several Red-flanked Bluetails, 2 Hazel Hens and a flock of Parrot Crossbills.

Then we had to hurry to Toranki where we luckily saw a Marsh Harrier. The next hour was really good – a Honey Buzzard, a White-tailed Eagle, a Lesser Ringed Plover, a Garden Warbler, a Tree Sparrow and Rock Doves were found. But then we had a flat tire! Luckily we were on the centre of the city so we decided that Jukka tries to get the tire changed and the rest of us took a taxi and kept on going. We twitched a Siberian Tit, Lapwings and Skylarks before heading to Ruka where we tried to find a Grey Wagtail. The wagtail wasn’t found but soon Jukka came with the car and we headed to Vuotunki which was amazing! A Sparrowhawk, a Temminck’s Stint, a Dunlin, Ruffs, a Redshank, a couple of Gadwalls and a Jackdaw were much more than we had expected. Next we had planned to find Bean Geese but when we found a flock of geese there weren’t only Bean Geese but also a Pink-footed Goose with them! A new species for the race ever!

On the rubbish tip we found a Great Black-backed Gull, several Heuglin’s Gulls and a strange pale gull which might have been a hybrid between Glauscous and Herring Gull. After a long drive we found a Little Bunting and a Dipper and 2 Grey Wagtails in Ruka.

The weather was getting a little bit better and the wind was slowing down so we still decided to try to find some missing passerines even though it was already late. It was our 3rd try of Lesser Whitethroat when we finally managed to find it, but even bigger surprise was a Wood Warbler that was found on the same place than it had been on the previous year, not earlier on this year. Also 2 Chiffchaffs were finally heard but then it came too late so we couldn’t find a Lesser Woodpecker or a Wryneck even though we knew several birds.

Then we had our longest hour without any new species but finally a good surprise a Great Grey Shrike was found. Also a Goshawk was still seen on its nest before we continued to our last place to Oulanka.

Unfortunately a nest of a Merlin was empty but a Golden Eagle nestling was seen. During the last hour we were trying to find owls and we managed to find a Ural Owl.

After the race we drove directly to our cottage where we slept until the morning. At 9 a.m. we drove again back to Oulanka where we tried to watch for raptors but the weather was too bad. But surprisingly a flock of Knots were seen migrating. On the way back a Capercaillie and a Willow Grouse were seen.

In the evening the results f the race were told. It was the most exciting hours I have ever had and after all we won the race with 132 species. The second team McRallus had 130 species. The 3rd team was Paras A-ryhmä and 4th was a 24-hours eco-team, Doz-K-Hahn that had been bicycling all the time and they had amazing 118 species! But we had won the Kuusamo race!

Twitching

The next couple of hours we were celebrating but then we decided to go to twitch with Andy. First we went to rubbish tip where 2 teams had had an Iceland Gull and the bird was found immediately. Then we drove 250 kilometres to Sodankylä to twitch an American Black Duck but we weren’t lucky even though we tried whole night. It was raining hard and we were extremely tired so it wasn’t that much fun.

When we were back to Kuusamo Vesa and Jaakko had already left and soon Andreas and Jukka left too. I decided to sleep for a couple of hours before I started my long way back home. Crazy as I am I decided to drive first to Oulu. I twitched Mute Swans as Oulu-tick and a Corn Bunting in Tyrnävä. Luckily also a Rose-coloured Starling was found in Oulu so I went to twitch that too. I still tried to twitch a Savi’s Warbler but it was probably gone. After all I was at Parikkala at morning and I had to go straight to work – and I was sooo tired!

On the 9th day I still couldn’t go to sleep because of a Bee-eater was found in Ristiina. So I still twitched it together with Anniina Tiainen and only at night I managed to go to sleep.

Hanna was also back at home from Georgia and Kuusamo guiding so the next day we were just resting. We were both extremely tired. But on the 11th day I had to go twitching again when a Lesser White-fronted Goose was found in Tohmajärvi Sääperi. We went to twitch together with Johannes Hänninen and Hanna Hyvönen and the bird was found right away. It was feeding on a field together with a 2nd c-y White-fronted Goose. On the way back we checked that the breeding of a Great Grey Owl in Parikkala was still ok. 2 nestling were watching us from the nest.

On the next day we went to ring these Great Grey Owl nestlings. Hanna wanted to climb to this 12 metres high nest and I was ringing them on the ground. The mama-owl was very kind and let us did our work in peace. In a same place there was also a White-backed Woodpecker.

On the 13th day at night I was birding together with Hannes and Pirjo Tiira. All the common night-singers were found but nothing special. Anyway even though Hannes is a famous recorder and night-listener it was again nice to hear many Spotted Crakes, Blyth’s Reed Warblers, Golden Orioles and other birds that are not so common in Western Finland. Later during the day we went with Hanna to try to ring other nestlings of Great Grey Owl in Rautjärvi but the nest was too high on the huge spruce so it was impossible to climb.

On the 15th day we had an eco-race. We biked with Hanna more than 60 kilometres in 10 hours in Parikkala and found 104 species. It was a horrible weather, raining almost all the time. The best birds we found were a nest of a Three-toed Woodpecker, a family of Siberian Jays, a Redshank, a Ruff, 2 Canada Geese, all the common night-singers including Reed and Great Reed Warbler and so on. It was nice to explore the nearest birding places this way for a while.

