Birding in around the Helsinki area.
An Irish love refugee birding in Finland. Loves migration, raptors and Finnish cinnamon buns.
Steller Easter
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A four-day weekend is always a good thing, but when it coincides with one of the better weekends for migration it's even better.
The weather was perfect and I spent it catching up on the typical April migrants.
Friday was spent mostly working in the garden and enjoying the migrants going over and the birds setting up territories.
It's a hard life
3 male Grey Headed Woodpecker were singing their delightful whistle in our bay, with one frequenting the garden regularly. Green Sandpipers were noted going over, as were large numbers of Cranes.
Redwing were also singing in the bay, and I managed to finally pick up a singing Hazel Grouse during the week.
It was never likely we would get one in the garden itself, however there are resident birds just a stones throw away. Amazed it took me this long to hear one.
The first Osprey of the year drifted through the bay, as did the first Arctic tern.
I also encountered the first basking Grass Snake of the year on our beach, and managed to nip out to my local Adder site, where I found this beauty.
Adder - I genuinely adore these creatures. A slight change of pace going from avoiding stepping on cow-pats to avoiding snakes in the grass.
Singing Chiffchaffs were abundant here also, fresh on territory.
On Saturday I made my way to Laajalahti, keen to see some waders for the year.
The old patch.
Lots of birds present here, with obvious fresh arrivals being Oystercatcher, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover, Caspian Tern and 2 Black Tailed Godwit, always a scarcity.
Caspian Tern - great to have these monsters back.
Reed Bunting - couldn't resist this guy posing in front of the tower.
Large numbers of duck were also in situ, with hundreds of Goosander present, dozens of Smew, Tufted duck, Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Shoveler, and a gorgeous pair of Garganey.
Garganey - can't beat a garg
From Laajalahti it was westward to Suomenoja where I connected with my target, Slavonian Grebe.
Slavonian Grebe - the grebes are a joy at this time of year. Amazing to see that intensity of colour when the vegetation hasn't quite recovered yet and remains drab. I can never get over that eye.
A pair of ultra obliging Little Ringed Plover were too good to pass up at this site.
Little Ringed Plover - one of the commonest waders in Finland, I always take the opportunity to enjoy them, reminded of how rare they were in Ireland. Indeed, for a long time they were a bogey bird of mine, constantly dipping them in east coast locations like Kilcoole during my teens. It was only thanks to Phil Davis finding a male on Shanagarry and a bit of hitchhiking that said dipping streak came to an end, eventually finding my own at the same site years later.
From Suomenoja it was on to see some Red-Necked Grebe, which gave superb views.
Red-Necked Grebe - my favorite grebe, I'm not sure quite what you call that color red, but it's absolutely stunning.
I finished up at Saltfjarden for a bit of raptor watching, seeing a nice male Hen Harrier and a few White Tailed Eagle.
On Monday I nipped out to avail of two Steller's Eider found down on Porkkala among the hundreds of Eider and Long Tailed Duck. This pair included my first adult male, a plumage tick for me. The views were good and prolonged, if a little distant, but thankfully high mag was clear. Absolutely amazing plumage.
Long Tailed Duck - the variation in plumage at this time of year is incredible, as birds present in Winter, Summer and every plumage in between.
Imagine this off Donegal.
Steller's Eider - male. Best I could manage phone-scoping, but you get the idea. What a bird!
Whilst raptors had increased noticeably over the weekend, including my first Marsh Harrier and Hobby, things still seem slow on that front. Can only imagine the next couple of weeks will see a break in the dam for these.
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
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
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
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