Karigasniemi 14th - 16th June

I had read about Karigasniemi and Mount Ailigas in Wild Wings to the Northlands and whilst I wasn't sure I would have time to get there I had hoped to do so and in the end I have!
I met a Scottish bird photographer, who was particularly interested in photographing nesting birds, at Valtavaara and he told me of his previous trips to Karigasniemi which made up my mind to go. I arrived late in the evening of the 13th June and parked up by the roadside next to a large bog. In the morning I did a short walk along the road and soon picked up a small wader feeding in the wet grassland by the roadside - Broad-billed Sandpiper, a good start! The grass was about 10cm long so the bird was always partly obscured and, having taken hundreds of photos of them in Estonia, I decided to move on.

Spring water passing by the road at Karigasniemi

Parking by the entrance to the Kevo NP I explored the area on foot. More roadside pools produced at least 7 Red-necked Phalarope and countless Wood Sandpiper which were display calling from all directions.

Wood Sandpiper

There were a few ducks on the pools; a pair of Pintail, 8 Goldeneye and a pair of Wigeon. In the bushes Bluethroats were out in force with at least 6 birds singing along a km of roadside. Brambling and Redwing were the new Thrush Nightingale and Common Rosefinch and the former were singing everywhere whilst the latter have now entirely disappeared.
There were large number of wagtails, mostly thunbergi, the Grey-headed version of our Yellow Wagtail but also plenty of White Wagtails. I attempted to photograph all the variations in Yellow Wagtails on my trip round Europe to was keen to get decent photos of both the male and female.

Grey-headed Wagtail - male upper, both sexes show variable dark upper breast markings

A new sound to me in the last few days has been the 'galloping horses' display call of the Jack Snipe, I haven't actually seen any of them but there calls can be heard across the bogs.
I decided to walk some of Mount Ailigas in glorious sunshine. On the way up through the dwarf birch scrub there were even more Bluethroat and I spent sometime attempting to get a bird doing its display flight, not perfect but a reasonable attempt I think.

Bluethroat upper male giving display flight

As I left the trees a lone Siberian Jay called and sat on one of the last bushes before returning in to the wood. 
As I ascended the track over the heather moorland, which looked a lot like home, there were few birds to see (much like home!) but a Whimbrel called and Golden Plover were about the only other bird I saw. In the past Long-tailed Skua have nested on the slopes of Mount Ailigas but no sign today.
I parked up by the spring water that flows past the road and watched the Wood Sandpipers and wagtails, a Sedge Warbler was a surprise moving through the scrub and several Sand Martin flew over. Whilst sat at the roadside a British registration vehicle passed and pulled over, it was Ewan the photographer I had met at Valtavaara. We exchanges our recent sightings and in passing he mentioned an area nearby where he had seen some decent birds last year, it was by a Sami village called Erotusaita, it sounded worth a look so off I went. Whilst we were talking I saw a movement and white in the bushes; Stoat still in ermine, another mammal for the trip.

Stoat in winter ermine

The village of Erotusaita is only occupied in the winter when the Sami people herd the Reindeer and coral them. It was a strange place, empty wooden huts that must be home in the winter and a complicated array of fences to enclose the deer when they bring them in. 

The Sami village of Erotusaita

Plus huge floodlights to light up the winter darkness, it was eerily quite when I was there but it must be entirely different in the winter with the sounds and smells of the animals being herded.

Reindeer pens at Erotusaita

I set off to walk towards the bog area to the north of the village but scanned some of the large fenced areas and was very surprised to see several Long-tailed Skua walking across the grass. As I looked further there were pools and wet areas that were teeming with shorebirds; Ruff, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit in bright summer plumage and several Red-necked Phalarope on the open water. 

I curtailed my trip to the bog and spent the next few hours photographing the skuas and waders.
There were 8 Long-tailed Skua and as I looked at them more closely it looked like 6 adults, and heavily marked bird that I took to be a 2nd calendar year and another almost adult like but with a slight breast band and pale bill base that is perhaps a 3rd calendar year. What superb birds they are!

Long-tailed Skua - adult

Long-tailed Skua 2nd calendar year

Long-tailed Skua adult in foreground with 3rd calendar year behind

I went back to park up for the night by the Kevo NP entrance, or for some sleep, it seems wrong to call it night without darkness just as it started to rain. It rained heavily for a couple of hours and at around 22:00 it stopped and started to clear when I heard the distinctive ringing calls of the Waxwing in the trees by the camper. They were fly catching and I guess with no berries at this time of year that's probably a significant food source at this time of year. I managed a few photos and went back to bed.

