Finland 05/16-05/22/2016 Stefan Schlick greenfant@hotmail.com Intro: Having failed to secure services of a Finnature guide early in the year, I decided to join a German tour group called birdingtours. There were 9 participants, a German guide for logistics and a local Finnish Finnature guide, Matti Komulainen. We had two 9-passenger vans and there was plenty of space. There also was a successive Lapland extension which I did not do. Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/110120855087524730000/6289212541609017473?authuser=0&f eat=directlink Itinerary: 05/16: Arrival in Oulu I arrived in Oulu via Helsinki at around 5pm. Matti picked me up, drove me to the hotel (Airport Hotel Vihiluoto) and I started birding the extensive mudflats behind the motel at around 6pm. Birding was great! Highlights were 2 Black Terns (rare) and 2 Little Terns (also rare), Sedge Warbler, Black-tailed Godwit (only about 100 breeding pairs in Finland), a Common Scoter, a drake Garganey and various other shorebirds and ducks. 05/17: Oulu We relocated a male Ural Owl on our first stop and got good looks. This meant that we didn t have to bother the female as it was a known nest site. Our only crossbill (Red) and Wood Warbler (not me though) were nearby. A stop at a church near the hotel produced my lifer Nutcracker and the only Eurasian Collared Dove of the trip. A bridge across a large river somewhere en route yielded an omissus European Herring Gull (yellow legs). Later we had a Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gull (fuscus spp) somewhere. A stop for Three-toed Woodpecker was unsuccessful, but a we found a Rough-legged Hawk and a Steppe Buzzard nearby.
At Liminka, a female Pallid Harrier was hunting over the flats and we were able to track it for a long time and see all field marks well. 2 White-tailed Eagles, our only Coots, many Ruffs in a variety of plumages and another close-up Black-tailed Godwit were good as well. At the less-exposed mudflats at the hotel, we had a single Temminck s Stint, a female Smew and several more species of shorebirds. 05/18: Oulu First stop in the morning was for Terek Sandpiper in Oulu (64.990489, 25.438734). We found it perched on top of the highest pole! It is likely the last remaining male of this population which made the sighting bittersweet. Also at the same spot was a pair of Common Rosefinch. We briefly stopped at a pond nearly for a breeding-plumaged Horned Grebe. Next stop after that was for Pygmy Owl, but we could not get the male to come in. So, we were all allowed to look into the box where the female was on eggs. She didn t move. This felt a little bit like cheating... Our next stop was clouded in secrecy. First we stumbled around a bog, but it turned out the wrong place. We tried again down the road. The target bird, a Great Gray Owl on a nest, had just been found the night before. Shortly after, Matti found the bird. Always a treat! 05/19 Oulu to Kuusamo This was the transfer day from Oulu to Kuusamo. En route we found 3 European Golden- Plovers on a meadow and the lake behind it hosted Long-tailed Duck and Greater Scaup (rare in Finland). A longish stop at a lake yielded Meadow Pipit, some ducks, a Eurasian Treecreeper and 3 Bohemian Waxwings. I found a male Black Grouse in an open bog and we saw the white color when fly off. Later we got to see our first Capercaillie, a pretty tame bird, which allowed us to get good looks. We tried 3 times for Rustic Bunting and at the 3rd stop, a small bridge with lots of varied habitat, we finally succeeded. Dunnock, Brambling and Tree Pipit rounded out the tally there. The bunting was a real crowd pleaser, also because we had to work for it, as it was singing low. Everyone got good looks through my scope. After check-in at Sokos Hotel Kuusamo, we found a breeding-plumaged Red-necked Grebe behind the cemetery during a walk through town. Fieldfares and Redwings were prominent and we also ran into a small flock of 3 Willow Tits.
We went out again at 8pm to look for a Northern Hawk Owl. We found the male perched up in near the nest and there were lots of oohs and aahs. 05/20: Kuusamo The first stop was for Siberian Tit near a lake. A bird came in briefly and I got some decent shots. Good for me, as I don t want to look for this bird in North America; it s just too cumbersome to get to where they breed. We also found a second bird that went into a nest box. Near the Ruka ski resort (trail leaves at 66.172910, 29.165529), we saw an immature male Redflanked Bluetail, but not the whole group got on it. A flying-mad male Capercaillie got too close for comfort on the hike back. Wren and Common Redstart reminded me of home, but the habitat was decidedly boreal. A single Siberian Jay came in for the sausage that Matti had brought and everyone was thrilled. At some lake we found 6 pairs of Velvet Scoters and 2 pairs of Red-necked Grebes. A pair of Smew was also present. This lake was loaded with waterfowl. The lake at the hotel had some good birds, including Red-throated Loon, Arctic and Common Tern, Common Scoter, 10 Red-necked Grebes and 3 fly-over Barnacle Goose. A late try for Willow Ptarmigan somewhat failed, but the bird answered to the call and was seen by 2 folks from the group (not me). A hunting Short-eared Owl found by Martin was a somewhat uncommon treat. 05/21: Kuusamo In the morning, we tried for the Red-flanked Bluetail again, and now everyone got looks, but they were brief for most. There were 4 birds total, 3 singing males and 1 female. On the way out we got to hear and see a female trumpeter Bullfinch. Back at the Siberian Jay spot (2 birds came into the sausages this time), Matti found a male Hazel Grouse in the woods and got the whole group on it. The bird was amazingly tame and lots of sharp pix were obtained. This was the highlight of the trip for many. Near the Russian border, a female Tengmalm s Owl (aka Boreal Owl) peaked out of a nest box and stared back at us for an insanely long time. For lunch, we were treated to a traditional Finnish reindeer meal at a cabin in the woods. Even the drinks (home-brewed alcohol-free beer and cranberry juice) and the amazing blueberry pie were outstanding. A Brambling was outside at the feeder.
