Backyard birding 28.12.2019

When you spend time with your kids it is always better if you go outside and let them run in a park etc. Today we had nice little it over an hour at the local park and sun was shining. Loads of birds around eating rowan berries and I counted at least 40 Fieldfares and around ten Waxwings in small area.
At the park I had a bit luck when I looked a small flock of Jackdaws I noticed a large raptor behind the flock. I always carry my binoculars and damn, it was far and high, but it was a Golden Eagle! One of those species which always gives you the chills. Eagle was just sliding towards Northeast and soon I lost it in blue sky. I think the age was either 1cy or 2cy bird cause the large white under wing patches. From that distance you can´t obviously be sure..

One of many Fieldfares. 

Bohemian Waxwings resting before next meal.

It seems that I might have time to go out and look for some new birds for this year next Monday, but let´s see. This nice sunny weather is gone tomorrow and I bet we have more rain after that.

-Tom 

End of the year. 2019

Hello folks and happy holidays.
During the December I have not done much of bird related activity.. I started at new job early November and it still takes muck of my time. I hope that will turn easier next year. Of course when you work all the daylight hours, that does not help you either. We have very short days now and "light" is mostly cloudy grey colors.

If I sum the December birding there is only one dipped Pine Grosbeak with my kids and then one lucky day when a flock of three Pine Grosbeaks migrated over our house. I was out with my children and Julius was even in the stroller when I noticed the birds, so stroller tick for me too!
Christmas came and Vilma has been sick, so we had to cancel few things, but the joy when she got the presents etc. That was great. Also Julius has enjoyed the Christmas time, but clearly he does not understand all the presents. To much stuff at the same time.

Partially leucistic male Domestic Sparrow from my back yard.This bird has been here the whole year.  

Overall the year 2019 has been great for me.
I got five new lifers in Finland. Red-headed Bunting, Pacific Golden Plover, Eurasian Roller, Cattle Egret and Great-northern Diver.
Crete trip at June gave me the Lammergeier and January trip to Fuerteventura was really success. From there I got Allen´s Gallinule, Dwarf Bittern, Houbara Bustard, Canary Island Chat and Lesser Scaup.


For the year 2020 I have some goals.

- More birding than 2019
- Do a trip to somewhere where I can have more than one WP-lifer with my family.
- 340 lifers in Finland. (Now 337)
- More than one trip to Estonia for birding.
- Spend more time with you uncle.

Maybe better not plan too much goals, cause there is always possibility that I have to cancel everything :)

I wish all the best for the year 2020 to all my friends and you readers. I still have passion to write here and I really enjoy this. Hope you like it.

Now I just have to wait the migrating birds and hope there is some nice local wintering stuff in Helsinki.

Happy new year!

Best

-Tom

Fifth lifer for the year. 17.11.2019

Yesterday 16th of November I finally had time to twitch long staying Great-northern Diver from Kirkkonummi. All went well until my kids said that it is time to go home... That was before the bird was relocated. Fun... SO I dipped yesterday and today on 17th I had to put my a-game to see the bird.
I waited again that the bird was seen and together with Vilma we went to see the bird. It was 40 minute drive to Vittrask, a big lake where the bird was seen daily from Monday I think.
It was before non we arrived and Vilma wanted to stay in the car, so I gave her my other phone to watch cartoon while I went to search the place. Some familiar faces around and finally after half an hour I found bird very very far a way which could be the right bird. We followed it and it dived and then showed its head few times.
I was quite sure that we were looking the right bird, but distance was about 1.5 km and I wanted to see it better.
I checked maps and we drove to the other side of the lake. We arrived to the place and while we searched way to shore some guy found it from parking lot. I managed to see the bird quickly and then we decided to move closer. We found a nice place and bird was showing it´s best but still quite distant views. I looked the bird and tried to learn how to ID this species in the future if some day I found my own bird.
Diver was lying there calmly on the water and it was clearly a place where it didn´t fish, only rested.
In fifteen minutes it started to move again and dived few times. That was god time for us to leave. Vilma was super brave and she walked all the way in rocks and roots.
Here is few distant shots of the bird. All taken through my telescope with my phone. Lake produced some hear waves and light conditions you can see from the photos.

Distant and dark... Anyway Great-northern Diver. 1cy bird. 

Vilma was happy when the bird was found. I showed it to her too, so I add this one on her list. 

This was maybe the best I got. Sad but true.. 

I wish to be on the other side. From that sauna building even I could get better photos. 

So, lifer bird for me and finally got this one. Now the number is #337 in Finland.

Great-northern Diver is rare in Finland and best way to see these here is definitely like this bird, late autumn some local bird. Also some individuals every year migrates with other Divers along the coastline. These birds are usually seen in May.
Only 15 records from my home county (Uusimaa) during the 2000s. Thirteen of those were migrating birds.

-Tom

Birthday Cattle Egret 30.10.2019

Finally had time and energy t write something about my last visit to see some birds. It was my birthday about an week a go and I twitched a long staying Cattle Egret from Mäntsälä, which is about 60km from Helsinki.
Story of the bird is interesting, because it was originally found from Hattula, then it moved to Janakkala and then finally found from Mäntsälä few days later and distance of the original place is almost 90km.

Anyway it stayed in Mäntsälä and cause I had a day off I went to check it. Bird was easy to see, I was still driving when I saw it in flight and it stayed on one field during my visit there. Surprisingly it has eaten many Voles every day. Did not realize how much of a predator it can be!
Here is few pictures of the bird.

See the white dot under blue sign. 

The birds was feeding near the road and it got at least one vole during my stay. 

Phone scoped from the distance. 

Beautiful bird. 

Cattle Egret was my Finnish tick number 336 and fourth new one for the year. Also fourth record for Finland, so we are talking about very rare bird! Last one was 2011 and before that there is a records from 2006 and 2002. First for Finland was eastern race Coromandus and it was placed in category C back in 1994.
Hopefully I will have time to go outside soon... Some records of White-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers near my house, so maybe I will go after those in near future.

-Tom