Large carnivores’ photography topped with some most wanted bird species occurring in Finland

 

Tailor made tour report

 

Friday, the 28th June 2024

 

After months of immensely looking forward to this trip, we leave early in the afternoon for Travemünde in Germany, where a two-day boat trip to Helsinki awaits us. While waiting to board, we receive another update from Jan. He reports that one of his contacts has found a late and occupied nest of great grey owl (an absolute target species during our trip) with one chick that is about to fledge. Jan tells us he keeps us informed. Because mobile data traffic is extremely expensive on international waters, we must wait until Sunday morning when we moor for further news. Hoping that the bird has literally not yet flown, we open our WhatsApp … And yes! Fantastic news arrives! The chick is still sitting on the nest! Despite only smiling faces, feeling pure joy and happiness, we couldn’t embark fast enough from the ferry.

In the meantime, Jan arranged for us to meet his contact at 6pm near the nest location. That would be quite a feat because we still must drive at least five hours from Helsinki and also check in at our hotel in advance. But we succeed and meet the local guide in a dense taiga forest not far from the Russian border. Soon, surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes, we find ourselves in the footsteps of the guide who immediately leads us to the nesting location of the breeding pair of great grey owls where he points to a tree about 50 meters away. With trembling hands (purely from the adrenaline) full of camera gear, we try to look through our binoculars towards the tree. Through the canopy of a birch, we quickly see the nest. A split second later we look straight into the piercing eyes of the beautiful great grey owl female sitting on the nest as the same with a glimpse of the chick besides her.

We carefully move aside to get a better view of the nest. What follows is a breathtaking moment: the great grey owl female and her young together open and exposed on the nest. Her gaze seems to look straight through our souls, hardly describable with words. Just when we think it can’t get any better, the female starts calling softly and the chick begging for food. Out of the corner of our eyes, we see the male while he glides silently past us at about ten meters, with a vole in his mouth. He lands in a tree not far from the nest. Because we don’t want to disrupt the food transfer, we decide to leave the great grey owl family alone and retreat to the car.

But the show isn’t over yet as our guide has a surprise in store: a second great grey owl nesting location with a different chick! On the way there, he also stops at a place where we could see three-toed woodpeckers. And indeed, less than 30m from where we park the car, it is straight bullseye with an obliging observation of a pair of three-toed! An additional observation of a species that is very difficult to spot, wherever you are in Scandinavia. And, also at the second nesting location, we can enjoy superb views of a pair of great grey owls with their chick.

Moreover, Jan’s guide turns out to be a great personality! Overwhelmed by six different great grey owls (two pairs with one chick each) and two three-toed woodpeckers, just on our day of arrival in Finland, we realize all too well, that Jan had really done everything to give us a wonderful start of our trip!

After a short night, we leave for Kuhmo for the next highlight of the trip: photographing bears, wolverines and hopefully wolves. In order to recover from the night sessions in the reserved hides, Jan has also booked a five-star hotel. It turns out to be the ideal base for the next five days to recuperate from the night watch in the hides that we are manning with the aim of photographing apex predators. Moreover, the hide locations are carefully and perfectly chosen. This with a different setting to photograph each time: an open plain in a peat bog, a rocky ridge, an idyllic-looking tiny lake and a location in the middle of a pine forest.

During our first night we stay in a hide with a view of an open swamp with a few dead tree trunks, cotton grass, some young birch trees and pine forest in the back. In short: a typical looking taiga landscape. While we wait for the first mammals, it is ravens, hooded crows and a black kite that entertain us. After about an hour, the first brown bear appears. But to be honest, the arrangement of this location was mainly made because we absolutely want to see wolves. Something we failed in 2016. So, we stay alert all night and constantly scan the entire area. At the moment that the coffee is no longer helping, and we threaten to lose the fight against sleep, a wolf appears out of nowhere at the edge of the forest.

Seeing our first wolf gives an adrenaline rush that is a thousand times stronger than the caffeine from all the coffees we drank earlier. We are immediately wide awake again. Wolves and bears are clearly not the best of friends as the wolf makes a wide, circling movement. Which ultimately results in a sighting that we could not have imagined in our wildest dreams: the animal passes just ten meters from the hut! A wolf at ten meters, that does something to a person, it touches you as a wildlife enthusiast, deep inside!

During this first, unforgettable night we photograph two brown bears and two wolves. At 8:30 we return to our hotel for a delicious breakfast and a few hours of well-deserved sleep. Nothing can ruin our trip from now onwards!

