2010 Scandinavia Trip Report

Duration: 13 days, 12 nights

Location: Norway & Finland, EU

Budget: €4200

Miles Travelled: 2100

This was a trip that happened as a last minute plan really. I got to go and photography the White Tailed Sea Eagles in Flatanger, Norway for a week in early July with some friends.

After this I headed to Finland and went in search of Ospreys, bears, wolverines and other animals in the area.

Day 1 – July 7th 2010 – Wednesday

I got up at 5am for an early drive to Dublin for my flight to Trondheim in Norway. I left Limerick at 5:35am and headed towards Dublin. The bypass of mountrath and Borris-in-Ossery are now open and for 1.80euro it is worth it for the time saved. I arrived in Dublin airports long term BLUE carpark and got the bus to the terminal. I was a little early but it was good to just relax. I paid for the car park online. The check in opened at 08:30 but I have used a Kiosk myself to select seats and received a printed boarding pass. Once the check in desk was open I checked in my bag and proceeded through the security section. I had most of my essential camera gear with me for the flight. I took with me the following items

• Canon 1D Mark IV Camera Body
• Canon 5D Mark II Camera Body
• Canon 500mm L  f4 IS Lens
• Canon 70-200mm IS USM Lems
• Canon 24-70mm L Lens
• Ca non 1.4x Teleconverter
• Dell Mini 9 Latop and External HDs
• Wimberly II Tripod head for the 500mm Lens
• Memory cards, battery chargers, cables etc

Once through security – this took about 20 minutes – I went upstairs and got some breakfast. I had time to kill. It was 11.95 for a full Irish breakfast. I ate and relaxed and waited for the rest of the lads that were going to Norway with me to photography the white tail  sea eagle. I was heading over there with a irish wildlife photographer called Mike Brown. Also going was Joe Duffy and James McSweeney. Our flight was at 11:05 via Copenhagen and then onto Oslo. We boared without any problems and the flight over to  Copenhagen was uneventful. The flight time was approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Upon arrival at Copenhangen, we headed for the next gate. The good thing about SAS and their boarding pass was that it has all the follow on passes printed on the one card so all we had to do was get to the gate on time. We checked out the monitors when we arrived and found the gate for the flight to Oslo. We had about 30 minutes to spare before they started boarding once we got to the gate. The flight to Oslo was approximately 1 hour. In Oslo we had to re-check our bags. One of the lads was over the 20KG limit on luggage by approximatley 4KG and had to pay 35euro surcharge. We all checked in and I stayed for a later flight as the lads headed off to Trondheim to meet with Ole Martin Dahl – the eagle man. My flight was at 20:20 so I went to get something to eat and headed to the gate once it was posted on the monitor. I arrived in Trondheim after 1 hour and 5 minutes and met Mike Brown and Ole Martin at the baggage claim. We then proceeded to drive north towards Flatanger – a small town nestled in among the many fjords of norway. It took us 2.5 hours to get there and it was close to midnight when we got the accommodation for the next few days We saw some moose on the way in near Flatanger. They were grazinn in the fields near the town. It was still bright out which was due to the location and how close to the Arctic Circle we were. We had some guests at our house also – two fox cubs from this years littler. They were exploring around the house when we got there and put our bags in the room. We took some images of the sunset and talked and finally said we were going to bed at 2am. The time difference was 1 hour between here and Ireland.

