During the ten days I stayed at Cape Põõsaspea, I had many exciting observations; I learned many new things about bird migration and spent a great time with experienced and inspiring birdwatchers. The three highlights of the ten days at Põõsaspea were:

Firstly, a few days into my stay at Põõsaspea, during a slow afternoon migration, I spotted an odd-looking scoter among 80 other Common Scoters. As it showed a lot of yellow on its bill, my thoughts went straight to Black Scoter (Melanitta americana). I have seen a Common Scoter with an abnormally yellow bill, but this bird had a round yellow part bulging from the bill, which was different from anything I had ever seen. I reached for my camera and took some photos. There weren’t any other birdwatchers around, so I sent the picture to other, more experienced birders to ask for their thoughts. I was soon congratulated on a great find.

Secondly, Common Scoters were a bit late this year. Well, lucky me! On the 4th of August, I saw almost 40 000 migrating Common Scoters in just 4 hours. Counting the number of birds in flocks of up to 1000 individuals posed a challenge but the birds were nice enough not to come all simultaneously but spread almost evenly throughout the evening, leaving enough time for each flock.

Thirdly, while checking out the local birds (gulls, terns, etc.), we often found colour-ringed individuals, and when we had time, we read the codes. We found at least five different Caspian terns ringed in Poland (yellow flags; we haven’t received the ringing data yet). What made it even more interesting was that all the ringed birds were juveniles. When did they fly to Estonia, and is it a common route for them to take? I also read a Finnish Herring gull and a Polish Common gull. It’s surprisingly easy to spot and read bird rings at Põõsaspea.

Can’t wait to be back at Põõsaspea and see more of that amazing bird migration!

Art Villem

Black Scoter with Common Scoters @Art Villem Adojaan Black Scoter @Art Villem Adojaan Polish Sandwich Tern @Art Villem Adojaan