Latvia - Trip List

Slightly on the meagre side but numbers don't tell the whole story. I got to see a new country, one that harbours promise and I look forward to a spring visit to top it up. The habitat looks great, a weekend in May could be epic.

Latvia - Trip Report

I landed at about 1pm and started birding straight away, I was very excited to Latvia in daylight. I think the first bird was a Hooded Crow on the veritable trek from the terminal building to the car rental car park where I found my vehicle. As I drove out I added a Jay, a Buzzard, a few House Sparrow and a Herring Gull. I'd not been on the road long before I was forced to stop for an Egret that turned out to be a Great White, at this stage I did not realise that this would be pretty regular, ditto the White-tailed Eagle that flew over the car.

My first real stop was at Lake Kanieris where I walked out to an observation tower that overlooked the marsh. There were tons of people around, people jumping out of cars and rushing down the track, I couldn't figure it out. None of them looked especially like birders or nature lovers, my assumption was that there was some kind of treasure hunt or the like going on, bearing in mind this was only just outside Riga.

Lake Kanieris

I made it through the throngs to the tower and climbed to the top from where the view was fantastic. Setting up my scope, for I was in full birding mode, I started scanning the far reaches. There were surprisingly few birds in evidence, but what there was was pretty good. For instance the only Terns were Caspian Terns, and you can't really argue with that. White-tailed Eagles crossed the landscape, treating me to many more ducks than had initially been visible. I was surprised to see a group of Red-crested Pochard arrive from the north and settle with some regular Pochard, Coot and Goosander. A few Goldeneye were about, but by far the most numerous birds were Mute Swans - I nearly got to 100. Small birds were almost entirely absent, I got a Robin and a Chaffinch in the woods, but these were trumped by Bearded Tits in the reeds immediately below the tower. Perhaps this was because of the increasing wind? I hadn't been especially aware of it at the airport or whilst driving, but at the top of a tower attempting to use a scope it began to get a little tricky. Hmm, was this to be a bit of a problem?

Most of Latvia looks like this

In short the answer was yes, and as I progressed up the coast via various stops to Kolka the conditions deteriorated. At Berzciems a quick tootle out to the shoreline revealed hundreds of Mallard and Wigeon, smaller numbers of Teal, and then a handful of Pintail in with them. At Kolka itself it was raging, and the wondrously tall tower there was essentially unusable as it actually sticks out above the treeline. Birding conditions were far better at ground level, especially on the shoreline where the pine belt provided a level of protection. But of course the sea was being whipped up considerably, and keeping on the birds was very hard. There appeared to be hundreds of Common Scoter relatively close inshore, and then hundreds of Gulls hunkered down on the beach itself, doing pretty much the same as me. In the trees I found three species of Tit, Goldcrest, and a Raven flew over. As dusk fell I crossed my fingers that the weather would pass through overnight and I would have clear day the following morning. My accomodation was about 30 minutes away and as I drove there it just got worse and worse. Oh dear.

The beach at Cape Kolka

The less said about my accomodation the better, I should have paid more money to stay up at Kolka. But I survived it, managed to cook a meal even, and was out at first light. The weather was better than I expected, still very windy but far less wet. Wind I can cope with, but I loathe getting wet when birding, it just takes all the fun out of it. I drove back up to Kolka and started birding around the end of the village. Clouds of Fieldfare swirled aound in the choppy skies and a Black Redstart was on the roof of a barn. Crossbill flew between stands of pine, but some of them didn't sound quite right - Merlin picked up both Common Crossbill and Parrot Crossbill but I couldn't find any of them in the trees, the tops of which were taking a right battering. 

