Winter adventures in the Arctic. |
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Written by Jos | |
Flying into Oulu, then driving overnight to the far north, this short whirlwind tour of the northern taiga forests and icy Barents Sea notched up 2350 km, a journey that started at feeders dripping in Pine Grosbeaks and Siberian Jays, then moved on to the stunning fjords that harboured flocks of Steller's and King Eiders, plus white-winged gulls, Brunnich's Guillemots and other specialities such as Gyr Falcon and Ptarmigan. In addition to some amazing birds, the trip also was memorable for its mammals, no less than nine species recorded, included a fantastic Wolverine, three Otters, a Harp Seal and a few Red Squirrels.
With flights arriving in Oulu late on the 19th March and departing early morning on the 24th, the trip essentually gave four full days in the field, the two long drives (700 km Oulu to Inari and return) both being done at night, thereby maximising the time spent birding. With daylength over 12 hours and, fortunately, all days generally bright and sunny, this gave plenty of time to enjoy this unique corner of Europe at a season when it is rarely visited, but arguably at its most stunning.
And so to the trip...
19th March Having found a very cheap flight from Riga to Oulu, my trip began at 3 p.m. with the 300 km drive north through Lithuania and Latvia. As a precursor for things to come, the weather had turned cool, flurries of snow and temperatures dipping below zero. No stops en route, but flocks of White-fronted Geese winged their way over the road and, all northbound, a single Rough-legged Buzzard was noted amongst the dozen or so Common Buzzards. I arrived in Riga just after 6 p.m., the Air Baltic flight departed on time at 8.30 p.m., the trip was about to begin.
20th March, Lapland. The fight had landed in Oulu at 11 p.m., within minutes, crunching across the snow in temperatures of minus 8 C, we were unlocking the rented car and beginning our long drive north. At 2.00 a.m., crossing the Arctic Circle, it was minus 23 C. By sunrise, we were 620 km north and the temperature had dipped to minus 26 C!
Minutes later, pulling into Tuulin Tupa, a hotel 70 km north of Inari, my decision to leave the earlier Pine Grosbeaks was almost immediately forgotten. There were more here, dozens of them!!! The hotel, famous for its feeders, was like something purpose-built to be part of bird heaven! Though it was still before 7.00 a.m. and the hotel portrayed no sign of human life, what it did portray was an amazing concentration of birds! Feeders both sides of the hotel were bubbling with birds - chunky Pine Grosbeaks, probably in numbers exceeding 30, were squabbling over the grain and Settling down to watch these birds, the mega-low temperatures were soon going to be a problem, already my thumb felt like it was going to fall off! But, wow, the birds were good! Never a moment without a Pine Grosbeak, never a moment without at least 20 or 30 redpolls, but soon my attention was being pulled by other attractions too - first a Siberian Tit dropped in, then just moments later a pair of simply brilliant Siberian Jays! By now wrapped in a sleeping bag and donning a Russian fur hat, the cold was kept at bay and, bar a thumb that was physically hurting, all was perfect ...two Red Squirrels had emerged from the hotel's roof and were now scampering around the beams, yet more Siberian Jays were arriving at the feeders and hopping just metres in front of me. As the rising sun took the temperature up to minus 23, I wondered if the morning could get any better. Then it did! Suddenly, from beyond a ridge in the snow, a head appeared! A large brown head with white blotches and rounded ears! I seem to remember my uttered words were something along the lines of 'Bloody hell, what the heck is that?'. In reality though I knew what it was, standing just three metres in front of me was a Wolverine, a totally mind-blowing animal and an exceptionally rare one at that! It is reckoned there are only about 150 in all Finland, yet here was one of them, an amazing bit of luck to begin the trip with! However, for those few moments that we were face to face, I am not sure who was the more surprised, the Wolverine or me! My senses kicked into focus, I swung the camera around, but he was having none of it, he dipped back below the ridge and was gone! For a good few After that, I really was impressed with the place, and when eventually the hotel opened a couple of hours later, I booked a room for the night, a day spent here would not be a problem! With the hotel open, the next priority was to try to begin to defrost ...and what better place than their restaurant, fresh coffee and a window overlooking the feeders, bliss! Pressing nose to window, you could get just 30 cm from the Pine Grosbeaks, hordes of other birds too, all from the cozy interior, what a nice way to savour breakfast.
