You can find diverse excursion destinations even in Tallinn, but all of Estonia’s birding sites are located less than 300 kilometers from the capital.
The stork is a typical bird species for the Estonian countryside. About 5,000 pairs of roof storks nest on roofs, chimneys and on the ends of columns every year.
The species is also found in Finland, but successful breedings have only been found once. Estonia’s birdlife includes several other species that are relatively common or typical for the region, but rare in Finland.
These include, for example, the oak woodpecker, cape tit, reef tern, black alder bird, open settee and little bald eagle, Timo Nuoranen enumerates. Nuoranen is a bird watcher, tour guide and non-fiction writer living in Estonia.
According to him, the ice age in Estonia has not polished the bedrock like in Finland, and partly for this reason the soil is calcareous and the trees and vegetation are different compared to Finland. The species that thrive in noble tree forests are significantly more abundant in Estonia than in Finland.
– The oak tree is a good example: the species practically does not occur at all in Finland, but here it is a familiar species that has become common even in the Tallinn region.
Nuoranen knows many reasons why Finnish bird watchers like to go on bird trips in Estonia.
– The number of birds is greater than in Finland, both in resting and migrating birds. And when the quantities are large, there is also quality. There are also more rarities than, for example, in Southern Finland.
Another key reason is peace. While at the most popular birding spots in Southern Finland you can at worst have to queue for a place in the bird tower, in Estonia you can do it in peace.
The number of members of the umbrella organizations is indicative: Birdlife Finland has more than 15,000 members, while Birdlife Estonia only has around 550.
– There are quite a lot of empty beaches here, where you can’t see a single surfer, Nuoranen says.
Corona stopped the camping trip
During the Corona period, birding from Finland to Estonia has been practically frozen, but according to Nuoranen, signs of a gradual recovery can be seen at the latest. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of hikers, because many hike on their own.
One long-term traveler to Estonia is a Helsinki birdwatcher Pekka Komi, who last visited the Pärnu region in mid-August. The best moments recorded on the camera’s memory card were offered by, among others, a black stork, a little bald eagle and a red-footed hawk.
In Estonia, Komi is interested in the country’s difference compared to Finland.
– The birdlife is different from ours in many ways, and the biotope is also different. Estonia’s abundance of hardwood trees was overwhelming until some time ago, until they started cutting forests there, just like here.
Estonia still has forests, marshes and sandy beaches in a completely different way than in Finland. In addition, the migration routes of many birds wintering in Russia pass over Estonia, so there is plenty to see during migration.
Everything is close in Estonia
Paljassaare is a rickety industrial area located in North-West Tallinn, in the northern part of which there is a moderately large and green nature reserve with bird towers and tall trees.
Half a dozen egrets poke in the middle of the reedy sea bay, and a brown marsh hawk circles over the reeds.
According to Timo Nuoranen, Paljassaare and Rocca al mare, found at the bottom of the nearby Koplinlahti, are the best birding spots in the Tallinn region.
More diverse destinations can be found with little effort, for example, in western and southern Estonia. Estonia is a small country: it is less than 300 kilometers from Tallinn to anywhere by road.
– Matsalu National Park is a familiar and versatile excursion destination for many Finns. My favorites are Saarenmaa, it’s a nice and easily accessible area with many kinds of beaches, Nuoranen says.
Saaremaa is also connected to one of Nuoranen’s most memorable birding trips in Estonia. A little over a year ago at the end of May, Nuoranen was on a hike with his friend at Sõrve bird station in Saaremaa.
During the evening, they saw a few favorite people, but after a good night’s sleep, quite a surprise awaited them on the beach.
– During the night, about 10,000 ospreys had landed in that bay. In the morning when we went to it, that sound was just a chirping sound. During that day, almost all of them migrated from it right over our heads.
Although the distance between Tallinn and Helsinki is only about 85 kilometers, the differences related to the year cycle stretch the birding opportunities in Estonia’s favor. In Finland, the beaches and bird towers start to empty of bird watchers already in October, which is still a good time for excursions in Estonia.
– Likewise in spring: already at the end of February, the first larks come here, and in March it’s in full swing, Nuoranen says.
You can discuss the topic until Sunday, September 4 at 11 p.m.