Hi
Estonia may be one of the up and coming places to bird-
Just spent a long weekend looking for winter specialities- more to come
S
Flew to Tallin via Helsinki - no snow but windy
Day1- out to coast along gulf of Finland- 00s of Long Tailed Ducks , Goosanders, Smew, BT Diver, Scaup, Snow Buntings and a flock of 270 Stellers Eider about 200 yds offshore. 7 Rough Legged Buzzards inland.
Day2- worked forests as we moved inland- 60 Waxwings, woodland and open country birds
Day4- 63 Black Grouse, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier, Black Woodpecker, Hazel Grouse, Crested Tit.
Saw 65 spp in 4 days.
The oddest thing is the lack of small birds in winter as its so cold- the gulf stream doesn't reach that far east so the only regular small passerines are Siskin, Bullfinch, Blue and Great Tits , Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow , Nuthatch and Treecreeper.
That's a beauty - I'm looking forward to seeing more.
So that's where all the Waxwings are this year. Nice shot. Hope you've got some more goodies for us.
To quote that young scamp Oliver. "Please Sir, may I have some more?"
I quite like the look of the wildlife of Estonia and the other two Baltic states. Have you seen any Steller's Eider yet? ;)
Hi-
basic report added above- Estonia isn't a bad Spring destination either- I may give it a go next year.
Wow, looks like a great place to go birding! Nice shot of the LTDs
Don't see many of these every year