15th March 2026 - Estonia for Oriole Birding

A short pre-breakfast amble around the Loona Mois grounds provided us with an obliging male Northern Bullfinch sat up quite high but still glowing in the pre-dawn light. A very different call and a bit of a bruiser too.  Yellowhammers sang all around with at least four counter singing males while two pair of Stock Doves were in the wood where Greenfinches wheezed.  All the while you could hear Cranes in the surrounding fields with ‘good morning’ duets echoing across the landscape.  Greylags dropped into feed and a flock of 13 Blue Tits and three Great Tits dropped in from up high on their way back through the island.  I wonder if any of them flew past me on their way to Latvia on that most memorable of days in October last year?

We headed back out after breakfast and were greeted but a bushy Red Fox inspecting the lawn but it was not particularly bothered about us and went about its business.

Red Fox

Our first stop was back at Saaremaa sadam where we hoped the Steller’s Eiders would be paddling around but it was not to be and they were once again clearly not there so after listening to the dapper yodelling Long-tailed Ducks and seeing a flock of flying mixed Scoters we decamped back to where we saw them the evening before but at a more sedate pace.  They were not here either and speaking to a visiting birder, she had not seem them at all over the last three days which made our luck and alacrity and quality views all the more special.

Long-tailed Ducks

Long-tailed Ducks

Goosanders, Coot s and a Long-tailed Ducks

With more time here we had a good scan and picked up several Great Crested Grebes and Red-throated Divers, two more Common Scoter, Common Eiders and about 30 Red-breasted Mergansers.  Migrants were on the move with incoming Siskins, Goldfinch, Linnet, Skylark, Blackbird, Blue and Great Tits, Hooded Crows and a single lost Lapwing.  There were Geese too and the closest flock was made up of both White-fronts and Tundra Beans.

On and up around the coast to another vast bay at Cape Undva and although we did indeed find a fine raft of at leas 50 Steller’s Eiders they were of a similar calibre to my first sightings and the views could best be described at poor – cue more happy chatter about how good last night was!

Four female Velvet Scoters were closer in with Goldeneye and Long-tailed Ducks and a whizzing group of Teal were new for the trip.  Skylarks sung at eyelevel over grassy patches within the Juniper scrub and Judy picked up our first Red Kite over the distant wood where it avoided any interaction with the flock of six sparring White-tailed Eagles but di not escape the attention of a Raven.  A single Fieldfare was seen in some paddocks.

Inland a little ways to a forest trail around  Viidumäe  where it took all of 30 seconds this time to find a Pygmy Owl.  He put on a fine show and as usual it was fabulous to watch the shape of the head change from rounded to flat depending on what style of hard stare it was trying to achieve.

Pygmy Owl

Leaving him to his woodland we made our way back to the coast for a picnic lunch at Toomalõuka  overlooking a semi ice bound bay which had large pools within it covered in Tufted Duck, Goldeneye and Smew.  There were more Wigeon here and our first five Gadwall too.  Several Shelducks were found along with newly arrived single Avocet and two Oystercatchers and everything was frequently airborne due to regular Eagle attention.  A female Sparrowhawk nipped over the road and a second Red Kite was over the woods.  A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling and a Lesser Spotted bounded over but did not seemingly stop and I wondered if that was a returning migrant too?

White-tailed Eagle and spooked duckage

A party of six Cranes headed high and north and we heard Snow Bunting and Yellowhammer going over while we were scanning through a flock of about 90 Russian White-fronts and 57 Tundra Beans.  Two of the RWFGs had black collars inscribed with white but it took a while to work out that they were 1-2E and 2-6D.  Tarvo will submit them and let us know their history.

Cranes

Russian White-fronts and Tundra Beans

Tundra Beans at the front

The two neck ringed Russian White-fronts

From here we made our way down to the Sõrve peninsular once again and it was quite difficult to not keep talking about the 6^th October and the mass Tit migration.  It was bitterly cold and most of the bay was frozen but we still had a good scan and Rob found our first pair of Pintail that were spooked by yet another hunting Eagle.  This one was given short shrift by the Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls.

What no tits?

White-tailed Eagle, GBB and Herring Gulls and Goldeneye

As we walked towards the far point we came alongside the last ice holes and I counted 28 more Smew on them with so many Goldeneye and a few Goosanders.  A Great Egret was on the distant marsh where a Ringed Plover displayed and a pair of Whooper Swans were actually sat on the beach just in front with a couple of dozing Mute Swans – all the while gently trumpeting.

Goldeneye

Smew and Northern Herring Gulls

mmm... interesting

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

There were no Snow Buntings on the beach but we enjoyed watching a female Long-tailed Duck preening her belly feathers meticulously but not by rolling.  She sat back and then must have been paddling furiously to keep her entire backend under the water and vertical while she bobbed and sorted out here feathers.  Once she was done she popped back to floating position and went on her way.

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

The Oriole party attempted to migrate to Latvia but the weather forced them to turn back

A wall of rain could be seen coming in from the east so we started to turn back finding a couple of newly arrived Great Tits foraging in the grass before a Robin flew along the beach and landed on the very first stones and began to look for food. Another successful returnee but only just.

Ex-Common Scoter

 Robin

Icy rain began to fall so we scurried back to the van and ended up opting for an early dinner back in Kuressaare with only a group of three Red Deer and two road crossing Roe Deer seen on the murky and wet drive back.

The next day we would return to the mainland for more woodland walking and goose hunting.