Day 2 – July 8th 2010 – Thursday

We got up around 5am this morning. So not a lot of sleep but everyone was excited to get out on the boat and start taking some pictures. Ole Martin called over to the house at 6am and we were down and on the boat by 06:30. The morning was nice and the light was good now. Sunrise – as you can call it – happens around 02:30 in this part of the world. Considering sunset lasted for approximately 90 minutes the night before there are only a few hours between the sun going down and coming back up again. In those few hours, there is still decent light out for seeing but not for taking pictures unless you are interested in long exposure. A good thing to consider bringing might be a sleep mask that they issue on the planes on the long trans-atlantic jourenys. Ole Martin has names for the eagles and after a day or two you start to get used to it . We headed left out of Flatanger when we got going and the first thing that you will notice about Ole and his tours are the gulls. They follow him everywhere – and for good reason. He feeds them bread as he drives around the miles of fjords looking for the eagles. Be caerful if you are going to feed the gulls too as they are bold – one even sits on Ole’s head and takes the food right out of his mouth. . We saw a moose on the way over to the first eagle spot – we got to coast the boat in close to the shore line but they are a shy creature and it was eating in the shade of a mountain so light was poor where it was located. Ole Martin spotted her on the way to the location and we joked with him later that he must have eagle eyes himself. You will understand why when you go on a tour with him! The first location proved rewarding with the male eagles coming down to take the fish that Ole threw out. Normally it works something along these lines – Ole Martin locates an eagle or failing that goes to a location where he knows the eagle to be in the vicinity. He moves the boat into postition for the best light – backlight, sunset etc. After checking that everyone is ready he throws out the fish – and calls “Fish is out!”. If you loose track of where the fish is, just look for the greater black back gulls – they will be fighting over it and trying to eat it. The fish is called a Coalfish and it is fished in the area locally and strongly abundant. The fish are generally frozen and too big for the gulls to eat  so there is no problem with them staying near it. The next words you want to hear from Ole – or anyone else on the boat – is “Eagle is coming” and this is invariably followed by “Where?” from the people with the cameras. The eagle came off its perch and glided into us in the shadow of the mountaion but Ole had him spotted and soon we were all tracking him into us. They are fast but sometimes they will circle the boat and give us a better opportunity to photography them. It is not that the eagle has trouble finding the fish, as they never loose sight of it once Ole throws it into the water and they see the splash from half a mile away – or more. No, they circle the fish and slowly start to circle in lower arcs until they are swooping in with talons extended, strike and catch the fish and fly off back to the perch or nest. This morning it all happened so fast that the fish was gone and the eagle was heading back to the nest before we knew it. It is an amazing spectacle to watch and witness.

We stayed on the water from 06:30 to 10:00 that moring looking for eagles and getting pictures. In the beginning I was taking images on the eagle when he was still a long way off but I soon came to realise that there was no need for this as it was rare that the eagle was coming in straight to take a fish. The boat does get cold when you are moving from place to place so you will need some warm clothing or something rain proof for the few times that the wind might whip some wave spray in over the boat. Ole has 4 survival suits in the house that we discovered later on that day. They have the capability of acting as a floatation device if one does enter the water and also keep you warm between journeys from point to point. They were very good and not overheating you also so after the first day we tended to wear them out with us after that – for safety and warmth and to protect us from the gulls overhead – sometimes they were depositing stuff down on us too so watch your camera and gear just in case.

The 500mm is a heavy lens as people will know and hard to haldhold – though it is very good and razor sharp. I used it for the day but it takes time to figure out how the eagles approach Ole and try to guage how they will react to the wind, weather, elememts etc. Time and practice – there is plenty of opportunity to photography the gulls with whaterver equiptment you bring and check your display to see that you are getting the desired effect before the eagles come.  The lens of choice on the boat was the 300mm f4 lens as coupled with a 1.3 or 1.6 crop factor it gives a nice focal lenght that allows you to follow the eagle down onto the fish.

After coming in at 10:00 we headed to the Spar shop in town and got some food for lunch. I know it is a wierd thing to say lunch when it is only 10 in the morning but when you are up at 5am then it sounds really good. We got some food and headed back to the house to cook it. Scrambed eggs and bacon with tea or coffee. Everyone got busy after that downloading the images from the mornings shoot and putting them onto their computer for rating or backup – or a bit of both. I went to bed at 12 and got up around 14:00 hours. I wanted to go out for a short run as the weather was so nice. There is a lovely mountain behind Ole’s cottage that gives an amazing panoramic view of the fjords. I ran up a rough trail – took about 15 minutes and is designed for mountain running as there is roots and rocks everywhere – and then sat and enjoyed the view from the top. There is a radar mast up there and a book to sign to say you were there. Then upon descent I turned right and headed out towards one of the islands – with a church on it. You see this when you are on the fjords. I did not get out there today now due to the mountain run part but all in all it was a nice run and I was back to the cottage in under the hour. I grabbed a shower and then did a backup of my images from this morning. After this, we chatted some more and at 17:30 Ole collected us to go down to the local pub – Zanzibar – where we got something to eat before heading out on the boat again. The have burgers and chips as a failsafe option and most days will have at least two different types of fish dishes on the menu – depending on what was caught recently. We headed back out around 19:00 and were on the water till 22:00. The evening was changable and there was a nice bank of cloud out in the open water but we got some nice shots and saw Ole and James do some fishing as well for some coalfish for the following days trips. We were looking for some eagles for a sunset shot but alas we could not find any on the way back in so I practiced with the gulls in the shots instead. Back on the pier at 22:00 and up to the house for 22:30. Then we started looking at pictures or surfing the web on the free wireless in the house. The fox cubs came up to the house later on but they were nervous and did not really afford us a great opportunity to get a good shot of them. Bed was still around 01:00 the following morning though – it is hard to go to bed when it is bright out – it just goes against all the rules!