Waxwing

The following morning I went back to Erotusaita and completed the walk to the large lakes which was only 3 or 4 km. I finally caught sight of Willow Grouse, a fine male with rufous head and neck and which body and wings. Just as I was preparing to get his photo he was off never to be seen again. The bog areas were otherwise fairly quiet beyond the Redwings, Brambling and Bluethroats with a few Meadow Pipit added but no sign of the Lapland Bunting which also occur here. Back at the pools I photographed the Ringed Plover which here are the smaller and slightly darker race Charadrius hiaticula tundrae which pass through the UK on their migration.

Ringed Plover of the northern breeding race tundrae

I'm spending the next couple of days around Ivalo, Pam arrives on a flight on Monday and we will then be heading up to Varanger for the final leg of the journey.

the journey so far

Correction: Steve Mann has kindly pointed out that the English name for the thunbergi race of Yellow Wagtail is Grey-headed not Ashy-headed as I keep calling them. Ashy-headed is of course the Italian race cinereocapilla which I have previously featured 

SE Finland 30th May - 1st June

The ferry was very efficient and I boarded at 10:00 for the 10:30 crossing which cost 102€. The crossing took 2 hours and although there was a cold wind the sky was clear and it was flat calm so I stuck it out on the open deck. Mid-way across I had a party of about thirty Goldeneye then eight Goosander but it was quiet otherwise. About 1km from Helsinki I saw an adult Kittiwake sat on the sea which is a scarce bird in the Baltic.
I'd spoken to Jan about the best place to see Slavonian Grebe close near Helsinki and he recommended Suomenoja which was just a few km west of the city so that was my first port of call. The sky by now had clouded over and was almost white making it difficult for photography but the Slavonian Grebes were there, I saw at least 3, pairs and put on a fine show.

Slavonian Grebe - what superb birds these are

I did a circuit of the lakes which was probably only a couple of kilometres, there were a few runners and some other photographers and as I came to a viewing area I realised why. 

Suomenoja - I should mention that it's next to a Power Station

There were 3 Red-necked Phalaropes some distant out but feeding energetically on the open water, occasionally being chased by Black-headed Gulls if they came too close to their nest sites. 

Red-necked Phalarope

A nice surprise and although I hope to see them up close in Norway its still a treat to see them. There were Thrush Nightingales in the bushes and Common Rosefinch singing in the trees but no sight or sound of Blyth's Reed Warbler which also occurs here. 
From Suomenoja I drove north to Parikkala a drive of a couple of hundred kilometres. The most obvious thing on the drive was the absence of White Stork, I have left those behind in Estonia.
It was overcast and raining when I arrived on the outskirts of Parikkala. I parked up in a parking area with two large timber lorries and to the sound of Redwing singing, which were the first I had heard, I went to sleep.
The following morning it was raining hard and cold, about 4C, as I drove in to Parikkla at about 05:00. I found a pair of nesting Red-necked Grebes close in by the marina which fortunately I could watch from the car and took a few photos more out of something to do than of hopes for good results.

Red-necked Grebe - on the nest, in the rain

The rain eased slightly and I had a walk around the lake, plenty of Fieldfares, Pied Flycatchers and Lesser Whitethroats but nothing else so I headed for the reserve of Siikalahti which was just a short drive away. 
It is a beautiful area and reserve with a one way walk from the car park through some wooded areas which may have White-backed Woodpecker occasionally but I didn't see or hear any woodpeckers, across a boardwalk, through another small wood to a hide. Both Little and Black-headed Gulls were feeding over the water, chasing flies. More Red-necked Grebes and a very obliging Common Snipe which sat on the boardwalk handrail whilst I took photos.

Common Snipe

A little way down the road there is another parking area and the Little Gulls were passing overhead here and as the clouds started to break up and a little sunshine peaked through they were joined by first one Hobby and then at least another 5 all feeding on insects over the lakes. 

Hobby

Certainly my best ever views of Hobby and it was fantastic to watch them hunting. Whilst watching them an Osprey must have taken a fish behind me as I saw it labouring away over the marsh carrying a huge fish. It got dusky around 23:00 and I drove around some of the small tracks which are close to the Russian border. 

