Kuusamo
A trip up north to Kuusamo have me the opportunity to see some of the northern specialities I hadn't encountered in years. The first target was the fantastically beautiful Siberian Jay. We ended up seeing these all over, with remarkably tame birds coming at times to investigate peanuts in the hand. Siberian Jay Siberian Jay is up there as the pinnacle of Finnish birding for me. An iconic species of the north and particularly approachable in winter, where that flash of orange-red against the snow provides a warm fuzzy feeling in sub-zero temperatures. Siberian Jay is a species I have seen on occasion further south than Kuusamo, however next on the check list was the far more difficult to pin down Siberian Tit. I had seen many Sibe Tits on a Lapland visit 8 years ago, in Summer, where they were quite easy to see in the Sodankyla area. This time around, things were a bit trickier. I scored one on a feeder the first afternoon near our rented cabin, but alas it was a very brief view.