The end of summer and first few weeks of autumn is time for raptor migration in Finland - which becomes obvious when one looks at the birds being reported on local newsgroups.
This year has seen an unusually large invasion of Red-footed Falcons (Punajalkahaukka) to Finland, with 250-300 reported in the month of August -- most in the last week or so. On Saturday, I got a message about one being watched in Riistavesi (~30km NE of the city), but by the time I made it out there it had disappeared. While waiting around in hopes of it returning, I did get to see five Common Buzzards (Hiirihaukka), and a great family of Whooper Swans (Laulujoutsen) nearby.
I've been busy this week, and this morning was the first chance I had to check out the raptor migration for myself -- so I headed out to the agricultural area of Maaninka, where a good variety can be seen on a good day. Unfortunately, weatherwise, this was TOO good a day ... sunny and very light winds. Such days are not conducive to raptor-watching, and the best we could muster up were a handful of Eurasian Kestrels (Tuulihaukka) and Sparrowhawks (Varpushaukka). In fact, at most good vantage-points the closest thing to raptor we could find was a dragonfly or two!! Just goes to show how important the weather can be to birding --- I'll have to keep my eyes on the forecast and head back for the next breezy, cloudy day.
Besides raptors, we did manage to see a few other interesting birds -- including three late Curlews (Kuovi), five Golden Plovers (Kapustarinta), and my first Grey Heron (Harmaahaikara) for Finland. Grey Herons are not common breeders in Finland, and are observed here mostly in late summer.
Posted by jaredclarke at September 1, 2005 03:22 PM