The Balkans - September 2024 - Day 3 - Montenegro - Croatia and home, via Finland....

Our AirBnB on the coast was perfectly situated for Cadmos Marsh and we arrived at 7am to thick mist. We had seen this atmospheric effect from the Rock Partridge view point a few days earlier, and now we were in it! It would likely be driveable but we left the car near a farm on the southern side and walked in, turning left along a wooded ditch. It was teeming with birds, would that we had more time available as looking at the map later we never even got to the marsh itself as we spent so long enjoying the ditch!

Spotted Flycatchers were everywhere, and we also found Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, a Grey Wagtail, and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. I didn't manage a photo - in fact photographically speaking the trip was a disaster, hopeless from start to finish for anything with feathers. The landscapes on the other hand were sublime. Of note however was the constant stream of Yellow Wagtails overhead. We soon discovered where they were coming from. Rounding the ditch and crossing it we came across an expanse of grassy meadow with a few bushes - it was carpeted with Wagtails. From close to us to the far distance. Every now and again a small number would get up and continue their journey south, but were presumably then replaced by others dropping in as we had heard loads a couple of days earlier just a few miles up the road. We also heard Quail again here which struck us as very late. Indeed we were contacted by the eBird reviewer when we got home who had the same view, and said that it could have been a hunter's lure which had not occured to us. We will never know.

The Wagtail field

It was soon time to retrace our steps and get to the airport. It had been a fun expedition. I would happily go back in the spring, this particular site as well as the area just over the Bosnian border would be excellent.

The flight to Helsinki took three hours - quite disappointing really as Helsinki is still over three hours from London! But it was either that or lose two days of holiday. I suppose we could have cancelled but where is the fun in that. I put all my optics in my small bag and gave the bigger one to Finnair all the way through to London so that I wouldn't have to bother with it during the stopover. We had five hours to play with, not quite enough in my view to get all the way into Helsinki and poke around Viikki Bay which was a shame. Instead we took a train from the airport a few stops west to Vantaankoski which seemed to be the best option to get us at least close to some woodland and fields, and spent around an hour and a half birding between two of the stations. This was actually better than I expected, with lots of Fieldfare, Siskin, Goldcrest, lots of Starling, and a surprise and cold-looking Wheatear. Time was not on our side though, and in any event the Finnair lounge at Helsinki is excellent and I wanted to have a late lunch before we flew, so after exhausting the meagre birding possibilities here - 18 species - we got on the next passing train and went back. It was one those annoying days which you essentially have to chalk up as rather a waste of time, but Finland was at least a new country for Mick and to get there is normally very expensive whereas for us it had been free, kind-of.

So, a fun long weekend away with two new countries, 15 new birds towards my world year listing effort, and a brand new bird with Rock Partridge. Montenegro in particular is spectacular, a return is definitely on the cards.