Basketful of Finland

Previous year, one of the last visits to Nuuksio were during the autumn season on the wave of top harvesting. Mushroom, blueberry and cranberry picking. Spring hikes are about bird surveys, watching happenings in the nature, enjoying different smells and sounds. It feels very rewarding after the long Finnish winter. I´ve been following the breeding cycle of frogs in Nuuksio. Just for fun and interest. On the first of May, there was a huge amount of mating frogs. We could see them by the shoreline of every lake.  But the highest concentration was in Väärä Musta -lake where we spent quite a lot of time.  There were two species, Common toad ( Bufo bufo ) and Common frog ( Rana temporaria ), and I could very well listen to their calls which are very different from each other. While Common toad makes singular high-pitched sounds, Common frog has a deep guttural continuous growl.  There were also large clumps of Common frog spawn. I haven´t seen any Common toad spawn, but th...

  This spring many wetlands had more water than they usually do. We had a lot of snow this winter, and when it melted, many ponds and rivers overflowed their banks and vernal pools were created. Great circumstances for observing how the environment is changing over time, and what creatures are lurking there. Common frog ( Rana temporaria ) I want to share my experience from the nature conservation area Ruutinkoski by the Vantaanjoki river in Haltiala . This place is especially our target in spring because of the mating Common frogs ( Rana temporaria ). It´s possible to watch them very closely and listen to their breeding calls. We went there for the first time at the end of April. The area with wooden paths was so heavily flooded that many of the ways were unwalkable. In normal conditions, there are two small ponds which were at that time part of one great flood connected to the river, and unrecognizable as individual wetlands.  It didn´t take a long time to find frogs, just...

This is another tip for a small trip outside of Helsinki. It can be easily made within one day, and one doesn´t even need a car. Vahteristo Nature Trail is in Riihimäki which is easily accessible by train. The trail is not very long, it takes a little bit over two hours depending on how big circle you decide to make. I recommend combining this trip with visiting Riihimäki glass museum . And of course, a stop for something good in one of the cafes cannot be missed. This makes for a fully satisfying trip. Vahteristo Nature Trail  We arrived by car and parked at the small parking lot nearby the Vahteristo Nature Trail. There was a big board with a map, so I took a photo for later orientation.  We started our walk on an unpaved but quite wide and maintained path. I saw on both sides of the path small wetlands which seemed to me like constructed wetlands for water retention. I went closer to explore if I see some life there, but they were barren. No signs of frogs nor aquatic inv...