Summer season is the prime time for waders in south Alicante, with marsh sandpipers, godwits and curlew sandpipers in El Hondo and black tern, pratincoles and regular rarities as elegant terns in El Pinet.

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.

A pelagic outing reaches Illes Columbretes, a Mediterranean archipelago inhabited by the Eleonora’s falcon. Dozens of shearwaters and gulls, storm-petrels, parasitic jaegers and sunfish add to the show.

The enigmatic Dupont’s lark is extremely range-restricted in our region. Some friends and I try to track down them at their habitat, and end up having a fantastic migration day with 13 raptor species seen.

An intense full day watching birds in Alicante delivers a great final count for our party of three. Different migrant birds seen include four different Eurasian hobbies, definitely the top species of the day.

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.

I visited São Miguel Island during the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdown. Besides incredible landscapes and a welcoming atmosphere, I looked for endemic plants and birds and went on a pelagic outing.

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.