Hel Hath No Birdies

What a strange year. Not a bad year, I have to say, the whole Corona thing and being at home the whole year has, from my point of view been pretty incredible (though I'm privileged to be able to say that), but it's been strange nonetheless. The year started out with some excellent birds around Helsinki such as Hawk Owl, Three-Toed Woodpecker and White-Billed Diver. See more  here . Hawk Owl White-Billed Diver This was followed up in February with a Finnish tick Red Kite not far from our home  here . March saw the arrival of Spring and a sneaky twitch east for a pair of Azure Tits  here  . With bonus White-Backed and Lesser-Spotted Woodpeckers on the trip too. Azure Tit - an ice cold dream. This was then followed with another visit to our garden by a beautiful Lynx  here . Lynx - absolutely stunning. As the virus hit, the world changed. Plans for a big family meet up in Cyprus were cancelled (luckily everyone fully refunded) and we retreated to the work from home status quo we h...

Out and about this weekend for the first time in a while. Started out at the in laws on Friday evening, with a juv Goshawk in their garden at dusk as we arrived.  Goshawk - juv in the gloom I started out on Saturday morning at Kivenlahti, hoping to get some gulls. Not much in the way of these but another Goshawk, an adult made an appearance. Goshawk - I've decided to try an grab a few more distant shots of these, as I just find their structure and gizz so distinctive. No luck with gulls, I made my way to Juusjärvi where a Hawk Owl had been hanging out for a few days. An easy one to find, in a location I've seen them in previous winters, sitting on the power lines above a productive looking vole field.  Hawk Owl - The best bird in the universe. Got my winter fix sorted, and just a few minutes from the house.      I then continued on to Ämmäsuo in search of a couple of Shore Lark which had been present. Upon arrival I could see the gulls and forbids up in the air,...