The Örö autumn had more favorable weather conditions for bird watching than the spring. The year 2014 was the second warmest ever registered in Finland; 1938 was even warmer. In mid-September the sunshine felt still as in summer. The autumn temperatures at the southern coast dropped slowly from 2,5 degrees (Celcius) higher than on average to 0,5 degrees higher until the end of November. In mid-October the day temperature rose yet to 12C!
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| There must have been some defect in the thermometer outside the apartment - 18 degrees is a bit much for October 10th! |
The observed amount of species decreased from September to November, with an exceptionally high number during 10.10-13.10: a reflection of the good numbers of migrating passerines. At the same time the migration of Sparrow Hawks (Accipiter nisus) reached its culmination while Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and Rough-legged Buzzards (Buteo lagopus) found their air routes simultaneously to Örö.
The observation periods, amount of observers in them and the number of observed species were: 12.9.-15.9./3/72; 19.-22-9./1/72; 26.-29.9/2/64; 3.-4-10./2/49; 10.-13.10/5/88; 28.11-1.12/3/47. The total amount of volunteers was 13: Ari Linna, Mauno Mustakangas and Tapani Missonen made two 4 day trips; Hannu Friman, Oskari Härmä, Esko Joutsamo, Osmo Kivivuori, Kirsi Leiri, Jouko Lunden, Heimo Mänty, Olavi Nurmi, Tarja Pajari and Liisa Puhakka were the responsible persons of the rest of the 59 observation days (cf. 17 in total in the summer and 37 in the spring). The total amount of bird species observed (since 8.4.2014) rose to 178 in this exercise.
While notes of the passing migration could be collected in the autumn season, the consensus of the generally available bird fauna of the non-winter period was at the same improved. When just the 3-4 day trips are counted, there are 16 bird species which were seen on every trip since the beginning of May: Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Goosander (Mergus merganser), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), Mew Gull (L. canus), Herring Gull (L. argentatus), Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), Crested Tit (Parus cristatus), Blue Tit (P. caeruleus), Great Tit (P. major), Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), Hooded Crow (Corvus c. cornix), Common Raven (C. corax) and European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).
Esko, Osmo and Mauno conducted the first autumn count 12.-15.9. The temperatures were summerlike and the winds were calm. The most numerous local sea fowl consisted of Mute Swans (83-120), Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) 900-1600 staying west and south of Örö and Great Cormorants (50-500 in place; a few tens of migrating ones). The seafowl and passerine migration was not the most prominent feature during the trip, but Sparrow Hawks (Accipiter nisus) made good numbers; the daily counts for the migrating ones were 15 – 93 – 63 – 69 and a few tens more strolled around the island. Their migration was flavored by a few Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus), Hen Harriers (C. cyaneus), Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and Hobbies (F. Subbuteo); the Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) started their appearance at Örö by 6 migrating birds on 13.9. added with 2 individuals on 15.9. South was the common direction of migration for all birds of prey and many of them flew close over the tree tops and the heads of the observers. The first Golden Eagle of the autumn delighted the brigadiers on 15.9. appearing above the village with two Ravens (Corvus corax) and one Sparrow Hawk hovering in the same thermal. Later on this eagle engaged in a small fly-off with a Sea Eagle, with good success. It was a first calendar year bird, as are most of the migrating Golden Eagles that are observed on the Finnish coast in the fall, the main part of them being observed however in October. The highest number of local Sea Eagles was 15 on 13.9.
Waders were scarce. The maximum daily count of Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) was 15, and some more were migrating. A Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) was seen daily, and on 14.9. two European Golden Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) were heard. 125 Cranes (Grus grus) passed Örö 13.9. (80+40+5) predating with ten days their main migration on the southern coast of Finland. On 23.9.Tarja Pajari and Jouko Lunden, among others, observed over 23 000 Cranes at the Maalu outlook tower in Sauvo, 50 km NNE from Örö. This was the highest ever number of Cranes counted during one day in Finland. The migration passed Maalu and a bit later an observation hill at Kemiönsaari, 17 km south of Maalu, mainly from the east with the main direction being south. On that day Örö was not occupied by the brigadiers, so it cannot be concluded whether the flocks passing the observation points from the west would have been passing Örö later on.
The only abundant passerine of this period was Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), 50 – 120 daily. No visible migration for them was however detected. Chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) and Siskins (Carduelis spinus) were neither yet in the full mood for migrating; some small flocks moved south, some just scrolled around. 90 Chaffinches moved south on 14.9. and 60 on 15.9. The first contact call of a Brambling (F. montifringilla) was heard on 15.9., but their main flocks were still to come. A few more species were observable in tens, such as Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis; 40 locals on 15.9.), White Wagtail (Motacilla albicilla) and Robin (Erithacus rubecula). The first and only Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) of the autumn was met on 12.9. and the last Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) of the autumn two days later 14.9.