Not sure what happens if you do go beyond the sign 

A Finnish border guard stopped me and asked if I was aware that I was close to the border and not to pass any of the stop signs, which I was, he was then quite happy to leave me bird watching. Other than Thrush Nightingales there were no other birds singing, I was hoping for River Warbler and Blyth's Reed Warbler but there was no sign. The prolonged cold spell had delayed the arrival of many birds. Everywhere I went both birdwatchers and people in the towns said that summer was three weeks late.
I slept overnight in the reserve car park and at some time in the early morning another couple of vehicles arrived, one contained a couple of gentlemen from France who were sound recording. There was a lot to record with the nightingales and Bittern booming in the marsh and no sounds of cars or planes flying overhead.
From Parikkale I drove north to Tohmajarvi and stopped just on the outskirts of town. A singing Corncrake immediately caught my attention. This was only about the 7th or 8th I had heard, another bird delayed by the cold weather. This one was in short vegetation and with perserverence I finally managed to get some photos.

Corncrake - delivering its distinctive rasping call

Whilst following the Corncrake around this scrubby area I heard the repetitive song phrases of Blyth's Reed Warbler, at last! It was singing from low vegetation and was spending quite a bit of time feeding on the ground. It took some time but I eventually got the photos I was hoping for. As I walked down the road I had another 4 birds singing in a stretch of less than 500m. 

Blyth's Reed Warbler - bird I had really wanted to see, so pleased with these

I drove on to Vartsila where there was still a flock of 200 Barnacle Geese with 3 Brent Geese on the fields. A female Goshawk flew over carrying prey and appeared to land in the only trees in the area and where there is a bird tower but I never saw it again. Another Blyth's Reed but no River Warbler. By now there were quite heavy and frequent snow showers and even when the sun did poke through it never got above 6C. 
From here I was moving further north, still by the Russian border and looking for Brown Bear and the elusive Wolverine.

Iceland 7th to 14th July - part 1 Keflavik to Snaefellsnes

I decided on a trip to Iceland at fairly short notice having returned early from my 'European Tour'. I was joined by long time friend Roger (Birdman) Barnes, despite only returning from the States a few days before we flew, so thanks Roger for making the trip so enjoyable.

Roger and I at Svortuloft Lighthouse

We flew with Easyjet from Manchester to Keflavik (£272 each) and hired a car via Auto Europe which was with Budget (£445) for 8 days. Accommodation was via booking.com and cost from £30 to £50/night each.
We landed about an hour late at around 10am local time due to a staff shortage at Keflavik, apparently!
Having got the car we drove to the nearby Gardour lighthouse for our first birds; Arctic Terns everywhere, Golden Plover on any grassy areas and a steady movement of Manx Shearwater off shore with auks, Gannets and Kittiwakes and Eider in loose flocks off the rocks.

Manx Shearwater

We drove along the coast road through Keflavik and had our first Red-necked Phalaropes on the pools on the edge of the town, not close though so we moved on up the coast making a few stops on the way for Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, Whooper Swans and what proved to be our only White-tailed Eagle, an adult which flew right past us just north of Borgarnes. 

Stykkisholmur harbour - the hostel is the building on the extreme right

We were staying in the Harbour Hostel at Stykkisholmur which is a very attractive fishing village where you catch the boat to Flatey Island (home of the Grey Phalarope) although we had decided not to make that journey.

 

Redwing - adult and juvenile

We added Redwing, with several pairs feeding young and Black Guillemot in the harbour before enjoying fish and chips from a stall by the harbour entrance. Food was expensive, the fish and chips were around £12 each!
The following morning, it never got dark and was light enough to take photos all night, we set off on a trip round the Snaefellsnes peninsula. We passed the famous Kirkjufell peak and soon had close views of Red-necked Phalaropes as we approached Rif. The light was superb with clear blue skies and watching the phalaropes at close quarters was simply amazing - it was worth the trip just for the this!

Rif  lake

Red-necked Phalarope - female

Red-necked Phalarope - male

Red-necked Phalaropes - already starting the moult to winter plumage

In all we counted 94 birds on the main lake with additional pairs on many small pools. Red-throated Divers with young were close to the road and we had our first Arctic and Great Skuas and around 50 Glaucous Gulls.

Red-throated Diver

Glaucous Gulls - pair with larger male on right

I decided I would base myself at Rif on a return visit it was a superb spot.
Moving round the coast we headed for the cliffs at Svortuloft Lighthouse where we soon found the various groups of Brunnich's Guillemots amongst the more numerous Common Guillemots and Razorbills whilst Puffins flew around off shore.

Seabird cliffs at Svortuloft

Brunnich's and Common Guillemot

We had several Wheatear on the ride out to the cliffs.
We cut across the peninsula and headed back to Borganes to rejoin route 1 for the drive up to our next stop over at Blonduos.