Autumn coming
On the 20th and 21st of August I saw only common local raptors like Common Buzzards, Honey Buzzards, Hobbies and Ospreys, also 2 Hen Harrier were seen in Lahdensuo.
On the 22nd day I had to wake up early as I just had a feeling of autumn beginning. I walked 100 meters from our house to the shore and started scanning the sky over the lake. After 10 minutes I heard a familiar call and found a flock of waders from the sky – there were 7 Grey Plovers with 6 Bar-tailed Godwits. I one hour I saw almost nothing else, just a flock of ducks, 4 Cormorants, 14 Golden Plovers and a Black Woodpecker.
In the afternoon I drove to Saari Pohjanranta and soon found a flock of 6 Arctic Skuas migrating on the sky. These 4 pale and 2 dark morph birds increased my Parikkala year-list to 215 species. Also 2 Lapwings, 2 Temminck Stints, 32 Ruffs and 4 Wood Sandpipers were seen. There were also lots of House Martins and a Merlin was chasing them. In Akanvaara Tetrisuo and Pohjansuo I saw only a couple of Cuckoos and a Black Woodpecker. In Jyrkilä I counted 330 Cranes and in Tarassiinlahti I saw 5 Grey Herons and 1 more was in Rautalahti on the way back home. I still saw 2 Nutcrackers in railway-station and a Little Ringed Plover in Saharanta.
On the 23rd day we went early by bike to Moskuunniemi with Harri Partanen. The weather was really cold but there was almost no migration. Only 14 Golden Plovers and 5 Cormorants were seen. After an hour and half I was too cold to continue so I biked back home. On the way I saw the same Little Ringed Plover with a Common Sandpiper and a Nutcracker.
On the 24th day we biked to Siikalahti and it really was a better morning! The best bird was a Turtle Dove that flew over us! Then soon after that we heard a Nuthatch calling and we managed to attract it visible and identify it as a european subspecies. Other goodies were a Peregrine, a Goshawk, 2 Taiga and 1 Tundra Bean Geese, 4 Water Rails, 150 Cranes, a Stock Dove, a Cuckoo, a Reed Warbler, a Red-breasted Flycatcher, a Golden Oriole, 2 Red-backed Shrikes and a Nutcracker. During the day I visited Saari Pohjanranta and Akanvaara Tetrisuo but saw only 4 Grey Herons, a Temminck Stint, a Merlin and 2 Curlews.
On the 26th day I visited Siikalahti bird-tower but it was surprisingly quiet even though hunting season had started and usually it brings more ducks to Siikalahti. 3 Smews were seen anyway. In Kullinsuo I heard a flock of Parrot Crossbills and in Lahdensuo I saw a Cuckoo. On the next day I checked the fields again and saw a Cuckoo, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin and 3 Ringed Plovers. On the next day I saw 2 Golden Plover, a Red-backed Shrike and a Hen Harrier on the fields and a Goshawk and a Nutcracker in Kangaskylä.
The last days of August I was in Tour de Helsinki cycling. We participated with Juha Honkanen and his 2 Swedish friends to team competition. So we drove pretty slowly until after 100 km I decided to go faster as I wanted to make my new record which I finally did.
J.A.