The pre-breakfast walk on our last morning at Altmõisa gave
us excellent scope views of Icterine, Barred and Marsh Warblers as they belted
out their refrains before the heavens opened with thunder and lightning and
sent us rather damply back for sustenance.
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| Icterine Warbler |
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| Montagu's Harrier |
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| Montagu's Harrier |
From here we headed south with a stop at the coastal Pojari
once again where we added Avocets with a chick amongst a good wader selection that included Spotted Redshank and both Godwits. A hulking adult White Tailed Eagle was
casually sitting on a rock close in shore.
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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Columbines
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A Grey Partridge was a welcome find in a field with six Stock Doves before we stopped again on the outskirts of Martna to look for Ortolans. They were silent but we did have our first Lesser Spotted Eagle overhead as pointed out by the local Ravens and a Hobby. A purring Turtle Dove on wires not far down the road was a bird on the hoped for list today.
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| Lesser Spotted Eagle - wonder if it has a Frog? In Estonia and Hungary they are called Frog Eagle |
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Everyone has a wood store and each one is so neat and stacked literally to the rafters.
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| Tree Sparrows |
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| Norther Wheatear |
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| Whinchat |
A pleasant walk down a forest track at Tuhu may not have
given us the woodland birds we were after although a Jay was new but we did see
some quality butterflies and a yellow Misumena vatia yellow
Crab Spider was all appreciated.
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| Northern Wall Brown |
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| Northern Wall Brown |
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| Northern Wall Brown |
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| Scarce Fritillary |
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| Scarce Fritillary |
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| Scarce Fritillary |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillary |
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| Lesser Marbled Fritillary |
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| False Heath Fritillary |
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| Poplar Admiral |
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| Poplar Admiral |
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| Black Veined White |
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| Black Veined White |
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| Black Veined White |
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| Helophilus pendulus |
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| Hybomitra sp |
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| Lixus iridis |
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| Misumena vatia |
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| Solomon's Seal |
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| Clammy Catchfly |
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| Creeping Bellflower |
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| Common Spotted Orchid |
The farmland beyond gave us a Great Grey Shrike on top of a
pine that stayed long enough for me to get the scope out and set up. The breed in the stunted pine bogs that we
then passed through but are almost impossible to see there.
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| Great Grey Shrike - Sean Moore |
A walk through the wooded park in Audru was productive with
a pair of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers attending a noisy nest and we saw our
first Treecreepers and Robin along with a dashing Kingfisher and a calling
Marsh Tit.
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| Middle Spotted Woodpecker |
Lunch was taken at a bakery
in the heart of Parnu which was well timed to avoid a deluge and it was sunny
again when we arrived back at Audru marsh.
It was an excellent couple of hours with yellow-headed
Citrine Wagtails, Grey and Blue Headed Wagtails and many Whinchats, Meadow
Pipits, Skylarks and Reed Bunting along the track where baby Lapwings of
different sizes fed like clockwork toys.
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| Citrine Wagtail |
Pools held 18 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Spotted Redshanks and
a skittish Marsh Sandpiper while Snipe was heard and a dapper female Red-necked
Phalarope swam back and forth; head bobbing and gyroscopically whirling in
circles and zig-zags. I have only seen a
couple of breeding plumaged ones before so this was a real treat.
I was suddenly away of a familiar but unexpected call from
the sedges in front. I heard it four times and to my ear it was a Baillon’s
Crake and I ran to the other side of the van to get Tarvo but it stopped at
that point. I did not realise that there
had only been one accepted record for Estonia but alas, unless someone sees it
to confirm that it was not a frog it will go no further – not even a recording
will suffice. Tarvo circulated the news.
Meanwhile up above White-tailed Eagles ruled the skies and a
Honey-Buzzard drifted through at range. Around the far side we successfully
found a pair of Garganey pretending to be clods of earth and despite the
increasing wind a pair of Penduline Tits were watched attending in invisible nest
in Willow. Great Reed Warblers were
getting going and Bearded Tit pinged while a Herring Gull pointed out another
adult Eagle which a male Marsh Harrier took exception too.
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| White-tailed Eagle |
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| Penduline Tit |
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| Reed Bunting - Sean Moore |
From here we drove to our new lodge – Klaara Manni where a
Red-breasted Flycatcher and Goldcrest sung in the pines, Fieldfares hopped
around the lawns and Crested Tits greeted us after dinner.
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