An Arctic Adventure 19th - 24th March (Day 5)

Today was to be our last full day in Norway and we were back on the road again. This time we were heading south past Kirkenes and to the Pasvik Valley, where we would spend the night at BIRK Husky. Our reasoning behind choosing this site was because it was a guaranteed location for Pine Grosbeak, one of Si's target birds, and other forest specialities. As with many of the sites we were visiting, they were often better later in the spring, when waders and other migrant passerines were passing through, the recent snow had made accessing many sites difficult, so we didn't know what to expect.

We set off early again as we were keen to get into the Pasvik Valley when there was still time to bird. A scan of the harbour before we set off produced a flock of Purple Sandpipers, Glaucous, Herring, Common, Black-headed and the dodgy Thayer's type gull, and the usual selection of eiders and Long-tailed Ducks. A distant White-tailed Eagle drifted over whilst we were scanning. We started to travel west along the E75, had a brief stop at Nesseby, but there was little to report, and pressed on, but no sooner had we got going a White-tailed Eagle came in off the fjord and flew right over our car. Si was the quickest out of the car and got some amazing photos as it drifted overhead. We continued east and before long had stopped two more times, both times for Hawk Owls, two at one site and one at another.

Hawk Owl - Nyborg Area

Hawk Owl - Nyborg Area

We continued east along the E75 and turned south on the E6 at Varangerbotn. We made good time on our journey, adding a couple more Hawk Owls on the way, before heading south on the 885. Heavy overnight snow combined with a fairly narrow and winding road, made driving conditions interesting, and didn't give much opportunity for stopping and we hence made better time than expected. 

Our first stop in the Pasvik Valley was the National Park Centre where we had good views of both Common (Mealy) and Arctic Redpoll on the feeders, but that was about it. We had been advised that the old birch woodlands were a good site for Three-toed Woodpecker, but the snow was knee deep and none of the trails were open. We decided to move on and continued south through Svanvik and then took a detour along a minor road towards Skrotnes. This road was apparently another good site for Three-toed Woodpecker and we stopped several times, but only saw Willow Tits, Greenfinchs and Ravens. Further along the road, and just as we were about to rejoin the 885, Si picked up a Goshawk; the views were unfortunately distant and the bird was flying away at all times.

We arrived at BIRK Husky and after dropping our stuff off in our room we headed out exploring. Our first stop was the feeders in search of Pine Grosbeak, and we didn't have to wait too long. There were four birds coming in, and when not feeding they tended to sit around on the tops of the pines, occasionally coming lower. Whilst waiting for good photo opportunities we also picked up Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Bullfinch and Greenfinch.

Male Pine Grosbeak

Female Pine Grosbeak

Siberian Jay

Siberian Tit

Willow Tit

The most common birds on the feeders were redpolls, and they were present in their tens. We spent a long time working our way through them and considering their ID and I have to say that I came away from the experience feeling more confused than when I started. That confusion was not helped when I started doing a bit of research back home. I initially worked my way through the various images and tried to sort out the ID of each bird, but have also sort the advice of Simon Rix (Oslo Birder) who is far more experienced with Common (Mealy) and Arctic Redpolls than I.   

Bird 1 - I initially put this bird down as a Mealy, but deliberated over the ID for a while before doing that. However, Simon Rix thinks this birds probably an Arctic, it has a generally frosty appearance and a small bill with a pinched culmen. The undertail coverts are predominantly white, with the dark central feather, although he is concerned this maybe a bit too broad. Unfortunately I don't have any images that show all of the rump, but what is shown again is predominantly white with a small amount of streaking.

Bird 1 - Probably an Arctic Redpoll

Bird 2 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 3 - I initially thought this bird was a Mealy Redpoll, but again there is a suggestion it maybe an Arctic. Unfortunately I don't have any images of the undertail coverts, and only one image showing a very small amount of rump, which is unstreaked. 

Bird 4 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 5 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 5 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 6 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 6 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 7 - Coues' Arctic Redpoll

After a fair while at the feeders we decided to go and have a wander and followed a track through a patch of woodland to a frozen lake. It was very quite bird wise and the only birds of note were Willow Tit, Siberian Tit and a few more redpolls. After our stroll we nipped down to the river that bordered BIRK Husky. We were right on the Russian border at this location, with the boundary running down the middle of the river. Neither of us have ever been to Russia so we scanned the landscape looking for any birds for our Russian list. Si quickly picked up a Dipper (Black-bellied) that was feeding along the edge of the river, on the Russian side and then a Whooper Swan flew downstream, landing in front of us before swimming to the Russian side of the river.

Dipper (Black-bellied) in Russia

Whooper Swan in Russia

With the light now fading we headed back to our room, briefly popping out to pick up a couple of beers. Later in the evening a couple of other guess who were staying came in and told us that the aurora borealis were showing outside, we quickly grabbed our cameras and ran out but had missed the best of the display.

A faint Aurora Borealis display

An Arctic Adventure 19th - 24th March (Day 2)

After two hours sleep, and feeling surprisingly refreshed, we set about arranging for our hire car to be transferred from the airport to our hotel. The weather was fantastic, still and sunny with a cloudless sky that belied the conditions we had experienced overnight, although the fresh covering of snow was very evident. The plan today was to drive north to Batsfjord, and as we had a long drive ahead we were keen to get moving.

View from the Scandic Hotel - Kirkenes

Our car arrived within half an hour, and in a matter of minutes we were on our way, well almost. Whilst loading up the car we were continually being distracted by a small flock of Waxwings that were flying around the town. On a couple of occasions it appeared that they would land in a nearby tree, so we had our cameras at the ready, but they didn't. But as we were leaving the town we stumbled across a flock of over 100 birds feeding on berries. With the morning light being so good we couldn't resist stopping.

