Trip to Estonia (8 days) (2023-10-08 / 2023-10-15) [English version]

⇒ Taxonomy of bird-species as in the Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, 2014/2016 ⇐

So let’s go to Estonia. I have never been there before. And in Estonia there are very nice mammals, in addition to nice birds. This trip is specifically aimed at – and would provide good opportunities for, it is said – sightings of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Wolf (Canis lupus) and the Brown bear (Ursus arctos). I am particularly interested in the Lynx, because I have never seen it before (though I have previously seen the Pardel lynx (2021-4 Spain)). But also my previous Wolf sightings leave a lot of room for improvement (2009-1 Georgia and 2014-1 Kazakhstan). Brown bears I have already seen very satisfactory (2012-2 Finland and Finnmark and 2021-1 Spain).

On the plane, I sit in the 13th row, because I booked extra legroom. But it’s called the 14th row, because for reasons there is no 13th row. That’s the first time I’ve noticed that, but maybe that’s the case with many or all airplanes? (In februari 2024 I saw in a plane from Madrid to Amsterdan that there actually was a 13th row, so it defenitely does not concern áll planes!)

We take off on Sunday 8 October at a little after 10.00 A.M. and arrive more than two hours later in Talinn, with a landing with a lot of turbulence, the aftermath of a violent storm, the previous day. There we will meet, the seven participants and the local guide. We make the approximately 100 km. long drive east, to our hotel in the Lahemaa National Park. Along the way I see a group of about 100 Common cranes (Grus grus) flying overhead. I thought we would see a lot more of those, but it would be the only sighting of this holiday.

Upon arrival, our hotel turns out to be without electricity. The low-voltage grid in Estonia is still largely above ground, and the storm of the previous day has led to a lot of outages. We go to an annex of the hotel, about 10 kilometers away, where they have an electricity generator.

In the evening we make a 6-hour trip, in search of the Lynx, in the company of a lynx expert. The approach is that our van slowly drives down the roads, especially semi-paved roads, in and around the national park. In the meantime, our expert scans one side of the road with an infrared finder, and as soon as he sees something, we stop and look at what it is with a spotlight. However, this does not yield very much, two Ural owls (Strix uralensis), an Elk (Alces alces) (‘Moose’ for our American readers), some Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and some European hares (Lepus europaeus). Without the help of the infrared finder we see Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Badger (Meles meles). All in all, a long day, with not very encouraging results in my opinion, regarding the Lynxes.

On Monday 9 October, on the way to the breakfast table, one of the participants discovers an Ural owl in the garden of the hotel, that is very easy to observe.

Ural owl (Strix uralensis), Estonia, October 9, 2023 (Photographer: JK)

We move to the original hotel, where there is electricity now. Then we go to the coast and visit other parts of the national park as well. After lunch we visit the garden of the new hotel, which yields a Middle spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius). And then we will drive around in and around the national park again with the infrared finder.

After more than an hour we have a bite. Our expert discovers a Lynx (♂) about 150 meters away from the road. We have a few minutes of good visibility in the spotlight. Yes, Lynx! Our expert rates this sighting with a 4, on a scale of 1 to 10, but we are very happy with it (the number 10 is for a Lynx that catches a Roe deer, during the day and well in sight, but our guide has never done a sighting number 10 himself). We also see a Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes pocyonoides), an invasive exotic, which also serves as a food source for the Lynx. And again an Ural owl, a species that I won’t mention anymore because we will see it more often.

On October 10 we see a group of six female Capercaillies (Tetreo urugallus), and we hear and see two Hazel grouses (Bonasa bonasia). The area around our hotel is one of the well-known places in Estonia for the White-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotus), and that species works out effortlessly.

Capercaillies (Tetreo urugallus), Estonia, October 10, 2023 (Photographer: JK)

In the evening we set off again at 18.00 h. Unfortunately I decide not to take my camera with me, “because I can’t do anything with it in the dark anyway”. But after only 10 minutes, our expert discovers a Lynx. There is still plenty of daylight, the sun is still above the horizon and the animal can be viewed and photographed beautifully. First at a distance of about 100 m., but then it walks diagonally towards us and sits down on a stone for minutes, at a distance of about 30 m. After about 20 minutes, the Lynx leaves. Our expert rates this observation with the number 9.

Lynx (Lynx lynx), Estonia, October 10, 2023 (Photographer: Martin Piispea)

This Lynx is probably the same individual as yesterday’s, because it’s also a male and it’s only a few miles away. We also see a Mountain hare (Lepus timidus) and an Elk.

About three hours later we come back here and see the Lynx again, marking its territory. It walks over the road towards us, walks around our car only just leaving the road at a distance of about 20 m. and continues his way. We follow him with the car and the spotlight, which he doesn’t care about. After about 35 minutes, it disappears from sight. All in all, we watched a Lynx for an hour!

Lynx (Lynx lynx), Estonia, October 10, 2023 (Photographer: Martin Piispea)

On October 11, after lunch, we move back to the annex, because the power in our actual hotel has gone out again. In the field, today’s approach is the same recipe, but without spectacular additions.

On the 12th of October we leave our fine hotel and annex; the meals were also very good. We go to the east, to a bear hide in Alutagese. Along the way we score a female Three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus).