I walked up the beach towards the Cape seeing very little, but turning the corner and thus gaining some shelter from the pine belt birding was immediately better and I set up my scope and pointed it at the sea. There were Scoter at all ranges and as far as the eye could see. Had I continued down the beach I probably would have counted thousands but just in my limited view there were around 420 Common Scoter and 150 Velvet Scoter. A much tighter flock of Greater Scaup numbered well over 200. Long-tailed Ducks flew west to east and around the corner, as did several Red-throated Diver and a single Black-throated Diver, and amongst the Scoter a few Great Crested Grebes were to be found. The beach itself had a lot of Gulls on it, and a few Sandwich Tern resting up.

Heading back towards the village by the road I was stopped in my tracks by an unfamiliar call that I felt I knew. Willow Tit! When is the last time I saw a Willow Tit in the UK? Well the magic of eBird says that it was in 2010 at Fairburn Ings, and that all subsequent records have been in Northern Europe, most recently in Germany this summer and before that in Holland whilst twitching the Spectacled Eider (it's back btw). Looking up at these lovelies some caudatus Long-tailed Tits came into view, a group of around eight then crossing the road in front of me, and some more Crossbills flew over that again sounded a bit odd. Goldcrests were everywhere.

Tundra Bean Geese at Kolka

Birding around the chuches and nearby houses I found at least half a dozen Black Redstart, and was suprised to also find three Tundra Bean Geese near the campsite. Near where I had left the car I realised that some odd songs I had heard earlier but could not find the bird were in fact coming from a tape. This I established when the ringer emerged from the bushes and went over to his car to eat a pickle. I went over for a chat but his english was limited so instead we conversed in latin. It had apparently been a slow morning ringing-wise, a Chaffinch, but I did learn that both species of Crossbill were indeed present, and that an Amur Stonechat, a first for Latvia, had been present a few days ago but had now gone - we went to look for it together with no success. Whilst walking to where it had been he rang his son, Edgars, also a birder and a practioner of both latin and english, and passed me the phone. Thus I was able to get load of very useful gen on the area and what to try in the difficult conditions. For instance I learned that there were some Slavonian Grebes on the sea, and also that a Surf Scoter was present and that sometimes waders could be found on such and such section of beach. 

Back at the beach I had a more focussed scan of the sea and managed to pull out a Slavonian Grebe close-in in the swell, as well as a Bar-tailed Godwit, but the conditions were too difficult for the Scoter, and in any event it might have been a mile west of me as the Scoters extended at least that far. I also met a couple of Spanish birders who were enjoying the weather as much as I was. 

One of the churches at Kolka

I felt I was now done with Kolka and needed some new habitat to explore, so started making my way back south stopping along the way. I added Siskin and a few other bits, but the best impromptu stop was at Krievragciems where I managed to find a spot that had a small view of the lake which otherwise I couldn't find any way to get near. Within this tiny opening I added a pair of Whooper Swan, and behind me in the gardens were Marsh Tit, Goldfinch, Tree Sparrow, and best of all a Great Grey Shrike. Whilst failing to find a way to the water's edge I stopped for a Rough-legged Buzzard, and added Woodpigeon and Yellowhammer to my fledgling Latvia list.

As I continued south the weater got nicer to the extent that the sun came out, and with the wind having dropped it all became rather pleasant. Another stop at the sea added another Slav Grebe and loads more Scoter of both species. Given I was now about 100km from Kolka was this just a random flock or in fact are there Scoter wintering along the entire coastline?

I finished the day at the Kemeri Bog Trail to the west of Riga. I wished had arrived earlier as I not anticipated having to walk for a good 20 minutes through the forest to even arrive at the bog. Said forest did contain Great Spotted Woodpecker, more Willow Tit and also Crested Tit though. When I got to the start of the bog part a long wooden boardwalk stretched out ahead and I realised two things. One, I would run out of useable light long before I reached the end. Two, it would be much better in spring. So I'll come back another day.