Day 3 – July 9th 2010 – Friday

This morning we got up at the same time. 05:00 – it was starting to take a toll on us now but we knew that there was a nap on the card around noon once we got something to eat. The weather had taken a turn for the worst and the rain was coming down quite strongly outside. Ole texted to say it was to clear and we would wait another hour. No one really complained as we all got another hour in bed and some much needed sleep. I got to test out a different camera and setup this morning. Ole had a Nikon D700 and a 200-400mm zoom lens and I used that for the morning shoot. I have to say that it was a very good setup. The zoom lens at that focal length was very good for tracking the eagle in and getting some good shots as they snatched the fish from the water before returning to its perch on the mountain. I spent the morning using this equipment as we went from fjord to fjord looking for eagles and shooting gulls and doing some fishing. We got back in around 10:00 and headed to the Spar to stock up on supplies before returning to the house for an early lunch. After food I imported my photos and made sure the camera was free in case Ole or someone else wanted to use it for the afternoon. I went to bed for an hour and then got up and went for a run for an hour before getting ready for dunner and an evening on the boat.

We had a new guest as well this afternoon – Tommi from Stockholm. He has driven up – approximately 12 hours – to get to Flatanger and he was booked in to go out on the boat with us for the next two days – starting tomorrow morning. He headed off to do some sunset shots when we were geting ready for the meal and evening boat safari. I borrowed Mike’s 300mm f4 Lens as he was using a 100-400mm lens this afternoon. I have to say that it was a lot lighter than the 500mm and easier to swing around. It did lack reach but in the grander scale of things that was not really important as the eagles would come pretty close to the boat when they were swooping for the fish. I recall on one dive the eagle came in the wrong way and straight across the bow of the boat, literally within spitting distance. No one was ready for it thought and we all had the wrong lenses on in any case. The evening light was lovely and the sky was blue with a specking of clouds showing here and there. We were looking for a sunset shot with an eagle, where we capture it silhouette as it dives for the fish. The light was perfect but alas we could not find an eagle that was hungry enough to come out for a fish. So we got to practice the technique with the gulls and some bread that Ole had. We headed back into the harbour around midnight this time – the sun setting was so nice that we stayed out a little longer looking for eagles to photograph. After we got in we headed for the house and took some images of the sunset from the balcony and then downloading the pictures from the day onto our respective computers. Bed was sometime after 01:00 for us again.

Day 4 – July 10th 2010 – Saturday

The morning started off as normal. Role out of the scratcher at 05:00. Only thing this morning was the weather was bad. It was raining hard and were told that we would wait till 07:00 before heading out . There was hope that it would clear up – a bit like yesterday morning. Eventually got out on the boat around 07:30 but it was very dull and overcast. Diffused light but the metering on the cameras were hard to work with – a lot of us were shooting in Manual to try to compensate. An alternative this morning was something Mike calls “Arty Farty” where we shoot really slow shutter speeds and try to get a nice blurry controlled effect into the images. We took some shots of eagles and gulls and then  headed back into the Harbour around 10:00 to get some food and lunch. I chilled out and tried to decide on what to do re the run. The weather was pretty wet outside once we got back to the house – the survival suits on the boat were very handy this morning. I gave the run a pass and messed around with some photos and some web work before getting some sleep and then heading out in the afternoon – hoping that the weather was going to clear. It was still cloudy and overcast and we got some rain – so make sure to have a quick safe dry place to put your camera when out on the boat. We took some images and came in early as there was little point in shooting in that sort of light. Home to the house and it was too cold even for the foxes. Ole told us that the weather was forecast better for tomorrow so we were hoping that it would prove to be accurate.

