The Long Spring Goodbye

It's been a weird Spring. 

The longest winter ever is perhaps a better way to describe it. Persistent cold has meant I didn't spend too much time out looking for birds, and a delayed migration meant there were few birds in the move anyway. 

So a selection of videos from across the past few weeks to cover some ground. 

Slavonian Grebe - Upon return to Finland from Estonia, I made the usual efforts to connect with freshly arrived grebes. They are a hard family to beat when they look this good in summer plumage. 

Red-Necked Grebe is the star of the show. An absolutely stunning looking bird. 

I've been working hard on building my 5km from home list, but as usual, most of the birds turn up in the garden itself.

Little Gulls, when they pass through in May are phenomenal. But this year, sitting on retained ice was special. They have a fantastic call.

Little Ringed Plover at Laajalahti - my first birds this year we're also quite late. 

Red-Breasted Flycatcher - this 2CY bird turned up for just one day, in song 70 meters from the house. Not as spectacular as a full adult male, but still a great bird. 

Red Throated Diver - a species that rarely lands on my lake. We see them annually going over on migration, but on the deck birds are a treat 

Rain at the end of May is a classic recipe for dropping migrants, and in particular, Red-Necked Phalaropes at Suomenoja are a typical occurrence. 

Slavonian Grebes, again, always a star bird here.

Thrush Nightingale, when you first hear them pumping out that incredible song, always bring a smile to your face. 

A Great Reed Warbler at Suomenoja was also a treat. A species often forget exists, until that crunching song strikes the ear at some wetland. 

I enjoyed this bird so much, I went to Stora Lonnoks the following day for better views at a site I know. 

Brilliant birds. Will be interesting to see what the late migration has in store for early June. I've still to see any Blyth's Reed, Marsh or River Warbler.