Waxwing - Kirkenes

Waxwing - Kirkenes

Waxwing - Kirkenes

With time pressing on, a long journey ahead of us and feeling slightly nervous about the driving conditions we were soon on our way. We were hoping the see the eclipse of the sun at 11am but as we left Kirkenes cloud was already building, and as we headed north it became decidedly thicker. It was a great relief to feel how the studded snow tyres dealt with the compacted ice on the roads, and we were soon making good time. One of the areas we were hoping to bird en-route was the Tana Valley, as it was a good area for Hawk Owls, but by this time the weather had really taken a turn for the worst. Not only had the light gone, due to the eclipse, but the blizzard conditions made visibility very poor. 

We were aware that the mountain pass to Batsfjord was only passable in convoy, with a snow plough in front and a support vehicle behind. There were set times when they crossed the pass, the next being 14:30, we were one of 11 vehicles in the convoy and made it through without a hitch.

The Convoy North to Batsfjord

We arrived in Batsfjord at around 15:30 to a very wintering scene of light snow and bitterly cold conditions, but then we were in the Arctic. As the light was failing we decided to do a bit of birding rather than check into our hotel, and at our first stop we picked up a couple of Steller's Eider roosting on the snow, one of Si's target birds. There were also a couple of Common Eider on the water but otherwise it was just gulls.

Steller's Eider - Batsfjord

We continued exploring and soon found a flock of roosting gulls near a fish process factory. The flock included several Glaucous Gulls, of mixed ages, Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, of the nominate race argentatus, Kittiwakes and a single Iceland Gull. 

Adult Glaucous Gull - Batsfjord

1st Winter Glaucous Gull - Batsfjord

Adult Glaucous Gulls - Batsfjord

A summer plumaged Black Guillemot and a handful of Long-tailed Ducks were the only birds to speak of on the water, but a flock of roosting Purple Sandpipers were a nice find. There were over 200 birds present roosting on the side of a seawall, and as is quite usual for the species, they were very approachable. Simon spent a bit of time photographing them but I had foolishly left the car without my hat and gloves on, and could only grab a few shots before having to head back to the car to warm up. The picture below highlights just how effective the insulation of birds feathers are, as the snow was laying on top of the birds.

Purple Sandpiper - Batsfjord

With the light now all but gone we headed to the Polar Hotel, which was our accommodation for the night.

An Arctic Adventure 19th - 24th March (Day 1)

Back in 1999 I did a trip with a group of mates to Finland and Varanger Fjord, Norway in search of owls, seabirds and sea ducks. The trip ran from 29th May through to 6th June and there are certain experiences from that remain as vivid memories. When I was asked by my good friend Simon Colenutt (The Deskbound Birder) if I fancied a winter trip to north Norway, I jumped at the chance. My trip in 1999 was a whistle-stop tour that focussed on key sites for key birds, and this trip was no different. It was primarily designed to get Simon two key species, Steller's Eider and Pine Grosbeak, both of which would be new for him. I was not expecting to get any new birds.

Our trip began on 19th March with a flight from London Heathrow to Oslo and then an onward flight to Kirkenes in the north. There was a 4.5 hour gap between flights and so we had arranged to meet Simon Rix (Oslo Birder) a British birder now based in Oslo. There wasn't much around but a spot of birding was infinitely better than sitting in the airport for four hours. After checking in our baggage for our onward flight we met up with Simon and headed out. Our first stop was scheduled to be Nikevegan, which was the staging site for a flock of 'Taiga' Bean Geese. Our trip got off to a good start as en-route to the Bean Goose site we bumped into a Great Grey Shrike, which performed well for a while and whilst watching it we also had Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Greenfinch.

Great Grey Shrike

After a few minutes enjoying the shrike we pressed on to the Bean Geese and picked up a couple of Goldeneye on a small stream, before arriving at the site. There were around 50 birds on show and Simon reckoned that the the rest of the flock, which normally numbered around 150 were there but just out of view. There is an interesting story to these birds in that they winter in Scotland, and have been the subject of a study by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust to establish where they breed. The birds were initially fitted with neck collars and then satellite transmitters and it is now known where they breed, winter and the route they use for their migration. Details of the study can be found on Angus' Bean Goose Blog.

'Taiga' Bean Geese - note the silver neck collar on the bird in the foreground

Whilst we were watching the Bean geese one thing that was very apparent was the number of Yellowhammers around, a species that is increasingly more uncommon on the south coast of Hampshire. A flock of nine Whooper Swans and a Common Crane were nice additions to our species list.

Six of the flock of nine Whooper Swans

Our next stop was the Glomma River at Udenes, which is apparently a good spot for migrants. It was still a little early in the season for good migration and we were there in the early afternoon, so not the ideal time, but it was worth a shot. We were once again very fortunate in that two Moose were out in a field feeding on the young spring growth of grass. I have seen Moose in Canada on numerous occasions, but this was a new mammal species in the Western Pale-arctic for me.

Two Moose Grazing on the young spring grass

The Glomma River was quite low and there was very little to see, but we did see a couple more Common Cranes, another Whooper Swan, two Greylag Geese, some Mallards and a couple of Herring Gulls. With our time now running out we headed back for another look at the Bean Geese and the Great Grey Shrike and then back to the airport.

We said our farewell to Simon and worked our way through passport control to our onward flight to Kirkenes, all was going well until that is, we tried to land. A change in the weather, and a heavy blizzard meant that visibility was too poor to land and the pilot aborted our landing. We circled for a while before it was announced that we were being diverted to Laksalv Airport, to the west. We had planned to pick up our hire car at Kirkenes and had booked a night in the Scandic Hotel, but unfortunately that plan went out the window. A five hour overnight coach journey meant we arrived at our hotel and 04:50 in the morning.