Last of migratory bird species arrives in Finland

...while the first ones are already leaving

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According to BirdLife Finland, all varieties of the migratory birds that regularly nest in Finland have now arrived from the south. Even the most sluggish one of the feathered travellers, the Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis), has already been spotted in six different locations.
      The Arctic Warbler is traditionally the last migrating bird species to arrive in Finland, and its nesting time is only just beginning.
      The same could be said for the human population, who are now gearing up for their own migration to the country cottage, which begins en masse traditionally from the Midsummer weekend, as Finland closes down in July.
     
However, for some birds it's all over folks, for another year, "downhill all the way to Christmas", etc, etc.
      Some hastier varieties are already leaving the country for their winter habitat.
      Hard to believe perhaps, but the female Spotted Redshanks (Tringa erythropus) and Western Curlews (Numenius arquata) are right now heading back to the south for next winter, leaving the males behind to tend the nestlings.
      These birds are not only hasty, but the females seem to have got a pretty good handle on the arrangement of domestic chores and childcare duties. In Finland at least, it used to be that the men stayed in town "working" in June while their wives and children were packed off to the cottage for the summer.


Links:
  Birdlife Finland

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