Owl nest-boxes and a Penduline Tit
On the 28th of April my lunch-hour visit to Siikalahti produced Little Gulls, 3 Wood Sandpiper, a Goshawk and 2 Grey Herons. In the afternoon I continued checking the nest-boxes and found a Pygmy Owl with 9 eggs. Other birds seen were a Capercaillie and a male Merlin.
On the 30th day I walked around Siikalahti again as it was the last possibility to do my monthly count. I saw altogether 75 species even though I was walking in the afternoon. The best ones were an Oystercatcher, a Common Sandpiper, a Redstart, a couple of Hazel Hens, a Northern Wheatear, 2 Pied Flycatchers, and 2 Long-tailed Tits. In the evening we still visited Saari but found only some flocks of lekking male Black Grouses and the same Red-breasted Goose that was now in Pohjasuo.
On the 1st of May we were in Siikalahti from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. The best birds were a Pink-footed Goose, 3 Garganeys, 12 Ruffs, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Redshank, a Heuglin’s Gull, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 25 Waxwings, already 25 Swallows, 4 House Martins, 8 Yellow Wagtails, a Wood Warbler, a Linnet and 3 Lapland Buntings. There were already 700 Barnacle Geese and not so many grey geese anymore. While we were already cycling back I noticed a flock of birds landing to a field – 7 Shore Larks! They stayed there luckily long enough so several other birders managed to see them too.
In the late evening we visited Siikalahti again and heard 4 Spotted Crakes, 8 Water Rails and 2 Jack Snipes.
On the 2nd of May which is my birthday we were mostly checking more nest-boxes in a rain. Luckily we found a Tengmalm’s and a Pygmy Owl. We also saw a Little Ringed Plover in Lahdensuo, heard a Cuckoo and saw a Hen Harrier in Tarvaslampi, heard some Willow Warblers, Wrens, a Hazel Hen and found a Crested Tit breeding in one of hour Tengmalm’s Owl nest-box.
On the 3rd day we did a proper tour in Saari and found 3 Chiffchaffs in Rautalahti, a Merlin in Akanvaara Tetrisuo, 5 Whimbrels and a Whinchat in Pohjasuo, 2 Pink-footed Geese, a White-tailed Eagle and a Stock Dove in Pohjanranta, a Canada Goose in Uukuniemi Suurenjärvenliete, the same Red-breasted Goose now in Karinmäki, a Linnet in Kanavalampi and a Lapland Bunting in Ala-Ollukka. In the evening I still visited Siikalahti but saw almost nothing else than a couple of Smews.
On the 4th day we checked nest-boxes in Punkaharju and found one more Pygmy Owl. We also saw 2 female Capercaillies. On the 5th day I saw 2 Spotted Redshanks, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Hen Harrier in Siikalahti and in the evening I checked all the rest nest-boxes around Rautjärvi, Simpele and a couple of last ones in Parikkala. I saw 2 Wood Larks and a Pheasant in Rautjärvi but no owls. So the result was poor – only 3 breeding Pygmy and 1 Tengmalm’s Owl.
On the 6th of May I heard a Wryneck and a Linnet in Särkisalmi. During my lunch-hour I went to Siikalahti and there I heard that a Penduline Tit had just been found there. After some searching I first heard it and then saw it soon. It was a male and acting similarly as on the previous year. Also a White-tailed Eagle was seen. In the afternoon I drove by bike to Siikalahti and even though wind was very strong I found the Penduline Tit again. In a short visit I saw also a Peregrine and a migrating Golden Eagle, so it was really worthy! Also Sand Martin was seen and it was my 180th species of the year.
On the next day the only better birds were a couple of Scaups seen from Härskiinmutka
J.A.