Searching high and low

I have just returned from my trip up north in hope to see the enigmatic Snowy owl (snøugle). We were searching high and low, day and night. Covering tens of miles with car and snow mobile. I guess we haver searched along 80% of the tracks allowed to drive with snow mobile up in the mountains around the remote village of Båtsfjord, and all open roads that goes through snowy owl habitat. But the white bird was nowhere to be seen. I am not really surprised, as this is not the first time in my life I try to see this bird. I knew it would be extremely difficult, but then again - you never win big if you don't take risks. It seems, that the snowy owl and me, is never going to happen. But what can I do - except continue searching.

Even though the snowy owl eluded me once again, I owe the owner of Arctic Tourist, Ørjan Hansen, a big thank you for a very memorable trip even so. This was a hard core winter trip, with temperatures of minus 20 degrees celsius most days and many hours out in the mountains. Without Ørjans experience and expertise, this trip would have been much more dangerous. Camping in a cabin high up in the mountains, only with a few reindeer as the only neighbours made you realise the remoteness of the palce. Since the snow is white, and the snowy owl is white, we actually found the most effective way to search was during the dark hours of the day using a strong torch. Even though we were dressed in so many layers of clothes that it was difficult to move, we found several foxes, wolverine (jerv) tracks and lots of Ptarmigans (fjellrype) and a few Willow grouse (lirype) in the lower grounds. Both new species for the Big Year list.

One of several Ptarmigans (fjellrype) found during our nocturnal search. This female is not
 easy to distinguish from the very similar willow grouse, but very small bill is the key,
as well as the shape of the forehead and bill. 

I must admit, it was quite an exotic experience to drive in pitch dark, in the harsh
mountains, only with the light of my torch and the snow mobile to guide our
way along the white fields. And of course, the sky was filled with dancing
Aurora borealis to keep us warm in the freezing cold. Very spectacular indeed!
You might think that one of the reasons we didnt find the snowy owl was because,
we held the torch straight up in the air.....I can assure you that this pose was for the
picture only, and that the light usually was hold in a more horisontal position.

This is a picture I took in the same area last year. Just to give you an idea
of how the roads and nature of this hostile mountains can be like. Yes - the
shadows you see in the white are cars, presumably driving on a road....

Even though we didn't manage to find the snowy owl, I am not surprised if this will be one of the trips I will most strongly remember by the end of the year. First time driving snow mobile, and spectacular nature and light and mountains. Norway is a fine place to live indeed!

And then the long flight back home....only interupted by the news of a
 Black-throated thrush (svartstrupetrost) in western Norway, in the town
Bergen. When one adventure ends - another begins.

I have already booked my tickets to try for the Black-throated thrush in Bergen. Two long trips so far in the Big Year, and both have ended with a dip. Will this third try for this huge rarity change my luck? Keep follow this blog to see what happens and if I succeed or not.

New species: 2

Total: 105

-EG-

Colourful Safari

Båtsfjord in Northern-Norway has long been considered one of the best places to photograph the king eider (praktærfugl) and steller's eider (stellerand). These two bird species are so colourful, that they easily match any exotic rainforest bird any day and has always been high on any birdwatcher's "want to see" list. The birds breed in Siberia, and start to arrive Båtsfjord in late November. The number reach a climax in early February. The small company Arctic Tourist has for a few years offered boat trips around the harbour and out in the fjord to see and photograph these birds. Arctic Tourist has now improved their service, and are offering a floating hide to get even better pictures. I spent a few days testing this hide last week, and from the very first minute I was very impressed with how well it works. The birds simply didn't care at all, and many times I had both king eiders and steller's eider within one meter distance! The hide is mobile, and we tested different locations and back grounds. I think we found the best spot at the end, even though the back ground might feel a bit tight at times there are a lot birds to choose from. A steller's eider female had her favourite dive spot just four meters away. All day I was companied by about 40 king eiders, 60 long-tailed ducks (havelle) and 10 stellers ducks. Grey seals often popped their head up as well, but were usually on a bit longer distance.

The hide is not a luxury one, but has room for two and you can choose between openings so you can sit comfortably on a chair taking pictures from about 1 meter above sea level (easier for flight and action), or you lay flat on comfortable sleeping mats and reindeer skins (to keep you warm) and use the lower lids where you are only about 30cm above sea level. For these lower ones, I highly recommend an angle view finder on your camera to avoid a stiff neck. The hide is built like a small hut, and you are sheltered from the weather but it is non heated.

Arctic Tourist is building new hides as we speak - a bigger one for 8 people is planned as well as one that you can drive around in with the help of an electrical outboard engine. It remains some testing to see if this works well though.

Båtsfjord is well north of the Arctic circle and lights returns in late January. Arctic Tourist plans to start their bird hide season from 1st February until some time in early April when the birds migrate to Russia. I was there mid Februrary and the daylight hours were from 0730am - 1500pm. Early February has more birds, but less behaviour. March has less birds but more displaying birds which is an advantage for more interesting behaviour shots. Båtsfjord is a very small fishing village, but there is both a hotel and nice motel in town as well as an airport and a number of food stores.

I can highly recommend a visit in the hides of Arctic Tourist. For more information, please see the website: www.arctictourist.no. They also offer other trips in the area such as king krab safari and trips to the famous bird cliffs Syltefjordstauran during summer. Below are a few of the images I've taken the last week from the hide.

 -EG-