Hel Hath No Birdies

After seeing Sociable Plover, Summer went pretty well with some nice birds popping up.  Viikki, on the eastern side of Helsinki, has amazingly been the best location around for Caspian Gulls this season, with several frequenting a small waste centre there. Caspian Gull Of the several that have been here, this is the only individual I have managed to connect with this Juv season (though I have seen it again subsequently). My usual haunts in Tampere and Lohja have been unproductive in this regard.  Arguably bird of the Autumn for me so far (after the Sociable Plover) has been this Juv Black Stork.  Black Stork - a species I've always adored. And one I haven't encountered since Israel in 2015! A mega in Finland, it would normally be picked up in a Viz-Mig scenario, moving at height from some watchpoint. A bird on the deck, conveniently located along the route to our summer house was too good to pass up.  Garganey - it was also nice to find a Juv Garganey whilst twitchin...

I have been obsessed with seeing Sociable Plover since I was a kid. And I know exactly what caused that obsession. It was this plate by Ian Lewington from Rare Birds This. This is responsible. This plate has haunted my dreams. The less said about Great Knot the better, and I found 3 White-Tailed Plover of my own in Israel , but not Sociable, the one I wanted most. White-Tailed Plovers - Israel, Self Found. I had hoped to come across Sociable on that trip too maybe, but it was not to be, and needless to say tis far from Sociable Plover we were reared in Ireland (at least not since the Stone Age). A bird had been present all summer a good 9 hours plus drive away. I was even tempted when my Dad was over visiting back in June, but even with other birds available for him there, we couldn't face it. This week began in awful fashion. On Monday the throat began with that awful ache, indicating that once again our daughter had brought a child-plague into the house.  By Tuesday it had taken ...