Jared Goes to Finland

Arctic Geese and the World's Laziest Sparrow

I shuddered Saturday morning after forcing myself out of bed and looking out my kitchen window. The winds had turned NW overnight, and dark rain clouds rolled in from the horizon. Cold and dreary ...

But rain or shine, I was joining in on the "fun". With the winds turning northerly for the first time in weeks, a good blast of arctic migration should have been on the way. So, a quick cup of coffee later, I bundled up, grabbed my gear and headed south of the city to Puutossalmi. Many birds follow the large Lake Kallavesi south, passing by the little point of land where the lake narrows ... making it a prime spot for viewing fall migration of waterfowl, divers and raptors.

By the time I arrived at 9:00am, about a dozen birders were already there. I'm not sure if it was the rainy weather, but things just didn't materialize that morning. After 4.5 hours of scanning the sky and water, most people were giving up hope of seeing too much ... In fact, the only goose was a single Brant (Sepelhanhi) that flew overhead, and other than a decent showing of Black-throated Divers (Kuikka) and a single Snow Bunting (Pulmunen), the morning was a bust.

Pinning my hopes on the promises from local birders that "tommorrow will be better", I joined some friends and headed out early Sunday morning. The winds were now coming straight from the north -- better for migration, but notably colder. At least it wasn't raining!! About 15 birders gathered at the point, staring face-first into the blistering wind ... (Except for the lack of salt-water spray and a few jagged rocks to hide behind, it was a lot like a winter sea-watch back in Newfoundland!! Nice to feel at home!!)

Things started a bit slowly -- a few Long-tailed Ducks (Alli) and Black-throated Divers (Kuikka) shot by. But soon the geese starting coming - and when they did, they just kept popping up. A flock here, another flock there -- some way out on the horizon, almost invisible to the naked eye, others flying directly over our heads. In fact, the keeners with pen and paper estimate we saw close to 7000 geese throughout the morning and early afternoon. Not bad by any standards ... While many of the geese were too far away for definite ID's, most of them were Bean Geese (Metsähanhi) and Barnacle Geese (Valkoposkihanhi).

One of the more entertaining birds, though, was a House Sparrow (Varpunen). It arrived on the small ferry which carries cars back and forth across the small span of water (~250m) which seperates the points of land in Puutossalmi, and hopped around our feet for an hour or so, picking up scraps and enjoying little handouts from the birders on coffee break. It's belly full, it decided to go home ... But despite the short flight back to the other side, it waited for the ferry to return, got back on and hitched a ride. Talk about lazy!!!

Well, it's vacation time for me --- today I start a weeklong trip to England to shake off the cobwebs and spend some time with a friend.

Kippis!!

A group of birders enjoying the arctic migration at Puutossalmi ... (Click to enlarge)

The world's laziest House Sparrow (Varpunen) enjoying lunch ... (Click to enlarge)

Crap Luck ...

Yup. I said it. Crap luck.

As much as I love and enjoy birding here in Finland, I have been a bit frustrated with my "luck" since autumn has set in. I don't get out as much as I would like, and when I do I just can't seem to run into the birds. Maybe its a lack of birds, or just hitting the wrong places at the wrong time. Whatever it is, it's "crap".

My forays into the local forests looking for Siberian warblers which have been passing through Finland (and even showing up in western Europe in record numbers!!) have been for naught. Trudges through fields and meadows in search of unusual pipits and such have been useless. Visits to local wetlands and migration routes to look for geese have produced empty lakes and skies.

It's not all bad, mind you. The fresh air, fall colours and peaceful strolls have been amazing. And, despite my "down-in-the-mouth" attitude, there have been some fun birds, as well.

Taking advantage of a more flexible schedule the last few days, I've been chasing my tail a little more often. Friday morning I visited Musti and Raasio, two places where shorebirds gather earlier in the year, and geese sometimes frequent in fall. It was a ghost-town, with not a goose to be seen and no late waders. The only highlight was finally seeing a Merlin (Ampuhaukka) - a common raptor back home, but my first for this part of the world.

Before heading in to work on Sunday, I made my regular visit to Siilimasuo and the local dump. Except for a few Chaffinch (Peippo) and Great Tits (Talitiainen), both places were a bust. There was some fleeting excitement when I flushed up a pipit, but it turned out to be just a Meadow Pipit (Niittykirvinen).

Monday morning included my first visit to Puutossalmi -- a location on Lake Kallavesi, just south of the city, that is known in the area for its arctic migration. But with southerly winds prevailing for days, not much has been happening. One Great Black-backed Gull (Merilokki) and Black-throated Diver (Kuikka) were marginally notable, and a single flock of Barnacle Geese (Valkoposkihanhi) overhead was the only sign of migration.

Tuesday morning I visited the "bird lake" of Riistavesi. Again, no geese. Six species of duck were hanging out, including 6 migrating Common Scoters (Mustalintu), and four Whooper Swans (Laulujoutsen) honked their way across the sky.

This morning, a blanket of fog motivated me to abandon my plans to watch for migration and take a walk in the farm fields of Jälä instead. It was more birdy than I had predicted, although nothing too out of the ordinary. The highlight was a lone Horned Lark (Tunturikiuru) -- another common bird back home, but a Finnish first for me. One Reed Bunting (Pajusirkku), numerous Meadow Pipits (Niittykirvinen) and two Skylarks (Kiuru) flushed up from the grass, and a continual stream of Fieldfares (Räkättirastas) migrated overhead.

Fingers crossed ... something better HAS to cross my path soon. Right?!?!

Gettin' scarce ...

Many birds, especially passerines, are getting scarcer each day here in the Kuopio area. While this is an interesting time for goose migration and eastern rarities, the "familiar" faces of local breeders are disappearing, and the forests seem eerily quiet. At least in my experience ...

While I haven't had time to squeeze in much birding the last few weeks, my odd walks in the forests around the city have proved pretty futile. Hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the Siberian phylloscopus warblers which frequent Finland in early October, I have had to settle for sparse sightings of anything. With the exception of Fieldfares (Räkättirastas) and Redwings (Punakylkirastas), that is ... those little monsters have flocked together and taken over!!

Still, a few notbale birds have managed to brighten my short strolls ... a Black Woodpecker (Palokärki) doing its rounds, and a few small flocks of Goldcrests (Hippiäinen) twittering high up in the canopy. Always fun to see are the Treecreepers (Puukiipijä), which work away furiously amongst the trees - oblivious to anyone or anything.

Next week is a little less busy -- so here's hoping a few mornings of birding will produce something a little more exciting!!