The real MEGA

Once we were back at home I got a call from Hannes Tiira that they had found probably a real MEGA a Swinhoe’s Snipe in Tohmajärvi. He told to take recording equipment with me and also that the alert was already going to all other birders around the country. So we left immediately. On the way I was all the time solving out why on earth the alert-message hadn’t arrived, but only when we were already there in Niirala the message came. After 20 minutes waiting the bird was found on the sky and it started its amazing display with strange voice from its tail-feathers! I managed to get a Swinhoe’s Snipe recordings and sent it by email to put to the internet and soon all the birders in whole country were sure that there really was a Swinhoe’s Snipe in Tohmajärvi!

It took a long time before the real twitchers started to arrive from Helsinki and Tampere so meanwhile we twitched 2 displaying Great Snipes only a couple of kilometres from the Swinhoe’s Snipe. I got good recording of these amazing birds too and we also heard a Booted Warbler singing shortly before we went back to Niirala. The Swinhoe’s Snipe was quiet for a couple of hours but finally it started to display again and people were so happy! When the top twitchers had got their lifer we decided to drive back home because of I had to be at work soon.

The end of the June

On the 17th of June we found 2 Black Terns in Siikalahti and I twitched a White Stork in Rautjärvi Purnujärvi. I also went to record the nestlings of Three-toed Woodpecker.

On the 18th day a Red-footed Falcon was found in Siikalahti and in the evening we went to ring the Three-toed Woodpecker nestlings together with Hanna and Anniina. There were 4 nestlings that left their nest only the day after ringing.

On the 19th of June I was again birding whole night but nothing special was found – of course Blyth’s Reed, River and Grasshopper Warblers, Spotter and Corn Crakes, Water Rails, Golden Orioles and Nightjars and so on. On the 20th day we went to ring a young Ural Owl that Anniina had found in Uukuniemi. Unfortunately 2 other youngsters weren’t found. We did birding on the way back but the best bird was a twitched Red-breasted Flycatcher in Rautalahti and we managed to find one more Ural Owl in Syvälahti.

On the 21st day we were guiding Chris Batty and a British group. We still managed to find a fledling of Three-toed Woodpecker, a family of Siberian Jays, 2 families of Hazel Hens, a Red-backed Shrike and so on. A Red-footed Falcon was still in Siikalahti and then we still went to see the Great Grey Owls and surprisingly we found out that one youngster was already on the ground while another was still on the nest. So we ringed this stunning bird and the group really got something special! Hanna still continued with the group and they had for example White-backed Woodpeckers and all the night-singers. Hanna also told them how to find a Willow Grouse in Kontiolahti and they made it.

Meanwhile I drove to Lappeenranta where I picked up Pekka Punnonen and then in Lahti Miika Suojarinne was picked up. We continued a long way to Lempäälä where we were at 4 a.m. After 15 minutes we found what we were searching for – a Lesser Yellowlegs! It was just flying briefly over a grassy island before it landed invisible. We waited for 4 hours to see it again but we weren’t lucky. Anyway we all managed to see it well enough to get another lifer! After 8 a.m. we started our way back. With Pekka we still stopped in Iitti Mukulanlahti and twitched 3 Caspian Tern in Lappeenranta Askola. I still twitched a Quail in Joutseno Kilteinen before I was back home – tired again!

On the 23rd day my both brothers came to Parikkala with their families. On the first night we went to twitch Swinhoe’s Snipe with Pirkka. Luckily the bird was heard right away. We also twitched a Savi’s Warbler and Great Snipes that we managed to see very well while they were feeding on the field. On the way we still managed to find a Ural Owl fledling and see an adult Great Grey Owl and heard the youngsters calling.

The rest of the week went while watching football and playing with children. Also my parents arrived so after working I had no time for birding almost at all. At 26th day we did a short night-trip but nothing special was found. On the last days of June I was sick. Anyway I had a great weekend in Oulu with my old friends, but no birding was done. But after all I had got an amazing bird-month!

Busy May

The beginning of May was again good! On the 1st day we saw the 2nd Lesser Spotted Eagle of the week and also a Black-tailed Godwit. Some other better birds were a couple of Yellow Wagtails, a Jack Snipe, 13 Whimbrels, a Redshank and so on. In Vartialahti a couple of Scaups were found.

On the 2nd of May I got a good birthday present when I managed to twitch a Savi’s Warbler in Siikalahti. The bird continued its migration on the next night so it wasn’t heard later.

On the 3rd we had again the traditional bird tower competition. With Hanna, Jarmo Pirhonen, Ilpo Kuusisalo, Matti Lötjönen and Johannes Hänninen we saw altogether 88 species in 8 hours from Siikalahti bird-tower. The best species were a Greylag Goose, 7 Cormorants, 2 Rough-legged Buzzards, a Merlin, 2 Peregrines, a Black-tailed Godwit, altogether 61 migrating Whimbrels, 2 Rooks and a White-backed Woodpecker. In the afternoon we went to check a breeding of a Great Grey Owl in Rautjärvi and to twitch 3 Marsh Sandpipers in Pohjanranta.

