After several trips to Norway and Finland in recent years, including an amazing winter visit to Varanger last year, I yearned to see the stunning Varangerfjord in all its summer glories - Long-tailed and Arctic Skuas on the tundra, Brunnich's Guillemots bobbing on the waters, waders galore. Had to be bonkers, but fancying a weekend away, I cashed in my air miles for a nice freebie north. A madcap non-birder decided to accompany me, little did he realise I had plans for no sleep, no stops for food and to do nothing but birding!

Straddling four days and chewing up 2540 km sandwiched between two flights and capped off by an extra 600 km through the Baltics, so followed action-packed 24-hour birding adventures, all under the joys of round-the-clock sunshine, or cloud as the case sometimes was!

With a Greenish Warbler singing in the garden and the Rollers already breeding on the land, June started off very nicely. Two weeks of rather changeable weather then followed, dampening birding somewhat, the highlights being Citrine Wagtails and Blyth's Reed Warbler in the east of the country and a singing Red-breasted Flycatcher on the land. 

And then came a trip to Arctic waters, four days of action-packed birding, 24 hours a day under the round-the-clock sunshine. Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas, Brunnich's Guillemots, waders galore, seaducks by the bucketload, excellent birding throughout.

And finally, just as the month neared its end, the sun arrived in Lithuania. And with its arrival, a phenomenal few days with the butterflies - 34 species noted, including a spectacular Poplar Admiral, both Black Hairstreak and Woodland Brown and impressive numbers of Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, Moorland Clouded Yellows and Amanda's Blues.