Finland birding trip - Help requested (3 Viewers)

[HudsonBoy]

Hi All

Following a shortlisting of bucket list destinations, I am seriously considering Finland next Summer as one of three options. There are of course a number of well-known downsides including the need to go with a group / local guide, high cost overall, and modest number of new birds; that said it won't get any cheaper going forward so I might have to just bite the bullet...

There appears to be quite a difference in 1) tour dates (May vs June) and 2) overall costs from the small number of published 2024 tours that I have looked at, so am feeling a bit stuck at this point. Can I reach out to you wonderful people for some help please on your recommendations on dates (species availability, when does the midge / mosquito season start? etc) and your tour operator of choice - I am happy to consider smaller boutique companies but need some help based on your experiences or word of mouth

Many thanks as always!


Huds

 

[opisska]

Why would you need to go with a guide in Finnland, if you consider it a downside? Finnland is literally one of the most freely accessible countries in the entire world.

 

[Farnboro John]

Why would you need to go with a guide in Finnland, if you consider it a downside? Finnland is literally one of the most freely accessible countries in the entire world.

The usual I imagine: faced with a limited amount of time a guide enables you to maximise finds. Finland is freely accessible but there's a lot of land and some of the birds are spread thinly - especially in summer....

John

 

[HudsonBoy]

Why would you need to go with a guide in Finnland, if you consider it a downside? Finnland is literally one of the most freely accessible countries in the entire world.

It would be My target birds are

The usual I imagine: faced with a limited amount of time a guide enables you to maximise finds. Finland is freely accessible but there's a lot of land and some of the birds are spread thinly - especially in summer....

John

Thank you John

I will going on my own and a number of my target birds are not available without the use of a local guide. I am therefore seeking help please on recommended tours / operators, based on success rate and overall costs being asked. Any thoughts?

 

[Owene]

Not a recommendation as I haven’t done it but this website offers full day trips for set targets.

Birdwatching excursions in the birding hotspots of Finland | Finnature

Finnature organizes guided one-day birdwatching excursions in Finland – Oulu, Kuusamo and Helsinki. Experience a dream destination for a birder.

finnature.fi

I’ve been thinking about organising something myself but am booked for Estonia next year and want to see what targets remain.

 

[etudiant]

Only experience was eight years ago with Wings, a tour that went up the country and included the northern bit of Norway.
I was struck by how well the birding along the main road north is managed, the Finnish nature organizations provide and monitor extensive nest box trails. Hawk Owls could be expected near specific mile markers and nesting birds found at known GPS coordinates, almost as if the large expanse was a zoo.

 

[HudsonBoy]

Not a recommendation as I haven’t done it but this website offers full day trips for set targets.

Birdwatching excursions in the birding hotspots of Finland | Finnature

Finnature organizes guided one-day birdwatching excursions in Finland – Oulu, Kuusamo and Helsinki. Experience a dream destination for a birder.

finnature.fi

I’ve been thinking about organising something myself but am booked for Estonia next year and want to see what targets remain.

Hi Owene

Just been looking at that - need to weigh day trips against a 6 / 10 day all-in tour. Many thanks!

Huds

 

[Owene]

Hi Owene

Just been looking at that - need to weigh day trips against a 6 / 10 day all-in tour. Many thanks!

Huds

I’ve only briefly been to Finland (my wife has been for longer and agrees) but can say it is one of the easiest to get around and function in English countries in Europe. A little pricey but such an amazing place. not suggesting you don’t get a guide or anything but distances apart the infrastructure and stuff of the country is very easy

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I think it would help a lot if you could list your target birds. Different target birds will need different approaches and timing.

 

[Jos Stratford]

I think it would help a lot if you could list your target birds. Different target birds will need different approaches and timing.

Agreed, a lot of the key birds are very easily seen through independent travel, the obvious harder ones being the owls. Maybe worth thinking to take guided days for these, the rest alone.

 

[HudsonBoy]

I think it would help a lot if you could list your target birds. Different target birds will need different approaches and timing.

Andrew, Jos

Thanks for your input. If I was going with a crew I would seriously consider independant travel plus a guide for the owls but as I am going solo would prefer a tour set-up which gives me a good coverage including the targets without having all the driving, and arranging accommodation etc. So still looking for suggestions on good competitive packages esp niche companies

Huds

 

[Jos Stratford]

Andrew, Jos

Thanks for your input. If I was going with a crew I would seriously consider independant travel plus a guide for the owls but as I am going solo would prefer a tour set-up which gives me a good coverage including the targets without having all the driving, and arranging accommodation etc. So still looking for suggestions on good competitive packages esp niche companies

Huds

Fair enough 👍

 

[dandsblair]

Not sure how helpful but on two separate trips we used Finnature one long day out of Oulu after we had done a week on our own (end of May) and got all the owls and a few other targets we gave and then Naturetrek for 4 days but aimed more at mammals in June last year but still OK for a few birds that the guides obviously new of like Siberian Jay.
Naturetrek will custom make an itinerary or you could join a tour.

 

[Owene]

Not sure how helpful but on two separate trips we used Finnature one long day out of Oulu after we had done a week on our own (end of May) and got all the owls and a few other targets we gave and then Naturetrek for 4 days but aimed more at mammals in June last year but still OK for a few birds that the guides obviously new of like Siberian Jay.
Naturetrek will custom make an itinerary or you could join a tour.

Sorry to hijack a thread but I’ve often wondered about their custom tours. Can they just get you guides in certain places and you make your own way between them?

 

[Mark Harper]

I did a trip with Barcelona Birding Point to Finland and Norway this year, compared to other operators the price was reasonable and we pretty much cleaned up. Highlights for me were Gyrfalcon, Steller's Eider, Hawk, Great Grey, Tengmalm's and Ural Owls.
Trip Report

 

[HudsonBoy]

I did a trip with Barcelona Birding Point to Finland and Norway this year, compared to other operators the price was reasonable and we pretty much cleaned up. Highlights for me were Gyrfalcon, Steller's Eider, Hawk, Great Grey, Tengmalm's and Ural Owls.
Trip Report

Thanks to everyone who have commented. Useful stuff Mark

Huds

 

[dandsblair]

Sorry to hijack a thread but I’ve often wondered about their custom tours. Can they just get you guides in certain places and you make your own way between them?

Yes, we did a couple of tours where they did the transport and booked us local guides, we just travelled on our own between places and on stops we arranged ourselves.

 

[Owene]

Yes, we did a couple of tours where they did the transport and booked us local guides, we just travelled on our own between places and on stops we arranged ourselves.

Is that a lot cheaper than the organised tours?

 

[Trinovid]

Speaking of Finland I can't help but recall that the cheapest price I found anywhere on the planet for the Curio 7x21 was from a store called Varuste.

On top of that, it's sure great getting to go to all these places by proxy.