Return to Suomenlinna

April, this year. After a long winter, days had started to get slightly warmer (not warm yet, but warmer) and longer, and some birds had returned from the south. It had been quite a long time I hadn’t been to my favourite place in Helsinki, so I decided to visit it again.

Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

I went directly from the office, and of course when I arrived in Kauppatori, the ferry had just departed. I had to wait 40 minutes, but I didn’t waste them: I loaded my telelens on my camera, and started to take pictures of gulls. They are very tame there, and at this time of day, when the merchants retreat, they often stand still on the piers or on the cars, providing stunning photo opportunities.

Black-headed gull

Common gull (Larus canus)

There are always interesting things to see in Kauppatori, like this old car from a previous visit, but soon the ferry arrived and I set sail to Suomenlinna.

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

What I like about this place, is that I always discover a new thing. This time, I found a shipyard in Susisaari, a dry dock they empty to work on ship hulls. While I was taking pictures of an old warehouse, a man came and talked to me in Finnish. The only word I understood was pöllö, owl. I asked him to repeat in English: Are you also going to take pictures of the owl?

An owl? What owl? Where? 😀

Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo)

It turned out that there was a huge Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) resting in the sun, atop the wall that was directly standing next to the shipyard… a lifer for me, yaay, and what a beast!

After a short discussion, I learnt that the bird was probably nesting in the area. I promised myself I would come back to see them again… but that’s the story for another day 😉

Bird inventory