MYSELF AND FOUR MORE PEOPLE FLOW TO KIRKENÄS ON MARCH 24TH, IN THE VERY NORTH OF NORWAY FOR A WEEKS BIRD PHOTOGRAPHING.
WE WAS MEET BY NICLAS AHLBERG FROM ZOOM PHOTOTOURS WHO WAS OUR GUIDE FOR THIS INTERESTING WEEK.
MARCH 2024
Varanger, Norway
Far to the north and farthest east in Norway, where the sky meets the sea, lies the Varanger peninsula. Here, you will find wild Arctic landscapes, an enormous variety of bird life, excellent fishing grounds and craggy cliffs facing out towards the end of the world.
The area is home to fish-rich rivers, snow-covered expanses, exotic king crabs, birds, salmon, sparkling seas and dancing northern lights. Varanger is an Arctic melting pot of peoples and cultures. With its unique history and nature, exciting activities, and welcoming locals, a visit to Varanger is a unique experience.
From Visit Norway homepage.
Below are a collection of the birds and wildlife shot in West Papua.
Hover your mouse over the picture and press to get full size…
Our first stop this week was Vardö and Hornöya.
We arrived in the middle of the night at Vardö Hotell in Vardö after a four hours drive.
We spent three nights here and had two very cold days out at Hornöya which can be reached after a short boat trip.
At Hornöya you can also visit the very Easterly point of Norway and on the Berents Sea!
Above are shots with the Common Murre, European Shag and the Blacked-Legged Kittiwake.
These was the birds I got to photograph out at Hornöya during these two days, mainly in snowfall making
the pics little more interesting! Unfortunately, Pufins arrived the day after we left!
But we also had an evening in a new hide for Mountain Hare, following are a few pics of them.
After a few interesting days in Vardö, we checked out from our Hotel on the third morning for a drive over the mountain to Båtsfjord, especially during winter this can be little tricky to pass, with lots of snow drifts and the road often closed!
But it went all well and we arrived in the afternoon for a boat ride in a Rib to catch birds taking off from the water and then back to the hotel for a nice dinner.
The next morning at 05.00 we was taken in the Rib out to the hides in the Harbour and outside a fishery. They through out a lot a rinse which makes it a good place to photograph King eider and the Long-tailed
duck when they come to feed.
Two nights in Båtsfjord went quite quick and it was time to set off again.
During this stay I got shots of;
King eider
Common eider
Long-tailed duck
Steller's eider
The purple sandpiper
After a four hours drive, and many stops to take shots of Raindeer, Elk and the Northern Hawk-owl, back over the mountains via Kirkenäs and to arrive at Birk Husky in Pasvik in the evening.
We had a nice dinner together in the evening and then up early for a 05.00 departure on a 10km snowmobile drive to the wilderness cabin which is located in the middle of the valley of Pasvik.
Here they have a Wilderness Feeder station for birds, and it has also been the the home for all their sleddogs for 22 years, but this was coming to an end this year.
I got to photograph the following arts during this cold but sunny day;
The common redpoll
The arctic redpoll
The grey-headed chickadee
The great tit
The pine grosbeak
The Siberian jay
And finally, the Aurora Borealis or Northern Light!
The last evening of our trip before heading back on Sunday morning to Kirkenäs and our flights back home, we had an absolute clear cold night ideal for the spectacular phenomena on the sky…
and then a shot from Kirkenäs to end the story of this trip!
