Monday, January 1, 2007 - First trip of the year
The photo below was supposed to be of a Great Northern Diver (Common Loon).
Instead it's a Great Grey Owl, a lifer for me, on the very first day of the year 2007. So what's the nonsense about the diver, then? Well - we'll have to start from the beginning, this morning...
We were all there, bright and early at dawn, on the gate of Santahamina (an island in Helsinki). Santahamina is a military area, so a special mass-twitch was organized. Only a handful of birders possess a permit to the area. We are all very greatful indeed to the organizers...
The diver had been there for a week now, and had already been twitched in many ways, including by rowing boats. This morning there were about a hundred of us on the shore. We knew that the bird was still present, just not visible from where we were standing. So - plenty of time for bullshit. Eventually it appeared, swimming and diving about two kilometers away - a good distance for looking at a big bird. So, no photo, because it was so distant... Photo or not, a fantastic start for a new year!
[Photos of the bird at http://www.tarsiger.com/index.php?pic_id=muu1167429583&lang=eng ]
After that, a short stop for a wintering Common Teal and then it was time for the Great Grey Owl. It was in Hyvinkää, about 50 km north of Helsinki. There were actually two, but we only saw one, which was enough for me anyway. On the same spot there was also a Pygmy Owl, but I missed it, because I was 'kind of preoccupied' watching a long awaited lifer.
After that, as we were twitching all day long, we drove to Espoo for a Hawk Owl. And yes, we saw it, and I have proof. See.
 After that, we had three Smews, a Nuthatch and a migrating Whooper Swan (the Swan while looking for a Gadwall - in vain). Even the afternoon rain couldn't keep our spirits down, the day had been great.
My year list is now at 39 species.
Thanks Virpi, Jussi and Antto for the company!
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Friday, January 5, 2007 - hi, nordic neighbour! |
| Posted by gladan |
Cool picture at the Great grey owl. well done! How do you do?
Edited by gladan on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 08:45 |
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - Howdy! |
| Posted by timojanhonen |
| I'm doing fine, just back from Åland (as close to Stockholm as possible). The owls where pretty easy to digiscope, lots and lots of more shots of the same birds (by better photographers) at www.tarsiger.com. Keep reading! |
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Me - Timo Janhonen
Fabulous birding adventures on the south coast of Finland.
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