22.4.2012 Tohmajärvi, Sääperi

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), the jet fighter of the bird fauna

Went to Tohmajärvi, Sääperi today with Karoliina, Ari, Susanna and Santra. The weather was horrible: +12, still, no clouds. Got sunburn, ergo the spring is here.

Early in the morning the sky was dominated by thrushes and finches. Bean Geese, European Golden Plovers, Lapwings, lots of Eurasian Curlews, Green Sandpipers were responsible for the vocal landscape. At 11.20 I spotted a largeish raptor, which was immediately identified as an adult Black Kite. The bird flew lazily westwards. All 9 people in the tower got to see it very well. 

A Peregrine spent parts of the day hunting around Sääperi, harassing gulls and waders. Saw 8 Hen Harriers/CMPs, 8 Opsreys, 2 White-Tailed Eagles, 6 Rough-Legged Buzzards, a number of Sparrowhawks and Common Buzzards, a beautiful male Merlin, some Kestrels, Goshawk and a Western Marsh Harrier. 12 raptor species. Other species included a beautiful male Barn Swallow, Tree Pipits, Whimbrels, Common Greenshanks and Greater White-fronted Geese. A total of 62 species (6 yearticks) in about 7 hours. Didn't really count birds, focused more on just looking at them. The exact numbers may change in the near future.

Common Crane (Grus grus) - no Sandhill yet...

Under the tower there are four Honey Bee hives. The Bees were awake and disturbingly active and curious. They constantly defecated on us - their feces smell weird, kinda like honey and... shit. Tortoiseshells, Archiearis parthenias and Common Brimstones were awake as well. 

On the way home we tried to see if the Ruddy Shelduck had returned to Reijola. It hadn't. Drove back home and slept for two hours. My neck is red. I have an urge to shoot beercans and neighbours. Send help.

19.4.2012 Spring a trap

Woke up at 8am. "Supposed to be outside right now." Iipu knocked on my window. Let him inside. Brewed some coffee and got prepared for some hardcore ice-fishing.

Our first target was the European Nuthatch. Finally we heard the bird. Pretty nice weather, too - sunny and calm. We continued to Natura to pick up the hand auger - only to see someone had taken it. Whereabouts unknown!
Drove to Ukonlahti to try to see the Twites, but only saw about 30 Snow Buntings. Then we went to Varaslampi to try to see how the ice was. Not too well. Drove home and went to Uni for lectures. That's it about ice fishing, I QUIT

At 4pm I decided to pick up Junnu and drive to try to Horned Larks again. Surprisingly, we had about 10 minutes at the rubbish dump before the gates closed, because the damn dump closes at 5pm. No Horned Larks (starting to see a pattern here). A large Common Buzzard, about 15 Mistle Thrushes, a couple dozen Meadow Pipits. Back to Ukonlahti, where we saw 4 Twites, about 130 Snow Buntings and sunk to horrible mud. Our shoes, they so dirty.

We drove to Karsikko and counted some birds: 154 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, incl. 2-3 heuglini-type and several with a back that is a little paler, very dark slate grey, compared to nominate race. 1802 Black-Headed Gulls and 188 Herring Gulls.

The Whooper Swans were tame towards us, cautious towards dogs and very, very aggressive towards each other. Horrible creatures.

18.4.2012 The Gods are not on my side

Wonderful spring weather, JNS-type

Went to rubbish dump this morning with Santra. Grey weather. Cold. Windy. Not too many gulls. Bad vibes. Ugly men honking at us. Left after seeing circa 40 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, but no heuglinis. Only a couple 3-4cy Herrings and one Great Black-Backed Gull.

Tried to twitch the Nuthatch. Didn't see it. A sparrowhawk came to sit on a nearby tree. All birds vanished. At this point we decided going home is probably the best option.

At least the place was ugly.




On other news: Mute Swan kills a man: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/16/kayaker-drowns-swan-attack-anthony-hensley-illinois_n_1428331.html

Biology factor: High. Failure to see birds on a short birding trip certainly qualifies.

Scapa 16yo - first blood

Origin: Orkney, Scotland
Single malt
16 yo

Colour: Middle-tone, golden honey.
Aroma: Fruity, flowery, with a hint of solvent and lilac.
Taste: Strong. The first touch is surprisingly harsh, mellows down soon and becomes very sweet, then turns again and becomes oaky. Very clearly three-peaked. Long aftertaste, with hints of salt.

Overall: Not quite sure, I have to admit. First touch is surprisingly harsh. I suppose this is a whiskey that requires a bit of aeration. Definitely not as characteristic as Talisker or Islays. I will return to this every now and then and see how it fares.

Edit: After a while in the glass, the sharpness is gone and the character is different. The whisky becomes a well-rounded, sweet Highlander, with a small touch of smokiness. It has a bit more of a character and aggressivity than some Speyside malts. Would love to taste this with Glenlivet 18yo.

Biology factor: Below zero. Seriously, single malt scotch whiskys?

Tomorrow to Joensuu municipal dump. Expect horrible gull pics and whining about Heuglinis.

Classic weather

Sleet, 0 degrees C. Changing to rain at noon. Skipping all plans to go outside. According to Junnu the seal hasn't been sighted today. Weather quite unpleasant.

Decided to make Albatrellus ovinus/minced meat steaks and baked potatoes. Years 2010 and 2011 were great mushroom years and I still have some left, so better to use them before next autumn comes. Boletus edulis is excellent, but a bit overused, so I decided to eat some ovinus. It is a ground-growing polypore fungus, which can be very numerous in one year, then unexplainably missing the next year. With a pleasant texture, excellent taste and sometimes excellent harvest, it has been a popular mushroom, but nowhere near Boletus edulis, Craterellus tubaeformis or Cantharellus gibareus. Fungus trips can be rewarding. Free food in the forest.

You need:
- minced meat
- bread crumbs
- cream
- sour cream
- egg
- as much dried and minced Albatrellus ovinus as you feel and can afford (at least 2dl)
- some grated parmesan, a little mustard
- salt, pepper, white pepper, thyme
- baked potatoes

Works like a charm. Steaks have a pleaseant, smooth and peculiar taste, resembling liver.
Difficulty: very easy.
Biology factor: low.

16.4.2012 year has started

Spring has finally come to Finland - although in Joensuu, Eastern Finland we're dragging behind.  Surprising.

Spent the Easter period at Helsinki, Finland. First real birding trip to Åland Rally in 30.3. - 1.4.2012 resulted in 92+1 species (+1 was Ross's Goose, which is at category E so not listable). That gave us a victory and a beautiful Eagle statue I will depict in the future.

Counted my yearticks as well - running at 125spp right now. Missing quite a few easy species, it seems. Counting motivates, though. Thinking about twitching a Nuthatch for the hell of it. Won't aim high, but at least try to collect easy and interesting ones.

Also considering twitching a Saimaa Ringed Seal that has been resting at Savonlinna, about 140 km from Joensuu. Santra, Karoliina and April have said they would be interested. However the weather forecast for Tuesday is abysmal. Probably moving the trip to Wednesday. Hopefully the cub is still there then. World population a bit over 200exx., so p. high on the priority!

edit: Supposed to hold a Dragonfly Seminar for Complete Beginners on Saturday. Probably focus on questions such as "what is a dragonfly", "how do they live and exist" and "how should I start dragonfly watching". Should be interesting.