The start of the Bog Trail

Anyway, with dusk approaching that was the end of birding and I made my way back to the airport and home. It had been harder work that I had thought and the trip count was only 71 - I had expected to do better, at least numerically, and my camera had barely seen the light of day. But it had still been a nice introduction to the country which seems very unspoiled. Outside of the city you feel as if you have gone back in time. Lots of very old wooden houses exude an air of self-sufficiency and permanence, and on the outskirts of villages crumbling soviet era apartment blocks stand a sombre monuments to the country's past, their year of construction often emblazoned on their now disintegrating walls. Whilst I didn't find many places to eat or get a much-needed coffee, Citro supermarkets of varying sizes were everywhere and it was easy to get by. As I said, a spring visit feels as if it would be very productive.

Latvia Weekend

Latvia, October 4th-5th 2025

I have been to Latvia before but only at night. Birds, zero, and I had been meaning to sort this out for a while. A trip planned for May fell through so when I found a cheap flight in October I decided to go for it even though I felt spring would have been rather better. Indeed it likely would have been as my visit coincided with some awkward weather which made birding very hard. But I made the best of it and still came away with a reasonable list of birds seen. Once you leave Riga you are very quickly into wonderful rural habitat, low intervention agriculture, if any, and a lot of lovely forest and wild coastline. With only a day and a half, and with migration in mind, I concentrated my efforts on Cape Kolka at the very tip of the westernmost part of the country. What could I see?

Logistics

• A weekend trip in early October.

• Flights: from Heathrow to Riga on British Airways on Saturday morning. This gets you in just after lunch so there was sufficient time to bird my way up the coast to Cape Kolka. On Sunday the flight home left at 9pm so I had the whole day.

• Car Hire: A semi decent car from Avis did not cost a great deal on top of the flight. I think all in it was about £200 for the flight + car.

• Driving: Simple and straightforward, although some roads are a bit knackered and once you get off the beaten track they are largely unpaved.

• Weather: A right pain in the backside! A southerly gale complete with copious rain made birding virtually impossible in all but the most sheltered spots for a large part of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, whilst also killing migration as birds presumably waited in Estonia instead of crossing the Gulf of Riga.

• Accommodation: An absurdly rustic and bizarre place in Dundaga, about half an hour south of Kolka . I would have stayed at the Cape but by the time I had decided where I would be going there was nowhere left that was reasonably priced. It was awkwardly cash only (I didn't have any) and for various reasons is hard to recommend! Rather than a kitchen it had a simple camp stove and electrics that would make any qualified person in the UK shudder. It made me, wholly unqualified, very nervous, but I had to deal with it as I could not find anywhere to eat out. Luckily the village had a good supermarket otherwise I would have been really stuck.

• Food: There seem to be small supermarkets everywhere, but restaurants in the countryside are few and far between.

• Optics: Scope and tripod for looking out to sea at Cape Kolka. I did take my camera but I barely used it due to the conditions.
• Literature: eBird of course.

Itinerary

Saturday: A tolerably early flight from London arrived early afternoon after which I birded north towards Kolka. Stops made at Lake Kanieris and Mesrags before getting to Kolka at about 6pm. Overnight at Dundaga which is about 30 minutes from Kolka.
Sunday: Early start to get back to Kolka at first light, but the seawatch and birding in general was rather trying in the blustery conditions. I came away by early afternoon and birded my way back to Riga along the coast.

Song Thrushes

I have no idea if I have ever been aware of this before - probably - but each autumn there seems to be a period when Song Thrushes dramatically increase in number before they seem to melt away again. In late winter I become aware of their presence again as they start to sing at dusk and in the early mornings, but for large parts of the year there just aren't any. Or at least not that I see.

From Scilly over 16 years ago!

One morning this week I counted 21 from the Vizmig point, including two flocks of six. Flocks! Normally I see single birds, so I had first assumed they had to be Redwing, but when one or two of the group called I worked it out. I still couldn't quite believe I had seen over 20 before I headed off for work though - amazing. Later on Bob reported that his overnight nocmig recording had 64 Song Thrush calls on it which is extraordinary. 

