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Lapwing.

 

I have been waiting for calmer weather for several days, to go once more on an owl trip in Virumaa, but the weather report says that I should wait some more. But the sun burns so nicely that I couldn’t resist any longer and went out today to sniff the springtime smells at least around Tartu. Never mind that this smell rather has touches of withering grass and dog poop coming out from under the melting snow. Still spring! Makes all birds, and bird watchers, feel strange and happy-minded.

 

While the first spring migrants reached the coast several weeks ago already, then during the last few days the first arrivals have been encountered far inland too. Today at the Aardla polder just outside Tartu for instance at least 400 starlings, some twenty lapwings, a few chaffinches and skylarks. Emajõgi river is largely frozen still but at an ice-free river segment at Ihaste there were already mute swans and whooper swans in addition to the mallards. A smew was among the other waterfowl too; it had managed to survive the whole winter in the waterworks channel.

 

The weather should be turning clearly warmer at the weekend, that will certainly bring the next group of arrivals. If the weather is at all reasonable I would like to go to Virumaa on an owl trip, but with windy weather it isn’t a bad idea to go to Saaremaa to look for new arrivals. We will see tomorrow night which corner of Estonia I will be in.