Still cold

Mid May and still dealing with snow flurries and low temperatures all week.


A beautiful sunny day today prompted me back out to Maarintorni, but despite the sun, the wind was still biting and migration was still at a minimum.

There had been a bit of build up of birds however, notably Spotted Redshank, of which there were about 40. Call me old fashioned, but Summer spot red is a stunning looking bird. Incredible how a relatively simple plumage can rank up there in visuals.

Similar number of Ruff were on the mud, and what I presume were the same two Temminck's stints from last weekend.

Summer plumage Spotted Redshank. A stunning wader and a hard plumage to beat.

Also on patch were a pair of Red Necked Grebe, a scarce bird on patch. I have only seen one migrant bird here before. Red Necked generally prefer fresh water for breeding, but would be nice if they hang around and make a go of it. 

Crap record pic of good patch scarce Red Necked Grebes

Two migrating Merlin were the best to be had among the very few migrating raptors, though there did seem to be a reasonable push of common crane going through.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finnish Focus On...Taiga And Tundra Bean Geese

Image
Have been meaning to write a post on Tundra and Taiga Bean Goose identification for a while now. Wildfowl are my guilty pleasure. I've always enjoyed looking for them. The escape issue turns a lot of people off them. Grey geese can turn people off further still. Since moving to Finland, being able to spend long hours in the field watching both types of Bean Goose has been a joy, especially considering how rare they are in Ireland.  Tundra Bean Geese are the far commoner species to occur here, making them the easier to photograph and so a good place to start. Tundra Bean Goose Tundra Bean Goose - careful assessment of structure is most important when identifying bean geese. Whilst there are size differences between the smaller Tundra and larger Taiga, this plays out most obviously in their structure and shape. Both species, rear on, can be extremely difficult to pick apart without the structural clues visible. The head and bill structure are crucial in Bean Goose identification. Thi
Read more

The Irish Rare Birds Committee...The end of days?

Image
People often ask me why "I care about what's going on back in Ireland." I imagine many Irish people who've left to live in other countries, especially better countries, care what happens back home. That's why we want the ability to vote abroad. So we can have our say in making our country better, often with first hand experience of systems working better in our new country of residence. Now, don't get me wrong. Finland isn't perfect. No country is. It has it's scandals and dodgy politicians too. But it does seem to be on a smaller scale, it has to be said. Or maybe I just don't connect with them on the same level. Currently, the biggest long running scandal seems to be when the new metro will open between Espoo and Helsinki. Somewhat of a different level than, oh...I dunno...mass graves of babies around potatoland, like. There's no handing over the new maternity hospital to the nuns. There's no nnnyaaardeee rackin
Read more

The Longest Winter

Image
The Longest Winter in my memory has (hopefully) ended. It was a pretty cold one to boot. It started out with two major life events, the birth of our second daughter, Freya, and a big move to our new home, which I am calling Stately Foley Manor.  Stately Foley Manor - lots of space. Hopefully lots of birds. The very first species onto the garden list? Stunning Nutcrackers!  Nutcrackers - That'll do. We made a quick trip down to Turku to show off Freya to family for the Father's day weekend, where I got to spend some quality time at Topinoja dump with Caspian Gull and Goshawks. Caspian Gull - 1st Winter a really striking looking, classic bird.  Goshawk We spent the first few weeks, as you might imagine, unpacking, renovating where we could and adjusting to Freya's routine, before a host of visitors descended on us for the Christmas. It really was great to have the big house full of guests, and of course, meant we could go birding a fair bit. My old friend Ciarán Smyth and his
Read more