I did it. I "finally" got up from behind my desk and got out birding. Trouble is, someone forgot to inform the birds ...
Despite an extremely late night on Friday, I painfully rolled out of bed Saturday morning, fixed myself some coffee, and bundled up for a day of birding. After an unusually warm autumn, winter had finally started to show its face with snow falling gently outside.
The trip was a preliminary "scouting" expedition to find some birds in advance of next weekend's "rally" (A "big day" competition, for most of us North American birders).
Our first stop in Haminalahti produced the only highlight of the day -- a nice Northern Hawk Owl (Hiiripöllö) perched atop a tree, turning its head 'round in a dozen directions and scanning the surrounding fields patiently for breakfast. With the exception of Great Tits (Talitiainen) and Greenfinches (Viherpeippo) attending a nearby feeder, the action was starting out pretty slowly.
And it stayed that way. The rest of our stops during the morning and early afternoon produced little of anything ... hardly any of the regular species, and certainly nothing of note. Even though it has been a warm fall and the lakes remain unfrozen, the only duck on the day was a Mallard (Sinisorsa) and no other water birds. Except for the wind rustling the trees, the forests were equally as quiet.
At least the fresh air and snow was refreshing ...
Posted by jaredclarke at November 27, 2005 12:34 PM