Participate
Participate in monitoring studies
Several national monitoring studies are underway at the Finnish Museum of Natural History. The studies are conducted primarily through cooperation with volunteers, and anyone who is sufficiently familiar with the topic and is capable of following specific instructions can participate. Please join us!
Vertebrates
- Bird monitoring (in Finnish)
- Winter bird counts (in Finnish)
- Bird feeder monitoring (in Finnish)
- Waterfowl count (in Finnish)
- Archipelagic bird count (in Finnish)
- Line transect counts and Point counts of breeding birds (in Finnish)
- Nest monitoring (in Finnish)
- The Finnish Breeding Bird Atlas
- The Breeding Bird Atlas of European Russia
- Result service for bird monitoring (in Finnish)
- Bird ringing
- Satellite-tracked birds
- Rabbits in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (in Finnish)
- Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Finland
Insects
National Butterfly Recording Scheme in Finland (in Finnish) (LUOMUS, the South Karelia Allergy and Environment Institute and the Finnish Lepidopterological Society)
Plants
Atlas of the Distribution of Vascular Plants in Finland (Kasviatlas)
Phenology
Phenological monitoring (in Finnish)
The Finnish Nature League’s spring monitoring, Kevätseuranta
Results website of the spring monitoring, tulospalvelu
Seurantauutiset
Seurantauutiset is a Finnish-language electronic magazine published by the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility and the LUOMUS Monitoring Team, which organises monitoring studies.
Register your observation
Hatikka is a virtual observation journal maintained by LUOMUS in which anyone can record their observations for most ongoing monitoring studies. You can also record other nature observations in Finland and elsewhere as well as browse through observations posted by others.
Hatikka is still under development. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this ongoing development. If you have comments on the service, please use the feedback form.
Hatikka-havaintopäiväkirja (in Finnish)
The Löydös form is meant for incidental observations, and no registration is needed.
Instructions
Ringed birds
If you find a dead bird, check to see if it has a ring on its leg. If so, please send the information on the ring to the Ringing Centre through the
You can also report a found ring by mail:
1. If the bird is dead, remove the ring from its leg. If the bird is alive, write down all the information engraved on the ring that you can. Remember to wash your hands well after handling a dead animal.
2. Straighten the ring and attach it to a piece of paper with some tape (if the ring is not straightened out, it can break the envelope and fall out).
3. Include the following information on the paper:
All text engraved on the ring (country, ringing centre, letter code and numeric identifier)
- Discovery date
- As specific information about the discovery location as possible
- An estimate of how and when the bird died
- Your name and address (so that the Ringing Centre can send you information on your bird discovery)
4. Mail the letter to the Ringing Centre as soon as possible. You can send the letter without a stamp if you write the following details on the envelope:
Asiakaspalautus
Sopimus 127167
Laskutustunnus 606422
Eläinmuseo
PL 17
00014 Helsingin yliopisto
Ringed dead birds discovered in good condition can also be sent to the same address. The Museum of Natural History does not provide envelopes or other packing material for this purpose.
If you for some reason capture a live ringed bird, or manage to read the ring on a live bird: write down the text engraved on the ring carefully, leave the ring on the bird, release the bird and report your discovery as above. Also indicate the colour and location of the ring or rings (which leg, the order of the rings on the leg).
If you have digital photographs of the bird you discovered, you can submit them through our online form (preferred) or via email to the address rengastus@luomus.fi. Pictures where the text on the ring is visible are particularly valuable (you may also take a photo of the straightened ring).
You will later receive a letter with information on your bird discovery.
Privacy statement (in Finnish) (ring discovery register for the Ringing Centre)
Dead animals
Dead wild animals in good condition discovered in Finland can be sent to the Zoological Unit of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. The specimen will be stored in the collections for research use.
If the dead animal is a bird, check to see if it has a ring on its leg. Report the information on the ring to the Ringing Centre as described above.
Do not touch a dead animal found in a populated area with your bare hands. If you discover a group of dead birds, report your discovery to the nearest on-duty municipal veterinarian immediately. The contact details of the on-duty veterinarian can be found in the phone book under municipalities.
You may also bring the dead animal to the ticket counter of the Natural History Museum (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, 00100 Helsinki). Please submit the specimen as soon as possible after discovery (or store it in the freezer). Please contact Martti Hildén before you bring a dead animal specimen to the Museum (tel. 02941 28695, email martti.hilden(at)helsinki.fi).
Attach the following information to the specimen or it cannot be used for research:
- Location of discovery (municipality, more detailed location)
- Date of discovery
- Name of person who made the discovery (name and address to receive the thank you letter)
- Method of discovery (e.g., found dead in the woods) or reason of death if known (flew into a window pane)
- Person submitting the specimen, if other than the person who made the discovery
You may also send the specimen via post or the Matkahuolto bus service free of charge: please mark the content of the package as “Museonäyte” (“Museum sample”). The Natural History Museum does not provide packing material. Please send the package at the beginning of the week so it will not sit in a post office over the weekend. If the specimen has been frozen or refrigerated, wrap it in newspaper before packaging. Avoid wrapping the specimen in plastic as that will accelerate decomposition. However, wet samples, such as fish and frogs, can be wrapped first in plastic and then in paper. Wrap wet paper around the fins of frozen fish to prevent them from breaking during handling. Remember to wash your hands well after you have handled a dead animal.
Via MAIL:
Asiakaspalautus
Sopimus 127167
Laskutustunnus 606422
Eläinmuseo
PL 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13)
00014 Helsingin yliopisto
Via MATKAHUOLTO:
Eläinmuseo
PL 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13)
Asiakasnumero 09401462
00014 Helsingin yliopisto
Injured animals
If you discover an injured animal, e.g., a seagull with a broken wing, do not call the general emergency number 112. Instead, contact the local municipal animal rescue organisation. You can find the contact details on the Internet. The phone number for the animal rescue team of the Helsinki City Rescue Department is 09 310 30151.
You may call the general emergency number if an animal poses a danger to humans or if the animal rescue operation requires special rescue equipment. Such situations may include a deer who has fallen through the ice on a lake or the sea, an elk wandering on a motorway or a horse stuck in a ditch.
Wild animal rescue institutions:
- Varsinais-Suomi: The animal shelter of the City of Turku
- Uusimaa: The Korkeasaari Veterinary Hospital
- Kymenlaakso: Pyhtään lintuhoitola
- Päijät-Häme: Heinolan lintutarha
- Ostrobothnia and Central Finland: Ähtäri Zoo
- Lapland: Ranua Wildlife Park
Or find the contact details for the nearest animal protection organisation.
Please note that animal young found in nature are rarely orphans. Even if they may seem abandoned, their mother is usually somewhere nearby waiting for the humans to leave their offspring alone. So keep away from baby animals!
