May 2003
May – Working in Siikalahti
Early May came many new birds to Siikalahti. 4th of May we had a traditional Bird tower Competition in whole Finland. Our results were also traditional, we were clearly the best tower in South Karelia and even the second best inner land tower in whole Finland – even it was still very snowy and Siikalahti bay melted just day earlier!
After the competition we took some free from Siikalahti which means of course that we went birding somewhere else. This time we guides (Me, Hanna and Antti Vierimaa) went to Saari and to new high Vaaramäki tower trying to see some raptors. After some sky scanning Antti found an eagle soaring far from North. We got the bird to our scopes… First we thought it was White-tailed Eagle (wings were extremely long, and fingers too, upper coverts were pale yellowish brown. And the shape of the bird has nothing to do with Spotted Eagles.) When the eagle flew closer we recognized it was a Steppe Eagle! Sub-adult Steppe left (after some attacking from Buzzard) gliding to South and it glided from half a kilometre from us. When it flew over some lakes (4 km from us) it soared a little and landed. We decided to go after it but we didn’t find it anymore. We got only some photos of Great Grey Shrike. When getting back to Parikkala we found a Mute Swan which was breeding two last summers in Parikkala but now it was alone. So no Mute Swans breeding this year.
In the beginning of May we started also bird counts in Siikalahti. So we spent time mostly doing counts, watching migration and of course guiding groups and people. Worst days were more than 15 hours long and sometimes we had only an hour to sleep at night if there was a night singer trip for a group and at 2 a.m. we had to wake up to do bird counts! We built also a fence to a track to new bird-hide, so birds won’t fly away if someone goes there.
Small rarities…
Early May we hadn’t any very good rarities. 10th of May we had a Montagu’s Harrier, Black-tailed Godwit and a flock of White Storks. Of course there was a lot to digiscope! At mid May it started to happen: First when I was Southern side of Siikalahti digiscoping an Icterine Warbler there was again two White Storks flying over me, then Antti called me there was Black Tern close the tower. I hadn’t seen Black Tern earlier in Siikalahti so I rushed there to twitch. (First twitched Siikalahti tick to me.) But next day there was four of them. Then Hanna had A BirdLife course and when she came with a group to Siikalahti she found Marsh Sandpiper feeding close the track. I got some good photos of that Sandpiper. At same evening we “twitched” also Pomarine Skua. Jari Kontiokorpi called us there was Pomarine Skua coming from Simpele (20km south), so we went to Särkisalmi hoping to see it. And we were lucky!
… and better ones!
20th of May was THE DAY! At midnight I was with Antti counting some night singers at Siikalahti. There were only some Water Rails, amazingly only one Spotted Crake (in normal year tens). When we were in our last place we heard some strange voice from the small reeds. Yes, we knew the voice; we had heard it once earlier with Antti! It had been the only twitched bird for me and Antti together – Baillion’s Crake! We tried to get closer the bird but it was too wet. Antti managed to sit down to the water so we decided to wake up Hanna by phone and go to get her to hear the bird too. At home we listened some CD too before getting back. When back Baillion’s Crake was still “singing”. At last we managed to go to sleep at 4 a.m.
After few hours sleep phone ringed. Jari Kontiokorpi was telling that Geese were coming! When eating breakfast (and waiting for Antti to get us all to Siikalahti), we saw the first Barnacle Geese, flock of 500 birds with more than 30 Black-throated Divers. So we were in hurry! In Siikalahti we saw Geese quite much before the wind turned them to migrate too east to Russia. Over 30000 Geese included mostly Barnacles but also thousands of White-fronted and rossicus-type of Bean Geese. Also we saw few Brent Geese and one Pink-footed Goose. But we saw a lot more too! Nine White Storks, one or two 2 cy male Red-footed Falcons, female Little Crake was shouting all the day. But after Hanna left home (to prepare to go to Helsinki to get a group which wanted to get information about the area while sitting in a bus) it happened! I found a big bird very close over the reeds. Female Marsh Harrier which was attacking this bird seemed small. I realized this is good one – Red Kite flew just over us and continued north. I had seen Black Kite in Siikalahti about 40 times, so this was something I had been waiting for! At night we arranged for twitchers a possibility to twitch Baillion’s Crake because it was in protected are. And we managed to hear and also record the bird. So can you wait more for one day? (Next night we couldn’t manage to hear the Crake anymore. It was moved too far to protected area, so we didn’t arrange more group twitchings.)
Oulu area Rally
After some days we left to Oulu with Antti to join Oulu area bird rally (The best Rally I know!). Mikko Ala-Kojola was our third team mate. We had only one day to prepare the rally, so after driving 500km to Oulu we went directly to find some Owls with Pentti Hukkanen. Next day we checked places in Liminka and Siikajoki areas. We saw a male Montagu’s Harrier in Lumijoki Sannanlahti tower, Hawk Owl or two in Lumijoki Varjakka and nice flock of Dotterels in Siikajoki Sääri fields. We digiscoped Dotterels together with Harri Taavetti and Finnature group.
Next day we started the rally traditionally from Hailuoto Island. First we felt the rally was not going very well, and after all other teams started to find rarities which we had to twitch. We had to twitch pair of American Wigeons and three mail Ruddy Ducks in Pöllänlahti. Other good birds we found were Icterine Warble, Moorhen, White-fronted Goose, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, White-tailed Eagle, Gadwall… All the time phone was getting more messages from other teams, but we couldn’t find any rarities. After getting to land we continued twitching: Citrine Wagtails in Kempele Sarkkiranta, Marsh Sandpiper in Oulu Oritkari. At night it started to go better. Maybe we had heard so many night singers in Siikalahti (which is the best night singer area maybe in whole Europe) so we had to hear them in North too? Our first stop gave us Corn Crake and Grasshopper Warbler at Kempele Teppola. Later we got Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Thrush Nightingales, Short-eared and Long-eared Owl… Morning gave us also many new birds so at the end we got 158 species in 24 hours! We were 3rd, which was pretty well – we hadn’t been birding in Oulu area at whole spring! When we were checking rally results we got a message about the rarest bird ever in Finland Oriental Plover, but we were far too tired to go twitching!
We drove back to Parikkala little longer way, because Antti needed to get some stuff from her girlfriend from Vaasa. At Kalajoki we spent an hour at Letto, and we found some better birds: Little Terns, Red-throated Pipit, Sanderling, Little Stint, some Red-necked Phalaropes… Some nice pictures too.
Late May it didn’t happen anything special (well I saw a possible Long-legged Buzzard, but too far). Biggest thing was maybe solar eclipse. While working I hadn’t much time to photograph, best “shoots” were maybe White-backed Woodpeckers on their nest. Luckily I got even some photos; because my scopes ocular took some water inside and I had to sent it for Zeiss to be cleaned. And after 3 months it is still there!!! Luckily M-Opto in Helsinki gave me another one until I can get my own back. Thank you, thank you and thank you!