The visit to the bear hide turns out to be a disappointment. First of all, food for the bears is only provided very sparingly, ‘so as not to influence the natural behaviour of the bears too much’. A noble goal, of course, but also a bit of ‘the solution defeats the purpose’. Why building and operate a bear hide if you’re not willing to lure substantially the bears? The previous night, the previous group indeed had not seen a bear! To make matters worse, due to the wind, the electricity of the lighting, which is supposed to provide a kind of replacement for the light of the full moon, failes today. And since it’s almost a new moon, it quickly becomes pitch dark after sunset. We see some Raccoon dogs in the twilight and then we don’t see anything anymore and we dive into our bunk beds, to make up for the sleep deprivation. Hours later, some die-hards using the infrared binoculars, observe a bear, or at least the silhouette of it, but it is too late for me to see even that. All in all, largely wasted time and effort, with a Spartan night.

Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes pocyonoides), Estonia, October 12, 2023 (Photographer: JK)

On the 13th of October, Friday the 13th, after a visit to the waterfall of Jägala Juga we head west, to our hotel in Tuuru. In the evening we go to the coast and then we go on an evening excursion for the Wolves of which two packs are ‘twitchable’. Unfortunately, in both cases that doesn’t work, and a Pygmy owl (Glaucidium passerinum) only calls back once; well, still something …

The hotel and meals are fine again.

And October 14 is our last day. In total today we see six White-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), and in the evening a Pygmy owl calls back more actively. But the Wolves are absent again. They are horrible beasts, I have to admit that – albeit from a different perspective – to my sheep-farming brother.

On October 15, we will take off around 08:00 local time for our return flight to the Netherlands. It’s a pity that the Wolves didn’t succeed, but I’m still very pleased, especially because of the beautiful sightings of the Lynx!

As far as birds are concerned, the results were as follows:

No	Species name	Scientific name
		
1	Great crested grebe	Podiceps cristatus
2	Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo
3	Grey heron	Ardea cinerea
4	Great white egret	Ardea alba
5	Mute swan	Cygnus olor
6	Whooper swan	Cygnus cygnus
7	Greylag goose	Anser anser
8	Greater white-fronted goose	Anser albifrons
9	Barnacle goose	Branta leucopsis
10	Brent goose	Branta bernicla
11	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
12	Common teal	Anas crecca
13	Gadwall	Mareca strepera
14	Wigeon	Mareca penelope
15	Northern shoveler	Spatula clypeata
16	Greater scaup	Aythya marila
17	Common goldeneye	Bucephala clangula
18	Goosander	Mergus merganser
19	Red-breasted merganser	Mergus serrator
20	White-tailed eagle	Haliaeetus albicilla
21	Marsh harrier	Circus aeruginosus
22	Hen harrier	Circus cyaneus
23	Common buzzard	Buteo buteo
24	Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus
25	Peregrine falcon	Falco peregrinus
26	Hazel grouse	Bonasa bonasia
27	Capercaillie	Tetrao urugallus
28	Eurasian coot	Fulica atra
29	Common crane	Grus grus
30	Grey plover	Pluvialis squatarola
31	Golden plover	Pluvialis apricaria
32	Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus
33	Dunlin	Calidris alpina
34	Woodcock	Scolopax rusticola
35	Common snipe	Gallinago gallinago
36	Common redshank	Tringa totanus
37	Little gull	Larus minutus
38	Black-headed gull	Larus ridibundus
39	Common gull	Larus canus
40	Herring gull	Larus argentatus
41	Great black-backed gull	Larus marinus
42	Stock pigeon	Columba oenas
43	Wood pigeon	Columba palumbus
44	Pygmy owl	Glaucidium passerinum
45	Long-eared owl	Asio otus
46	Short-eared owl	Asio flammeus
47	Ural owl	Strix uralensis
48	Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis
49	Black woodpecker	Dryocopus martius
50	Three-toed woodpecker	Picoides tridactylus
51	Middle spotted woodpecker	Leiopicus medius
52	White-backed woodpecker	Dendrocopos leucotos
53	Great spotted woodpecker	Dendrocopos major
54	Barn swallow	Hirundo rustica
55	Meadow pipit	Anthus pratensis
56	Robin	Erithacus rubecula
57	Black redstart	Phoenicurus ochruros
58	Mistle thrush	Turdus viscivorus
59	Fieldfare	Turdus pilaris
60	Blackbird	Turdus merula
61	Redwing	Turdus iliacus
62	Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
63	Goldcrest	Regulus regulus
64	Great tit	Parus major
65	Marsh tit	Poecile palustris
66	Willow tit	Poecile montanus
67	Crested tit	Lophophanes cristatus
68	Blue tit	Cyanistis caeruleus
69	White-headed long-tailed tit	Aegithalos caudatus caudatus
70	Bearded tit	Panarus biarmicus
71	Nuthatch	Sitta europaea
72	Eurasian treecreeper	Certhia familiaris
73	Great grey shrike	Lanius excubitor
74	Magpie	Pica pica
75	Jay	Garrulus glandarius
76	Jackdaw	Corvus monedula
77	Rook	Corvus frugilegus
78	Hooded crow	Corvus corone cornix
79	Raven	Corvus corax
80	Starling	Sturnus vulgaris
81	House sparrow	Passer domesticus
82	Tree sparrow	Passer montanus
83	Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
84	Greenfinch	Chloris chloris
85	Siskin	Spinus spinus
86	Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula
87	Crossbill	Loxia curvirostra
88	Reed bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
		



And also unidentified divers (Gavia spec.).

In terms of mammals, these are:

No	Species name	Scientific name
1	Raccoon dog (introduced)	Nyctereutes procyonoides
2	Red fox	Vulpes vulpes
3	Badger	Meles meles
4	Lynx	Lynx lynx
5	Wild boar	Sus scrofa
6	Roe deer	Capreolus capreolus
7	Elk	Alces alces
8	European hare	Lepus europaeus
9	Mountain hare	Lepus timidus
		



In terms of herpetofauna, these are:

No	Species name	Scientific name
1	Common frog	Rana temporaria