Estonia 26th Feb - 1st March 2020
Dan Gornall & Dan Owen Steller’s Eider, Saaremaa Harbor
Introduction
We booked this trip last minute only a week before departure, combining it with a stop off in Oslo in search of wintering Great Grey and Hawk Owls. It was the first time in Estonia for both of us, and we were certainly impressed. The vast untouched wild landscapes make for some great birding. Given the time of year the species diversity was relatively low. We were too early for any of the mass wildfowl migration & arrival of any other spring migrants and so we concentrated on overwintering & resident species. The trip was focused around a few main targets - Steller’s Eider, Black, Middle- spotted, White-backed, Eurasian Three-toed and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Spotted Nutcracker & Owls. In the end we managed to record 67 species - all eBird checklists are attached. Note it is useful knowing the habitat preference of each Woodpecker sp as you will no doubt pass bits of habitat that ‘look good’ whilst travelling around and this can be a decent way to locate them. Flights, car hire & accommodation are all relatively cheap, and the size of the country, it’s good roads and very easy driving (note a 4x4 is useful if there’s thick snow as it makes the forest tracks easily accessible - otherwise any car will do the job) makes travelling around pretty simple. There is very good data coverage throughout the country (even deep in some of the forests), and the friendly locals speak perfect English. Good birding all year round coupled with cheap prices and ease of travel makes Estonia a brilliant birding destination. Other trip reports at this time of year were seemingly quite hard to come by (so hopefully this will be useful) but we gathered what gen we could as well as ordering Dave Gosney’s guide to birding in Estonia (very useful).
Weather
After what had been an extremely mild winter, we arrived into Tallinn to be greeted by a huge blizzard that had seemingly started on the day of our arrival. The snowfall continued overnight and throughout much of the next day, meaning there was thick snow on the ground during our whole stay. It was generally quite cold, breezy & overcast, but temperatures ranged from -7°C to above freezing, and on the 29th we had a cracking still & sunny day with clear blue skies.
Itinerary
Date Itinerary Accommodation
26th February Arrive into Tallinn early evening Estonia17 (Tallinn)
27th February Drive from Tallinn to Virtsu and get the Arno Apartments (Kuressaare, Saaremaa ferry over to Saaremaa Island. Spend the Island) whole day birding Saaremaa Island - main target Steller’s Eider.
28th February Early morning Ferry off Saaremaa Island. 25 Mai Apartment (Pärnu) Head towards Soomaa NP and spend the rest of the day there.
29th February Day birding the forests to the south of 25 Mai Apartment (Pärnu) Pärnu (Magic Corner, Nigula, Soometsa etc.)
1st March Last mornings birding around Soometsa N/A before heading North back towards Tallinn airport
26th February
After arrival into Tallinn Airport c5pm we picked up our hire car and dropped our gear off at the digs, before heading into Tallinn for a burger and a few beers. Having had a sufficient amount of alcohol in Whisper Sister (would recommend), we headed to bed ready for the early start and our first days birding in the morning.
27th February
The day started by driving from Tallinn to Virtsu in order to catch the 07:55 ferry across to Saaremaa Island (€5.40 for two people one-way). The journey was efficient, we arrived with minutes to spare and got straight on with just enough time to get out of the car for some breakfast and a light spot of birding before getting docking at Kuivastu. The time of year wasn’t on our side for sea duck passage but the 35 Greater Scaup, 50 Long-tailed Ducks, 20 Goosander and Common Scoter were enough to keep us going.
The short car journey over the Väinatamm Causeway produced further Scaup and Common Goldeneye, and our first swans of the trip - a pair of adult Bewick’s Swans dropping in (perhaps newly-arrived?)
The day's main focus was locating what was arguably bird-of-the-trip, Steller’s Eiders. With no real gen our aim was to wing it but having seen mention of a ‘harbour’ where a flock can be viewed from on Twitter, we had a mooch on Google Maps and came up with ‘Saaremaa Harbour’ (58.536895, 22.237322). Seemingly the only harbour on the island it made sense to start here and we were in luck. Without even getting out the car we located the raft not far offshore, although drifting behind the harbour wall and out of view… We got our equipment and headed over – stunning! In total there were 79 with a good ratio of drakes to females. Other species included c. 100 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Scaup, 47 Tufted Duck, Common Scoter and 4 Smew (not something we associate with the sea back home in England…). The Steller’s flock started to drift out, before flying back again and this time much closer. Plenty of time was spent admiring this charming duck, the displaying drakes were looking particularly dapper against the fresh snow. A Peregrine Falcon flew overhead, and the typical Hooded Crows and assorted gulls kept us company on the harbour.