On the 4th day I saw 4 Scaups in Härskiinmutka but in other way it was very quiet – it was too nice weather! So the next few days I went to check the owl nest boxes, but unfortunately they had nothing else that Great Tits breeding. A stunning Capercaillie was seen and a Cuckoo and a Wryneck were heard.

On the 9th day I saw a Montagu’s Harrier from our garden! Also a flock of Common Scoters were migrating. And on the next day also 2 Velvet Scoters were found swimming in a flock of Common Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks. In Saari just Ortolan Buntings were found in Akanvaara Tetrisuo and 3 Marsh Sandpipers were still in Pohjanranta. In the evening finally 2 breeding Tengmalm’s Owls were found.

On the 11th day 3700 geese were seen migrating and the 1st Swift was found. At night altogether 23 Water Rails, 9 Spotted Crakes, 17 Sedge Warblers, 5 Thrush Nightingales and a Ural Owl were heard in Siikalahti.

In the mid May only better birds were a couple of Stock Doves in Tetrisuo, but otherwise I was trying to get my car repaired and was watching ice-hockey.

Virolahti

On the 16th of May I drove first to Imatra where I twitched a Moorhen in Immalanjärvi. Also 2 Oystercatchers were seen and a Garden Warbler was heard. In Joutseno Konnunsuo I saw 5 Pink-footed Geese amongst the other geese and in Kotasaari 5 Little Ringed, 3 Ringer Plovers and 12 Temminck’s Stints were found. In Lappeenranta Hanhijärvi an Arctic Tern was flying with a big flock of Common Terns and Little Gulls.

On the 17th of May in very early morning after an hour sleep I woke up in a back of Miika Suojarinne’s – “potu’s” car in Virolahti Lakakallio. Soon we were watching for migration. 100 divers (mostly Black-throated), 2500 Barnacle and 860 Brent Geese, 12 Red Knots and so on were seen. But the migration wasn’t very good so we decided to drive to Hamina Kirkkojärvi to twitch a Penduline Tit. The tit was heard and also a couple of Reed Warblers. In the afternoon we were just going to sleep when we got an information that a flock of 70 Barnacle Geese with a Red-breasted Goose had landed to the sea between us and a couple of island. After some searching I found a flock far in the middle of the sea swimming but soon they went behind the trees. After 2 hours waiting a flock of anser-Geese flew over them and the flock took off and right away I found the Red-breasted Goose from the flock even though they were far!

On the 18th day the migration was still pretty poor. A couple of thousands of Long-tailed Ducks and Barnacle Geese and a twitched male Red-footed Falcon in Ala-Pihlaja were good. In Lintulahti where Hanna was staying with her Dutch group we saw a Bluethroat and heard a Corn Crake. In the evening I started my way home. In Ylämaa Väkevänjärvi I still saw a thousand of Barnacle and 10 Brent Geese and heard a White-backed Woodpecker and a Stock Dove.

On the 19th day I saw a male Gadwall in Siikalahti, in Saari nothing else than a big flock of Yellow Wagtails were found. I still went to check another breeding of a Great Grey Owl.

The next few days I was relaxing but on the 22nd of May I saw a flock of 3 Temminck’s/Little Stints and a Dunlin and heard a Great Reed Warbler in Siikalahti.

On the 23rd day I started my way to Oulu where I participated to a 24-hours bird-rally. I decided to drive through Kajaani and on the way I twitched 2 Dotterel in Pohjasuo. In Otanmäki pools 14 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Scaups and 3 Long-tailed Ducks were found.

Oulu area bird-race

On the 24th morning out team ”Chocolate Moose” me, Harry Nyström, Petri Lampila and Samuli Lehikoinen meet in Oulunsalo Vihiluoto.

We had planned to begin in Liminka Hirvineva but it was too empty, only a Garganey, a couple of Sparrowhawks and a Red-necked Phalarope were found. So we drove to Rantakylä which wasn’t any better but at 11.58 a.m. we had to start, but only better species we saw were a flock of Common Crossbills, a Stock Dove and a Wood Lark. Luckily we saw 2 Grey Partridges while we were driving to Liminka where a Collared Dove and Tree Sparrows were found.

In Virkkula a Honey Buzzard and an Osprey were good ones, also 2 Dunlins, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, a Common Buzzard and the 1st of our 6 Hen Harriers were seen. In Lumijoki Sannanlahti we saw a Shelduck, a stunning Grey Plover and a migrating Broad-billed Sandpiper.

Then we drove to Siikajoki Alhonmäki where again we tried to see some raptors. Soon we had a Sparrowhawk, a Goshawk and a Rough-legged Buzzard in our species-list. The next goal was Karinkanta where all the fields were full of birds! Spotted Flycatchers, Willow Warblers, Yeallow Wagtails and Northern Wheatears were everywhere but also a Whitethroat, a Bluethroat, 2 Red-backed Shrikes and a Wood Warbler were found. From the fields we found the flocks of 12 Dotterels and 20 Golden Plovers. And again we saw quality raptors: 3 Merlins and a Peregrine.

