January 2009
January
As every year on the 1st of January we went birding and tried to see as many species as possible. We also tried to see species that we hadn’t seen before in 1st of January. Our 1st year tick was a Hawk Owl in Imatra Vallinkoski. It was still almost dark when we checked the river Vuoksi and saw some common species but also 5 Cormorants and a Canada Goose. A Grey Wagtail was found easily from Meltola and other birds there were a Hawfinch and a Goshawk that flew over us. In Kupari we saw 10 more Cormorants. In Räikkölä we found easily 2 Hawfinches, a Chaffinch, 2 Fieldfares and a Grey-headed Woodpecker. In Salo-Issakka the only better bird was a Coal Tit. As Joutseno had been joined to Lappeenranta, it was strange to book a Common and a Rough-legged Buzzard 2 Great Grey Shrikes to be seen in Lappeenranta Konnunsuo. In Kukkuroinmäki we saw 10 Herring Gulls and when a Goshawk was making all the crows fly we found also 6 Starlings from the huge flock. In Mustola we saw a Blackbird and in Luukkaansalmi 5 Starlings. When we were trying to see a Nuthatch in Pappilanniemi I got a message that there was a Kingfisher in Grey Wagtail place! We were pretty sure that the bird won’t stay there for long but after 20 minutes when we haven’t seen the Nuthatch and we had got a message that the Kingfisher was still there, we decided to go. Thanks to Jarmo “jamppa” Pirhonen who was keeping a Kingfisher in control so we could see this gem fishing in evening light. An adult Whooper Swan was flying up to the river and in Itä-Siitola we saw a family of Whooper Swans but also a Tufted Duck and a male Smew. We’d had a great start for a year 2009!
On the 2nd of January I visited Siberian Jays. There were 4 of them and they were hungry! The almost attacked me when I started to give them some food. Some Goldcrests and Crested Tits were heard. On the next day I saw a White-backed Woodpecker and a flock of Black Grouses in Siikalahti. Later I was driving in Rautjärvi Kangaskoski when I suddenly lost all visibility to the road because of combination of new snow and sunlight. So I crashed my car to a deep ditch! Luckily nothing went badly broken and after all I managed to drive to Lappeenranta and catch up rest of my ice-hockey team as we were going to play to Suomenniemi. On the way I saw a couple of Whooper Swans and a Black Woodpecker. On the 4th day the only year ticks were a Hazel Hen and a Dipper in Tyrjänkoski.
On the 6th day I did a winter bird count. I was skiing around Siikalahti and saw altogether 20 species, best birds were a Black Grouse, Long-tailed Tits, a Great Grey Shrike and Waxwings. On the 9th day I was in Uukuniemi where only better bird seen was a Whooper Swan.
On the 10th day we had a traditional birdwalk in Imatra. We were walking with “potu” Suojarinne in Virasoja-Kymälahti –area and saw a Pygmy Owl, a Dipper, a White-backed Woodpecker, 6 Fieldfares, a Great Grey Shrike and even a Grey Heron flying over the city. After the race we still went to see a Grey Wagtail, a Hawk Owl, a Canada Goose and saw 2 more Great Grey Shrikes, another Pygmy Owl and a small raptor which probably was a Merlin. The evening celebrations were fun and after only 3 hours sleeping we started our way to Lappeenranta. We were birding with “potu” and Jari Kiljunen and in Toikansuo we saw 8 Goldfinches, 3 Teals and a Rough-legged Buzzard. In filed areas we saw another Rough-legged and 4 Common Buzzard, a Great Grey Shrike, 3 Pheasants, a Blackbird and on the way back north also a Kestrel in Konnunsuo.
In the mid January I was birding a little every day but nothing was found. It was really a winter in Parikkala. Because there was really nothing else to do I went once to see Siberian Jays again. On the 17th day I went to Savonlinna to twitch a Black-throated Thrush. There had been twitcher waiting for it for several hours in very cold weather, but I found the bird at 10.50 a.m. when it was perched in a top of a tree for a couple of minutes and then disappeared again. We continued to a rubbish tip with “potu” and “jamppa” where a Carrion Crow had been found by jamppa some days ago. But the weather was so foggy that all crows seemed to be just black! So we drove back to see the thrush and now it was seen very well and I managed to get some pictures too.
On the 24th of January was a traditional Garden watch -day and we participated in our own garden but also in Hanna’s parents garden in Tarvaslampi. The best birds were a Grey-headed Woodpecker and a flock of Waxwings. On the next day I saw the first Fieldfare of the year in Parikkala.
On the night of 28th I heard a Tawny Owl in Melkoniemi. The last observation of the month was a Three-toed Woodpecker that was calling in Ristimäki.