This has been the pattern for most of the week, albeit not the numbers of Tuesday. I missed all the Ring Ouzels, a minumum of six on the Flats on Monday, but on Wednesday I finally added Fieldfare for the year after a lacklustre approach earlier in the year. They're now around in small numbers, or at least moving through, and there are many more Redwings arriving.

I like this time of year. It's not about rarities, it's just about enjoying the spectacle of migration. I counted over 170 Jackdaw today, and Finches are moving in larger numbers now, mostly Chaffinch or that annoyingly silent Finch sp., but also smaller numbers of Redpoll, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet. I've missed a few Brambling too, and a Short-eared Owl, but my early start this morning was repaid by a tootling Woodlark over the Flats. Lovely, and all right on my doorstep.

And just like that....

And just like that I stopped writing. I always find it strange how it happens, as if there is magic switch that has been flipped. One I don't have access to. I'm fine, pootling along, working a lot, seeing very few birds. Two exciting things happened since I last stopped by here. 

One, I went to Latvia. You may or may not remember a post from last year about Latvia and how I'd seen no birds there and wanted to put that right. In that post I mentioned I was going to Latvia in April. I didn't, it got cancelled. The airline mucked about with flight times so much that I think it ended up being a four hour trip. So instead I went last weekend. The weather was a bit pants, other than one brief period of sunshire just after I arrived on Saturday afternoon it then turned excessively windy and quite wet which is not ideal for birding. But I still managed to see a fair bit in my quick visit, and have got a bit of a feel for it. A write up will follow in due course, I don't have the capacity just now.

Two, I took a day off work to go and taste wine. I would normally never take time off to go drinking, but this was too good to miss. My name was drawn out of hat to attend The Wine Society's autumn press tasting. As the name suggests this is where their new list for the second half of the year is presented to wine journalists, critics, writers, bloggers, influencers and.....me. I attended not in any of these capacities but as a lucky member of TWS (as it is known). I got to chat to wine buyers and members of the organisation, something that in retrospect I wish I'd done more of, and generally just immerse myself in a side of the wine and spirits business that I would never normally see. And, if I so chose, to taste through 120 different wines. I saw this a challenge.

Spot the famous wine journo...

I taste wine all the time, as in I drink it all the time. I go to wine-themed dinners, I go to small tasting events based around a grape variety or a country, or even a vintage. I have been known to travel to wine regions and visit producers. But this was the first professional tasting I'd been to and I had no idea what to expect. One thing I did know was that I wanted to taste as many as possible, all of them if I could. To see if I could manage it, to see if this is something I enjoyed, to try and see things from a different point of view to how I normally interact with wine.

It does not take a genius to work out that even a tiny sip of 120 wines will get you absolutely sozzled. I spat everything out and walked out stone cold sober - that's what the professionals will do and that's what I did too - an iron will is needed. An iron palate is also needed, it is amazing what swilling so much wine around your mouth does to your taste buds. It destroys them is what it does, or in my case it made me extraordinarily sensitive to sweetness, such that by the end even dry red wines felt ridiculously sweet. But I did manage to taste everything, and I also managed to write notes on every single one that actually made sense the next day when I started typing them up. I won't subject you to them, it ended up being a 5000 word piece, the length of a mini dissertation. 

Overall a very educational day indeed, I have no ideas how the pros do it, it was exhausting. A marathon - four hours means two minutes per wine. Think about that the next time you read something from Jancis in the FT!

Ticking over

Blogging has faded, I have little to say so I say nothing. We have been here before, this is just the way it goes. There is just about enough for a couple of paragraphs, or I hope so anyway, let's see how it goes. What can I muster?

