By Luke Massey (UK) / 9-21 March 2014
Estonia
is full of surprises, when I visited this winter I expected freezing
temperatures and a snow covered landscape. What I was greeted with was a
spring like scene; early migrants such as common cranes had already
arrived, black grouse were already lekking in incredible numbers and
bears were out of hibernation.
My first week was a
tropical 10C with no snow, animals were hard to track down and we
struggled to get great views of much but we knew that is what nature is
all about, an ongoing treasure hunt. We finally got lucky with great
views of black woodpecker and pygmy owl, elk began to show themselves
throughout the forests.
Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) / Luke Massey
Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium passerinum) / Luke Massey
An evenings search for the rare
and hard to find European flying squirrel struck gold, with not one but
two individuals flying through the forest, landing feet above our heads.
Scuttling up trees and leaping, gliding effortlessly from tree to tree.
Then
the snow came, the temperature plummeted and Estonia was blanketed in
snow. Animals and birds went into hiding, evading predators and
conserving energy. We continued our search and came across black grouse
lekking in the middle of a forest track whilst roe deer slinked through
the forest, avoiding any predators tracking them through the snow. An
elk wasn't so lucky as we found its half eaten body, the victim of a
hungry wolf pack.
Black Grouses (Tetrao tetrix) / Luke Massey
Early nesting Ural owls left their
nest as dusk fell, gliding silently through the forest and perching in
front of us. The ploughed fields gave an important food source to the
enormous flocks of migrating snow bunting and skylarks.
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) / Luke Massey
Further
west we came across stubble fields filled with cranes, finches, geese
and swans all feeding on the left over grains before moving further
north once the weather abated.
Common Cranes (Grus grus) / Luke Massey
Estonia delivered again,
despite interesting weather conditions and elusive creatures. The birds
and mammals we saw were amazing. Nature spectacles before us, just a
short flight from the UK.
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