With Lithuania still sub-zero, a quick trip across the Baltic to Sweden was a most pleasing way to begin the month. With a Black-throated Thrush up for grabs, along with an Eagle Owl and Hawk Owl, it really had the makings of an excellent couple of days. As the month progressed, Labanoras again dealt the trump cards - as well as the return of the Three-toed Woodpecker and the appearance of a second Grey-headed Woodpecker, a male White-backed Woodpecker arrived, a fantastic development, joining the female just in time for the breeding season.

1-2 March. Pan-Baltic Twitching!

Second trip of the year to Sweden, a weekend break darting around the entire southern half of the country, good birds galore. With a lingering female Black-throated Thrush frequenting a garden and a bevy of owls at various sites, these were set to be my main goals, though added extras such as Iceland Gull and Arctic Redpoll all added to the potential for an action-packed couple of days. With a non-birder in tow, fortunately very enthusiastic, the weekend did live up to expectations.

Day One.

Site One: Vallentuna.

After an arrival in Sweden late the previous evening, the rising sun saw us in Vallentuna, a leafy suburb some tens of kilometres north of Stockholm. Clambered out of the car into a crisp morning chill, peered into an adjacent hedge for the first birds of the day - barely had time to utter 'Coo blimey, it's cold' and there we were, watching the Black-throated Thrush!!! What an obliging bird, hopping about on the snow, visiting a fruit-laden bird-table, this vagrant could not have given closer views, often approaching to within a couple of metres. Not sure the local Blackbirds and Fieldfare were so appreciative, frequently being driven off by this visiting superstar.

Spent almost two hours there, got a few photographs, also admired the neighbouring Tree Sparrows and then left quite content, next stop about 60 km further north.

Site Two: Uppsala.

A car park between two main streets, a stone's throw from the central train station, hardly the stuff of classic birding localities! Certainly not a classic locality to find a Ural Owl, but that's what we were in search of - a single individual had taken to roosting in this locality over the previous weeks, preferring tall trees along the edge of the railway lines.

An hour of trudging the streets, not a peep of an owl, off my friend went to find a cafe. Should have gone with him - best I could do was a plastic owl in a garden!!! I did however find a very nice flock of 35 Waxwings, feeding right alongside the railway.

The Best of the Rest: Holm, Langtora Loten and Backlosa.

Oops, the search for owls was beginning to falter! Crunched around in the snow for an hour or so at Holm, blue skies, scenic frozen lake, quaint church ...but no sign of a Hawk Owl that had been residing in the area. Still no big worries,  I had hopes for another the next day.

Twenty minutes west, a mere detour of a few kilometres took us to Langtora Loten, agricultural fields snow-covered and barren of birds. A few minutes searching however and soon we spotted a likely-looking bird haven, a grain field left fallow, seed heads dangling. Clouds of birds, most impressive - hundreds of corvids, plus upward of 300 Yellowhammers and a few Greenfinches. Very nice they were, but nicer still in a blaze of blacks and whites, a flock of perhaps 120 Snow Buntings, a treat indeed, beautifully lit by the snows beneath. Then, just as it should, it started to snow, rather heavily! Onward we travelled.

Back near Uppsala, we stumbled upon a surprise - an action-packed feeding station at Backlosa. A collection of feeders offering all and sundry, crammed full of birds - two dozen bright chunky Bullfinches on sunflowers, Marsh and Long-tailed Tits on fat balls, four Waxwings and a Fieldfare chomping apples stuck on stalks. Birds everywhere, stood and gawped a while - Great Tits and Blue Tits flitting about, Tree Sparrows hopping on the snow, one Crested Tit calling nearby. Then arrived a flock of Mealy Redpolls - careful scans were in order, a special bird should lurk in their midst. And so it did, a female Arctic Redpoll soon appeared, very nice.

By now, with dusk approaching and the day turning right chilly, there remained just one place left to go - nearby river meadows that were supposedly attracting Short-eared and Long-eared Owls at dusk. Near froze there, naturally saw neither of the owls, merely two Red Foxes and a Brown Hare.

Day one over. A long night drive to Goteburg followed, slept in the car at Fiskhamnen, a dock on the riverfront.

Day Two.

Site One: Goteburg.

Woke at dawn, rather cold. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls making a din all around. Walked up the dock, checking all the gulls. Plenty of Cormorants and Goosanders, a few Goldeneyes, no sign of a long-staying Iceland Gull.

Popped over to Ullevi, the city's main sports stadium. All locked and closed, but with a telescope managed very distant views of a most unlikely resident - an Eagle Owl roosting under the roof! Most strange, a pair of these super birds had arrived some weeks earlier, become famous on T.V. and had now been rewarded with a nestbox! City centre Eagle Owls nesting under the spotlights, enjoying a grandstand over a packed stadium at league football matches, how simply peculiar!

Back at Fiskhamnen, five Eiders floated past. Adjacent, on a decaying jetty, amongst congregating gulls, the Iceland Gull had appeared, success! Enjoyed that a while, a smart first-winter bird, then pondered the next move ...eastward I fancied.

