Leaving my office Thursday afternoon, a Great Tit (Talitiainen) called out from the path. It was to be my last bird in Finland (for now, at least) ...
Early Friday morning (Dec 16), I started my 26 hour journey home -- across Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, and back to Newfoundland. Having missed an exciting year in my province, and many rare species, during my Finnish adventure, I was looking forward to birding back on "the rock".
After a long and frustrating day of travel (several weather delays and the loss of my luggage), I arrived home at 4:30am Saturday -- to interesting news. A Ross's Goose had been found in a city lake just 2 km from my apartment -- a first provincial record and an extreme rarity for Atlantic Canada. After squeezing in a few winks of sleep, I nervously set out a few hours later. Fortunately, I found the goose still at the lake, hanging out with the local ducks and allowing amazingly close looks. I also picked up the last remaining Laughing Gull (one of an influx that had been blown in by Hurricane Wilma a month or so ago) and three female Redheads at another pond across town. Three "lifers" within hours of making landfall -- a good start to my return!!
Sunday was the first Christmas Bird Count of the season, and after another early rise, I met up with some friends, grabbed some Tim Horton's coffee (Surprisingly, I missed that in Finland) and headed down the shore towards Cape St. Mary's. While it was a rather mild day for mid-December, the winds were extremely strong, and the hike across the barrens and headlands to Point Lance was a struggle -- gale force winds nearly picking me off my feet and pushing me towards the cliff edge. A true day of coastal Newfoundland birding -- the cliffs rising high above the wild ocean, waves crashing violently against the rocks, blistering winds sweeping across the barrens, and the salt spray coating my binoculars. God, I missed it!!
It was a routine day of birding, with no major rarities. The highlights were a late Orange-crowned Warbler, a lone Rough-legged Hawk playing in the wind, a beautiful group of Harlequin Ducks hiding amongst the flock of Common Eiders, and handful of Snow Buntings and Savannah Sparrows sneaking around on the grassy beach.
And so ends my excursion to Finland. Not sure where my future adventures will take me, but I know I will find my way back there sooner than later. For now, I'm happy to be enjoying the nature of Newfoundland.
It's not Finland -- but it's home, and it's great to be back!!
Posted by jaredclarke at December 19, 2005 03:40 AM