The rest of the morning/ early afternoon was spent driving along the coast where we ended up at Uudepanga Bay (at c. 58.503599, 21.910867). The novelty of rafts of common species on the sea still hadn’t worn-off so the 75 Mute Swan bobbing in the waves was quite the spectacle! 31 Mallard, 20 Long-tailed Ducks and plenty of Goldeneye kept them company. Further offshore, a single Black-throated and 4 Red-throated Divers were on the move and a pair of White-tailed Eagles circled the trees on the far shore. Further round, we bagged our only Stock Doves of the trip and our first ‘Northern’ Eurasian Bullfinch (ssp. pyrrhula).
The nearest shop was Kihelkonna so we headed here to stock up on some food, and whilst eating in the car we scored ‘Nordic’ Western Jackdaws (ssp. soemmerringii) and more Bullfinches. Continuing into the forest by Neeme (58.48845, 21.93761), a dark bird flitting in the roadside pines and soon turned into a Spotted Nutcracker. In the excitement we got out, but the bird had ultimately melted into the forest. However, a second, much-showier, bird came and sat atop one of the closer trees calling. Getting heckled by a Nutcracker was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!
The day ended near Loona. Another White-tailed Eagle flew overhead and we got distant views of our second Rough-legged Buzzard of the trip. Small stuff comprised of 2 Willow Tits (ssp. borealis), Eurasian Nuthatch (ssp. europaea), Eurasian Treecreeper (ssp. familiaris) and 3 Parrot Crossbills. eBird Checklists: Virtsu -- Kuivastu Ferry | Väinatamm Causeway | Saaremaa Harbour | Uudepanga Bay | Kihelkonna | Neeme | Loona Clockwise from top-left: Long-tailed Duck, Spotted Nutcracker, Long-tailed Duck, Steller’s Eider & ‘Nordic’ Jackdaw
28th February
We drove from Kuressaare back to Kuivastu in time for the 07:20 ferry to Virtsu. Upon leaving the ferry it was clear that the snow had continued through the day and a thick blanket greeted us. Carrying on, we had woodpeckers on our mind and found ourselves stopping at any decent habitat. Our first port of call was a track near Hanila (58.61682, 23.70228). Little was moving but we got our first ‘Northern’ Long-tailed Tits (ssp. caudatus) of the trip, as well as better views of Nuthatch.
Next stop was Pärnu for something to eat, and in the process we stumbled across an attractive looking park (Männi Park - 58.393213, 24.510538). Food consumed, we decided to take a look. The closest we got to a woodpecker was some drumming but frustratingly we couldn’t connect with the bird (sounded like a Great Spot anyway…). Other bits and pieces seen include: European Crested Tit, another Nuthatch, 4 Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Bullfinch and 20 Eurasian Siskins.
Not letting the heard-only pecker defeat us, we headed to Sooma National Park. Now, this place is massive and with only the afternoon left we decided to continue the technique of slowly driving around, only getting out if somewhere looked the business. Our first walk (58.436697, 25.008435), yielded very little. However, a nice flock of 40 Siskin put on a great show, meanwhile 5 Common Crossbill flitted overhead. Further along (58.454339, 25.167263), we stumbled across a roving tit flock. 2 Crested Tits and 3 Treecreepers were amongst the numerous Long-tailed Tits, as well as Goldcrests and ‘Continental’ Coal Tits (ssp. ater). To add to earlier frustrations, 2 Black Woodpeckers were heard-only and a glimpse of an overflying woodpecker had to remain as a possible Grey-headed.
