Birdwatching Holiday Finland Russia

Karelia: Eastern Finland and Western Russia

Saturday 21 June to Monday 30 June 2008
with Dan Brown and Ari Latja as leaders.

Cost: £2890
Single room supplement: £190

Maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders. 2 leaders join this tour regardless of group size.

Tucked away in the far north of Europe is Karelia, a region that straddles the border between Russia and Finland and which is simply full of wonderful birdwatching opportunities. The history of this region is chequered. Once ruled by Russia and then Sweden, the area still retains its own very strong identity and culture despite now being part of two different countries.

This tour divides its time between the beautiful forests and lakes of eastern Finland and the rich mosaic of habitats found around Lake Ilmen in northwest Russia. We travel via the magnificent city of St. Petersburg before reaching this vast shallow lake where numerous small rivers and streams create a maze of small deltas, reedbeds, sandbanks and flooded meadows – a superb mix of habitats that attracts a superb mix of birds.

The birding here takes on a distinct eastern quality with such species as Lesser Spotted Eagle, Marsh and Terek Sandpipers, Blyth’s Reed and Booted Warblers. In addition, the sheer numbers of some species struggling to survive further west is amazing - Corncrakes and Spotted Crakes for instance, are still common and their calls fill the still night air.

Birdwatching tours to Karelia are still in their infancy but after the success of our first visits there we are sure this is set to become one of our long-term favourites.

Day 1: The tour starts with a flight from London to Helsinki where we’ll connect with an internal flight to Joensuu in Eastern Finland, close to the border with Russia and right in the heart of some superb habitat. Depending on our arrival time, and given the long hours of daylight, there should be time for some exploration close to our hotel where we hope to see Willow Grouse, Eurasian Hobby, Common Crane, Woodcock, Eurasian Nightjar and possibly even Elk. Night in Joensuu.

Days 2-3: In Joensuu we are ideally placed to explore a variety of birding habitats and in this remote corner of north eastern Europe where, at times, we’ll be further east than Istanbul, our birding takes on an exciting edge as we seek out such specialities as Red-flanked Bluetail and Arctic Warbler among the bogs and forests. They are is easier to see some years than others when it can be completely absent from the region – a feature typical of a species on the edge of its range. Here they mingle with more traditional east European birds such as Goshawk, Black and Three-toed Woodpeckers, Red-backed Shrike, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Greenish and Icterine Warblers, Common Rosefinch, Crested Tit and Rustic Bunting. Nights at Joensuu.

Day 4: After breakfast we will drive towards Lappeenranta stopping at sites for Nutcracker and possibly even Siberian Jay on route. Slavonian Grebe, Osprey, Marsh Harrier and Bittern share a wetland here with a large colony of Little Gulls. Eastern Finland is not as reliable as the north for owls but in some years there is a chance of Ural and Great Gray. Pygmy Owl and both Long and Short-eared are recorded more regularly. If any of the rarer owls are present, the birding in Finland will be adjusted accordingly. Night at Lappeenranta.

Day 5: Today will primarily be a travelling day as we head east across the border to Russia. The crossing near Lappeenranta can take time but once the paperwork has been completed we’ll drive to St Petersburg, the city of the White Nights, home of the famous Hermitage and birthplace of the Russian revolution. If time allows we’ll take in some sightseeing from the comfort of a boat on the river, before retiring to our hotel. Night in St Petersburg.

Days 6-9: In the morning we’ll continue our journey towards the massive Lake Ilmen. Numerous rivers feed this lake, one of the ten largest in Europe, and we’ll spend our time exploring places that only a handful of birdwatchers have visited. On our first two nights we’ll be based at Staraja Russa at the southern end of the lake. This will be followed by a two-night stay in the historic city of Novgorod at the lake’s northern end.

Using these two locations we will be able to cover the best birding areas and maximise our time spent in the field. The days are long and birds take full advantages of this with night-singing passerines a speciality of the region. On some evenings there will be the option of staying out late to listen to this ‘dusk chorus’ which will be made up of songs from a variety of birds including Blyth’s Reed, Marsh, River and Grasshopper Warblers, Thrush Nightingale and Common Rosefinch – all of which there is a good chance of seeing as well as hearing as it will not get dark until around midnight.

Several species reach the western edge of their range at Lake Ilmen and this is one reason the area is so attractive to western birdwatchers. Perhaps the rarest of all is Lanceolated Warbler and we will check every singing locustella

in the hope of finding one. Two other birds easily located by their sound are Corncrakes and Spotted Crakes. These can be very common around Lake Ilmen, their calls at times almost drowning out the sound of the local passerines. Waders are also common and scanning groups of Wood Sandpipers may reveal an elegant Marsh Sandpiper. In some good years Great Snipe breed and we have a chance to see them among the wet grasslands, where the distinctive drumming of Common Snipe is an ever-present sound.

Colourful Ruff can be found everywhere and in the past Terek Sandpiper have sometimes pu in an appearance. Raptors will be much in evidence and Marsh, Hen, and Montagu’s Harriers are regular and Pallid Harriers are possible, as are Common and Honey Buzzards, Lesser Spotted and White-tailed Eagles, and even Greater Spotted Eagle and Red-footed Falcon have bred in the area in recent times.

There will be much more to distract us among the flooded meadows, marshes and patches of woodland that surround the lake and we may well be presented with superb views of Little Bittern, Black and White Storks, Little Crake, Short-eared Owl, White-backed and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Black and White-winged Black Terns, Golden Oriole, Bluethroat, Barred Warbler and Penduline Tit. We will not ignore the fascinating history of this region either and on one afternoon we’ll take an optional tour of Novgorod, visiting its own Kremlin (Russian for citadel or fortress), Yaroslav’s Courtyard and St Sophia’s Cathedral. Nights near Lake Ilmen.

Day 10: Today we will drive back to St Petersburg to catch our return flight to London (via Helsinki) where the tour concludes.