We got back to the hotel in the evening only to find a carcass of a Willow Ptarmigan which had struck a window sometime during the day. We all were able to obtain feathers at least. 05/22: Transfer back to Oulu; back to Helsinki; Haltiala Nature Preserve As it was raining early morning, we got a late start and pretty much drove from Kuusamo straight to Oulu airport. I ended up arriving at the Rantisipi Airport Hotel in Helsinki at around 4pm and immediately went for a walk finally picking up the Blackbird we had missed up north. Also notable were Northern Wheatear, Linnet and Common Whitethroat near the hotel. I managed to get a bicycle reserved at 5:45pm and rode it over to Haltiala Nature Preserve.Only took about 20min. There were Blackcaps, more Common Whitethroats and Thrush Nightingales. At 60.276995, 24.943358 by the Vantaa River, I hit the jackpot at around 8:15pm as a Blyth s Reed Warbler started singing and doing its check call. The bird was amazingly cooperative and I obtained decent photos. There wasn t enough time to thoroughly check the wooded areas, but there are supposed to be Three-toed Woodpecker and Red-breasted Flycatcher. Greenish Warbler is also supposed to be present and I may have heard one, but couldn t get on it. Good place anyway! 05/23: Flight back from Helsinki to the US Comments: Both hotels were good. The food at the Oulu hotel was maybe a little bit better even. The breakfast buffets at both places were extensive. Dinner at around 7pm was included. Both hotels offered great birding opportunities. Matti is a great guide. While he doesn t say much, he is very sharp and his time/stop management was superb. The only small complaint was that he was playing a tape in endless mode for too long. This was an above-average trip for sure!! The only misses were Three-toed Woodpecker, Common Redpoll and Parrot Crossbill. It would have been nice to actually see a Willow Ptarmigan alive... We got lucky with the Great Gray Owl, as the lemming population crashed this year and birds were generally not breeding. Mammals: Gray Wolf (near Oulu) European (O) and Mountain (Showshoe) Hare (O,K) Red squirrel Reindeer Muskrat (several at hotel in K) Trip list: 142 species
(O = around Oulu; K = around Kuusamo; H = around Helsinki) Whooper Swan Barnacle Goose (K) Greylag Goose (O) Taiga Bean Goose (3 at K) Long-tailed Duck (1 at lake halfway between O and K) Velvet Scoter (K) Common Scoter (O, K) Common Goldeneye Smew (O, K) Goosander Red-breasted Merganser Common Shelduck (O) Common Pochard (O) Tufted Duck Greater Scaup (2 at lake halfway between O and K) Garganey (1 male in O) Northern Shoveler Gadwall Eurasian Wigeon Mallard Northern Pintail Common Teal Pheasant Hazel Grouse (1 male in K) Willow Ptarmigan (1 heard in K) Western Capercaillie (2 in K) Eurasian Black Grouse (several in K) Red-throated Loon (2 in K) Black-throated Loon (several in K) Great Crested Grebe (O) Red-necked Grebe (K) Horned Grebe (1 in O) Rock Dove Wood Pigeon Eurasian Collared Dove (1 in O) Swift Common Cuckoo Bittern (1 in O) White-tailed Eagle (2 at Liminka - O, 1 in K) Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Pallid Harrier (1 female at Liminka - O)
Steppe Buzzard (1 at O) Rough-legged Hawk (1 at O) Sparrowhawk Black Kite (1 in K) Common Kestrel Hobby (1 en route) Peregrine Falcon (1 in K) Coot Common Crane European Golden Plover (3 along road halfway from O to K) Common Ringed Plover (O) Little Ringed Plover (O) Lapwing Whimbrel (2 in K) Eurasian Curlew Black-tailed Godwit (O) Ruff (O) Temminck s Stint (1 in O) Common Snipe Terek Sandpiper (1 in O) Common Sandpiper Green Sandpiper (K) Spotted Redshank (O) Common Redshank (O) Common Greenshank (O, K) Wood Sandpiper Red-necked Phalarope (10 in K) Black-headed Gull Little Gull Common Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull (fuscus spp in O) European Herring Gull (omissus spp in O) Little Tern (2 in O) Black Tern (2 in O) Common Tern Arctic Tern (mostly K) Northern Hawk Owl (1 in K) Eurasian Pygmy Owl (1 in O) Tengmalm s Owl (1 in K) Short-eared Owl (1 in K) Ural Owl (1 in K) Great Gray Owl (1 in O) Great Spotted Woodpecker Magpie
Eurasian Jay Jackdaw Eurasian Nutcracker (1 at O) Rook Hooded Crow Common Raven Dunnock House Sparrow Eurasian Tree Sparrow Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Yellow Wagtail White Wagtail Chaffinch Brambling (3 in K) Linnet (6 in H) Red Crossbill (2 in O) Goldfinch (O, H) Greenfinch Siskin Common Rosefinch (2 in O) Eurasian Bullfinch (2 in K) Reed Bunting Yellowhammer Rustic Bunting (1 between O and K) Great Tit Blue Tit Willow Tit Siberian Tit (1-2 in K) Sky Lark Blackcap (H) Common Whitethroat (H) Sedge Warbler (O) Blyth s Reed Warbler (1 in H) Willow Warbler Chiffchaff Goldcrest Sand Martin Barn Swallow House Martin Bohemian Waxwing (3 at O) Eurasian Treecreeper Wren (K) Starling
Robin Thrush Nightingale (5 at H) Red-flanked Bluetail (3-4 at K) Common Redstart (K) Whinchat (O) Pied Flycatcher Northern Wheatear (H,O) Mistle Thrush (K) Song Thrush Redwing (O,K,H) Fieldfare Blackbird (H)