Tapani made his trip to Örö 19.-22.9. in rain and wind. The amount of Common Eiders had dropped to 320, mainly males, and 100 – 200 Great Cormorants were present; Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope) increased from a few on the earlier trip to 25 migrating on 20.9. and 100 locals on the next day. Sparrow Hawks kept migrating during the two first days (48 and 32), and thereafter a few stayed on the island postponing their departure south to better weather conditions. The weather and migration lust for the Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) matched on 19.9, when 37 birds passed Örö to the west, crossing paths with the Sparrow Hawks and a few tens of White Wagtails, Meadow Pipits (Anthus pratensis) and Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), which all headed south. Goldcrests were at least equally abundant as other insectivores, but did not show eagerness to continue over the sea, their maximum daily count being 50 on 22.9. Chaffinches passed Örö still in pretty small amounts (from tens to 150 daily) and the first 4 Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) on migration were noted on 20.9. (The summer observation of a male Brambling on a territory on 16.6. and the second summer observation of a Brambling on 17.7. may indicate adaptation of this species to the outer archipelago environment, but that is, if true, just an exception: in Finland, the more north, the denser is the population). The first two Spotted Nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) of the autumn tried to get on to the sea 19.9., but ultimately could still resist the temptation.
Jouko and Heimo stayed at Örö 26.-29.9. The wind was strong from SW, and visible migration was low until the last day of the period, when the wind started to calm down. Jouko and Heimo discovered other attractions to compensate the minor movement of the bird fauna: they found great opportunities to photograph the night sky with stars and the faint northern lights ignited on the northern sky.
They were delighted though also by an Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europea), which visited 26.9. a pile of branches collected when the tree stand was thinned at the southern cape. There were many restoring activities ongoing on the island since summer, partly run by the military, partly by Metsähallitus, and at the cape, felling down some of the birches provided enhanced visibility to the directions E-S-W. The Eurasian Nuthatch proved the strategy to be correct; enough bushes and trees were left for birds to land on and pause for the final count down before starting their flight on to the Baltic Sea. The northern cape and the areas around buildings and bunkers had been treated in the same way.
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| Military forces on the island this past summer. |
The headwind caused reduced numbers of Sparrow Hawks in comparison to the period before (and to come): 12 – 0 – 28 – 38; the first Rough-legged Buzzard to have found Örö adequate for a stay was met 28.9; the same day one Hen Harrier flew SW; 28.9 and 29.9. the first Peregrines (Falco peregrinus) of the autumn passed by.
The amount of stationary seafowl was equal to earlier: Mute Swan was less than 63, Common Eider less than 117, Great Cormorant less than 160. Bean Goose (Anser fabalis) made its first appearance on Örö by 14 migrating ones on 16. plus 9 heading West on 29.9. A few Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope), Velvet Scotes (Melanitta fusca), Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) and Black-throated Divers (Gavia arctica) passed the observation point. Many birds stayed lurking in the bushes, such as Wrens (6-7 daily), Robins (14-20), Goldcrests (40-100) and Dunnocks (3-11), but on 28.9. and 29.9. some of them started to show migration, Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) being the most striking one (497 W on 28. and 574 SW on 29.9.) supplemented e.g. by Siskins (120/250) and Chaffinches (120/350). The migration got more intense on 29.9 and included Barn Swallow 22, Meadow Pipit 35, White Wagtail 30 and the first visible migration of the autumn for tits: Long-tailed Tit 11, Coal Tit 59, Blue Tit 86, Great Tit 180 added with Eurasian Tree Sparrow 49, Brambling 20, European Greenfinch 50 and Common Redpoll 8.
Spotted Nutcrackers increased slightly in number: 2-4 stationary and the first one seen to leave Örö towards SW. Another brown spotted white bird, but from a totally different family, Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus) passed the taxi boat on the bridagiers’ way back to Kasnäs. It was a specimen from the hundreds of its mates passing the Finnish territory with the peak of their invasion in the exchange of September to October. This in general was perhaps the most exceptional feature in the bird life of Finland during the fall.
Mauno and Olavi stayed at Örö 3.-4.10. On their first day things went as expected. After they had got a fast transfer with the aluminum boat of Metsähallitus to Örö, a voyage that took just 20 minutes, they scanned the island from the bottom south to up north and visited the sandy western beaches on several spots. One Whooper Swan had made its way down to Örö, and the Mute Swans were patiently waiting for the ice cover to drive them more south on the Baltic Sea: 69 adult ones and 8 first calendar year birds. The numbers of stationary Common Eiders stayed at a few hundreds (maximum 419), the numbers of Great Cormorants started to shrink (20 and 29) while the Common Goldeneyes were increasing, with 52 counted. A Gadwall male (Anas strepera) was the guest star in the fauna for this period and the first Long-tailed Duck was met. The three observed Skuas were too far away to be identified to species.
