Spring brought migratory birds and bird-watchers to Olkiluoto
11.4.2016
The first sunny and warm days of spring have attracted both migratory birds and bird-watchers to Olkiluoto.
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| Ismo Lahtonen and Hannu Lehtinen consider the observation tower at the mouth of the cooling water channel as an excellent location to observe migrating birds. |
Ismo Lahtonen ja Hannu Lehtinen from Turku Ornithological Society (TLY) visited the Olkiluoto area on Thursday 17th of March, when a sunny - though a bit windy weather - offered the most excellent conditions for bird-watching.
- Due to the direction of the wind, an actual or clear migration could not be seen as such; few whooper swans and flocks of geese travelled north. In addition crows and seagulls could be observed to be migrating, the founding member of TLY Ismo Lahtonen describes.
There are several observation areas at Olkiluoto, from which especially the observation tower and visitor center offer sheltered settings for bird-watching. The two men had already made dozens of observations on their way to Olkiluoto, especially on Olkiluodontie where the whooper swans and geese resting on the fields made the men stop for a while before arriving to their destination.
- Observing the spring's birdlife at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant area was a truly pleasant experience. There were numerous waterfowls such as goldeneyes, goosanders, mute swans, and cormorants. Occasionally they were harried by a sea eagle, says Lahtonen.
Both Lahtonen and Lehtinen believe that later on during spring the amounts of waterbirds and migrating birds will grow. Unfortunately the little grebe encountered in the beginning of that week at Olkiluoto was not seen this time, but otherwise numerous observations were made.
- Any exact calculations of the observations were not conducted, but for example from the visitor center we managed to observe over two hundred tufted ducks, though most of them were sure out of sight behind the island. There were also numerous herring gulls and mew gulls; at least seventy mew gulls in front of the visitor center, tells Lahtonen.
Founded in 1966, the Turku Ornithological Society (TLY) is currently celebrating its 50 year anniversary; congratulations! While asking the men which have been the most memorable or unusual observations they have made, they ponder a moment.
- The common myna might be the most exceptional, or maybe the little bustard, Lahtonen says.
Text and photo: Jenni Poutanen
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