High Latitude Birder: Herring Gull

09 March, 2011

Migrating birds stopped at coast

Jackdaw in feeder today

Spring has started, no doubt about it. First Rooks, Stock Doves, Wood Pigeons, Northern Lapwings and Skylarks have arrived to Finland but almost all of them have stopped to southern coast. Only some waterfowls, gulls and Snow Buntings have continued to inland. Too much snow everywhere, only some open water in streams and rivers.

This means that we will probably have to wait for them still for weeks. But after that there will be a huge rush, and big flocks of birds in all those places where snow has melted away. I'm really looking for "a good old birding spring", like we had when I was a kid. During last 10 or even more years, the birds have disappeared to forests almost immediately after they arrived. Now we may have a chance to see them again in big flocks in fields!

Today I went birding with my younger son Roni. Highlight of the trip was 3 adult White-tailed Eagles on the ice of lake Rauttunselkä, south from Valkeakoski. There was also 3 Herring Gulls stalking at fishermen in Viidennumero. I hope they got something to eat, otherwise they have to return to Baltic Sea soon. Later we saw also a beatiful old male Goshawk. Shame that I didn't get a photo of it, it was so close and so gorgeous.

While waiting for migrating birds, I think I'll concentrate next on nocturnal birding and get out late in the evenings to listen for owls...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author

Olli Haukkovaara

email: olli.haukkovaara @ proton.me

Valkeakoski, Finland

09 March, 2008

Nice surprise today evening

Nice surprise today evening in Viidennumero. I was driving to Hämeenlinna to take my younger son to swimming school. In Viidennumero we saw a big flock of gulls, standing in the edge of ice and open water. Mostly European Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), about 100 of them. There was also some 17 Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus). And when I was about to leave, I saw it: a 2nd year Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), a small rarity from Arctic seas. Very nice, it's always cool to find rarities by myself.

About half an hour later I checked also the gulls of Hämeenlinna, but nothing special there, just on a rough calculation 800 Herring Gulls and 3 Great Black-backed Gulls.

Snow has started to melt today - it's really wet outside, and warm. I can't wait for the next week, I'm sure that many migratory birds will arrive now!

The photos in this article are from the same location, Viidennumero, but from year 2001.