Some Sparrow Hawks (5-2) were on their way south, as well as some last Barn Swallows (3) and White Wagtails (6) a few Blue Tits (14) and Great Tits (12). A flock of 210 Siskins added virility in the air, and Long-tailed Tits (25 on 3.10.) as well as Goldcrests (370 on 3.10.) in the forest and bushes. There was still other life in the forests and village, like voices from Black Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker; Tits (max. Crested Tits 10), Wrens (10), Robins (3), Song Thrushes (6), Redwings (2), Eurasian Three Sparrows (10) and Chaffins (8) together with one Brambling heard. The Spotted Nutcrackers were absent and substituted with the first wandering troop of Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius).
Saturday started with no running water, but luckily some was left in the canisters so the men did not have to skip their morning coffee nor tee. Even though the weather was perfect for being outdoors, more misfortune started to gather over them at Södernäbben. They saw first the military police checking a group of wreck divers stationed off the cape, after which the brigadiers themselves were asked to give a clarification for their stay on the military island. Olavi had the permission in order but Mauno’s permit had been given only as a temporary one for his previous trip. A sad incident, and even though Esko Sorakunnas from Metsähallitus and I, at the time bird watching in Estonia, made several calls to the authority in charge of the area, no exception could be made. When the taxi boat driver didn’t either have permission to enter Örö quay on an unscheduled day, the military police gently transferred our observers back to Kasnäs. As Mauno tells in the blog, “I was pretty sad. Sunday would have been an excellent day for bird migration”.
10.-13.10. Örö was booked by Hannu, Kirsi, Tapani, Ari and Liisa, all of them members of the Bird Tower racing team or the 24 hour Kuusamo Bird Rally team with the name Äimän Käet. Even though success in bird races had not been a regular guest to the team lately, the team made good birding at Örö. The birds helped in this, since the autumn migration was at one of its peaks during the trip.
The migration was observed mainly from the southernmost point of the island, Södernäbben, but additional sights over the western sea were given from other spots along the western fringe of the island too. The cape acted as a funnel guiding the birds from over Örö to their continuation flights to South (South-West, West), but constant movement by small flocks of Long-tailed Ducks occurred on the western sea (Örö fjärden) on 11.10 with 1168 individuals altogether (towards South) on 11.10; on the following day even larger amounts made an almost uninterrupted flow far on the southern sea towards West, 3000 summed up, while 2000 more were repeatedly taking off and landing back on the sea behind the farthest away islets.
During this trip it was a pure joy to follow the tits and Goldcrests flying by, even at or below the level of our heads; while a good migration of Sparrow Hawks happened just over the three tops and cape, sinking at times below our foot level when following the outlines of the cape. Some of the Sparrow Hawks made attacks after the passerines in their route, but at least most of the smaller fauna passed the cape successfully with their compass directed towards their next landmarks towards S-SSW. After 85 – 95 km track and 2-3 hours of flight they probably reached the capes Tahkuna and Ristna at Hiiumaa on the Estonian side of the sea.
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| Foggy western shore plus sea 10.10.2014 |
The two following days were more up to the visible migration. The best day-counts were 800 for Coldcrests, 400 for Long-tailed Tits, 40 for Coal Tits, 300 for Blue Tits, 300 for Great Tits, 450 for Chaffins; 150 for Bramblins, 50 for Green Finches and 40 for Common Linnets; as a remnant of the past summer Tapani observed one Barn Swallow on 11.10. Birds of prey and doves were the other pretty much visible elements in the air: White-tailed Eagles (15, not migratory), Sparrow Hawks: 63 on 11.10. and 91 on 12.10. migrating south, Common Buzzards (2 and 20) Golden Eagles (1 and 4) and a 1st calendar year Peregrine Falcon close by, posing for cameras on 11.10.; the respective sums for Common Woodpigeons were 1260 and 1350. Apart from the mentioned Long-tailed Ducks, the main direction the birds kept was S-SW. Some not so common birds could be detected too in this period, like a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), a second Yellow-browed Warbler added by an Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europea) all of them knocking into the consciousness of observers at first by their characteristic sharp-pitched contact calls. When looking toward east, a big 61-individual flock of Spotted Nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) was seen to approach from island to island, but it did not finally become clear if this was really a movement of invasion, or some other movement of a possible stationary stand of them; just 3 individuals of Spotted Nutcrackers were seen right on Örö, two of which continued west. The woodpeckers, bigger (Black Woodpecker) and smaller (Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 4 of them) were shouting by the cape trying to resolve whether to get on to the sea – their decision was not to do so yet.