Around 3:30 pm we left for the next location. From the meeting point we still have to walk for about 30 minutes through a swampy area. On the way we realize a few nice observations of rustic buntings. When we arrive at the hide, the wait for the first mammals begins. After an hour and a half, we suddenly see a brownish black shadow hopping through the bushes. We immediately look at each other and both think the same thing: wolverine! The typical hopping of this species is unmistakable. And yes, a few seconds later a wolverine stands on its hind legs, so that its head sticks up above the bushes. What follows is constant hopping between the bait and the forest behind it. During this 2nd night we also note two short observations of brown bears and in the morning a shy, very light-colored wolf that is briefly visible through the high bushes. A night in which we suddenly see all three of our target species! Yes!

The third evening/night Jan has reserved a hide with a rocky landscape as a location. In the adjacent base camp, we are really warmly welcomed by the owners. In addition, we are spoiled with a delicious buffet. During the guidance to the hide, we walked through a pine forest. We wonder how we will get to see the promised rocky landscape here. But not much later we see something that makes our jaws drop: an idyllic rock face in a small piece of open forest. After less than twenty minutes of waiting, the first brown bear appears. A beautiful looking individual and a real colossus of an animal! In total, three different bears give a show on the rock face here. A red fox also appears regularly. To our surprise, a pine marten pops up. Another top night at a unique location!

After a hearty breakfast in our lovely hotel and a few hours of sleep, we leave in the early afternoon for our penultimate hide location. This hide is located on a lake with perfect conditions for taking pictures. Our patience is hardly tested there either; the first brown bear appears on the scene after only ten minutes! Suddenly, this bear raises its head in the air, sniffing. After a few deep scent inspections, the bear quickly disappears into the adjacent forest. We look at each other in surprise. The reason for the flight behavior is not long in coming – from behind us we hear growling and heavy breathing. A few moments later, at a distance of five meters, the largest brown bear we have ever seen appears. The animal gives a great show in which it enjoys all the tasty things that have been put down as bait.

At this location we see with certainty five different brown bears. When most of the bait has been consumed, and the bears have been gone for a while, we see a first glimpse of a wolverine at the edge of the forest. However, the animal immediately disappears into the forest. An hour later, it allows itself to be seen much more beautifully, hopping along the shore of the lake in search of leftovers that the bears have left. We also enjoy a female goldeneye with two ducklings a few meters away. A red fox tries in vain to catch one of them. On the way back to the car, we hear the typical bell sound of waxwings. After some searching, we can see two of them very nicely. Again, an unexpected bonus!

Our last night we spend in a pine forest. A place specially reserved by Jan for photographing wolverines and bears. Soon, the first brown bear appears. The hungry animal devours almost all the bait laid out. After the bear has eaten its fill, it disappears back into the forest. Deep inside, we hope that the bear has left something for a wolverine. And yes! Not half an hour later, the first wolverine appears. Hopping in cautiously. What follows is a real show as the wolverine, which comes within five metres of the hide, climbs into the trees and searches the entire area for food. In doing so, it devours everything the bear has spilled during its feeding frenzy.

After this spectacle, which lasts about an hour, we decide to take sleep in turns this last night. The shock of five consecutive nights without hardly any sleep is immense. Suddenly, the hammer is there! In total, we notice one brown bear and two wolverines during the night. Calling common cranes in the background acts as a pleasant alarm signal. What could be better to wake up to? This last, night-time hide session is also a downright fantastic experience!

Tired but very satisfied, we return to our hotel in Kuhmo for the last time in the morning. There we meet Jan accompanied by an English-speaking group that he guides freelance. During the delicious breakfast, we chat a bit about our great experiences of the previous days. We also tell about our plans for the second part of our trip. This is because we will be looking for several specific bird species for another two weeks through Finland, Norway and Sweden. Our next target is red-flanked bluetail. As fanatic birdwatchers, we hope to see a beautiful male bluetail. Something that is certainly no longer a certainty in the 2nd week of July; the singing season has passed by then. This means that, despite the hills of Valtavaara and Kontainen being world famous among birdwatchers for spotting bluetails, we leave for Kuusamo with not too high expectations.

On the way, however, we unexpectedly receive a text message from Jan. What surprise will he have in store now!? The message shows that he has another contact with knowledge of a location with several singing male red-flanked bluetails.

So, Jan once again pulls a snow-white rabbit out of his incredible hat. And it turns out to be a heavenly gift! Thanks to his contact we have superb observations of a second calendar year and male red-flanked bluetail. Apart from the incredibly beautiful observations, we shoot a lot of full-frame photos as the bird hunts insects undisturbed, a few meters away from us. Sublime!

Thank you

The appreciation for planning this tailor-made trip is difficult to put into words. In any case: Jan’s knowledge and experience are incredible! So, a very big thank you to him! This is for fantastic and unforgettable experiences of observations of bears, wolverines and wolves that we made. As well as providing instant information while in the field on some bird species that every passionate bird watcher would be jealous of!

Sincere thanks to John Wright for his amendments and edits regarding the grammatical content of this news item. A professional contribution that is warmly appreciated by EB5!