Day 5 – July 11th 2010 – Sunday

Sunday morning and it started out promising! We headed up to where we started out on Wednesday and decided to try some backlighing of our main subject – the white tailed sea eagle. Ole spotted the male on a tree and threw out the fish. We were lucky in the sense that the female came off the nest for a meal as well so she took the first fish.. Then Ole threw out a second one – once we had time to have a quick look on the LCD’s of the cameras and make any adjustments that we wanted. Then we captured the male flying through and got some great shots. Ole said that it was a small fish and the male would probably come again in a few minutes. We took some shots of the gulls and Ole did some fishing and then the male was back looking for another fish. We captured this sequence again and then headed out to another fjord. On the way out of town we saw one of the red fox cubs down by the edge of the water feeding as we drove along. He saw us coming and headed for shelter though in the trees before we got close enough for a good shot. We got some more shots of eagles and gulls and some nice landscapes as the sun was lighting up the surrouding hills and mountains nicely. Back in the town and house for 10:00 where we got some food and got ready for the afternoon session. I did my usual sleep and run and then headed up to the  top of the mountain behind the house with James. The day was nice so we headed up to try to capture a panoramic image of the view from up there. It took approximately 30 minutes to make it to the top and we sat down and took some pictures and then relaxed and enjoyed the view and the sun. It was starting to cloud up by the time we were descending so we were hoping that the afternoon session would be good.  Back to the house, quick shower and out the door at 17:30 to get some food and onto the boat then for the evening session. We got some nice images of a pair of eagles on a rock yesterday during one of the sessions and they were there again today but they did not stay around to let us capture the images this time. The wind picked up and we could not get out across to the big fjord. We captures some images but the boat was rocking more than usual so it was hard to get good shots. We were heading back into town around 21:00 and one eagle followed us in in order to get a fish. It was the last shot of the day and we were happy that it happened. Then it was into the pub to watch the final between Spain and the Netherlands. Tommi headed off to drive back to Stockholm as he was working in the morning. We watched the end of the game and headed back to the house. The fox cubs came up to the house also tonight so we got some nice shots of them before going upstairs and starting to pack. Got to sleep around 02:00.

Day 6 – July 12th 2010 – Monday

Up at 06:00 and got the rest of the packing done and a shower. The cubs were outside again and the light was better so got a few more shots before packing away the camera. Ole collected us at 07:15 and we headed for Trondheim airport. Got there a little after 10:00 for a 12:10 flight. We said good luck to Ole Martin and headed in. Checkin was easy enough and security was not too bad either. Got inside then and just relaxed before the flight to Copenhagen. It took approximately 2 hours to get down to there. From here I got a connecting flight to Helsinki. There was a one hour time difference also between Copenhagen and Helsinki. After 30 minutes in Helsinki, I was boarding my third and final flight for the day to Oulu. The lads were arriving back into Dublin as I was stepping off the plane in Oulu in 25 degree heat outside and being met by a local wildlife guide from Vaala – Eero. He collected me at 20:00 and we headed for Vaala – approximagtely 90 minutes drive due south. I got there around 22:00 and got something to eat and went to be as it was a long day and tomorrow I was  going to be photographing ospreys and their chicks.

Day 7 – July 13th 2010 – Tuesday

Today was the first day that I was going to be shooting something other than Eagles and seagulls. Today I was hoping to get some footage and shots of Ospreys. Eero called to the house around 09:00 and collected me and another photographer to go and get some breakfast. It was a very relaxed affair compared to Norway and Ole Martin. Then again the ospreys were sitting on a nest with three chicks to feed so we knew where they were and they were not really going anywhere. We had breakfast at the ABC petrol station. We also made some sandwiches there for our lunch for later on – it was all included in the 7euro breakfast charge. Once we were done here we headed to Eeros house to get some supplies… thermos flasks with water for the day, wellington boots for the walk into the hide and a few other bits and pieces. We drove around 30 minutes out to the hide via the house – I had to collect my tripod head – and then packed up and walked into the hide. Eero has an extremely useful piece of gear. It is a sort of jacket that has a cover for your head and eyes and is made of light mesh. It is ideal for keeping the flies off you in the woods and areas where they are strongest. We got to the woods around noon – coming on the hottest part of the day. The walk in took around 40 minutes and we had to cross lots of streams and old river beds. The wellingtons were invaluable in keeping the feet dry. Upon arriving at the hide the parents were off the nest and circling as the intruders made their way to the box. The hide was erected so that it was slightly looking down into the nest and had a nice background of green trees behind it. Eeor told us that the nest is nearly 25 years old and the size of it tells you that it has been around for a bit. The osprey female came back in once Eero had left. Myself and the other photogrpaher set up the camera gear and then we settled in. We got some images of her returning and then settled in to wait for the male to return with some food. The heat was oppressive in the hide box. The temperature reaching 30 degrees outside and probably higher inside in the box. We were drinking our water but we did not bring enough and had to spare it as it was going to be a long day before we finished there. We witnessed 4 feedings in total – the last one occurring as we were about to head home so that was good timing. The female was calling once the male was on the way back to the nest so we were always aware of when a feeding took place – though we did take turns in keeping an eye on the nest in case anything else happened in the meantime. The only thing that did happen was the female would head away from the nest and rest on one of the nearby trees and use it as a bathroom. The chicks did not have this luxary so they reversed to the edge of the nest, cocked their backside over the edge and squirted their waste over the side to fall to the earth below. We finished in the hide around 20:00 and walked back to the car and got loaded up. Got going again around 21:00 and headed back to the house. Saw some divers on the way in but they were too far away to get any usable images. Then we headed over to the house and the lads went for a meal. I was tired after the day so I went to bed as I was driving in the morning to Viiksimo. Got to bed around midnight.

