The thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) is a species found in bird cherry thickets and coastal herb-rich forests, the numbers of which have increased considerably in Vanhankaupunginlahti over the course of a single human lifetime. In Pornaistenniemi alone, you can regularly hear the singing of about a dozen thrush nightingales.
The passionate, nightly singing of the thrush nightingale, which can be heard up to a kilometre away over clear waters, dies down in just a few weeks, ending completely around mid-June. Thrush nightingales return from their migration in May, with the majority arriving in the latter half of the month. They waste no time when it comes to nesting, and by the end of June their young are already airborne. In July, the only sounds coming from shrubs inhabited by thrush nightingales are their warning calls. By the start of August, they migrate back to eastern Africa.
Photo Jussi Helimäki.