Last of 2016

My December has been lazy with birding.. I have been out maybe once with Vilma and that is all.
First of December I had early release from work and I wen to Kaivopuisto to look if I could find the long staying Hawk Owl from there. I saw a photographer and finding the Owl was over in one minute. I grab my telescope and scoped few pics and left. Great bird, and it seems that this species is annual in Helsinki with one to five birds each year.

Northern Hawk Owl.

At 10th of December Sanni went out with her friends and they started very early. I took Vilma and we went to twitch Black-throated Thrush from Munkkisaari. Bird was originally found in Lauttasaari, but it disappeared very quickly after it was found and few days later it was found about 3km from there!
It was new stroller tick for me so we had to go there!
Lots of people waited the bird when we arrived and there was also big flock of Waxwings in the area.
We waited about 20minutes when Vilma started to be noisy and bored. I started to walk away, but Matias Castren yelled that the bird is here! We moved back and I got short but good eye contact with the bird. I tried to take some photos, but too many photographers and a fence between me and the bird. Here is worst photo of the bird, even with my standards.

Nice job! 

There has been some discussion about the ID of the bird, but let´s see what happens.

We continued walking along the shore and I checked Kaivopuisto, but nothing there.. After that we went to Uuniaari and there I had flock of Redpolls, Snow Bunting, big flock of Long-tailed Ducks, Mergansers, two Wite-tailed Eagles and flock of migrating Whooper Swans.
Snow Bunting and Long-tailed Ducks were both new stroller ticks of me!
We walked back to my car and because Thrush was still hiding, we left back home.

Waxwings.

More Waxwings.

View from Uunisaari.

Great morning and good birds.
Thanks Matias for company!

I think this will be my last post this year. I´m still thinking about quitting the blog, because I don´t have enough time to write it and even less time for birds...
Let´s see what happens.
Happy new year and best wishes for the year of 2017

-Tom

Seurasaari with Vilma 14.11.2016

We started pretty early with Vilma and headed to Seurasaari. Few days earlier there was a Great-grey Owl, so I was hoping to refind it. We walked around the island but nothing really interesting this time. Lots of Tits, Blackbirds, Squirrels around. Few Robins still hanging around and because the Southern tip of the island had open water, there was flock of Canada Geese, Mallards and few Tudted Duck. Vilma had fun watching the flock and she was laughing all the time. When we walked back I noticed a juvenile Goshawk quite near and two Greater-spotted Woodpeckers near the bridge to the island.

Goshawk hiding in a tree.

Same bird? This was different location.

Geese flock and nice background.

-Tom

Local twitching with Vilma 8.11.2016

I had a day off and time for some local birding. Long staying Crested Lark was still present at Kamppi and with Vilma we saw it quikckly before it took off and disappeared behind the building.
After the Lark we went to Tähtitorninmäki to see very very late Ortolan Bunting. When we arrived there was some other twitchers around and I was happy to see my friend Hannu Palojärvi there. Hannu showed me the bird and I ticked second stroller tick for the day.
After the bunting I let Vilma play in the snow and we had great time. Shame it was so cold and windy that we had only half an hour there.
Also lots of Waxwings eating some berries and I had little flock of Whooper Swans migrating South.

One of many feeders around the Tähtitorninmäki.

Tähtitorninmäki

Vilma!

Great few hours with my girl. Vilma was tired again after many hous outside, so we headed back home.

-Tom