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Norway (& Finland) - The Re-return - 2019 (1 Viewer)

foresttwitcher

Virtually unknown member
United Kingdom
I guess many birders will have a species or family that prompted interest in their early years of looking at books / field guides, due to colours, patterns or behaviour, that in time became a bit of an obsession. In my case it was the Eiders.

Common Eider was eventually easily ticked off on many trips to Scotland for climbing / mountaineering or island hopping. But I always had the other two possibilities in Europe as dream species that I was unlikely to be able to get to see. As things changed recently and I was in the position to plan a trip to Norway last spring I held out more hope. As the planning for this trip of a lifetime progressed I hoped to make the best use of my time to include Finland for Boreal Forest species as well. In booking the guides for this, the owl species on offer began to take priority and I sacrificed my chances of the Eiders by going later in the year and sure enough I failed to fine any summering Eiders (apart from Common) in Norway in May 2018. I thought I had lost my chance.

However, unexpected compensation for last years delayed flight to Helsinki (sorted via AirHelp) altered things. So I began to look into flights for a return trip to Varangerfjord. Initially I hoped to fly to to Vardo, Vadso or Batsfjord but these flights were very expensive and required numerous plane changes and up to 18 hours! The next nearest airport was Kirkenes; the flights still costly and whilst the return was OK the outbound flight involved an overnight in Oslo airport. Ivalo was the next nearest but still pricey. Finally I found Easyjet still flew to Rovaniemi as late as the end of March for a very decent price. So, although this meant a longer drive then I would have liked, I had soon booked flights, a hire car (with AddCar, through Rentalcars) and budget accommodation -in Norwegian terms - in Vadso (through Trivago). Basically all this was covered by the compensation so I just had to find the cost of fuel and food/drink. So a brief re-return was on.
 
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Sunday 24th March:

A ridiculously early trip around a quiet M25 to Gatwick was followed by smooth parking, transfer, bag drop & security and the flight direct to Rovaniemi left on time and arrived 20 minutes early. The trend continued with my bag soon off the belt and car keys collected in no time (note the requirement to pay extra for being able to take the hire car out of Finland). I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved to see studded tyres on the car or a bit worried about what they knew about the road conditions!

With a long way to go I was keen to get on the road but as it was Sunday called in at the first supermarket I saw open to stock up on provisions. It was then time to get stuck in to driving on frozen compacted snow - not an issue for the locals but something not that common in the south of England. Once I had got the feel of the amount of grip the tyres gave my confidence increased and I began to put the miles behind me. On the road birds included a few each of Hooded Crow, Magpie & Raven. There were very few birds about in general and in a few hours only had the above plus a couple of small flyover flocks - one each of unidentified finches & thrushes.

As I went further north the road conditions demanded more concentration so I was more than happy to stop again at Neljan Tulen Tupa for some hot chocolate and pastries in the warm and the fondly remembered view out over the feeders in the woodland. The overall numbers of my spring visit last year were not about but the quality was good with a few each of Common / Mealy Redpoll & Great Tit soon joined by a small group of 4 Siberian Tit, a Willow Tit for a nice comparison, a couple of Siberian Jay paying alternate visits to a fat feeder and a lump of fat nailed to a tree and finally a pair of Pine Grosbeak, including an adult male, a plumage I missed out on last year.

I had to tear myself away to get back on the road with the miles beginning to blur together only to be enlivened by a group of 3 Reindeer walking out onto the road in front of me on a particularly icy section and a bit further on a group of 3 Willow Grouse which flew up off the road as I approached. It was interesting passing some places visited last spring that looked very different under a covering of snow. Apart from a brief snow flurry the skies had been blue and the weather fine and a long dusk began as I approached the border. I did the final Norwegian segment of the drive in the dark and a slight blizzard and after what felt like a long day settled in to my accommodation in Vadso.
 
Monday 25th March:

Given the amount of driving yesterday, I had booked the accommodation based on location for at least some of my target sites. So, within less than 5 minutes walk I was behind the petrol station by the roundabout in town looking into the eastern bay; a quick look showed apparently not a great deal on the water, apart from some Great Black-backed Gulls, but there was a small flock of smallish ducks just offshore and an expectant look through the bins showed they were indeed the main target of the trip - Steller's Eider. I quickly set up my scope and had great views of 7 females and 4 fine drakes floating about & preening; target bird in the bag just after eight in the morning! I then walked towards the bridge over to Vadso Island and there was a slightly larger group feeding actively in the sound.