In Savilahti we saw lots of waders but far and the light was really bad. But a stunning male Pallid Harrier flew beautifully very close to us. It was carrying a wader so it was probably breeding somewhere near. Also 2 Barnacle Geese were good to see.

In Munahieta we had many new species as we expected. Lots of Velvet Scoters were migrating but also a flock of Long-tailed Ducks, 11 Red-necked Grebes, an Arctic Skua and a Spotted Redshank were found. In Säikänlahti we found a Pochard and heard a Black Woodpecker.

It was already late when we continued to Raahe Lapaluoto. Many migrating flocks of Common Scoters were seen but we got also something much better. A Mute Swan, 2 migrating Short-eared Owls and a Slavonian Grebe were good but a migrating Long-tailed Skua was really something! We had a funny situation when a skua was migrating between the owl and the grebe in same scope-picture!

In Aittalahti we saw only lots of Little Gulls and the Eagle Owl wasn’t found in its traditional place in sewage dump. So we continued to Pyhäjoki Hanhikivi where we heard a Willow Grouse! After the midnight we continued to Teerelä where a Grey Partridge was seen.

When the night was as quiet as it gets we continued to get the only nest box breeders we had – a Ural and a Great Grey Owl. It took some time to reach the place where the owls were but once we were there they were really close to each other – only 40 metres!

Then we had to hurry because of the morning birds started to wake up. When it is minus 3 Celsius degrees and as dark it gets this north and almost no birds at all the birders that have been woken for 20 hours are not very clever. So every single moment when it is possible it is important to get some action – that’s why every rabbit, hare and moose caused lots of activity in our car. We also had some difficulties to identify a couple of animals: for example I thought a Crane was a Badger and also a fox or a cow was seen.

The first morning stop in Karjala was productive: a Blackcap and a couple of Two-barred Crossbills were found. In Merikylä we had a singing Hazel Hen and an amazing lecking Capercaillie that was attacking to us very aggressively. In Kaasa a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and some divers were seen. In Sääri a Pheasant was a big surprise and in Lumijoki Varjakka we finally saw our first 2 White-tailed Eagles – and very close! Also 2 Chiff-chaffs and 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers were good.

We were already late from our schedule so we didn’t stop too many times in Oulunsalo Letto road but we managed to hear a Wryneck already from the moving car. In Akionlahti we finally found a Gadwall and in Mustaniemi a Bar-tailed Godwit and a flock of Parrot Crossbills were found.

Then we had to drive to Oulu where we had more places to visit than we had time. So we drove to Pyykösjärvi where Samuli was left while the rest of us went to try to find a Coal Tit. The tit wasn’t found but Samuli called that he had found a Lesser Black-backed Gull. So we drove back and Samuli had a big surprise for us he hadn’t only a Heuglin’s Gull (a subspecies of a Lesser Black-backed Gull in Finland) but also a Glauscous Gull!

We still drove to Hietasaari where a Little Stint (and many Lesser-Black-backed Gulls) was found. We still dreamed about Hawfinches and Goldfinches but the 24 hours was full soon.

After all we had got 163 species and we won clearly. We had 11 species more than the second teams in this rally where altogether 14 teams were participating.

After the meeting where the results were given I still had the hardest part of the trip to go. I had been awaken already for 30 hours and I still had to drive back home. Anyway I still went to twitch a Terek Sandpiper before I started driving. The only stop was made in Piippola Kortteinen where only big flocks of Black-headed and Little Gulls and 6 Red-necked Phalaropes were seen. At 10 p.m. I was back in Parikkala.

The end of May

On the 26th of May we went to ring the owl-nestlings with Hanna and Tero Linjama that had come to do some recording to Parikkala. The first Ural Owl family ringing went fine but the on the second nest the mother owl attacked a couple of times very aggressively. The recording that Tero got. Luckily our helmets are very good – stupid-looking, but good, so neither I was hurt nor the owl. On the second Tengmalm’s Owl nest the mother was surprisingly still incubating!

On the 28th day Hanna left to Georgia to lead a Kontiki-tours bird-tour in Kazbegi and Chachuna, but I stayed in Parikkala. We went to record some night birds with Tero and Spotted Crake, Water Rail and Blyth’s Reed Warbler were recorded. We also heard an Ural Owl, a Great Reed Warbler and White-backed Woodpeckers. On the 29th of May I birded a couple of hours on the way to Lappeenranta. A couple of Oystercatchers were found in Ruokolahti Laurinniemi, a Red-necked Phalarope in Joutseno Korvenkylä, 3 Broad-billed Sandpipers in Kotasaari and in Konnunsuo a Short-eared Owl and a Hen Harrier were fighting together. On the way back home I checked that everything was still fine with Great Grey Owl and in same place I heard a Nightjar. On the 30th day I saw 2 Nutcrackers in Punkaharju Lusto.