As the evening began to creep in and temperatures again began their plunge ever downwards, thoughts turned to the Aurora borealis, what a fitting end to the day that would be. So ever keen, and wrapped to the gunnels with extra fleeces and furs, off we stomped across a frozen lake, thinking we might just get lucky with a calling owl or some other goody of the night. Hmm, the clear skies of the day had given way to high clouds, the aurora was beginning to look a tad unlikely. Then it began to snow, brr that made it feel even colder! Called it quits and trudged back across the lake. End of day one, an amazing day by any standards, roll on the next morning!
21st March, northbound to Varanger. Up at 6.30 a.m. and out into the chill, overnight snow having given way to another bright crisp morning. The temperature was minus 19, the sun was just appearing over the horizon and a half dozen Pine Grosbeaks were already entrenched upon the feeders, it was looking all set for another good day. By 7.00 a.m., skipping the breakfast that would have been delicious bacon and steaming coffee, we were on the road, destination Norway. The journey up to the border, just 80 km, saw exactly two birds - another Magpie and a Hooded Crow, though even the latter was wimping it out on the edge of the border settlement! Into Norway and then eastward, a drive of an hour or so along the Tana River, totally frozen and devoid of life. Equally devoid of life was Tana Bru, the first town we rolled into, not a person to be seen and certainly not any welcoming coffee shops! Ah well, onward we went, now turning north to an impressive set of cliffs just 30 km up the road. These were the haunt of one of the Arctic's impressive beasties, Gyr Falcons! A traditional location for these birds, but perhaps better a little later in the season, I was to be pleasantly surprised. Initial scans of the rockfaces revealed nothing more than a pair of Ravens that seemed to be building a nest, but then, perhaps fifteen minutes after I had arrived, a powerful shape came cruising along the cliff top, one mega bird, an adult Gyr Falcon in all its glory! Straight overhead, then a twist and it vanished, I presume landing high on the ridge. Rather content with that, I decided that a voyage over the high fells to Batsfjord was in order, supposedly a scenic drive and a bird-rich harbour in the offering at the other end, perhaps a coffee shop too!
Then the miraculous occurred - aside a small fjord almost back at the Tana cliffs, we encountered a petrol station open, a petrol station that sold not only coffee, but rather nice cooked sausages too! Suitably stocked up, and trying not to choke on the coffee as I realised how much it cost, it was then time to savour the moment ...down on the fjord, assorted Red-breasted Mergansers fished the shallows, just along the road, five Waxwings shot across in front of the car, but best of all, a nice hot drink was finally flowing down my throat! Refreshed and eager, it was then time for the entrance into Varanger Fjord, surely one of Europe's most stunning birding localities. Nigh on 15 years since I last had the pleasure to walk these shores, I wondered how much I would remember, especially given this was my first winter visit and the landscapes certainly looked very different. Entering at Varangerbotn, these upper reaches were soon producing the first birds - flocks of about 450 Common Eiders, occasional Long-tailed Ducks, inter-tidal patches shimmering with Purple Sandpipers, dozens and dozens of them. A few kilometres up and the familiar outline of Nesseby church appeared, a most distinctive little structure, located on what is almost a little island in the fjord. In summertime this is famous for its Red-necked Phalaropes, but with a decided nip in the air, I decided not to dally and onward we went to Vestre Jakobselv, our base for the next two nights. Found our accommodation very quickly and was most impressed to find it right on the banks of the small harbour - to windows overlooked a small ice-free pool occupied by Long-tailed Ducks and the other gave a nice panorama to the north, perhaps we would be lucky enough to get a showing of the Aurora borealis without even leaving the sofa!
Or so almost ended the day! Back at the accommodation, in the fading light, there was just time for one last treat - from the window, a brief glimpse of an Otter as it swan across the small pool! No Aurora borealis that night, clouds seemed to drift over just as it got dark!