Very happy, I had a walk around the eastern half of the island, seeing one of the flocks again more distantly plus Purple Sandpiper & Oystercatcher on the shoreline, House Sparrow & Greenfinch in the low scrub and a number of Hares near the frozen pool. After failing to get a look into the harbour from the island to the west of the bridge I crossed back over and walked through the town to the hide out on the end of the wall in the western harbour. It was a bright day and warm in the sun (its all relative as it was still below freezing in the shade) so I had an extended lunch in the shelter of the hide watching Great Black-backed, Herring & Common Gulls around the fishing boats & buildings, a pair of Mallard, flyover Rock Dove & Hooded Crow and a few Common Eider. But the highlight was a very close quartet of male Steller's just off the hide.

With plenty of daylight left I was now on the hunt for the third Eider species so returned to base to get the car and set off for Vardo. I first went to the car park at Hasselnes to check the channel between the town and Hornoy. Plenty of action around the island in terms of Kittiwake and auks but the wind and distance meant that the latter were not identifiable to species. Also Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Cormorant & Shag on the water and Raven overhead. I then went to the southern bay which just had a few Purple Sandpiper, a couple of Mallard and distant Common Eider but then I saw some frantic splashing quite a way out and got the bins up just in time to see poor rear views of three fast flying retreating King Eider. I had seen a very distant first winter drake in choppy seas off Dunwich (Suffolk) a few years ago so was keen for a plumage upgrade sighting. I went all round the northern harbour where the noisy Kittiwake were busy nesting and there was first winter King Eider with the numerous Commons.

A return visit to the previous sites did not produce anything new so I went back through the tunnel to find a way to look over Svartnes harbour. Some photographers were busy with a small flock of Steller's off the end of the jetty and I got close views of a nice drake Long-tailed Duck.

It was getting on now so I headed back to base stopping at Indre & Ytre Kibeg to check the harbours for gulls. I don't have much patience for gulls but think at least I could have picked out some adult white-winger's among the other species but had no luck.
 
Almost crossed paths! We flew back on the 25th after a run up to Varanger and then down to Kuusamo.

It's surprising Rovaniemi isn't a more popular entrepot for birders - direct return flight from Gatwick for just over £100, car rental at Finnish rather than Norwegian prices, and an affordable Lidl on the way up to stock up on supplies. Doss in the car and it's a pretty cheap trip!
 
Yes, I agree, DMW. I thought it might be too cold for sleeping in the car this time. I hope you had a good trip.

Tuesday 26th March:

Still on the hunt for my plumage upgrade I first headed for Ekkeroy, checking the bays on both sides of the causeway but only picked up more Purple Sandpipers and the usual species seen from the road. I was going to walk a bit of the trail but the less cold weather of yesterday had melted the surface which had re-frozen overnight and the ice was treacherous so I returned to the car.

Back on the road I saw what were somewhat surprisingly the first White-tailed Eagles of the trip. The next place I tried was Nesseby with again only a few of the more common species around. It had been up to this point another bright sunny morning and I briefly thought about a drive to Batsfjord as e-bird and the Norwegian version both suggested it as a good spot for King Eider. But at that point the clouds had built over the fells in that direction and soon snow flurries were starting.

The plan changed and whilst tempted by a return to Vardo I decided with a long drive tomorrow to drop off the car and do the circuit of Vadso on foot again in reverse order. The hide in the west harbour again had a small group of Steller's nearby plus a few Common Eider nearer the boats. However, I had expected larger numbers of Common Eider in general and thought that perhaps as the tide was out and the sea calm they may well be in deeper water and the King Eiders may be accompanying them. So I again went out to the eastern point of the island and had a quick scan from near the airship mast and sure enough there were a number of large groups of Common Eider a fair way offshore. Setting up the scope I worked through them and finally picked out a couple of fine summer plumaged King Eider. Another White-tailed eagle flew low over as I walked back - a nice end to my brief stay in Vrangerfjord.

Back to the accommodation to eat, pack and sleep ready for an early start in the morning.

Wednesday 27th March:

Up early for the long drive back south with the first bird seen another Eagle as a send off from Norway. I had planned another mid-drive break at Neljan Tulen Tupa but it appeared to be closed. There were, however, a few Pine Grosbeak in the trees around the car park. Made it back to Rovaniemi in plenty of time for check-in and with 900 miles more of the hire car.

A successful flying trip and targets bagged.
 
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Absolutely delighted you got your targets Pete, but where are the photos?! A great report as usual, where to next?

