Baltic Mammal Challenge, September 2015. |
Written by Jos | |
Autumn arrives, temperatures finally dropping a few degrees. A good start to the change of seasons with a mini trip to Estonia resulting in both Brown Bears and Ringed Seals and then an assortment in Lithuania including highlights such as Daubenton's and Brant's Bats already in their winter roosts, Noctule Bats elsewhere and, critical additions to the year list, a Brown Rat near my home and Fallow Deer on the coast.
1-3 September. Baltic Magic, Bears & Seals.
As first waves of migrant birds begin their southerly moves, to the north I went. The sub-plot of the trip was to try and find some small mammals still missing from my year list, perhaps a Birch Mouse or Pine Vole but with Brown Bears strolling the great forests, another encounter with those was much desired.
So it was, a epic mini trip of 1860 km in little over 48 hours, departing Vilnius for the evening drive up to the forests of Alutaguse, one Raccoon Dog and one Red Fox on route. Arrived long after midnight, active again by 5.00 a.m., slowly trawling the forest tracks and paths in search of Brown Bear. Five hours in vain, sightings limited to a couple of Roe Deers, a single Pine Marten and one Red Squirrel, plus a Hazel Grouse and assorted other forest birds.
Still, after a day of relative leisure, occasional Cranes and White Storks along the way, the evening offered considerable promise. Overlooking a small clearing surrounded by high pines, I had again decided to spend the night in the Natourest bear hide. Here I hoped, attracted by regular offerings of grain and other morsels, Brown Bears would appear during the evening.
So ended a memorable evening with the bears. Checked my small mammals traps nearby - all empty - then headed off to a hotel for breakfast, thereafter departing the area for a three-hour drive to the west coast. Part two of the trip ...Ringed Seals. In these northern waters of the Baltic, two species of seal can be found around the Estonian islands - the more abundant Grey Seals tend to predominate on the outer fringes of the islands, while the rarer Ringed Seal occurs mostly on isolated islands between the larger masses of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa Islands, the colonies only accessible by boat. In the last couple of years however, I have discovered an occasional Ringed Seal hauled out on the low-lying Rukkirahu Island, quite conveniently viewable from the Hiiumaa ferry.
Bats and Rats. 12-20 September. With pleasant sunshine prevailing, and temperatures sitting in the 20-15 C range, you'd have been forgiven for thinking it was still summer ...but in the underground lairs, the first of the winter bats were back in roosts.
Donning torches and venturing underground, a fair collection of bats were found in the Kaunas area, primarily Daubenton's Bats, but also a couple of Brant's Bats too. Hopes of a wayward Multicoloured Bat proved predictably over-optimistic ...in Lithuania, this rare species is most frequently encountered on the coast on autumn migration. I unfortunately know no site that offers a reasonable chance of success.
Rather easier to find were Noctule Bats - a whole bunch of them sending my bat detector into raptures as they hawked low over pools near my home on the 12th, perhaps ten individuals or more. Also one Daubenton's Bat here too.
All nice stuff, but my year list was sitting at a stubborn 47 species, the last new addition being a Common Pipistrelle way back in mid-August! Though I now required just three additional species to hit my target, I began to wonder where these would come from ...House Mouse and rats of any description seemed the most likely route forward and with this in mind, I began to scout city rubbish piles and neglected corners with the idea of doing a little live trapping. One Brown Rat must have heard of my plight however ...returning home late on the 17th, a Brown Rat was scampering along the track just before my house! Nice little critter, species number 48 for the year!
48. Brown Rat.
Nearing the Home Run, 25-27 September. A mere two species short of the Holy Grail, the grand 50th species in the Baltic States. I was starting to scrap the barrow however, not many easy ones left ...perhaps I could manage a Fallow Deer somewhere, maybe a House Mouse in Vilnius city, then what other possibilities? Scrutinizing the list, possibles included Black Rat (rare, maybe in Moletai), both Common and Pygmy Shrew (widespread, but I seem hopeless at catching or seeing these), Root Vole and Harvest Mouse (best chances are in the Nemunas Delta) and Muskrat (declining and localised). Well, needed to keep my act into order, so decided a mini trip tot he Nemunas Delta would be a good idea - Fallow Deer exists in Kintai forest, Muskrat in Kintai fish pools and live trapping at the edge of reedbeds in the delta had possibility to produce Root Vole or Harvest Mouse (or even one of the shrews) ...a potential four or more species! So, how did it go? After a late afternoon departure, I drove the required 300 km and got there just in time to set my five traps at strategic points near Rusne, flights of Cranes yodelled in the sunset, flocks of geese passed overhead, a couple of Roe Deer sauntered through meadows. Time would now tell where the rodents would play ball! Meanwhile, 20 km to the west, now truly dark, I began exploration of Kintai Forest, spotlight flashing either side. Not a hint of a Fallow Deer (or anything else) for over two hours, woodland and adjacent meadow equally drawing a blank. Began to think a dawn trip would be a better idea when suddenly two animals emerged onto the track directly in front of me ...10.20 p.m., mother and calf Fallow Deer, nice! Kipped in the car, then met local birder Boris Belchev at dawn for a Muskrat stake-out ...nobody told the Muskrats, they didn't make the rendezvous! Still, a couple of distant Beavers paddling down a drainage channel got me excited for a few moments, wrongly jumping to the conclusion that they were Muskrats ...but na, no vertical tails, very Beaver-esque heads, they were not the desired ones! Back at the Rusne traps, results were also far from stunning ...one empty trap, next empty too, next triggered but not occupied, the next empty. Just one left ...and indeed there crouched a vole in the compartment. Maybe a Root Vole? Nope, a Bank Vole instead, a widespread species that I have caught countless times this year. So, of the potential four species, one successfully seen, the year list advances to 49!
49. Fallow Deer.
For a full account of the Baltic Mammal Challenge, CLICK HERE to open a new page.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 28 March 2016 ) |
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