On the last day of May we birded together with Harri Orenius. Plenty of Water Rails, Spotted Crakes, Corn Crakes and Blyth’s Reed Warblers and a couple of Nightjars and Golden Orioles were heard. Also another Great Grey Owl was still fine and a Ural Owl was found accidentally. Later in the morning I still continued to Niemennurkka where I found a Greenish Warbler. And still I went to the forests to find a Hazel Hen, Wrens, Common Crossbills and a young fledling of White-backed Woodpecker.

Amazing April

On the 1st of April I was still in Parikkala so the traditional places Siikalahti, Lemmikonsalmi and Särkisalmi were checked. A couple of Canada Geese, Buzzards, a Rough-legged Buzzard, 50 Lapwings, a Linnet, 37 Snow Finches and so on were migrating and the open water places had Goldeneyes, Goosanders, Mallards and Herring Gulls. Also a Grey-headed Woodpecker was heard and a small flock of Long-tailed Tits were seen.

On the 2nd day I headed south where Hanna already was. On the way to Helsinki I stopped in Lappeenranta where a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Mistle Thrush were seen and in Sipoo I saw a Hen Harrier migrating. Before I picked up Hanna from Zoological Museum I visited in Viikki where nothing special was found – the back-winter had pushed all the better species more south.

On the 3rd day we finally started our bird trip to Kuwait! Together with Tero Linjama, Janne Kilpimaa, Petri Kuhno and Tero Toivanen we birded there for 9 days and thanks to Pekka Fågel a Finnish birder living in Kuwait, everything went perfect! The whole Kuwait trip story: Kuwait 4th to 12th of April (for example Socotra Cormorant, Dunn’s Larks, Shikra, Oriental Skylarks, Mynahs, Bridled and White-cheeked Terns – altogether 20 WP-ticks!)

On the 13th of April we were again driving back to Parikkala. We twitched a Pallid Harrier in Joutseno Konnunsuo where we had also a Peregrine Falcon, 2 Bewick’s Swans and several other year-ticks. Anyway the spring had came slowlier than we had thought and there was still snow on the ground and not many migrants around.

During the next couple of days I saw the first Marsh Harriers, Great Crested Grebes and Green Sandpipers. Also an early Red-throated Diver seen. I started to check the owl nestboxes and surprisingly I found a couple of Ural Owls.

On the 19th day we were in Siikalahti bird tower with Johannes Hänninen and in 8 hours we didn’t see many migrants but a Bewick’s Swan, a couple of Garganeys, a Heuglin’s Gull, 369 migrating Wood Pigeons, more than 300 thrushes, 2000 Chaffinches and so on. In the afternoon I saw some hundreds of geese in Saari where I also twitched a Gadwall and an early Scaup.

On the next day we were again at the tower with Hanna and Pekka Punnonen. And now we were lucky – we saw a Kingfisher! We also went to ring a female Ural Owl and after we had eaten we went back to Siikalahti with Pekka and saw a migrating 2nd c-y Pallid Harrier – already the second Siikalahti tick of the day!

On the next days I saw some Barnacle Geese and a Pink-footed Goose in a big flock of Bean and White-fronted Geese in Siikalahti. Also Shovelers, Slavonian Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Wrens, Wheatears and the first Wood Sandpiper arrived. On the night of 24th and 25th we heard 5 Water Rails and a Spotted Crake.

And on the next days we birded with Pekka around Saari and Rautjärvi but nothing special was found. We also checked many empty owl nest boxes. Only year ticks were a Tree Pipit, a Common Sandpiper, a Chiffchaff, Common Scoters, a Common Tern, 2 Ruffs and 2 Black-tailed Godwits that we twitched.

On the 27th day we were again in the tower with Hanna and Pekka and again we were lucky. 50 Little Gulls had arrived; we counted 14 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Swallows and so on. 2 White-tailed Eagles were migrating and then a Lesser Spotted Eagle!

On the 28th day Miika Suojarinne came to do birding with us. We went to twitch a Pectoral Sandpiper to Liperi. Surprisingly Ahonkylä fields had also 150 Greenshanks, 8 Wood Sandpipers, 2 Ruffs, a Spotted Redshank, a Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Pink-footed Goose, a Bewick’s Swan and a Short-eared Owl. In the evening we still drove to Kontiolahti Pitkäranta where we twitched a Great White Egret. Also 106 Great Crested Grebes, 22 Common Scoters, 2 Long-tailed ducks, 22 Black-throated divers and 14 Whimbrels were counted.

On the next day I got another Siikalahti tick when Esko Veijalainen and Jari Kontiokorpi found a migrating Black Stork! Luckily I managed to drive to Siikalahti so fast that the bird was still soaring above Siikalahti. In the evening 3 Sand Martins, a Jack Snipe and a couple of Yellow Wagtails were seen.

On the last day of April the only year-ticks were a Willow Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher. At night 10 Bitterns, 10 Water Rails and 2 Spotted Crakes were heard.

March – Spring comes and again winter

The March started with a Pygmy Owl in Sammallampi. The bird was sitting on a top of a tree for whole morning and several birders saw it.

On the 2nd of March we did a winter-bird count. We found altogether 6 White-backed Woodpeckers. The most common bird was a Redpoll but most of the 87 birds were in one flock. Otherwise the count was pretty boring; a couple of Goldfinches were only other interesting birds.

