A Lanceolated Warbler, part of the “night-singing” group of birds that add fascination to an already fascinating tour. Photo: Jari Peltomaki, Finnature
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 checkered. 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 Soptted Eagle, Marsh and Terek Sandpipers, Blyth’s Reed, and Lanceolated and Booted Warblers. In addition, the sheer numbers of some species struggling to survive further west is amazing — Corncrakes, Spotted Crakes, and Great Snipe for instance, are still common and their calls fill the still night air.
We feel this short tour offers superb and varied birding in a beautiful and little-visited region of Europe.
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 and 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 northeastern Europe (We’re actually east of Istanbul!), we’ll seek out such specialities as Red-flanked Bluetail and Arctic Warbler among the bogs and forests. The former is easier to see some years than others, a feature typical of species on the edge of their range, but we can hope for the best. Here they mingle with more traditional east European birds such as Goshawk, Black and Three-toed Woodpeckers, Great Grey and Red-backed Shrikes, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Greenish and Icterine Warblers, and Common Rosefinch while Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Rustic Bunting, and outside chances of Hazel Grouse and Capercaillie betray our northern latitude. Nights at Joensuu.
Day 4: After breakfast we’ll drive towards Lappeenranta, stopping at a good site for Nutcracker en route. Horned Grebe, Marsh Harrier and Bittern share a wetland here with a large colony of Little Gulls, but for us the main focus of attention will be owls. If it has been a good owl year, there is a chance of seeing Great Gray Owl and our local guides knowledge will aid our efforts — if there is one around we will know about it. Tengmalm’s, Ural and Pygmy Owls are all possible and time spent during the still light evenings could produce several Long-eared Owls. Night at Lappeenranta.
Day 5: Today we’ll travel east across the border to Russia. The crossing near Lappeenranta can take time but once the paperwork has been completed we’ll drive on 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, hopefully 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. We’ll have two bases here; Staraja Russa at the southern end of the lake and the historic city of Novgorod at the lake’s northern end.
Using these two locations we’ll 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 we should see as well as hear given that 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 although not guaranteed, we stand a reasonable chance of seeing at least one of these if they are having a “good” year.
Two other birds easily located by the sound they make 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. Great Snipe breed in good numbers and we have a good chance of seeing them and even witnessing their bizarre lek while the distinctive drumming of Common Snipe is an ever-present sound.
Another rare wader, the enigmatic Terek Sandpiper, breeds around the lake and can be quite confiding at times while colorful Ruff can be found everywhere, also performing their famous dancing leks. Raptors will be much in evidence and Marsh, Hen, and Montagu’s Harriers are regular and Pallid Harriers possible, as are Common and Honey Buzzards, Lesser Spotted and White-tailed Eagles. 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 rewarded 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.
Updated: 20 November 2007
Prices
- 2008 price about $6,160
- Single Occupancy Supplement $380
Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader; 14 with two leaders.
We are happy to help with arrangements and guides for those wishing to stay on in St. Petersburg after the tour ends. Please ask the WINGS office for details.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.