Alkkianvuori birdlife

In the winter the silence at Alkkianvuori is broken only by the hustle of small birds: The goldcrest, the treecreeper, and the tits are at it again.

The courtship rituals of owls, such as the ural owl and the pygmy owl, begin in February. The pygmy owl, the size of a bullfinch, is our smallest owl species, but it has plenty of character. It hunts voles and small birds, but can even catch a thrush, which is bigger than the owl. When there is plenty of food available, the pygmy owl stores its catch in its nest, which is usually in an old woodpecker’s nest.

In the spring begin the courtship rituals of the woodpeckers, and drumming can be heard everywhere. The black woodpecker makes its nest in old pines. The great spotted woodpecker favours deciduous trees, and the three-toed woodpecker prefers firs. The black woodpecker can be heard drumming kilometres away in good weather.

In summer, the bird world quiets down, as the cranes and swans move to remote mires and ponds to raise their young. In autumn, cranes gather in the sky and starts their journey towards the south in huge V-shaped formations.