By this point the day was winding down and light was fading so it made sense to stay late to try for mammals and owls. Sadly no owls were had, but we had a cracking encounter with a Raccoon Dog in our headlights!
eBird Checklists: Hanila, Lääne County | Rääma Park | Soomaa (List 1) | Soomaa (List 2)
Clockwise from top-left: Eurasian Siskin, ‘Northern’ Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Racoon Dog & Snow-covered track
29th February
With the best weather of the trip forecast, we left our apartment early doors and arrived at ‘Magic Corner’ for first light (58.051513, 24.680411 see map below for directions). This site and the surrounding forest is brilliant for Woodpeckers as detailed in Gosney’s guide. Not long after driving down the first forest track (NW to SW) we heard a Black Woodpecker calling, jumping out the car we eventually located this beast of a bird drumming on a dead tree. We continued down the track and parked up in the SW corner, and spent the morning walking a slow circuit around the site. Woodpeckers were clearly in evidence and we notched up a total of 16 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a further 3 Black Woodpeckers (including close flight views of one that crossed the track) and a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker showed well as it fed in the canopy. At least 3 Nutcrackers were heard calling but all evaded us, whilst 3 Common Crossbill flew over and a number of large mixed flocks moved through the forest comprising of Willow, Crested & Long-tailed Tits, Treecreeper, Nuthatch etc.
Having given Magic Corner a good thrashing, we headed to south past Reinu towards Nigula Bog (58.006953, 24.714297 another one of Gosney’s sites). On the way we passed some very promising looking Oak woodland at Tali on the corner of the T junction (58.067911, 24.773406 marked on map below). We pulled over to give it a look, and after about 10 minutes we heard a Middle Spotted Woodpecker calling, quickly locating the bird on a near-by Oak - it showed exceptionally well in the sunlight allowing for some good photographic opportunities.
Other people seem to have had a lot of success at Nigula Bog, however we found it to be absolutely dire. We spent about an hour and a half tackling the world's worst boardwalk (bits of it were literally floating around the bog), before finally reaching the ‘forest island’ that is supposed to have a very high density of Woodpeckers. But we found it to be extremely quiet and a couple of Crested Tit were the only real birds of note. This isn’t to say it’s not worth a go however, and it might just be the time of year/weather that made it unproductive for us. On the way back to the car we saw a pretty sorry looking pair of Whooper Swans on the bog. The area around the car park is also meant to be good for Woodpeckers and the reserve HQ (further north up the road than the bog car park) is meant to be another good site for Middle Spotted Woodpecker.
With a couple of hours of daylight left we decided to drive some of the forest tracks around Soometsa. After tackling some pretty sketchy ‘puddles’ and narrowly avoiding getting the car stuck, dusk was rapidly approaching, and we thought we should try for some Owls in the area. Once sufficiently dark we quickly picked up a Eurasian Pygmy Owl piping away from a nearby perch. This was followed by not one but two calling Tengmalm's Owl, one of which sounded frustratingly close, but we just couldn’t manage to pick it up. Whilst trying to locate the Owls a flock of Bean Goose sp flew over calling. Owl site was here (58.224584, 24.625347) eBird Checklists: Nigula - Magic Corner | Tali | Nigula | Soometsa
Magic Corner directions (blue on map – the tracks you can walk around – basically two big squares) - take the road east from Haardemeeste petrol station (yellow on map) then turn right just after the 13km sign to Sooba. About 3km down this rough road after passing a track on the right (‘Sooba tee’), take the next track to the left (‘Pikksaare ringtee’). Follow this for 1.6km, ignoring a smaller track to the right, until it bends sharply right then follow this track for a further 1.8km to ‘Magic Corner’. The Middle Spotted Woodpecker site at Tali (red on map) is marked and you can continue down this road to get to Nigula Bog (marked green on map).
Clockwise from top-left: Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, ‘Northern Bullfinch, Nigula Bog & Whooper Swan
1st March
We started the day with White-backed Woodpecker on our mind, and headed to a roadside site on the outskirts of Soometsa (58.205461, 24.589377) that we had found in another trip report. Arriving at dawn after a compulsory stop at Haardemeeste petrol station (you can buy all kinds of food and drinks in here), we got out of the car and started to listen for Woodpeckers. We soon heard the faint call of a White-backed Woodpecker, followed by some drumming. It became clear that there were two pairs in this strip of good looking woodland and we enjoyed decent scope views of them in the treetops. Black Woodpecker and Grey-headed Woodpecker were also heard calling, although were seemingly much further into the forest.
