Spring comes quietly
Spring was coming quickly in the beginning of March. Sun was shining and it was raining quite a lot so there wasn’t too much snow anymore. Wind were from south so I was expecting to see much more migrants than I did.
So after all it was quite boring to look to the empty skies after amazing Thailand trip, where we saw more than 300 species in 9 days. Anyway I started visiting Siikalahti on my lunch-hours, but on the 10th of March there were still only some winter-birds. Only surprise was that House Sparrows had arrived back to Kangaskylä after they had been missing whole winter.
On the 12th day I was in Imatra and hoped to see lots of gulls, but for some reasons there are not many gulls nowadays on Vuoksi. I saw only 88 Herring Gulls. A few Whooper Swans were also seen and one more was seen in Parikkala Joukionsalmi too.
On the 13th day I twitched a Marsh Tit in Kannas where it was again in feeder. I didn’t see any Marsh Tits in whole February, so it was good to see that at least one bird was still around. A Whooper Swan was heard and a couple of Siskins flew over me.
On the 14th of March I saw a White-tailed Eagle in Siikalahti. Whooper Swans were already on their territory, just sleeping on the ice. A Grey-headed Woodpecker was calling all the time like in many springs before. On the 15th day I saw 4 Lapwings and 12 Snow Buntings. And now there were more Whooper Swans fighting for their territories.
On the 16th of March I saw a Skylark, 5 Starlings, 51 Snow Buntings and an early Red Bunting. A couple of Goshawks were soaring on the sky and already 10 Lapwings were flying around.
On the 18th day there was already all the regular swans and a couple of families were migrating too. A Blackbird was seen briefly and woodpeckers were very active. I saw 2 Black Woodpeckers, 2 Grey-headed Woodpeckers and 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, also a Common Crossbill was seen. On the 19th day almost the same bids were see but there was already 6 Starlings and now a flocks of 70 Snow Buntings. On my way to Imatra again I saw a Dipper in Simpele Kokkolanjoki and the overwintering Canada Goose had got some friends in Vuoksi.
On the 20th of March I saw a couple of Common Buzzards, but on the 23rd day I had an amazing surprise as I saw the earliest ever Marsh Harrier in whole South Karelia! It was already flying over it’s old breeding place in Siikalahti! Other birds seen were a Common Buzzard, a Stock Dove, 5 Wood Pigeons, 30 Lapwings, 2 Skylarks and 3 Reed Buntings. On the 24th day only birds to mention were a Crane and a nice flock of 180 Snow Buntings.
I was checking the only open water places in Särkisalmi several times but for some reason there was almost nothing! I saw only Whooper Swans, a couple of Mallards and 2 pairs of Goldeneyes, but even most of them left when the overwinter arrived.
On the 25th day the weather changed and it started to snow again. The wind was from north and nights were very cold! Then I still saw a Common Buzzard, 10 Lapwings, 4 Skylarks, 9 Starlings, 7 Reed Buntings, a Gold Finch and a Rook but on the next days there was no way to go birding at all!
On the 29th day it was still cold and again snow on the ground. It had been more than 10 minus degrees at night. Most of the migrants had returned more south. Anyway a brief visit to Siikalahti was worthy as I saw a White-tailed Eagle, a Common Buzzard, a Sparrowawk, a Stock Dove, a Wood Pigeon, a Skylark and 7 Snow Buntings. On the 30th day I saw a White-tailed Eagle and on the last day of March another White-tailed Eagle, an adulta Great Black-backed Gull, which is surprisingly rare in Parikkala, a Rook and the first White Wagtail. And still the weather forecast didn’t promise any better very soon…
J.A.