Wayward Pines 2

February 01, 2021

It's been a few years since I've seen Pine Bunting, with the last couple being birds (a male and female) I found down near Järso/Böle on the Porkkala road here.

Since that time, I've been feeding flocks of Yellowhammers in our garden, ever hopeful that I could entice one in.

It hasn't happened yet, but I have had the odd contender, including some rather white fringed birds this winter, most of which invariably show a tinge of yellow when seen at the right angle.

This weekend news broke of a female Pine Bunting just a couple of kilometers up the road in Masala, a stone's throw from my daughter's kindergarten, so this afternoon I made a stop off before pick up.

Pine Bunting - female - a quite striking bird which really did stand out instantly. Incredibly clean and bright looking when perched up with other birds.

Pine Bunting - my first view of the bird at distance. Incredible how much it sticks out!

I've never encountered such grey, monotone Yellowhammers as occur in Finland, with some even lacking yellow in the primaries. With these, seeing the breast center head on, and the undertail coverts is vital, as these are the areas which will display some yellow if any exists. At times this can be just the faintest wash. This bird was beautifully white and clean. No worries on this one imo.

Pine Bunting - female - buff throat and malar.

Pine Bunting - note the perfect undertail coverts, distinct dark streaks, fringed rufous, on perfect white.

Pine Bunting - perfect white primary fringing. In my experience, Pine Bunting can at times display a slightly beige fringe, but yellow means dead on arrival.

Pine Bunting - side by side with Yellowhammer.

Pine Bunting - female feeding with Yellowhammers.

Pine Bunting - I spent an enjoyable hour and a half with this bird, and aside from the finder, whose house the bird is located around, saw not one other birder. Luxury as I enter a militant isolationist phase of the pandemic.

As with any feeding site, it had a Goshawk paying attention to it. A small looking bird, so undoubtedly a young male.

Goshawk - choose the form of the destructor

January was a relatively quiet one, as we saw epic snowfall over the course of the month, including a 2 day blizzard which dropped about a meter on us.

Getting out and about, especially to my usual sites, is somewhat difficult, with parking sites and lanes often unploughed and inaccessible.

Nonetheless a few good birds have been seen, including a 1st winter Golden Eagle near Saltfjarden, Great Grey Shrike on our local fields and Pygmy Owl taking up residence in our garden, singing in broad daylight, who my daughter has named "Pedro".

Pygmy Owl - Apex Predator

Birds added to the garden year list included Crested Tit, a garden rarity, Northern Long Tailed Tit and Northern Tree Creeper, as well as the usual Woodpeckers and finches.

Northern Long Tailed Tits

Winter scarce includes our resident Robin, somewhat of a temporal rarity. Most Robin leave Finland in Winter and overwintering birds are noteworthy. Our garden has held winter Robin without fail since we've lived here, with two present last winter.