Site Two: Ulricehamn.

Six weeks earlier to the day, I had been standing at the very same spot watching a Hawk Owl. Now I was back ...jumped out of the car, looked up and there it was, the same bird sitting in almost the same place! Excellent, a top bird and always worthy of second helpings. Then it flew, alighting on a closer spruce, glaring around for some time before dropping down to a neighbouring tree even closer to us ...excellent views, a right smart bird and in a tree directly above us. A Rough-legged Buzzard also cruised overhead.

Then we began our drive back towards Stockholm, stopping for a couple of hours near Ryfors. One Dipper on the stream, bits and bobs in the forest.

Darkness fell, back to the airport we went. Early next morning, one flight later and it was back to the Baltics, homeward bound.

7-13 March. Phenomenal Finale to Winter.

With temperatures edging above freezing and the snow beginning to drip, another day at my Labanoras feeding station beckoned.  By any standard, the winter had been pretty amazing, the main stars being Three-toed Woodpecker and White-backed Woodpecker, but with the approach of spring, I was expecting the feeders to perhaps begin to quieten down ...nope, they were set to end the winter in spectacular fashion!

Hinting at a change of seasons, the forest echoed to a most impressive performance - a cacophony of drumming and piping woodpeckers, species galore. Adding to the din, two vocal Black Woodpeckers flopped across to land in trees just beyond the feeders, thereafter calling near non-stop. With all so engaged in hammering out their territories, it was little surprise to find activity at the feeders a tad subdued - in the space of a few hours, only three different Great Spotted Woodpeckers and just four Middle Spotted Woodpecker. 

First surprise of the day was a new Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - a young bird, but the first male at the feeders for some months. Admiring him, I wondered if my superstar would appear, the female White-backed Woodpecker. I didn't have long to wait - plonking down at the front feeder, her traditional favourite, she was now into her third month at the site, very pleasing. 'Wouldn't it be nice if a male showed up', thought I whimsically, 'I really would fancy a pair of these amazing birds breeding'.

Twenty minutes later, on a short stroll across the still frozen lake, I stared up in amazement - I was watching a male White-backed Woodpecker hammering away on an old oak!!! Not 50 metres from the female, this really was quite incredible - after a single male two winters back and this long-staying female, it would seem I now have a pair just in time for the breeding season, superb. Almost as amazing was the scene beneath my feet - tracks of Elk everywhere, a group of at least seven had clearly taken a liking to my little patch of forest, their paths criss-crossed the depths of the woodland, wandered into the meadows beyond and centred on 'lie-ups' on the denser thickets on the wooded islands in the frozen swamp. Often see occasional signs of Elk, but never a resident herd such as this. Not quite so big, a Roe Deer also strolled past, peering at me for a while.

Ending a very good day, 20 Waxwings sat on wires just beyond my land!

Next day, you could have been fooled for believing spring was just around the corner - freezing rain settled atop the snow, turning the entire country into a giant ice-rink! I slithered all the way to Baltoji Voke to see if the winter's grip was beginning to lessen. Hmm, just about -  in a rather grey gloom, on the few patches of water not encrusted by ice, a half dozen Whooper Swans bugled their arrival, their only companions a ragtag brigate of about 80 Mallards and 20 or so Goosanders, hardly a mass spring arrival! Next pool over, two Smew were pleasing as were, in nearby meadows, my first incoming passerines - two Mistle Thrushes. By the 11th, the trickle continued to build - all at Baltoji Voke, another Smew, the first Starlings, Skylarks streaming over, two Lapwings ...the winter was finally reaching its end!

13-15 March. Yippee, Spring is Here!

Yippee, it's spring! After the first butterfly of the year - a Small Tortoiseshell - on the 13th, the following day saw the first big bird movements of the year.

Snow on the ground and minus five at night, but the floodgates had opened, early migrants were pouring in. To celebrate, I ventured west to the Nemunas Delta, traditional resting grounds of ducks, geese and much more. And fantastic it was, snow melt covering the meadows, all now echoing to the melodies of thousands of geese and swans. Arriving early to a glorious sunny morning, Skylarks already abuzz in the sky, it was immediately clear a major arrival had occurred - Whooper Swans as far as the eye could see, Mute Swans amongst them, dabbling ducks by the hundred and skeins of geese non-stop overhead. In the meadows, Lapwings and Starlings strutted and chased, Common and Black-headed Gulls paddled the shallow waters.

For an birder in Eastern Europe, starved by a long cold winter, it is a pleasure indeed to see the return of these flocks. I settled down to enjoy my morning - straddling three meadows, no less than 1035 Whooper Swans, 4570 Mallards and 1840 Wigeon, plus an impressive 1009 Pintails and, on the adjacent river, bobbing about amongst lingering icebergs, 560 Goldeneye. All  was set for a good day's birding - two Cranes did a stately walk, nine Smew sat upon some ice, four White-tailed Eagles soared in the skies above, all very nice.

