10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

Readers of this site already know about this extraordinary place from Dragan’s evocative post of November 2018, “ The 701 Long-eared Owls of Kikinda.”)

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2024

And there are still some mammals I’d really like to see, such as the Russian flying squirrel that can be found in Finland and Estonia, or the mysterious Pyrenean Desman, which looks like a shrew but is more closely related to the Mole. However, top of my wanted list is a European Lynx. One day, perhaps.

Fur 214

Fur Deer Boars Estonia 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

No, not an Arctic Fox, but a Red Fox in Arctic Finland I may not have seen many wolves, but I have seen lots of foxes (or what I should perhaps call red foxes). On another trip, this time to Slovakia, I heard wolves howling, a wonderfully spine-tingling sound. At the time we were looking, without success, for White-backed Woodpeckers.

Fur 191

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 191

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2020

The Ural Owl inhabits old and undisturbed boreal forests, in an unbroken belt from Sweden and Finland across Russia to Japan, and is rarely seen to the south, only here and there, in the Carpathians (Slovakia/Ukraine/Romania/eastern Serbia) and Dinaric Alps (Croatia/Bosnia/western Serbia).

Serbia 246

Serbia Owls Slovakia Bosnia 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2012

They are popular birds, and are the National Bird of Finland. The site is an important wintering site of Whooper Swans , a large Arctic migrant that is found across the northern extent of Eurasia. Whooper Swans ( Cygnus cygnus ) The Whooper Swans of the UK and Ireland generally come from Iceland.

Finland 106

Finland Ireland Iceland Birds 106

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Though these gulls nest commonly in the British Isles, in the autumn great numbers move across to Britain from nesting grounds in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic states, so it seems most likely that 2BAT was a gull that had been bred in Lithuania, and that it returned to nest there every spring.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

Talking to Jan Södersved the editor of the Birdlife Finland magazine Linnut whilst we were both in Portugal in early October suggested that all of the owl species in Finland had had a very productive breeding season. Short-eared Owls do breed in Britain but every few years an ‘irruption’ of the like we are seeing occurs.

Barn Owls 183

Barn Owls Finland Owls Portugal 183

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

The Willow Ptarmigan, which is the most numerous, can also be found in Russia, Finland, Scandinavia, and Canada. The Willow Ptarmigan was officially designated in 1960, when Alaska entered the union. There are three species of ptarmigan, all found in Alaska.

Alaska 103

Alaska Finland Indiana Russia 103

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2013

You may recall that the hosts Sweden had some pedigree in this competition when Abba won with “Waterloo”, but their Scandinavian neighbours have been guilty of some dreadful entries including , the shame of Finland, Lordi and “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.

Czech Republic 140

Czech Republic Sweden Pedigree Finland 140

Critter News

MARCH 3, 2009

Nordic EU countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland have opposed such a ban, and EU legal experts say it could violate world trade rules. But the bill still needs the the approval of the entire EU assembly and EU governments in order to become law. It will be tough.

Seals 100

Seals Denmark Finland Sweden 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

Barnacle geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic, while the nearest wintering areas also lie along the northern coasts of Europe: the Netherlands and the Baltic Sea (Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Sweden). Here in Serbia, in the south of the continent, this species is a proper rarity.

Geese 149

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 149

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2024

A bird ringed near Helsinki, Finland, in October 1970 was found dead, 18 days later, in the Scottish west-coast town of Stranraer, a distance of 1,800km and a minimum speed of 100km per day. I’ve managed to see them, too, on their breeding grounds in Finland in summer. It’s when the rowan crop fails that they irrupt south.

Finland 218

Finland Estonia Bears Ireland 218

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

In June of 2013 he embarked on a whirlwind tour of Europe, spotting birds in Iceland , Russia , Finland , and, as you’re about to find out, Sweden: We took a quick flight from Helsinki and arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, arriving at our fourth country on this trip.

Sweden 167

Sweden Denmark Geese Birds 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

It’s been interesting to note that a solitary Sandhill Crane first seen in Finland in recent days migrating with Common Cranes has now provided Estonia with its first record of Sandhill. Like many birders I wonder what happens to some of these off-track migrants and whether they recover their orientation.

France 229

France Ireland Estonia Finland 229

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

According to one paper , the Spotted Redshank is the German among the waders, at least in Finland: its arrival and departure on the breeding grounds are the most predictable. Then again, that is probably the length of summer in Finland. Surprisingly, they only stay on the breeding grounds for about 5 weeks.

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

While mainly an Asian bird, the Red-flanked Bluetail has recently been seen in parts of Europe (particularly Finland and Scotland) more frequently, indicating a possible range extension ( source ).

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2015

The Cape May Bird Observatory American Dippers took top honors out of the international teams with 168 species, a mere one bird ahead of the Arctic Redpolls from Finland with 167 birds. As for the results of the race, it sure was a close one.

Cyprus 258

Cyprus illegal Birds 258

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Bramblings in Finland – though not actually being parasitized by cuckoos – nevertheless rejected the vast majority of non-matching eggs in a study – they thus seem well-prepared for a potential future cuckoo invasion. Maybe there is some justice in this world after all.

Birds 213

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 213