On the 5th day 40 Herring Gulls were already at river Vuoksi in Imatra. On the 8th day I went to record woodpeckers and saw the first Common Buzzard and a Whooper Swan. In Tyrjänmäki I saw a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

On the 10th day in Kanavalampi I saw 12 Whooper Swans and on the next day the spring seemed to be arriving when a Skylark and a Lapwing were seen.

On the 12th day I saw some more Lapwings even though the fields were covered with snow. In small open water in Lemmikonsalmi was the first couple of Goldeneyes and Herring Gulls, also a Blackbird, a Rook, a Snowfinch, a Common Buzzard and the first migrating flock of Waxwings were seen.

On the 14th day we twitched an Owl that was calling in Tarvaslampi, it was an Eagle Owl. I managed to get really good recordings! We also stopped in Melkoniemi where a Tengmalm’s Owl and a couple of Tawny Owls were heard.

On the 15th day we went to Kiljava to BirdLife meeting. On the way we twitched an overwintering Crested Lark in Lahti. The weekend was great and on the way back we saw all the overwintered birds on Vuoksi (Smews, Tufted Ducks, Canada Geese, Whooper Swans and a Red-breasted Merganser) and plenty of Herring Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull.

On the 17th day I saw a White-tailed Eagle in Siikalahti and on the 19th day there were 3 Rooks on our backyard.

On the 20th day I drove to Kirkkonummi where Hanna was already once she had a dream job from Helsinki zoological museum – she was painting the backgrounds for dioramas. On the way I stopped on Vuoksi and in Lappeenranta Toikansuo where I finally found 2 Twites. I was hoping the Eastern holiday in Southernmost Finland would give me many interesting observations and several month-ticks. But what happened, very bad back-winter! It was minus 20 degrees at nights and snowing a lot. Still on the

21st day we had pretty good weather and we started at early morning in Porkkala. The only migrating birds were 2 Grey Herons but 500 Long-tailed Ducks, 300 Eiders, 20 Mute Swans and a Parrot Crossbill were nice to see. In Saltfjärden we right away saw 2 Bearded Reedlings, heard a really early Bittern and saw several Reed Buntings. Later 57 Canada Geese, 20 Lapwings, 10 Buzzards and 2 Goshawks, Starlings, a White-tailed Eagle and a Mistle Thrush were seen. In Mattby we saw 4 Bean and 2 Greylag Geese, in Helsinki Lauttasaari a Wigeon and in Espoo Nuottalahti 90 Tufted Ducks and 4 Pochards.

On the 22nd day we had planned to go to Hanko but on the way a really horrible snowing started. So we decided to check some fields in Karjaa where 2 Bewick’s Swans, 55 Bean and 37 Canada Geese were found in Kvarnbacka. In Lappträsk the birds had kept the water open and there were 146 Mute and 110 Whooper Swans, 72 Canada Geese, 62 Mallards, 29 Tufted Ducks, 18 Goldeneyes and 16 Coots. But the weather was so bad it was impossible to continue so we decided to go sightseeing to the castle of Raasepori and Mustio canal. The roads were extremely slippery so we had a small accident and checked how deep are the local ditched. Luckily I managed to keep 3 wheels on the road and the car was easily lifted up. On that road most of the cars we saw were on the ditches! Calls to Hanko and Kirkkonummi told that the weather was as bad in Hanko but in Kirkkonummi the sun was shining. So we had a short stop in Inkoo Gallery Karaija where were again lots of bird paintings and then continued to Kirkkonummi. Nothing special was found but in Järsö we twitched a Ringed Plover and saw a flock of 50 Stock Doves, a Wood Pigeon, 3 Rooks and a White-tailed Eagle.

On the 23rd day I birded with my old friend Risto Nevanlinna. We had been birding together last 20 years ago when I lived in Espoo. The day was really cold so nothing really special was found. In Suvisaaristo we saw 130 Tufted ducks and 100 Long-tailed Ducks, in Kasavuori 2 Grey Herons, 6 Smews and Cormorants already on their colony. Anyway the day was really fun! In the afternoon I picked up Hanna from Helsinki where we twitched a Little Grebe in harbour. Later we still birded a little in Kirkkonummi but only a flock of 6 Wood Pigeons, a Great Grey Shrike and a White-tailed Eagle were seen.

On the 24th morning I went to Saltfjärden where I finally saw a local Golden Eagle. Also 4 White-tailed Eagles, 55 Reed Buntings and a Bittern were around. Then I twitched a Wood Lark in Hila before I started my long way back home. I decided to drive first to Kotka where I twitched again a Black-throated Thrush and a Wood Duck. Then I continued to Hamina where I twitched a Great Grey Owl. On the same place also a White-backed Woodpecker and a Nuthatch were heard- Also a couple of Chaffinches were already singing. Also some more common birds were seen on the way.

In South Karelia there was maybe more winter than in whole winter. There was lots of snow and really cold! So I didn’t do almost any birding for days.

