Some late birds
Lake Simpele was really freezing early! Bays were all frozen already and so were some of the biggest open water areas too. So there weren’t many Whooper Swans anymore and this autumn there were almost no Goosander flocks either.
On the 11th of November I visited Tähtiniemi which was also frozen almost completely. In a small open water area I still saw a Common Scoter and a Velvet Scoter. In Koitsanlahti there were still 2 Marsh Tits on feeder and in Joukio I was surprised to see the lake was still open there. There were some Whooper Swans and Goosanders and 5 too distant ducks, but also a Barnacle Goose with a Brent Goose! Apparently the wing of Barnacle Goose was broken so these friends had stayed near Laatokanportti motel and the owner of the fish-shop was feeding these geese from the shore.
After work I still drove to Simpele Kokkolanjoki and twitched a Little Grebe. I saw also a Wigeon, a Tufted Duck, 5 Barnacle Geese, Mallards, a Dipper and Long-tailed Tits there.
On the 12th day we were birding in Rautjärvi together with Hanna and Harri Partanen. On the way we visited Barnacle and Brent Goose and Marsh Tits. We also saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Mantkanniemi. In Kokkolanjoki we saw all the same birds again and in Lahnanen we saw a Fieldfare, an Arctic Redpoll, 2 Mallards, 2 Goldeneyes and heard a Grey-headed Woodpecker. In Kangaskoski we saw 2 Coal Tits, a Great Grey Shrike and a flying flock of 15 crossbills.
Then we went to twitch some owls as we got some instructions from one of our friends whom we met in Simpele. We were checking a couple of places for Hawk Owls but without luck, but we found a Short-eared Owl some kilometers from the right place. It was perched on a disc golf goal. The bird was quite tame so we managed to get some good pictures. But after all it moved more distant closer to some trees. It was my first ever Short-eared Owl in November.
On our tour in Rautjärvi we saw crazy numbers of Black Grouses. In the biggest flock there were 67 birds and altogether we saw 103 Black Grouses in very short time!
On the 13th of November I had a bandy game in Lappeenranta in the evening. I did stop to check that geese were still alright and in Kokkolanjoki on the way. Along the river I flushed a Goshawk that was feeding on one of the Barnacle Geese. Then I spent the whole day along a ditch in Toikansuo where had been even 2 Siberian Accentors and lots of other migrants staying for “too” long. One of the Siberian Accentors had been seen still on the previous day, but I didn’t find it in 6 hours searching. But I was happy to see 8 Robins, 5 Wrens, 2 Dunnocks, a Chiffchaff, 2 Blackbirds and a Dipper. Some of these species I had seen only once or twice in November before and never in South Karelia!
On the 14th day I visited familiar Siberian Jays and on the 15th day on a brief visit in Kokkolanjoki I saw some of the same birds again but also a Goldcrest which was my November-race tick number 71.
J.A.