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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:44 am Post subject: Animal nightlife |
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Early spring, when landscape's still snowcovered with -10 - -20 C, Finnish birders cruise in the night listening owls. I did one such trip yesterday with kid. Starting just before sunset, as many owls are most active then. We drove on a ten kilometres radius, making stops every two kilometres (to not mix separate individuals. Usually owls can be heard one kilometer away, sometimes five). We did not use record players or whistles to attract the owls. At dusk we heard a Strix uralensis (ural owl) at close range Half an hour later we were in another location listening a Glaucidium passerinum (pygmy owl), who whistled one hundred metres away of us Unfortunately two unleashed Canis familiaris (dogs) started to approach us from a nearby farm house -The second most dangerous animals in Finland (after road-passing-elk) We heard that pygmy owl 1,5 kilometres away (especially on pygmy's voice it remarkably enhances the voice if you put your hands behind ears as "extra ears"). Then we passed again that ural owl place on our circular route - and saw it sitting on a pole in car lights. It took off and flew right ahead of us. Besides these, we saw on Felis catus (cat, passing the road. Unfortunately I missed it with my car ) and Lepus europaeus (hare). This year seems to be a good one with owls in Southern Finland - here seems to be good amount of Arvicolidae (voles), too. Four years old daughter was happy with the trip, even though none of the birds were lifers to her
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Dawn

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2165 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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Nice one Karri, I'm sure she loved the trip ( I think I would have too )
Ural Owl and Pygmy at 4 yrs old
_________________ Dawn
I can confirm - Bitterns DO exist, and they are brilliant!!!! |
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Corinna

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 4142

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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Ural Owl...love it!!!
Dipped on Pygmy......
Owls in Finland....
I'm thinking 2007 trip to Finland......
must see......
_________________ Corinna
Eagles Rule!
http://eagles-eye-on-life.blogspot.com |
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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Tonight on another route:
Aegolius funereus 3
Strix uralensis 2
Bubo bubo 1
Canis familiaris 20 I don't like cats, and I think dogs should be banned, too (Trying to enjoy an eagle owl when a nearby dog is barking like an idiot). What are dogs good here
-In rural areas wolves tend to eat them.
-They keep their owners awake all night long as they are barking on the yard.
-Why are they barking Because they are afraid of dark Here's no wolves around in my corners, only hemmetin spooky were-hares...
-Besides, big dogs running around the forests threaten human beings in there.
Once dogs were safeguards in north woods. Now they are a nuisance
Luckily the mood was saved by car radio program that played in between the owl spots. Jori Hulkkonen - a guy who recorded last year with John Foxx - playing his favourites Owls hooting +tekno musik - a recipe for brilliant nite
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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Just when I thought that owl season is over (only 50 % snow coverage) - right now right here Strix aluco & uralensis & Aegolius funereus heard in our yard
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Esa

Joined: 03 Apr 2005 Posts: 1098 Location: N America

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Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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I leave the night for the owls. I am at home reading a book or cruising the internet.
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Darren
Joined: 03 Apr 2005 Posts: 121

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Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:58 pm Post subject: Re: Animal nightlife |
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Hiya K
Interesting stuff. Its been a poor year for Asio flammeus here so I wonder what has caused the good numbers of voles in Finland?
ATB
D
Karwin wrote: | This year seems to be a good one with owls in Southern Finland - here seems to be good amount of Arvicolidae (voles), too. | [/i]
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:20 am Post subject: |
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Before greenhouse age begun in Finland (in 1987, according to Independent Reasearch Institute) four-year vole cycles occurred here. Late 80's & almost all the 90's voles had no peaks in S Finland due to the lack of sheltering snow cover. In the 00's we've had snowy winters - and the current vole peak started already two years ago, and they still show abundant around here. Last year the officials predicted that there will possibly be an outbreak of nephropathia epidemica ("vole fever") in autumn, and here was. Already one year ago the abundance of voles was also observed as abundance of owls & foxes around here, and this year here should be even more of these predators, who should put the vole stocks down, plus that also vole viruses should increase when here's plenty of critters around. Why has this vole peak been going on for so long Well, it's also been noted that Sarcoptes scabiei var. vulpis (fox mite, that is fatal for canines) has been abundant here for some years. (Bird flu is fatal for birds, but it is highly unlikely that it would affect owls, as they live in forests and seldom are intact with waterfowl).
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:09 am Post subject: |
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Three nights ago we had +2,7 C here. Three nights ago, too, I obseved here:
pair of Strix aluco (tawny owls)
2 Asio flammeus (SEO), different sites, one of them young
1 unidentified Asio, who passed me from three metres in the night
7 Cuculus canorus (cuckoos)
4 pairs of Cygnus cygnus (whooper swans)
4 Luscinia luscinia (sprossers)
1 Acrocephalus palustris (marsh warbler)
2 A. dumetorum (blyth's reed warblers)
1 Botaurus stellaris (bittern)
4 Scolopax rusticola (woodcocks)
several Tetrao tetrix (black grouses)
2 Crex crex (corncrakes)
1 Coturnix coturnix (quail)
Last week on same route in Hauho (Empty-Finland) also following ones:
Caprimulgus europaeus (nightjar)
Locustella naevia (grasshopper warbler)
Monday in neighbouring town: 2 L. fluviatilis (river warblers).
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Drachenfach
Joined: 02 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: Worcestershire

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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:32 am Post subject: |
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Karwin, your posts are doing wonders for my latin, but I had to look up Aegolius funereus. Tengmalm's, yes? And eagle owls, that must be an incredible sight to see one in the wild. I've only seen them at falconry displays
I'd green with envy over the birds you post. My partner and I have plans to go birding in Finland in the next couple of years, but it's a long time to wait.
My nights are noisy with nothing but homo sapiens, sadly.
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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Drachenfach wrote: | Tengmalm's, yes? | Correct.
Drachenfach wrote: | And eagle owls, that must be an incredible sight to see one in the wild | Yes it is, even though very rare to see any owl - we mostly hear them (last nite heard two young tawny owls and saw one eared owl. As formy use of scientific names: I remember them, but not so much English ones).
A new phenomenon are our city eagle owls, few pairs ow them breed even in the center of Helsinki.
Drachenfach wrote: | I'd green with envy over the birds you post. | Never mind - I am colourblind On the other hand I've never seen a house sparrow (was that the English name for Passer domesticus? I don't remember any more - not at this point of midsummer eve ), and don't mention Tyto alba
Drachenfach wrote: | My partner and I have plans to go birding in Finland | Tervetuloa
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Drachenfach
Joined: 02 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: Worcestershire

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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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Kiitos
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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Karwin wrote: | right now right here Strix aluco & uralensis & Aegolius funereus heard in our yard  | These very same species heard again to our outdoor. An utterlyverybrilliant owl year now Just few nights ago I heard one tawny, two urals and a pair of long-ears in one spot. The most common owl in my corners is ural owl. This week we heard one twenty metres away, and when I started to mock, it flew almost over us. Owl list 2008:
Aegolius funereus
Asio flammeus
A. otus
Bubo bubo
Strix aluco
S. uralensis.
Botaurus stellaris returned here last night.
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Karwin

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2557 Location: 61N25E

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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:52 am Post subject: |
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Two nights ago I found an interesting place some kilometres away from home. I have been counting local nightjars for 29 years and always observed them having separate territories. Now I found a place where at least six individuals were having a group display. Males kept singing about 50 metres from each other. They often flew over each others spots and there was no fighting whatsoever.
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