looduskalender.ee

It was probably because of this autumn weather that we had to be content with only two migrating groups of barnacle geese on October 3. The mostly unfavourable winds during the last migrating days have sent the geese elsewhere. A large part of the arctic geese probably now mainly use the migration paths over Lake Peipus. The geese have usually always been present in numbers for the Tallinn Bird Club members on this now well-established excursion route. That the herring gull took the first place this year was however predictable in all ways, considering the proximity of the Karjaküla fur farm and Tallinn itself. Among ducks and teals the goldeneyes and, around Pakri foreland long-tailed ducks, dominated. A black redstart showed off for a long time on the old military building at Pakri. There, too, was an intense migration of wigeons, and two white-tailed eagles circled at sea.

At the Paldiski sea bastions a large white bird appeared against the conveniently bright blue sky – a great egret! Around Tallinn this bird - that is very rapidly enlarging its territory - is still rare and for most of those present this was a first sighting. In the Madise reed banks bearded tits were lively and talkative. In the same place were the still present but restless reed buntings and, hunting insects, this day’s only barn swallows. And above the Padise fields three buzzards and a kestrel were chasing mice.

A summary table of the day’s birds is  here  (in Estonian, with abbreviated Latin species names) 

Photo gallery  here.