[MDOsprey] back from Finland!
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Tue, 15 Jun 99 08:58:57 EDT
Hi all --
Back from Finland (and some days in England)in the midst of a thunderstorm --
time to get used to summertime DC temperatures and humidity (and to the DARK--
we had 24-hours of daylight in Finland and northern Norway).
It was quite a wonderful trip -- saw about 200 species in 13 days, which is
good for a northern trip -- and bird quality there is exceptional, with
Great Grey, Hawk, Ural and Pygmy Owls at the nest, lekking Capercaillie,
Black Grouse and Ruff (remarkable!), Longtailed and Parasitic Jaegers on
their nests on the ice-bound tundra of the Varanger Peninsula of Norway, many
other superb species wuch as the huge White-tailed Eagle, Yellow-billed Loon,
Red-flanked Bluetail, Bluethroats, Arctic Redpolls, etc. My last bird was
a beautiful male Red-footed Falcon literally minutes before catching the
plane home at Heathrow, just under the takeoff path of the jets.
Hope to get a trip report together -- Finland and Northern Norway are
logitically easy to do, although local help is needed for the owls and some
rarities, and there is lots of wonderful scenery and other wildlife, such
as Moose, Reindeer and Arctic Hare and Fox.
Cheers,
Gail Mackiernan