The long road home - 25th June to 6th July

We had decided that rather than retrace our route back through Finland and in to the Baltic States we would travel down through Sweden crossing 'The Bridge' in to Denmark and then through Germany in to Holland for a North Sea crossing.
We stopped over again at Vestre Jakobselv where a single Short-eared Owl was one of only two I saw on the whole trip.  first stop was still in Finland. The feeder at the campsite attracted a dozen Mealy Redpoll but nothing that looked good enough for Arctic.

Mealy Redpoll

We left Norway heading for Rovaniemi close to the Swedish border. Rovaniemi is on the Arctic Circle and has a large shopping mall devoted to Santa Claus and is the HQ for the Santa Claus post office where all letters sent to Santa end up. Of more immediate interest to me was a large landfill site just down the 78 towards Kivitaipale which had a wintering Steppe Eagle. I had directions from Jan and specific instructions not to drive in to the tip even if the external barrier was open. I arrived at the tip in light rain and parked by the external barrier, which was open, I then had a 3km walk to the inner fence surrounding the tip. As a neared the tip I saw at least 30 Raven and 50 Hooded Crows along with parties of Common Gulls. There was no way in to the tip so it meant viewing over the fence, I soon picked up 2 distant eagles but they were just dots several kilometres away. There was a single car park outside the gates and after 30 minutes or so the occupants returned who were three Finnish birders. They had been round the edge of the tip and confirmed that my two distant eagles were Golden but they hadn't seen the Steppe. The offered me a lift back to the outer barrier which I gladly took, as we approached the outer barrier we now found that it had been closed which was the reason the Jan had advised not to drive in which now proved excellent advice as I parted from the 3 Finns who were now stranded inside the barrier.
It rained almost continuously for the next couple of days so other than posting cards from Santas Post Office and visiting the Polar Museum in Rovaniemi there was not much else to do so we headed off for Sweden.
I made a visit to Gammelstadsviken, a small nature reserve where a Grey (Red) Phalarope had been reported but saw very little other than a few flocks of Little Gulls and several Pied Flycatcher and had what was virtually my only encounter with significant numbers of mosquitoes which kept Pam in the van.
Continuing south on the E4 we stopped briefly at the Skuleskogen National Park which was very busy and with a single track boardwalk not easy to get round. We finally stopped at the Mavikens campsite near Mjallom where the sky finally cleared and we enjoyed several days of sunshine and summer like warmth!
There were at least 6 pairs of Slavonian Grebes close to the campsite which had already started their post breeding moult. It was difficult to know where they were in the breeding cycle as all the birds seemed to be in pairs and there was quite a bit of threat displaying and chasing.

Slavonian Grebe - threat display

Slavonian Grebe - fighting

On the lake I also had a pair of Velvet Scoter,and several Red-breasted Merganser and Eider. The woodland were strangely quiet with no Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler singing and just the odd Whitethroat and Pied Flycatcher around the campsite.
Further south we had our first juvenile Osprey just north of Vallvik where we stopped overnight.

Osprey - juvenile

A Willow Warbler was notable here in that I hadn't seen or heard any for awhile.
As we neared Stockholm we spent a couple of nights at Vaxholm. Here there were several Honey Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Crested Tits, White Wagtails with young and a few Greylag and Barnacle Geese.
Remaing on the E4 we crossed the southern tip of Sweden stopping at the huge Vattern Lake where it was very windy and the only birds of note were Red Kites.
Heading towards Malmo and the crossing to Copenhagen we were passing so close to Falsterbo that I couldn't resist having a look at this migration hot spot. I saw no birds of real note but Swifts were in large numbers over the village and perhaps already looking to head south.
We crossed 'The Bridge' made famous by the TV crime series of the same name then stopped in Copenhagen before driving across Germany and catching the Hook of Holland to Harwich ferry ending a fantastic journey around northern Europe and completing my two year birdwatching trip around all the hotspots of mainland Europe.

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.