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At sunrise in the morning of the fifth day of August, mädakuu, the “rot month” in the old rural calendar, a solitary sheep started bleating behind our tent on Saarnaki. A sheep with such a silly voice I had not yet heard in my life, and the bleating did not seem to have any sense, not the slightest communicative function.  Sleep was disturbed, I put my clothes on, took my camera and disappeared swearing in among the junipers. When I had seen what there was to be seen, I could translate what the sheep had been saying accurately: „I am really embarrassed to wake you up so early, but there is a redpoll clutch in the junipers. As far as is known the only definite proof of nesting of redpolls in Estonia is from the year 2008, from Saaremaa. Aivar Leito has been searching diligently for nesting redpolls in the islets of Hiiumaa but only managed to note two possible nestings. Once more, I sincerely apologize“.

 

After the sheep’s report it only remained adding a couple of photos; the quality is not brilliant but they are proof that the animal was not just talking rubbish.

 

 

The female and one chick were caught in the photos. There were three chicks, I did not manage to see the male.