Day 8 – July 14th 2010 – Wednesday

Got up at 06:00 and went for short 40min jog. Back and showered and changed to meet Eero at 07:30 to collect car. Got car back from garage at 09:30 and was on the road at 10:00 after stopping at Tori market to get me some of those mossie jackets for myself. Drove to Viiksimmo to where the bear and wolverine hides are. Off road part of approx 30km and from Vaala is approx 250km or 3.5 hours. Stayed in big hide this night. Close to road. 50m approx. Nice and big inside. Entered around 16:00 hours and first bears appeared around 19:00. Stayed up till 01:00 and got some sleep then for a few hours and then got up at 04:00 to give the guide a chance to sleep. Saw a white tailed fish eagle as well as Black Kite and ravens before heading away at 07:00 and going back to the lodge. Got brekkie at 08:00 and then got some sleep for a few hours. Then I was going to the forest hide for the next night.

Day 9 – July 15th 2010 – Thursday

Headed to the forest hide around 17:00 hours. Got there and got settled in and then waited. Totally different to the big hide. Had to walk approx 10 minutes from road to hide. Wellies were needed here and very useful. Got into the hide and set up cameras. Food was close and so were the bears. After 22:00 before first bear showed up. There was a great spotted woodpeckers though to help me pass the time in the meantime. First bear was a large male and he was huge. Was kinda cool to see him and see how close he want and just stare at him. A few more bears showed up as the night wore on. I went to sleep around 00:00 or a little after and got up around 03:30 to get some of the sunrise and see if anything else would show. There was a nice sunrise and the woodpeckers were back. Left the hide around 07:00 and headed back to the lodge. Got some food, shower and quick email check and the headed towards Martlinselkonen. Approx 140km from where I was currently. Saw large male reindeer as I left the lodge.

Day 10 – July 16th 2010 – Friday

14km of off road driving here.  Saw black grouse on the way in. Arrived at 12:30 and checked in. Meal at 15:00 and got ready for swamp hide. Left at 16:00 and walked in to swamp hide. Took 20 minutes to drive and about 20-25 to walk in – depending on numbers and fitness level of people. There are some boardwalks to cross and the rest is mostly trails. Swamp hide is open field. Nice setup but really bad weather. Terrible rain. Was actually cold. Got into sleeping bag. Bring a head torch if you want to read some materinal in a book. Mother and cubs were there at 21:15. Other larger bears there earlier. Very nervous of each other.

Day 11 – July 17th 2010 – Saturday

Collect at 07:00 and headed back to the lodge. Got breakfast and slept for an hour. Then got up and copied some files and read some notes. Forest hide tonight. Got food at 15:00 and then headed to forest hide. They are all on the same route. First is the swamp hide then 200m on is the main hide – for viewing and photographing the bears. Another 100m on from this is the pro hides for photographing the bears. I was in there tonight. There was a family in the other hide. As were entered the area there were bears out there already and they ran away. They can cover ground really fast when they want to. Food was laid out – salmon and dog biscuits – and I got set up. Bears were not long in coming and over the course of the evening the three monthers with their 4,3 and 2 cubs respectively showed up. The mother with the 4 cubs and the one with the 2 cubs even started fighting when the cubs were mock fighting at one stage. Was amazing to hear.

Day 12 – July 18th 2010 – Sunday

Collected just before 07:00 and walked out to the cars and back in the lodge for 08:00. Got brekkie and checked out around 09:30 and headed to Vaala.Distance was 200km and took about 2.5 to 3 hours. Nice roads across but weather was not great. Got there around 12:00 and got some petrol and then some food for lunch and dinner later on. Went out for short drive after to try to find some nice photo ops but nothing doing. Got some lunch and dinner and repacked for flight in the morning. Early start with drive to airport at  05:30. I am starting to get used to it now tho.

Day 13 – July 19th 2010 – Monday

Travelled to the airport with Eero at 05:30 and arrived around 07:00. Said goodbye to Eero and checked in my bags for my onward flight. Had a flight from Oulu back to Helsinki first and then onto Copenhagen and back to Dublin before the drive back to Limerck. A long day of travelling at the end of a great two weeks with lots of images and memories to take home.