First up is a day trip I did to Germany a while back. I flew to Hannover after work and holed up in a hotel near the Haupt Bahnhof. Early the following morning I got a train to a town to the west of the city called Wunstorf, and from there caught a one-a-day bus further east to the village of Winzlar. From there I walked to the Steinhuder Meer, a large lake that from my research had appeared very birdy. Indeed it was, and by the time I had to catch the one-a-day-in-the-other-direction bus back I had seen over 80 species including Black Woodpecker, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Common Crane. It was excellent, even though in the half light I had taken the wrong track which had subsequently run out at just the stage where retracing my footsteps would have been really annoying. I ploughed on, through ditch and over fence, eventually regaining the right route but not before getting totally soaked in sodden vegetation. Take my socks off and wring them out soaked. It was like Northumberland all over again and made the rest of the morning quite trying, with shoes that weighed the same as bricks and a distinct squelch every time I took a step.

Despite this initial setback I had a lovely morning in full-on birding mode. The catalyst for the trip was an irritatingly poor German eBird list that I felt that I needed to rectify. I have fallen out of the habit of these European day trips and had forgotten how fun - and exhausting - they are. In the afternoon I had a late lunch and wandered around the old town for a bit before flying home. All very pleasant and relaxing, though 34,000 steps took their toll.

Closer to home I've seen a Pied Flycatcher and Med Gull on Wanstead Flats, and in Fife I ticked Glossy Ibis for Scotland. In the course of trying to find a Garganey that same evening I got ticked. I did not find it until the following morning in the shower, and half asleep and wondering what the funny little blob on my stomach was managed to break it off leaving the head embedded - it only came out today, just over a week later. Nice. It is now red and inflamed but that'll just be a local infection rather than anything nastier. Still annoying though, and wasn't on my radar for Fife at all. Now I know. Other than that it was a good weekend with plenty of migrants including Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Spotted Redshank, the Garganey, and another good seawatch at Pettycur that was notable for passerines rather than monster seabirds - a big movement of Swallows, Meadow Pipit, Siskin and Redpoll. These four species were everywhere I went, and Redpoll was a tick for Letham Pools, and was Kingfisher - 103. Won't be long before they're back in Wanstead I thought, and sure enough Bob had some Siskin earlier this week, and this morning I did some vizmig out on the Flats and saw 195 Swallow and 177 Meadow Pipit. Quite a decent count for round here, but I still feel that me and autumn proper have yet to get acquainted. A couple more weeks remain to put that right.

Twenty years Part II

Well well. Am I on a roll or what? For reasons I don't fully understand (although I suspect laziness) I've been spending more time skywatching from the balcony recently. Of course what I should have been doing is getting my arse in gear super early and getting out onto Wanstead Flats at first light but I am finding I can't quite get myself over the line. Instead I've been waking up at around 6am, having a bit of a potter, making a coffee, and then sauntering over to the battlements for a squiz at the sky. All nice and relaxed.

This takes me right back to what I found to be one of the most enjoyable features of lockdown, and which somehow I've dropped along the way. Skywatching. Back then I added 15 new species in two years to my at-that-time 18 year old garden list, but until earlier this year I hadn't added a single new species since May 2021. That changed with the singing Nightingale in April of this year, and last month I reached my 100th species with Great White Egret, as recounted here. Mission accomplished, and part of me thought that was that. Not so!

With news from the less feckless out giving it their all on Wanstead Flats that there was a Nuthatch in Long Wood, a highly unusual occurence, I wondered out loud whether there could be a movement happening and might I finally get one on my garden list? About 15 minutes later that is exactly what happened. As usual the Parakeets were drowning most other things out, but from over towards the southern end of Bush Wood I thought I heard a faint call. Immediately I was on maximum alert, every last percent of my hearing focussed on that one horizon, hands cupped behind my ears. Had I imagined it? I had not! It called again several times, the double chuitt one. GET IN! 

Twenty years. Nearly twenty-one. Nuthatch had been high on my list of possibilities, but I had assumed it would be a foraging bird moving through the gardens in winter. Given James' news from the Flats perhaps this is post-breeding dispersal? Equally the birds are resident there and in many ways I am surprised never to have heard one in all of my many skywatching sessions. Either way it is now on the list. I wonder what will be next?

Nuthatch - probably took this over ten years ago