Koivusaari...

Yesterday (08/09) was pretty much a lost day due to a hangover from some Finnish blueberry brandy (don't ask) but today (09/09) I was feeling much better so it was time to get out again. The weather was sunny but quite windy and I decided to check out Koivusaari Nature Trail which consists of 3.5km of boardwalk around one of the islands in the Ounasjoki estuary just across the water from Jängislahti.

It was fairly quiet all around but I made my way around the circular route. Surprisingly even with the cold wind there were a lot of dragonflies about basking on the boardwalk. These were Black Darters I later found out when I returned home.

Male Black Darter - Sympetrum danae

Female

Carrying on a bird hopped out of the scrub on to one of the many log piles scattered about being used to upgrade the boardwalk. The bird was a nice Lesser Whitethroat a new bird for me and one I have not seen back in the UK.

Moving on again it was still fairly quiet apart from a few sheep but it was a really nice day with a proper Autumnal feel to it. Apart from a couple of Magpies the only other birds seen were Willow Warbler and another Bluethroat.

 

The island is a whole has some really nice habitat for birds and I imagine it is full of them during Spring and early summer but not today. There is a bird viewing tower on the island but I couldn't get to it due to parts of the boardwalk being removed. Still a good couple hours and another site I have now located for the future reference. Below is a selection of photos taken today. Heading up North to Inari tomorrow for a week, will report back next weekend.