Photograph of White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle by Ian Fulton.

ESTONIA

Best Wildlife in Estonia

Mammals
Brown Bear, Siberian Flying Squirrel, Elk (Moose), (Eurasian) Beaver, Wild Boar, Racoon Dog (introduced), Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Mountain (Arctic) Hare and Grey Seal. Also a chance of Pine Marten and Ringed Seal. Tracks of Wolf and Eurasian Lynx are quite easy to find but the actual animals are rarely seen. The same is true of the tiny reintroduced population of European Mink on the island of Hiiumaa.

Birds
The birds listed are usually present during the northern spring. Great Snipe, White-tailed and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Common Crane, White and Black Storks, and Black Grouse, as well as Bewick’s (Tundra) and Whooper Swans, Barnacle, Taiga Bean, Tundra Bean, Greylag and (Greater) White-fronted Geese, Common Eider, Common and Velvet (White-winged) Scoters, Long-tailed Duck (over a million 'Old Squaws' have been recorded on passage in spring, mostly in May), Smew, Black-throated and Red-throated Divers (Loons), Red-necked and Slavonian (Horned) Grebes, (Great) Bittern, Osprey, Montagu’s Harrier, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, passage migrant shorebirds such as Spotted Redshank, Little Gull, Black and Caspian Terns, (Eurasian) Hoopoe, (Eurasian) Wryneck, Black, Grey-headed, Lesser Spotted and (Eurasian) Three-toed Woodpeckers, Great Grey Shrike, Crested, Long-tailed (white-headed caudatus race) and Penduline Tits, Savi’s Warbler, Thrush Nightingale, Fieldfare and Citrine Wagtail. Also a chance of Lesser White-fronted (mostly late April in Matsalu Bay Area) and Red-breasted Geese, Steller’s Eider (mostly in winter, a few until the end of April), (Western) Capercaillie, Hazel Grouse, Golden and Great Spotted Eagles, Rough-legged Buzzard, Corn Crake, Jack Snipe, Marsh Sandpiper, (Eurasian) Eagle, (Eurasian) Pygmy, Tengmalm’s and Ural Owls, White-backed Woodpecker, (Eurasian) Nutcracker and (Bohemian) Waxwing. Later in the spring (the second half of May onwards) and summer other species present include Red-backed Shrike, (Eurasian) Golden Oriole, Barred, Great Reed, Greenish, Icterine, Marsh and River Warblers, Pied and Red-breasted Flycatchers, and Common Rosefinch.

Invertebrates
There are some spectacular butterflies including Camberwell Beauty and a good selection of dragonflies.

Plants
There are 36 species of orchid in Estonia, 34 of which occur on the island of Saaremaa, where the flower-rich limestone ‘alvar’ habitat is particularly extensive, although the islands of Hiiumaa and Osmussaar are also excellent for wild flowers. One of the greatest densities of plant species in Europe – up to 76 species per square metre – occurs at Puhtu-Laelatu-Virtsu NR.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Estonia

Best Times for Wildlife in Estonia

Bears usually emerge from hibernation from mid-April onwards (although they may emerge as early as late March) and May is a good time to look for them because this coincides with the best time for most birds, including those migrating north, and lekking Great Snipe (before the grass becomes too long to see them well). However, earlier in spring, around early and mid-April, is the peak time to locate grouse, owls and woodpeckers, and usually early enough to see a few Steller’s Eiders before they leave for the Arctic. The first half of June is also usually a good time to look for bears, late enough for the arrival of most summer visiting birds and the best time to look for the widest variety of flowers. It is also usually before the main mosquito season. September-October is another good time to look for bears, as they are feeding up before hibernation, and autumn bird migration usually peaks during the second half of September.

Recommended Books etc. for Estonia

Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by S Aulagnier et al. Helm, 2009.

Mammals of Britain and Europe by D McDonald and P Barrett. Collins, 2005.

Collins Bird Guide by L Svensson et al. Collins, 2010 (Second Edition).

Birds of Europe by L Jonsson. Helm, 1999.

Finding Birds in Estonia by D Gosney. Easybirder, 2011 (book and/or DVD).

Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide by T Haahtela et al. Helm, 2009.


Collins Bird eGuide.

Trip Reports for Estonia

Many trip reports, some for Estonia, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Estonia. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Estonia' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Estonia

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.


Accommodation in Estonia

Some Organized Tours to Estonia

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and they are popular with people with partners with different interests. Individuals, partners and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more for a custom tour than an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours to Estonia include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.