Mid-September to early October is usually a peak migration time at Kabli Bird Station on the west coast.

Despite rainy weather Tuesday morning, some goldcrests were already heading out, Environment Agency bird specialist Jaak Tammekänd said, noting that the goldcrest — the Regulus regulus, or pöialpoiss in Estonian — is the country's smallest bird species.

This fall has seen an unusually high number of Eurasian blue tits — the Cyanistes caeruleus, or sinitihane.

"There's a huge number of blue tits on the move this year," Tammekänd said. "The irruption of blue tits started about a week earlier than usual, maybe even more."

This early movement signals a successful breeding season, he added.

With more birds than food sources can support, flocks naturally head south. "They need to look for food and move south somewhere, where there's a bit more to eat," the bird expert explained.

Other species are expected to make their way through the area as well. Based on breeding success, Tammekänd said a large migration of coal tits — the Periparus ater, or musttihane — is likely.

Though current rainy weather has many birds staying put for now, migration will pick up as conditions improve. Northerly winds expected next week could trigger a massive wave of common cranes — Grus grus, or sookurg — to begin their journey south.

"Fall is slowly starting to arrive here in Estonia too," the expert noted.

At Kabli Bird Station, researchers catch birds to collect scientific data and band them with unique codes.

"When we have a bird in hand, we record all the data we can gather on it, and each little bird gets a band with a unique code attached to its leg," Tammekänd said, describing the process.

Previously banded birds often end up returning to the Kabli station, and it's not uncommon to end up catching birds already banded in other countries — most often Finland.

"This way it's possible to monitor birds' migration speeds and habitat choices," Tammekänd added.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!