On the 29th of March we had a traditional wilderness-rally. Hanna came also and we were birding in a border of Russia in Rautjärvi. We started at 02.30 a.m. but the owls were absolutely quiet. The first bird was seen after 3 hours driving when a Hazel Hen was found. Soon we heard a couple of Pygmy Owls too. Then we started to look for woodpeckers because all the real wilderness species gave more points than regular species in this rally. The best point-species was a White-backed Woodpecker. After all we managed well: we found 7 Grey-headed Woodpeckers, 4 White-backed Woodpeckers, 5 Hazel Hens, 2 Black Grouses, a Black Woodpecker, 3 Goshawks, 12 Common Buzzards, 2 Dippers, 5 Great Grey Shrikes and 6 Snow Finches but the best species was a Great Grey Owl! With all the woodpeckers we came 2nd in thi race where 9 teams were exploring in different areas. The social evening was again great!

On the 30th day in Särkisalmi was a Canada Goose and in Lemmikonsalmi a Goosander. In Rautalahti I saw 92 migrating Snow Finches. It seemed that the spring was finally coming (again), even 3 Lapwings were flying around over the snowy landscape.

On the last day of March it was +10 degrees and sun shining so the snow was melting really fast! On my lunch hour I saw a White Wagtail, 30 Lapwings and a flock of 2 Wood Pigeons and a Stock Dove. In the afternoon I saw more Lapwings and Wood Pigeons, a Kestrel, a Starling and a Black-headed Gull.

The spring was finally coming, but we’ll go to catch the summer to Kuwait. More soon…

February – and it’s not a winter

On the 1st of February once I had finished at work I drove to twitch some February-ticks. At Imatra Vuoksi I saw Canada Geese and a Black-throated Diver and also Whooper Swans, a Tufted duck, Smews, a Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Herring Gulls, a Goshawk and some Cormorants. In Lappeenranta Tuohimäki I saw a Kestrel but In Toikansuo only Redpolls and 5 Arctic Redpolls.

In the evening I drove in a terrible weather to Kotka where I birded next day with Markus Keskitalo. The sea was fully open and there were no snow at all, but it was raining. Common Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and a Cormorant were seen and a Wood Duck in Sapokka and a Pochard in Sunilanlahti were twitched. A Black-throated Thrush was finally found on third try from Mussalo Etukylä where also a White-tailed Eagle was soaring on the sky. In the evening I drove to Lappeenranta where we birded together with Pekka Punnonen and Jari Kiljunen on the next day. The weather was still awful and only a Goldfinch, Chaffinches and all the same bird in Imatra Vuoksi were seen.

On the 5th day I drove to Savonlinna to twitch a Pintail and do some shopping. Pintail was again one more bird that I’ve seen now in every month. On the 7th days evening I was once again in Lappeenranta and finally I heard a Tawny Owl calling in Hanhijärvi. I also twitched 2 calling Long-eared Owls in Joutseno Pieni-Läykkä. On the 8th days evening we heard a Ural Owl calling in Kullinsuo.

On the 9th day I was birding with Sampsa Cairenius. First we twitched a Rough-legged Buzzard in Savitaipale Tainasuo where also a Great Grey Shrike was seen. Then we continued to Lemi where in Urolanlahti a migrating Goldfinch was surprisingly seen. Soon we were again in Toikansuo where a Rook and a Teal were seen and then we hurried to Joutseno Kukkuroinmäki where Jarmo Pirhonen had found a Capercaillie. In Konnunsuo area we still found a couple of Great Grey Shrikes.

On the 10th day I finally found a Hawfinch in Imatra Linnansuo and also all the wintering birds were seen in Vuoksi again. Now there were 6 Herring Gulls. In the evening we went to check the Ural Owls were again on their nesting site.

On the 14th day I surprisingly saw a Fieldfare and a White-tailed Eagle in Siikalahti. It was a good an hour trip: only 7 species were seen but 2 winter-rally ticks and also a White-backed Woodpecker. On the 16th day we saw several White-backed Woodpeckers, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and 14 Black Grouses there.

On the 17th days morning we kept a birdwalk in Imatra Vuoksi. The weather was awful but some of the wintering ducks were seen. During the day we birded in Lappeenranta with Jari Kiljunen but in a horrible weather nothing else that a Grey Heron in Luukkaansalmi and a Fieldfare and a Great Grey Shrike in Toikasuo were seen.

On the 21st days evening we heard a Pygmy Owl in Jalaslampi but then again the weather went bad. On the 23rd morning we went to skiing and see Siberian Jays with Jari Kiljunen. Also a displaying Goshawk was seen. In the afternoon I drove to Joutseno Kukkuroinmäki to twitch 2 or 3 Common Buzzards. In the evening in Vuoksi we counted already 130 Herring Gulls and also 3 Great Black-backed Gulls – the spring was here!

During the next day we went to see the Siberian Jays with Pekka and we also found 2 Hazel Hens, 2 Treecreepers and 1 or 2 Three-toed Woodpeckers. In Kirkonkylä we saw and heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker and in Siikalahti a White-backed, a Black and a Black Woodpecker. With common Great Spotted Woodpecker we saw altogether 6 woodpecker species in 3 hours! In Satumäki we saw a flock of 12 Siskins.

