I managed to get a little time to explore while working in Turku, and went the short distance to Ruissalo, an 8km-long island connected to Turku and the mainland by a road bridge. It is a great place to spend an afternoon, sparsely populated and used mainly as a leisure retreat by locals and tourists. The island is quite unusual for Finland as it boasts a large old oak forest, as well as the expected conifers. This is what I managed to see;

Great tit (plenty everywhere)
Blue tit
Chaffinch
Magpie
Blackbird
Starling
Crow
Black-headed gull
Woodpigeon
Pied flycatcher
Common tern (quite a few, giving great views while diving close to shore)
Goosander (female) with 6 young
Willow warbler
Dunlin
Swallow
Cormorant
Great spotted woodpecker
Fieldfare (plenty)
Spotted flycatcher
Whitethroat
Redwing
Jay
Stock dove
Tree Pipit
Song thrush
Greenfinch
Goldfinch

Plus red squirrel, woodmouse and rabbit.

All in all, really enjoyed it. Not the wilds and rarities of further north and east in the country, but if you're in the area would definitely recommend visiting.

Hi, I've read Tim's great report from Finland, but wondered whether anyone had any tips for the Turku area. I'll be there in mid-May for a few days with work, and will try to steal a bit of time to see a bit of the place, so preferably any places in and around the city that anyone could suggest would be great.

Dennis atherton wrote:

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Mmm, sounds very interesting, will look forward to it

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Indeed

Mmm, sounds very interesting, will look forward to it

Greetings all! Back in Helsinki from Kuusamo in northern Finland. Totally stunning birding. Will do a full trip report in the next few weeks