Heading to the previous night’s Owl site in hope of a perched up Pygmy Owl proved fruitless, but we decided to spend a bit more time slowly driving the forest tracks around Luitemaa (58.222410, 24.596690). It was pretty quiet, but we had another heard-only Grey-headed Woodpecker and the habitat looked perfect for them, but for some reason we just couldn’t seem to connect.
By late morning the weather was pretty dire, not having much luck in the forest we decided to head towards the coast for some seawatching & sea duck action. Parking up near Postitee (58.305092, 24.587845) we set the scopes up in the car. A few bits seems to be moving past and highlights included a single drake Smew, Long- tailed Duck, 30 Goldeneye, 6 Whooper Swans, 3 Black-throated Diver, 4 Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, 30 Lapwing and an immature White-tailed Eagle that cruised past over the sea. After about an hour and a half it was time to start heading back towards Tallinn to catch our evening flight. Midway through the drive a roadside flock of Waxwings at Sauga (58.414571, 24.493957) had us spinning the car around. Pulling the car up right alongside the 111 strong flock, we enjoyed brilliant views of them feasting on fermenting apples in someone’s garden. Onwards to the airport again and a fly over Rough-legged Buzzard from the car nicely rounded off the trip!
eBird Checklists: Soometsa (List 1) | Soometsa (List 2) | Postitee | Sauga | Kurena
Clockwise from top-left: White-backed Woodpecker, our whip, Waxwings, White-tailed Eagle & more Waxwings
Complete Bird List
The taxonomy follows the IOC Checklist v10.1
* 5 species were heard-only
Greylag Goose - Anser anser
* Taiga/Tundra Bean Goose - Anser fabalis/ serrirostris
Mute Swan - Cygnus olor
Bewick’s Swan - Cygnus c. bewickii
Whooper Swan - Cygnus cygnus
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos
Tufted Duck - Aythya fuligula
Greater Scaup - Aythya marila
Steller’s Eider - Polysticta stelleri
Common Scoter - Melanitta nigra
Long-tailed Duck - Clangula hyemalis
Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula
Smew - Mergellus albellus
Goosander - Mergus merganser
Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator
Feral Pigeon - Columba livia
Stock Dove - Columba oenas
Eurasian Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
Northern Lapwing - Vanellus vanellus
Black-headed Gull - Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Common Gull - Larus canus
Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus
European Herring Gull - Larus argentatus
Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
Red-throated Diver - Gavia stellata Black-throated Diver - Gavia arctica
Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
White-tailed Eagle - Haliaeetus albicilla
Rough-legged Buzzard - Buteo lagopus
Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo
*Eurasian Pygmy Owl - Glaucidium passerinum
*Tengmalm’s Owl - Aegolius funereus
Middle Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocoptes medius
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - Dryobates minor
Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major
White-backed Woodpecker - Dendrocopos leucotos
Black Woodpecker - Dryocopus martius
*Grey-headed Woodpecker - Picus canus
Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus
Eurasian Jay - Garrulus glandarius
Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica
Spotted Nutcracker - Nucifraga caryocatactes
Western Jackdaw - Coloeus monedula
Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix
Northern Raven - Corvus corax
Bohemian Waxwing - Bombycilla garrulus
Coal Tit - Periparus ater
European Crested Tit - Lophophanes cristatus
Willow Tit - Poecile montanus
Eurasian Blue Tit - Cyanistes caeruleus
Great Tit - Parus major
Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
Long-tailed Tit - Aegithalos caudatus
Goldcrest - Regulus regulus Eurasian Nuthatch - Sitta europaea
Eurasian Treecreeper - Certhia familiaris
Common Blackbird - Turdus merula
Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus
Eurasian Rock Pipit - Anthus petrosus
Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
Eurasian Bullfinch - Pyrrhula pyrrhula
European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris
Parrot Crossbill - Loxia pytyopsittacus
Common Crossbill - Loxia curvirostra
*Yellowhammer - Emberiza citrinella
Additional Pictures:
Steller’s Eider raft in the harbor on Saaremaa Island Clockwise from top-left: ‘Nordic’ Jackdaw, Nuthatch, Eurasian Siskin & Uudepanga Bay
Caterpillar photography & Eurasian Siskin