On the leap day I went to twitch day-ticks. On the morning I got a Grey-headed and White-backed Woodpecker. After the work I drove to Vuoksi where all the same birds were seen but the diver had disappeared. Then I twitched a Kestrel, Common Buzzards and a Great Grey Shrike in Joutseno and Grey Herons, a Rook and Teals in Lappeenranta. Then we continued with Pekka to Askola where we heard an Eagle Owl that I recorded. In Hanhijärvi we heard 2 Tawny Owls that unfortunately stopped too soon when another Eagle Owl started to call. Then we still heard a Tengmalm’s Owl in Penttilä. I still continued to Hanhijärvi to try to record Tawny Owls but now there were 2 Tengmalm’s Owls calling with the Eagle Owl.

January – Euro winter continues

On the 1st of January we started the year in Ylämaa Väkevänjärvi where weren’t only Pekka Punnonen and Jari Kiljunen but also a White-fronted Goose with more than 60 Whooper Swans. Of course many other year ticks were seen, a Black Woodpecker was the best one. We continued to Rumpu where a Nuthatch was till present. Also a Crested Tit and a Trecreeper were heard. Then we continued to Lappeenranta Toikansuo where in a flock of Redpolls we saw an Arctic Redpoll, a Snowfinch flew over us and a Chaffinch was also heard. In Luukkaansalmi we twitched a Hooded Merganser that was now there with a couple of Goosanders. In Laihia we tried to find a Pheasant but we found something better – a flock of 4 male and 2 female Steller’s Eiders! While I was putting a message about the Steller’s Eiders to other birders we got a message there was a Glauscous Gull in Luumäki. So we drove there and a nice adult bird was still present with a couple of Herring Gulls. In a hurry we drove back to Lappeenranta wherein Tuohimäki we twitched a Kestrel and then to Joutseno Pulp first only a Cormorant was found but finally a Black-throated Diver too. With Hanna we still managed to get to Imatra Vuoksi before it was too late and we saw a Red-breasted Merganser and 2 Smews.

On the 2nd day I just checked the Siberian Jays were doing well in Parikkala. Also some Black Grouses and 2 Hazel Hens were seen. There was still almost no snow, so the forest-roads were drivable. And on the next day I saw a Dipper in Tyrjä and the day after that I saw a Hazel Hen and some Black Grouses in Siikalahti.

On the 5th day we birded with a Catalan birder Dani Burgas. We started from Savitaipale Kaskei where was a tame Hawk Owl. We had dead mice with us and the bird came to catch them right away the were dropped to the ground. Unfortunately the bird was too fast so we couldn’t get any good pictures. We were lucky to find also a White-backed Woodpecker which is really rare in that area – we even saw the woodpecker attacking the owl! Next we twitched 2 Three-toed Woodpeckers in Lappeenranta Hanhikemppi and 7 Waxwings from the harbour. In Toikansuo we saw 2 Arctic Redpolls and 3 Linnets in a flock of Redpolls and a Shore Lark was still there too. Also a Goshawk and a Sparrowhawk were seen. In the afternoon we saw again the same birds in Vuoksi.

On the 6th day we checked the furthermost owl nest boxes in Rautjärvi. A flock of Long-tailed Tits were seen and a Nuthatch was twitched. A couple of days later I saw a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers in Siikalahti, they were really acting like in spring already!

On the 13th day we finally got the last owl nest boxes checked with Matti Lötjönen. It was raining and only better bird was a Great Grey Shrike in Tyrjä.

On the 19th of January we had a traditional bird walk in Imatra. The city was split to 9 parts and a couple of birders were counting every single bird in their part. With Miika Suojarinne we were walking in Vuoksenniska area and altogether 17 passerine species were seen: 486 Great Tits, 299 Greenfinches, 150 Tree Sparrows, 35 House Sparrows, 26 Siskins and so on. After the race we had an hour to check the Vuoksi where were all the wintering birds 2 Smews, Cormorants, a Tufted Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Whooper Swans and of course Mallards, Goldeneyes and Goosanders but also 2 Canada Geese. Then we had a good time watching many pictures and videos and we went to sleep after 4 a.m.

Anyway we woke up early and drove to birding to Lappeeranta. In Toikansuo we saw a Rook, 2 Teals and a Great Grey Shrike. In Luukkaansalmi were 3 Herring Gulls, a Goldeneye, Goosanders, Black Woodpecker and a Goshawk. In Hakali we twitched a Blackbird and in Laihia 2 Pheasants.

On the 23rd day I had a good lunch-hour in Siikalahti where a White-backed Woodpecker was drumming and a Grey-headed and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker were seen. At night I did the first owl-trip and in Melkoniemi I heard an Eagle Owl and 2 Tengmalm’s Owl were calling shortly when I was whistling. On the 25th day In Tyrjä we heard an Eagle Owl that was calling in Russia.

On the 26th and 27th we had a Backyard birding day in Finland and we participated in our backyard and in Tarvaslampi, but nothing special was seen. On the 26th afternoon I managed to get a couple of good year ticks a Jack Snipe and a Merlin.

The last bird observation of the month was a Goshawk in Siikalahti on the 29th day. Amazingly it was still not a real winter! There was almost no snow and only in two day it had been more than minus 10 degrees.