Next up, the geese. At the end of a very waterlogged road, just as it petered out into floods, I happened upon a massive flock. Four species in all, the totals were pleasing for so early in the season - approximately 8600 White-fronted Geese, 440 Greylags and 350 Bean Geese, both races, plus in their midst six smart Barnacle Geese. All numbers approximate, passing White-tailed Eagles not most condusive to exact counts! A handful of kilometres away, but rather more by road, lie the Minge meadows, usual haunt of even greater numbers of geese. Off I went in hopeful expectation. Hmmph, not a single bird there - still frozen and snow-covered! Though only mid-afternoon, I still had some hours to while away, I hoped for one more special bird as the night closed in.

And so the clocked ticked away, got myself to the excellent Zalgiras flood forest, had a little walk, saw Black Woodpecker, then Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, then waited for night. Dark came, two Woodcock went zipping past, two Tawny Owls called in the distance, cries of geese filled the air, yodelling Cranes added to the chorus. And then he started ... hoo hoo hoo, deep and powerful, hooo ooo ooo ... the wait was over, the haunting call of an Eagle Owl the finale to my day. I turned and drove for home, 330 km, one Long-eared Owl hunting alongside the road to liven the journey.

Next day, home turf. Labanoras in the spring, wonderful. Life had returned, bird song filled meadow and forest alike. With a warmth in the air, I sat atop my raptor point - a trickle of Common Buzzards headed north, a Herring Gull soared and two Mute Swans passed overhead. Two Cranes were already trumpeting their arrival, whilst all around, Skylarks were singing on territory, with an early Woodlark also in song.

And then to the forest ...another mega woodpecker day! Not only was the male White-backed Woodpecker still about, now teamed up with the female, but a male Grey-headed Woodpecker had arrived too, yodelling away from the top of a dead oak, the female admiring from lower down in the same tree. At one stage, both these species were sat on the same branch! Great and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers were  still dropping onto the feeders, the female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker too briefly. Also Siskins and Mealy Redpolls flitting about, much interested in the activity at the feeding station. Then I decided to take a walk - still the ice allowed access to the swamp and flood forest, so across I gingerly ventured, half expecting a plunge into cold waters! One Black Woodpecker in the trees. Much activity around the Beaver lodges - a small patch of free water allowing them access to the forest again.

Then tap tap tap, a woodpecker hammering away in a rather distinct fashion ...hmm, I thought, and began to walk its way. And there he was, five weeks since last seeing him, my super star, the male Three-toed Woodpecker! I think he has been in the swamps the whole time, more and more trees show his distinctive pock marks. Either way, an absolutely brilliant bird to end the weekend!

16-25 March. So much for Spring!

A Woodcock hurtling over the city centre at the height of the morning rush hour, a Little Ringed Plover on the local patch, the female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker still at my Vilnius feeding station, but as for spring, where had it gone? Snow non-stop, forecast much of the same, the world was back to its winter whites!

As the days passed and the snow continued to fall, migrants still trickled in - more Starlings, good numbers of Lapwings, occasional Mistle Thrushes, not much else. Overhead occasional White-fronted Geese winged north, while at Baltoji Voke a Peregrine harried Starling flocks. By the 22nd, with night temperatures below minus five, little was happening at Labanoras - still the Cranes in the meadows, but near silence in the forest, bird song much reduced.

Backas the dog decided it was time for spring to start!

23rd March, more snow, 24th March, more snow. Wondering if spring will ever arrive, Starlings returned to nestboxes in the garden and throughout Vilnius. 25th March, minus 8 at night!

29 March. And then spring arrived!

Horrendous rain on the 28th, Overcast, but eight degrees on the 29th, the warmest day of the year so far, time to go birding at Labanoras.

And what an excellent day it was. Yippee, my White Stork had returned, sitting proud upon his nest. I was already in a good mood. Over in the meadows, with snow melt and the previous day's rain, I thought it prudent not to take my car - past experience has taught me that digging the car from quagmire is not so fun. So off I set on foot, how very pleasant it was - six Cranes trumpeting, countless Skylarks in song. Almost immediately, it was apparent that a major influx of migrants was underway -  a flock of 50 Wood Pigeons winging over, endless skeins of White-fronted Geese, strings of Lapwings, birds were on the move. A flock of about 300 Starlings fed in the meadows, about 250 Fieldfares joining them, birds everywhere. Grey Herons were back at the heronry, Buzzards were drifting north, spring had truly arrived!

In the forest, song everywhere - Black and Grey-headed Woodpeckers calling, Cranes yodelling, Great Tits singing. Not much happening at the feeders - just Great and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers - so I tried to track down the White-backed Woodpeckers, still hoping they were hanging on to breed. It did not take long, they seem to have chosen a couple of old oaks as their territory, breeding is imminent I believe. Overhead, a Marsh Harrier few over, a Green Sandpiper called, both newly arrived. Back in the meadows, my first Chaffinches of the year, a flock of males migrating north. And a Common Frog out from hibernation!

Yippee, spring is here.