Chris
 
Thanks, Chris, but sorry I don't even carry a camera! I was lucky enough to accompany my elderly mother on a couple of general wildlife safari type holidays in the early 90's (my real introduction to world birding) and went armed with a (then real film) camera. Unfortunately, I spent so much time trying to focus & compose what turned out to be very poor pictures that I did not pay enough attention to actually looking at the birds and animals - I don't even remember seeing some of the species on the trip lists! So I vowed - never again. I am, however, very envious of the effect good photos add to other's trip reports.

The next venue is south west Spain in June to try to clear up some missing Iberian species by going a bit later in the year.
 
Thanks, Chris, but sorry I don't even carry a camera! I was lucky enough to accompany my elderly mother on a couple of general wildlife safari type holidays in the early 90's (my real introduction to world birding) and went armed with a (then real film) camera. Unfortunately, I spent so much time trying to focus & compose what turned out to be very poor pictures that I did not pay enough attention to actually looking at the birds and animals - I don't even remember seeing some of the species on the trip lists! So I vowed - never again. I am, however, very envious of the effect good photos add to other's trip reports.

The next venue is south west Spain in June to try to clear up some missing Iberian species by going a bit later in the year.

No worries Pete, I totally understand your thinking! I usually carry a camera but generally only use it for distant IDs (superzoom) or records shots of special birds! I look forward to your Iberian adventures!

All the best,

Chris
 
Sunday 24th March:


As I went further north the road conditions demanded more concentration so I was more than happy to stop again at Neljan Tulen Tupa for some hot chocolate and pastries in the warm and the fondly remembered view out over the feeders in the woodland. The overall numbers of my spring visit last year were not about but the quality was good with a few each of Common / Mealy Redpoll & Great Tit soon joined by a small group of 4 Siberian Tit, a Willow Tit for a nice comparison, a couple of Siberian Jay paying alternate visits to a fat feeder and a lump of fat nailed to a tree and finally a pair of Pine Grosbeak, including an adult male, a plumage I missed out on last year.

Vadso.

Are the Tit and the Jay reliable all year round at this site?

Looks a nice trip, I assume there are no Brunnich's at Vadso?
 
Are the Tit and the Jay reliable all year round at this site?

Looks a nice trip, I assume there are no Brunnich's at Vadso?

I don't think the tit and jay are reliable at Neljan Tuulen Tupa in late Spring or Summer.

Brunnich's breeds, and is readily seen, on Hornoya Island just off Vardo. Hourly boat service from the port; an amazing seabird spectacle. Also regular Gyrfalcon here.
 
I don't think the tit and jay are reliable at Neljan Tuulen Tupa in late Spring or Summer.

Brunnich's breeds, and is readily seen, on Hornoya Island just off Vardo. Hourly boat service from the port; an amazing seabird spectacle. Also regular Gyrfalcon here.

Many thanks,
something we should have done from here in St P but always something esle to do and it's too late now, coming home next week to the UK.

My wife and I often talked of doing it as a road trip from here but never got around to it.
 
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Many thanks,
something we should have done from here in St P but always something esle to do and it's too late now, coming home next week to the UK.

My wife and I often talked of doing it as a road triop from here but never got around to it.

Look at the Norwegian Air website for late March 2020: you can fly to Rovaniemi from Gatwick for about £70 return. Drive up to Varanger, quick stop off at Neljan Tuulen Tupa en route to bag the tit, jay, grozzer etc, then continue up to Vardo. Boat to Hornoya in the morning, do Vardo and Vadso harbours for eiders etc in the afternoon, then head back to Rovaniemi overnight and fly home. You could probably do the whole trip for less than £150 per person.
 
Hi Andy, I agree with DMW. I did not see the Tit or Jay in an afternoon at Neljan Tuulen Tupa last year in the spring so suspect it is a better bet earlier in the year. If you're lucky you may see a Brunnich's distantly from Vardo in the channel but easy on Hornoya and it is well worth the experience.
 
Hi Andy, I agree with DMW. I did not see the Tit or Jay in an afternoon at Neljan Tuulen Tupa last year in the spring so suspect it is a better bet earlier in the year. If you're lucky you may see a Brunnich's distantly from Vardo in the channel but easy on Hornoya and it is well worth the experience.

Many thanks Pete, two trips then is it.

I need the Tit, Jay, Steller's, Brunnich's and Tengmalm's.

I picked most other stuff up elsewhere, had Pine Gros, Three-toed and White Backed Peckers here on my local patch. Had Great Grey in Belarus and Ural Owl in Serbia so it won't be a frantic trip.
 
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