Meals: During the trip we offer delicious picnic lunches and coffee, tea or hot chocolate. We walk a few kilometers on the slopes of Valtavaara, so the hike requires reasonably good physical condition. Beginners have the opportunity to develop their own bird identification skills, and more experienced ones are sought to find special species in the area, such as Red-flanked Bluetail, Three-toed Woodpecker, Hazel Grouse or Pygmy Owl. Target group: The trip is designed for all people interested in birds. I am glowing with joy from all the warmth from everyone! Thanks one and all for making this journey a warm fuzzy experience.Time: Departure on from Kuusamo from 6 am, May-July.ĭuration: About 6 hours, between at 6-12 am. One of the most amazing side benefits of this surprising find was that I have met a never ending stream of amazingly nice people. She is a beautiful bird, and I hope for a few more days to spend with her. Not in the sunshine, but a bit more open. This last shot was the one shot I was waiting for. She perched on a fence and on a brush pile. It took me two days to finally get a shot of her away from the Forsythia. One of my favorite shots was an out of focus shot of her flying away. This next photo is of her diving to the ground after an insect. She foraged from there a lot (I call her she, but it may as well be a juvenile of either sex). The Bluetail had a favorite perch under my forsythia. I finally had a chance to get some shots of my own, but she pretty much stuck to the dark shady areas, so my pictures are fairly grainy. It was also a beautiful sunny day, which helped. This worked remarkably well since the Bluetail was out foraging all afternoon. The rule was that you had to leave once you got a good view to make room for those that had not seen it. I had 40 to 50 birders show up on Tuesday, and every single one of them got a good view of the bird. This kept the gawkers from trying to look over my back fence. I put out a call on Tweeters that I had a viewing area set up for all to enjoy. I put up a rope to keep encroachment at bay, and it worked very well. This area is a safe distance from my back fence, and has a very clear view of the Bluetail's favorite foraging areas. I then figured out a solution to this problem: I set up a viewing area in my side yard. Within one hour, the Bluetail returned and foraged in my yard for the rest of the afternoon. I had to ask my neighbor to deny access to her back yard. This was where the Bluetail hangs out, but was frightened off. The main problem was that folks were trying to get a view into my back yard, so they entered my neighbor's yard (with permission) and flocked to the back fence. The end result was that the Bluetail was chased out of my yard, and was not seen for the next two days. They were covering every spot they could get access to. By Friday, my neighborhood was overrun with birders. By late afternoon that day, I was well aware of the uniqueness of the find. I had not yet seen the tail, as it was dark and rainy when I first spotted her. I honestly thought it it was some juvenile form of a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Here is the yucky photo that got the birding world in an uproar (shot through my kitchen window from 40 yards away): For only the 3rd time in history, this bird has been spotted in Washington State. I laughed and decided to post my querie on the Tweeters Listserve for a "real" answer. There were many random guesses, but one gal thought it was a Red-flanked Bluetail. So, I posted a picture on a birding site on Facebook. I spotted a bird in my back yard that I did not recognize. I have had the surprise of a lifetime this week.
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