01 April, 2008

Commute birding

My commute to work takes about from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on what combination I choose. Usually I walk part of the way and then take the bus. But today I took the car, as it needed washing - it was covered with mud and dust, like almost all cars during this time of year. So, naturally the own car gives you a freedom to stop where ever you want - and see more birds compared to what you can see from bus window.

The morning was warm, +5 degrees Celcius, so I expected to see some new species for this year. And so I did; the first one was Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) in the fields of Vanhakylä. Second one was 2 migrating Geese (Anser sp.) over the highway in Uusi-Eurooppa. More new migrants were found from Viinikanlahti bay near my office; 6 Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula), 3 Common Pochards (Aythya ferina), 18 Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) and 2 Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus). There was also lot's of other birds in Viinikanlahti, for example 110 Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula), 2 Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) again and many others. Oh, and in addition to these migrants I saw again a male Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) near Ideapark - it was there also yesterday.
Altogether, a good start for a work day!

1 comment:

  1. Warm???? 5°C?????
    I would die! haha.. In Lima, the coldest winter won't go under 12°C and even though it's supouse to be Autumn we are still getting 34°C days and 29°C nights!
    Greetings from Peru! (I'm sending some sunshine and warmer days for you)

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