Maasai Mara protects a massive pristine grassland and is home to millions of ungulates. A day in the National Reserve resulted in a vast list of mammals, raptors, lapwings, larks, cisticolas, cranes plus some surprises.

A Cape gull from Southern Africa and a laughing gull from the Americas have shown up in Northern Spain. We enjoyed awesome birding while twitching these stunners on a roadtrip.

Bustling Bangkok offers local goodies in urban Lumphini and Rot Fai Parks and many waders and migrants in Bang Pu wetland. We face exotic bird trade at a local market and see a lost species on a museum.

Summer season brings an array of specialties to Helsinki, including broad-billed sandpiper and common rosefinch in Viikki, red-breasted flycatcher in Haltiala and stakeouts of Blyth’s reed warbler and river warbler.

The fieldwork of a new ornithological project in Cabo Cope y Puntas de Calnegre provided great views of trumpeter finches and rufous-tailed scrub-robins, as well as numerous migrants and other highlights.

September brought the opportunity to look for long-awaited species: dotterel and northern bald ibis. Bee-eaters, wheatears, flycatchers, honey-buzzards, and whinchats showed up everywhere.

A University of Helsinki course on conservation brings me to Saimaa, the largest lake in the European Union. We find the endemic Saimaa ringed seal and learn how it is perceived by local communities.