Birdwatching trip to Harjumaa

Text: Eet Tuule and Aarne Tuule, Tallinna Linnuklubi
Photo: Aarne Tuule
Translation: Liis
 
Barnacle geese migrating
 
As all know the international birdwatching days, Birdwatch 2010, took place on October  2nd to 3rd. This year too Tallinn Bird Club, in response to the appeal of the Estonian Ornithological Society, arranged its bird excursion along the traditional route. The bird enthusiasts who had started the trip from Vana-Pääsküla in the morning twilight made their last observations at around 4 pm in the afternoon, and not until then it was time to start towards home. Nobody could have asked for better weather. Only pity that the dense fog in the morning influenced the birdwatching results. Out of six observation places along the road on the northern coast,  from Kersalu to Madise,  two were totally and two partly hidden in a milky mist. But at Pakri cape and the shore at Madise the weather was perfect.
At the shore at Pakri the migration of the geese was a memorable experience; there were considerably more brent geese than barnacle geese. As the barnacle geese were present in great flocks at the Madise shore and particularly in the fields at Padise this species was without comparison the most numerous of the day with more than 14000 birds. Goldeneyes followed with nearly 1900 birds and brent geese with more than 1500 birds. The small number of Anser geese was surprising: only about fifty bean geese and not a single greater white-fronted goose. Altogether 83 bird species were seen during the excursion and the number of individual birds was nearly 22 000.  So it wasn’t surprising that even 5 kinds of birds of prey were registered.

Memorable episodes collected during the whole day. Someone saw for the first time how in an open field a white-tailed eagle attacked  a Branta goose that had already been separated from the flock. Another saw a flock of Branta geese (including 200 brent geese) lifting from the Rummu lake and its shores. There was this and that to admire and to remember. Several migrant birds were still staying and were also seen, such as barn swallows, wheatears, redbacked shrikes, and black redstarts. At the same time the first winter visitors  - two waxwings and a group of redpolls - were already here..



 

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