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January 16

Today I went on with the mid-winter waterfowl count from where I broke off yesterday and completed the shore sector from the Pakri peninsula eastern shore to the tip of Pedase. While the sea has been free of ice until now, today the southern part of Paldiski bay and the Kurkse strait were filled with an ice soup, and there were fewer birds. No one particularly exciting was there to be seen today. Only  the120 whooper swans in the eastern part of Paldiski bay, at Laoküla beach, deserve special mention, a rather large number for mid-winter. All waterfowl counted today can be seen in the e-Biodiversity database.

 

 Peering down from high up on the Pakri cliff several flocks of long-tailed ducks were seen. (Kris Voog: 16.01.2012)

 

Through the birder list birdwatchers got information today  that a snowy owl was seen in Kärkna in Tartumaa yesterday night. This is a very rare winter visitor in Estonia, not even seen every year here. Twitchers combed through the village lands today but could not find the bird. Pity, this one is only on very few Estonian birders' species list.