22nd March, Varanger Fjord The distance is only 95 kilometres, but the drive from Vestre Jakobselv to Vardo, hugging the shores of the Varanger Fjord all the way, must rank as one the most impressive in all Europe - along the entire route, in sheltered inlets and bays, coves and harbours, hundreds of Arctic seaduck bobbed in rafts, often many dozens strong. This was to be my day to enjoy them. With the clocks an hour different to those in Finland, we made the 'mistake' of actually beginning our day's birding at 5.30 a.m., rather earlier than I would normally choose to emerge into the morning chill, even though it was only minus 16 C on this morning!
One of the Varanger's little gems, Ekkeroy is superb site - a narrow isthmus leading out to an island boasting massive seabird colonies. Within minutes, I was watching Black Guillemots on one side, a Common Seal on another and a White-tailed Eagle up in front! I had intended to walk round the island, a hike of some kilometres that would have given very good views of the seabirds (and I remember seeing an Arctic Fox there on my previous trip), but I had forgotten one thing ...the snow! I trudged all of one hundred metres before sinking into the first drift, this was going to be hard work, rather cold and probably relatively unproductive! I opted instead for a coffee in the car (two thermos flasks with us this day!). Then, just as it had the day before, it suddenly started to snow! Within minutes a raging blizzard had reduced visibility to not very much and, as the last few kilometres to Vadso go over a high pass, it felt a little like driving an aeroplane, a featureless whiteness in all directions with no real perception of where land finished and sky began! And then it went dark!!! Vadso lies on an island and the only access is via a 3 km And then the clouds parted, the snow let up and the island of Hornoya appeared, towering out of the sea and absolutely seething with birds ...clouds of Kittiwakes flanking the margins, thousands and thousands of Guillemots on the sea and streams of Shags motoring past. In amongst the throngs, I was to find my last main target of the trip - Brunnich's Guillemot. Even trudging through the drifting snow to get as close as possible, the island was still quite distant - certainly too far to pick out any Brunnich's Guillemots on the island itself. Fortunately many of the auks were a good deal closer and a half hour of patiently scanning those eventually paid dividents ... Common Guillemots everywhere, a few Black Guillemots too, plus a few dozen Puffins, all very nice, but the target bird was proving problematic! Some flew past that may have been Brunnich's, some on the water also seemed good candidates, but always the distance left a slight doubt, a return of light snow not helping very much! Temporarily distracted by an adult Glaucous Gull, then by a few King Eiders, I soon realised my legs were beginning to freeze, so retreated back to the car for a while. Suitably thawed, and perked up by another coffee, I returned to my headland and began the scan again ...and there they were, eight Brunnich's Guillemots mid-distance! Not the closest views in the world, but short of chartering a boat, that was about as good as I was going to get ...hmm, that was a good idea, charter a boat!
Back in the warmth of our apartment, I began totalling up the day's birds. Impressive totals they were, 5 Black-throated Divers, 1089 Steller's Eiders, 2700 Common Eiders, 40 King Eiders, 21 Black Guill........ What?! Suddenly my counts were all disarray, I had not been looking out of the window! Now I was, three Otters were bounding across the ice, heading staright for our apartment!!! Right cute things, they went straight past the window and vanished under a boathouse next door, very nice indeed and a fitting end to another excellent day. That night, the skies were clear and stars sparkled, the omens were good. The Aurora borealis just had to appear this night! After accidently breaking the room's mirror in a failed attempt to position it so I could watch the northern skies from the bed, I then pinned myself to the window instead. An hour after dark, the sky began to move, it had begun...
23 March, Varanger to Lapland.
Anyhow, onward we went, stopping again when a Willow Grouse appeared in a roadside bush, then losing an hour or so in a failed attempt to find Hawk Owls. Crossing back into Finland, the next stop was a return to Tuulin Tupa, the feeders certainly well worth another hour or so of gawping. Very nice indeed, lunch accompanied by all the specials, Siberian Tits in and out, Siberian Jays swooping about, Pine Grosbeaks simply everywhere, Arctic Redpolls as abundant as ever. However, for us, it was time to get moving, we had a flight to catch and that was still a long long way south! As darkness fell, we crossed the Arctic Circle, stopping this time for a few touristy photographs in Santa's world, tranquil and quiet, the place deserted. At 1.00 a.m., we pulled into Oulu airport, a few very cold hours later and our trip was over, our flight heading back to the Baltics. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 June 2008 ) |
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