Pale Common Buzzard at Saaremaa, Estonia

 

I was today at Sõrve, Saaremaa with my birding friends Jyri Reinikka & Rainer Häggblom. The weather was nice and lots of birds around; 

Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa),
Grey Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola),
Red Knots (Calidris canuta),
Woodlarks (Lullula arborea), 

Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) 
and many, many others.

Also couple of late butterflies, Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta), were still in flight.

But during this morning the buzzards stole the show. Between 08:20 - 10:30 we saw 5 Rough-legged Buzzards (Buteo lagopus) and 71 Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo). One of them was really interesting, it was so called "Börringe-type" Common Buzzard i.e. a very pale individual. This was first time ever I saw this kind of buzzard!😊

Later I found a photo of possibly the very same individual from Antero Lindholm's and Annika Forsten's webpage. If you're interested in these pale buzzards, take a look at their page, there's more photos of them.

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Author

Olli Haukkovaara

email: olli.haukkovaara @ proton.me

Valkeakoski, Finland

(Photo © Annika Forsten)

Shipwreck as a home of the Great Cormorants

 

Shipwreck in Aristelaht Bay, in Saaremaa, Estonia

Visible shipwrecks don't exist on Finnish waters - at least I have never heard about such. Well, of course there's lot's of them under the sea surface, but you need to know the exact place and dive, if you want to see one. But you don't have to go far from here to see a shipwreck, as at least one big abandoned ship is still in Ariste Laht in Saaremaa, Estonia. Let's hope it can stay there, because nowadays it's inhabited by a large colony of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). The photo is taken through spotting scope with cell phone camera.
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Author

Olli Haukkovaara

email: olli.haukkovaara @ proton.me

Valkeakoski, Finland