Still in Eilat and after a visit to Egypt back to home
First three weeks of April we were still in Israel (The whole trip story). The flight back to Finland we had from Cairo, so we had couple of days raptor watching in Ain Sukhna. 26th of April we finally ended our 4,5 months trip. At Kirkkonummi we had couple of days birding before we had to begin our work in Parikkala Siikalahti.
March – In Eilat
Whole March we were in Israel (The whole trip story) as a volunteers in International Bird Ringing Centre (IBRCE). Mostly we were ringing birds but of course we were birding as much as possible also otherwise.
February – Still in Greece
The whole February we were in Greece working as a volunteers first in Lake Kerkini and later still two weeks in Evros-delta.
January – A lot of travelling
In the beginning of January we were still at Cape Verde (The whole trip story)
After a difficult travelling at the evening 9th of January we arrived at Canary Tenerife, where we relaxed and had birding for two weeks. (The whole trip story)
In the end of January we continued our journey to little colder place to Eastern Greece. After couple of days travelling we arrived at Kerkini-lake.
December – Winter Rally
Beginning of December was pretty busy! We lived in Hanna’s parents home in Tarvaslampi, because all our stuff was packed to different basements. Weeks we worked hard and at the evenings and weekends we prepared to our real birding trip.
We were extremely busy! I really had no time to take any photos in Finland in whole December!
But it’s nice we have a lot of bird rallies in Finland! We managed to join the Independence day rally! Our team was The Three Guides: us and Ilkka Jarva. Rally time was from six to six. We of course were out all that time even it was dark n both ends for some two hours. We slept in Tarvaslampi where we also started our rally.
Our first project was Pygmy Owl, which Hanna had seen day before in the yard – but no. The weather was already at morning awfully windy, so still after our forest owl trip we had no species found.
It was still dark when we found our first species. And it wasn’t bad at all. Black Woodpecker was sleeping in a hole where it nests in summer. Then we showed some light to next whole and surprise there was a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Unfortunately we didn’t know much more holes 
Next we continued to familiar forests. About an hour we tried to find Grouses but no. When we were already walking to our car our old friends Siberian Jays and Crested Tits came to see what we would have for them.
We continued via Melkoniemi, Särkisalmi and Siikalahti to Parikkala city. Best species were a Tufted Duck in Tarvaslahti, a Wigeon which was with Whooper Swans in Särkisalmi and a Great Grey Shrike and Black Grouses in Siikalahti.
From Parikkala we continued to Simpele. At Haikanniemi we found a Herring Gull and at Joukionsalmi a Velvet Scoter. At Simpele we visited one feeding place which had a Chaffinch and a Siskin. At Kokkolanjoki we saw Dippers.
While driving south to Imatra I saw something flying fast over the road – brakes on and out. I thought what that was, when Ilkka found it sitting on a branch above us. A Pygmy Owl was really nice surprise.
Imatra Vuoksi-river increased our list with Little Grebe, Long-tailed Ducks and Smew. But even we tried really hard we could find more new species. Some normally common winter birds were totally missing. And in Viraskorpi we couldn’t find a Hawk Owl which had been there still in the morning. I think it didn’t like much the weather which was really awful.
Anyway we were trying until the last second. But last three hours didn’t give us any more species.
Finally we got 39 species, which was pretty good in that weather. Winners got two more, but winning isn’t that important, but having fun! And we really had!
To the real birding trip!!!
Next Friday we, and our huge baggage, took the train to Kirkkonummi (Southern Finland). After some days shopping, our long-waited birding trip begun.
16.12. We flight via Amsterdam (and Paris) to Lisbon. In Portugal we birded for some days with a rented car. 19th day we continued to increase our WP-lists for three weeks to Cape Verde (The whole trip story).
November – Wet and dark
November was pretty awful. Everyone was waiting when the winter arrives. For a while it was some minus degrees and snow on the ground, but every time it came again plus degrees and rains and snow melted away.
I think it was three sunny days in whole month! And all those days I was working! So I couldn’t do almost any photographing. I could say all pictures I took were X-ray pictures at work.
Because it wasn’t snowy it was really dark. Days were very cloudy and foggy. So when I went to work it was STILL dark and when I came home it was ALREADY dark!
At weekends we made some short bird trips with Hanna, but dark landscape wasn’t very inspiring. We couldn’t find almost any better bird species. Some late arctic water birds were found in the beginning of month. In Punkaharju Hirvikoski and Parikkala Simpelejärvi and Siikalahti visits weren’t too bad either. Red-throated Diver, Great Crested Crebes, Common Scoters, Velvet Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Tufted Ducks, Scaups and Smews were still found. Maybe the best bird was very late Slavonian Grebe at Oravaniemi. At Saari we almost hit with our car to flying Woodcock. Of course a lot of Whooper Swans were still on the lakes.
The only picture tick I got in November was a Goshawk, which finally let met take two pictures before it got tired of photographer crouching behind the car and continued to the deeper forest.
Once again we visited Siberian Jay forest. Of course we had to visit there because finally Hannu Siitonen’s book about just these birds were published.
If I could take almost any bird pictures I wasn’t lucky with other pictures either. At 8th of November it was still nice and cloudless and I could get nice pictures of moon, but at next night it was totally cloudy – it was impossible to even sense the moon eclipse.
A flock of Black Grouses which was moving at Siikalahti area let me take some kind of pictures of themselves.
At the last day of November we had a little preparation to next weekend’s Independence Day bird rally. The weather was still really bad! It was again +5 degrees, no snow, cloudy and extremely foggy. Visibility was something like 100 meters. So we couldn’t find many birds. Two hours birding produced only 16 species. Best one was Lesser Spotted Woodpecker – not very promising for the rally!