Scandinavia in September (1 Viewer)

[RockyRacoon]

am on the verge of booking a couple of trips abroad, and was just wondering what chances I would have of seeing the local specialties in Finland/Sweden specifically in September. ie. Owls, woodpeckers, sibe jay + tit, red-flanked blue tail and hazel hen, pine grosbeak and the buntings. (amongst others)

thanks for any help in advance

 

[RockyRacoon]

I have noticed a distinct lack of trip reports from these two countries at this time of year. Apart from a few from falsterbo and oland in sweden, which seem to talk of migrant species rather than the local specialties I described.

is there a reason for this? is searching for local specialties really that difficult at this time of year? i thought this might be a good time, in particular, for owls?

 

[StuartReeves]

I was going to suggest Falsterbo and Øland as the best options for Scandinavia at that time of year as both can produce great birding. In contrast the forests are likely to be very quiet at that time of year. Most of the passerines are migratory to some extent, so would either be long gone, or at best very difficult to pin down. Owls and woodpeckers wouldn't be very vocal so would be even more difficult that usual to find. You might get lucky, particularly with local assistance, but realistically the best options in September would be to go to Sweden for migration or go elsewhere for ticks.

Incidentally, the Falsterbo area area can produce owls in autumn - see: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=43864. There is also a regular Eagle Owl site nearby.

Stuart

 

[RockyRacoon]

Cheers man, definitely considering that suggestion.
Just wondering what the best time to visit Sweden/Finland for the Owls and Woodpeckers is then? Just for future reference.

 

[StuartReeves]

Cheers man, definitely considering that suggestion.
Just wondering what the best time to visit Sweden/Finland for the Owls and Woodpeckers is then? Just for future reference.

March/april would probably be best, depending on precisely where you go and which species you are looking for. The further north you go, the later the best time would be, but even then you'd be very lucky to find many species without local assistance.

 

[Enji]

I'm no expert, but I'd say early spring... and for all forest dwelling species it's always best to have a guide who knows where they are. Trying to find something in a huge forest can be rather difficult at times. I guess it is always possible to find owls and woodpeckers at other times, but they will probably be mostly silent and thus much harder to find.

 

[Jos Stratford]

If you go far enough north, eg the Inari area of Finland or even Varanger, September can be great. I have been to northern Finland/Sweden on a number of occasions and the very first was in early September. Saw plenty of Pine Grosbeaks and Sib Jay, Sib Tit, etc and lots to see around Varanger, all the eiders, etc. Also saw a Hawk Owl, at that time my frst ever. Three-toed Woodpecker and Nutcracker are real possibilities too - Nutcrackers are in their most vocal and active mode of the year and are easier to see than any other time (at least here anyhow) and, depending on the year, Three-toed Woodpeckers might be moving about - last year saw big autumn movements.

However, zero chance of Bluetail and, as others have said, many other birds can be difficult too. If it is September or never, go in September. If you can play with your dates, go in March/April for a very cold, but mindblowing, trip to Inari for owls and further north for al the specialites and to Varanger for really amazing stuff. Or go late May/June for the Bluetails, Rustic Buntings, Sib Tit, etc, etc, plus all the tundra stuff at Varanger (but owls can be harder).

Trip reports from the last three years on my website if you are interested- one June trip, one March trip, then another June trip. Will be back up there in June this year, but just to Varanger (my September trip not on there though, unfortunately)

 

[CAU]

One problem with the owls is that Britons usually want to see them, hearing the call is not good enough. Some owls call spontaneously in autumn, especially Pygmy Owls very early in the mornings (just before and at dawn) in August and September. However, Pygmy Owl is pretty scarce in Lapland, it's much commoner in e.g. southern Finland.

Usually young Owls move around a bit in the autumn, and some years there are influxes of especially Pygmy and Hawk Owls (some Hawk Owls stay at the same location for the duration of the winter, which makes them easy to twitch). Hawk Owl is one of the easier owl species to see, it's active during the day also and often perches quite openly (it breeds generally only in northern Finland). Also some Tengmalm's Owls migrate in the autumn, but they are much more difficult to find than Hawk and Pygmy Owls.
http://www.tarsiger.com/gallery/index.php?pic_id=petro1232383695&lang=eng

Hearing calling owls is easier in March, but it's not overly easy then either (depending on how much voles there are around), and seeing them is difficult, unless you know the exact breeding locations. However, the summer birds have not arrived in March, so most foreigners visit Finland in early June when you have a chance of seeing all the species (the owls usually with the assistance of a guide who knows the locations of the nests).

Like Jos wrote, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Pine Grosbeak and the woodpeckers are completely possible to find in the autumn, too. During the last few years there have been some Red-flanked Bluetails at the nesting sites in Kuusamo still in the beginning of September (but September is not the best month to visit Finland if you want to see one). Black Woodpecker is rather easy to find at any time of the year (in entire Finland except the on the treeless tundra), Three-toed Woodpecker is a bit more difficult (it's a bit more common in the north, but like Jos wrote, some years there are influxes of eastern birds). White-backed Woodpecker doesn't occur in Lapland and Grey-headed is pretty scarce there (most records are actually from the autumn and winter).

Nutcracker is relatively easy to find in southern Finland in autumn (if you know some good locations), but more difficult in Lapland (it's still much easier to find there in autumn than in summer because of migrating birds from Russia).

It is possible to see Rustic Buntings in north-eastern and eastern Finland in the beginning of September (or mid-September), it's more scarce in in western Finland, as they migrate towards south east.

Hazel Hen is completely findable in autumn, for example the hunters shoot about 90.000 of them each autumn. They respond quite acively to tape in autumn.