On 12.10. Pomarine Skua (Stercorarious pomarinus), Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus) and Common Magpie (Pica pica) could be added as newcomers to the species list kept by the brigadiers for Örö, and 13.10. provided Liisa still with a late Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), which used the shelter of the buildings at the 12 inch barracks to disappear and not be seen by others. Tapani found a female-plumaged Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) which exposed itself close to the radar tower within the sparce pine forest with its indicative ratched voice, a bit similar to the sound of Mistle Thrushes that flew over Tapani the same day heading south.
Ari, Oskari and Tarja visited Örö 28.11.-1.12. It was cloudy, with 1-4ms wind from SE-SW and with occasional moments of sunshine penetrating from between the clouds: light was shed on varying parts of the scenery, not so much on Örö though. Some faint showers in form of rain, sleet and snow passed by, but in general the visibility was 10-20km or more over the sea. The sea water was low, exposing widely the sea bottom at Storviken and Balget bays. During the migration seasons of waders this would have been optimal. For a good compensation, the presence of otter (Lutra lutra) at Örö could be confirmed, as it had left excellent footprints in the clay.
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| Low water at Balget bay |
Sea Eagles were 3 in maximum; Sparrow Hawk and Common Buzzard were both met twice in the period, the other of the Common Buzzards making a late move west over the S-cape. Common Buzzards could in principle overwinter if there would be eatables available. However they may not be adapted to hunt from under a snow cover, so the first proper snow cover would make their hunting of small rodents impossible. The other Common Buzzard was still satisfied with what it found from the exposed ground, as were the Rough-legged Buzzards which were repeatedly seen in a variety of places around the island.
It was a pleasure to see how the “youngsters” Tarja and Oskari made their daily quota in scanning the birds: almost all gulls were not just given a name (species), but their plumage and age at present were also recorded, and the deviating plumages / age of the observed Rough-legged Buzzards (from juvenile to +1 calendar year and adult), nailed up their amount to at least three.
Fieldfares (max. 93 at a time) made up the biggest flocks wandering around Örö together with Siskins (54); 3 Common Blackbirds, 8 Long-tailed Tits, 5 Crested Tits, Coal Tit, 3 Eurasian Treecreepers; 3 Robins and 10 Goldcrests were the other content of the forested areas while Great Tits (48), Blue Tits (41), Green Finches (8) and 2-3 Chaffinches (and a raccoon dog) manned the feeders.
One male Chaffinch had a big growth on its leg (later in January a Chaffinch hanging its wing was met too). These individuals may have had a restricted capacity to migrate, and potentially they meet bigger risks from the predators’ side. Some type of predator, perhaps an Eagle Owl, had had an even more peculiar catch: it had left a pellet containing the feet of a smaller owl. Tarja and Oskari had no bag to collect it, but as they were interested in digging into the history of this dropping they returned to the scene better equipped later on. During this second visit they observed a Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) feeding on the ground in the fringe of the asphalted road and its flanks formed by hay-outcrop terrain at the eastern battery. The Little Bunting was actively feeding on birch seeds and was either hungry or faithful enough to be photographed. Tarja found her binoculars to be an excellent lens to shoot even a video (published in the blog)! During this day and the next, if there were Great Tits at the site, the Little Bunting was there as well, but when Great Tits were absent, so was the Little Bunting. Our hypothesis was that the Little Bunting was safer when surrounded by the tits, which kept an eye on the area for possible predators. On ground and among the hay the bunting would otherwise have been an easy meal e.g. for a sudden Sparrow Hawk.
The indoor activities started each day quite early, since after a seven-hour long period of daylight, sunset was at 15:30. There was plenty of time to prepare a decent meal, and that was exactly what Tarja did. She had picked up some record-late chanterelles, and shared with us tasty samples of the chanterelle-couscous she prepared. These chanterelles grew by Balget bay, giving their trumpet-shaped yellow testimony of the mild climate that had continued mainly intact all the way to the front door of winter (their main growing season is in July). We stayed together around the kitchen table after our meal to register the observations into the “Tiira”-database of BirdLife Finland and to see each other’s photograph portfolios.
After the last night’s sauna bathing some small change happened in the climate, since the ponds had their first ice cover in the morning. The conditions at the S-cape had not changed much from the previous mornings though. The visibility was good, 10-20 km, the temperature +3C and a faint wind refreshed the air from the south; how long it can continue like this, before the winter really falls on the archipelago! Well, the birds have their schedules, and not all stay waiting for ice and snow like Mute Swans. Instead, their internal clock tells them to quit our northern territory earlier: the total amount of bird species observed during this trip was 47, when it was 88 a month and one week earlier in October.
Ari Linna
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