Bird counting, summary

Sorry for not updating for a while. Been busy with work - counting birds and butterflies and dragonflies. Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides and Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva have been common this year. Phydes has been so numerous that it doesn't take any great forest for one to settle down. Best day was maybe 11exx!

Capercailie seems to be more common than I thought in Sipoonkorpi. Today I found a flock of chicks, so pretty!

Dragonfly scene is going slow. Saw a Scarce Blue-tail Ischnura pumilio in Vuosaari a couple of days ago.

Staphylinus ceasereus

Big. Looks aggressive.

Prometheus and retarded biology

"Oh my God. Their [Engineer aliens'] DNA is a 100 % match to ours [humans']!"

And what do the Engineers look like?

Three meters tall, bald white-skinned superaryans with pitch-black eyes and superhuman strength.

Genotype plasticity only goes so far. I call space wizardry. Why try to make it scientific if it's retarded? Why say 3 % concentration of CO2 will kill in two minutes, wheb it has been proven on Earth that it doesn't? gaah

21.5.2012 - Glossy Ibis

Went to twitch a Glossy Ibis. Alone. Bird was ugly. No company. Still, krys!

17.5. Collared Flycatcher, Steppe Eagle

Yes, so I skipped work today - weather forecast promised heavy rains to Inkoo. So I went twitching.

My first target was a Viikki tick - a male Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) that had been present since the 13th. Bird was easy to see and hear, it kept singing all the time. On my way back I also heard a Red-Breasted Flycatcher (F. parva), giving me full flycatchers for the day.

From Kotka I picked up Antto. We headed for Virolahti to twitch the Steppe Eagle. Near Virojoki we got a message: A Lesser Spotted Eagle, coming towards us from Lakakallio. Waited for about 20 minutes, didn't see. Who cares!

Nipa just... sat in a tree. Watched it for a while, then got bored and drove to Linnunlahti (across the bay). Nipa made a short aerial show for us. A male Garganey was nice.

We drove to Teboil to fill the tank. Antto bought a roiskeläppä. Thought about trying to twitch a Montagu's Harrier, but skipped. Drove to Hamina, tried to see if the previously seen Blue-Winged Teal was present. Wasn't. At Lupinlahti we heard a Bittern and three Great Reed Warblers. Drove home.

Krys!

16.5.2012 bird counting

Counting birds for job is both fun and challenging. A relatively wide field of expertise is required, preparing work must be done in advance, and still relatively lot is - unfortunately - left for chance: how early have the Blackcaps arrived? Is there a motorcycle meeting nearby? Will it rain? How late do we get the necessary information, including maps? What should the focus be?

Today I counted birds at Espoo, Mankkaa. Weather was excellent: +8 degrees C, still and not a cloud in sight. Thrush Nightingales were really going at it when I arrived. The place: a nice, urban deciduous forest. Some relatively old trees, e.g. White Willows (Salix alba) and alders. Nice findings: two Little Spotted Woodpeckers - a really good species in this kind of work! - and a Hawfinch nest! Hawfinch nest was the first I had every found, although I have lived practically in the middle of a sparse Hawfinch colony. Nice! Left work pretty early. Happy with the day. Didn't take a single picture!

15.5.20212 Black-Necked Grebe and Terek Sandpiper

Finland's 31st Black-Necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) had been present since 10th May at Kouvola. So seeing as I had finally returned my bachelor's thesis, it was time for to twitch!

Leaving Joensuu only at 1pm, I drove through Kitee towards Parikkala. An American Wigeon had been seen at Parikkala's Pohjaranta, last seen 13th May. It wasn't present when I got there, although I had already seen Honey Buzzards and a Cuckoo, yearticks for me. At Pohjanranta there were about 5000 Barnacle Geese as well, stopping on their way to Siberia.

At Parikkala I received a call from Antto, who told me that a Steppe Eagle was present at Virolahti, Vilkkiläntura. At this point I made a mistake - perhaps - and prioritized Kouvola's BNG over the eagle. So, I drove to Kouvola.

It was late spring in Kouvola. An Hortolan Bunting, a Wryneck, Sedge Warbler and Common Rosefinch. Walking towards the levee road, I suddenly heard a voice that was familiar, yet unknown. One second of frantic thinking while the call seemed to approach and then I got it: Terek Sandpiper, my first spontaneous and second ever! Woohoo! The bird fell to a flooded field and disappeared. Happy, I called Antto who told me that the bird had already been seen a few days earlier. Scheisse! Well, nevermind, it was still nice and I count it as semi-spontaneous! After that, the real star of the place, Black-Necked Grebe, seemed kinda dull.

Black-necked Grebe is a rare vagrant to Finland: before spring 2012, only 27 had been recorded, previous two in 2011 and 2008. However, there was a small influx this year: birds at Mäntsälä, Jalasjärvi, Siikajoki, Kouvola and Ylivieska.

After this I decided that I had not driven enough, so I headed for Virolahti's Vilkkiläntura. Didn't see the Steppe Eagle, which was ominously "not present at the same tree it had been sitting for the entire day." Left at 9pm, started talking to phone, and at 9:42pm noticed a SMS sent at 9:24: "The bird is not visible from Tura, but can be seen from [nearby] Linnunlahti". Fuck this! Didn't turn around, and the entire debacle left a bit sour taste in my mouth. Vouched for revenge.