Finland and Norway

Finland and Norway Birding tour Overview

Full Itinerary – Finland and Norway Birding Tour
Day 1:
Oulu
This tour begins in the city of Oulu in northern Finland where your guide will welcome you at the airport. Time allowing, we will enjoy some local birding after transferring to your hotel nearby.

Day 2-3:
Oulu
We will spend two full days birding the forests and coastal areas around Oulu. The region is best known for its northern Owls. Whilst breeding numbers fluctuate from year to year, the breeding species include Great Grey, Ural, Tengmalm’s, Pygmy and Short-eared Owl and most years also the nomadic Hawk and Long-eared Owl. Eagle Owl is a shy resident. Depending on the vole numbers, some owl species might also be encountered further north in the Kuusamo and Ivalo regions and Hawk Owl even up in Norway.
In the forests surrounding Oulu, we will also look for Three-toed Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Capercaillie, Black Grouse and even Hazel Grouse. Crested Tit, Wood Warbler, Red-backed Shrike all breed in this area.

Just south of Oulu, we visit Liminganlahti – a large internationally important wetland reserve that is home to a multitude of shorebirds and ducks. Hundreds of young Whooper Swan and Common Crane spend their summers here and breeding species include Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Shoveler and Garganey. Among the numerous migrants that rest here we should see Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Spotted Redshank and Ruff in stunning breeding plumages and Broad-billed Sandpipers also often stop here.

The coastal meadows around Oulu are good for raptors and White-tailed Eagles and Marsh Harriers patrol the shores and meadows endlessly. Rarer are the Pallid and Montagu’s Harrier, both seen regularly during migration and the former becoming more and more regular breeder up here. The rarest is the Terek Sandpiper with only a few breeding pairs left in Finland. Oulu is their last breeding area, and we will look for them during these few days.

Despite the northern location, some ”night singers” are also found in Oulu area such as Thrush Nightingale, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, and perhaps even Corn Crake might give us hearings and sightings.

Day 4:
Oulu – Kuusamo
After our superb birding days around Oulu, we drive eastwards to Kuusamo. We will make stops along the way at beautiful forests, bogs and lakes with good chances to see the beautiful Little Gull and the stunning Smew before arriving to the town of Kuusamo near the Russian border.

Day 5-6:
Kuusamo
Kuusamo is an exciting birding destination and known for its natural beauty. An enviable number of eastern and northern species breed here, and we will look for Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, Black and Three-toed Woodpecker in the extensive Taiga forests surrounding Kuusamo. Red-flanked Bluetail occurs here at the extreme western edge of its range, and although the terrain is mostly easy to walk in, it will involve one or two steep uphill climbs particularly for Red-flanked Bluetail. The vast forests are excellent grouse habitat, and an early morning grouse drive will be taken searching for Willow and Black Grouse, Capercaillie and the elusive Hazel Grouse.

We will look for the eastern specialities on one of our full days. Such as the Rustic and Little Bunting and the nearby lakes and bogs are home to species such as Red-necked Grebe, Goldeneye, Smew, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Jack Snipe. Other species might include Brambling and Common Rosefinch in their fine summer plumages, as well as Bullfinch, Bohemian Waxwing and the delightful Dipper.

Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Buzzard breed here and are well worth scanning for as they soar the skies. In most years, Hawk Owl and Tengmalm’s Owl also breed in Kuusamo area. Time allowing, a visit to Oulanka National Park might be possible. These untouched forests of the park are home to many of the target bird species – however, it might be surprisingly difficult to locate them in the vast forests. Oulanka also preserves wild flora including the Calypso and Lady’s Slipper orchids – they can be seen depending on blooming timing.

Day 7:
Kuusamo – Ivalo
Today we start to head north. We will cross the Arctic Circle and make some birding stops along the way. This far north the short nights do not get dark, and the landscape starts to change as the coniferous forests give room for Mountain Birch dominated forests and bogs.

Day 8:
Ivalo – Båtsfjord
After breakfast we continue our tour towards the northernmost part of mainland Europe. Our sightings in the morning might include Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, Pine Grosbeak and Brambling in summer plumage as well as Whimbrel and Ruff as we explore the Lappish forests and bogs as we go.

After lunch at the Finnish-Norwegian border we follow the famous Salmon River of Teno to the fjords. We stop at Teno delta for shorebirds and the first Eiders of the tour. Soon we start climbing uphill and leave the tree line behind us. The highlands in Varanger Peninsula offer some wonderful birding and the species list is truly appreciable: Bluethroat, Arctic Redpoll and Willow Grouse occupy the river valleys while Lapland Bunting, Shore Lark and Long-tailed Skua are found on the hillsides. The most adapted are the Rock Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting and Dotterel which choose to stay on the barren hilltops. The roadside lakes provide excellent birding with Red-throated and Black-throated Diver, Greater Scaup and Long-tailed Duck while Temminck’s Stint show off their butterfly display flight along the roads. The extreme arctic is truly amazing! After birding the highlands, we descent to a lovely small fishing town of Båtsfjord.

Day 9-11:
Båtsfjord – Vardö
After breakfast, we head back to the highlands and enjoy those special birds again for the morning, soon it is time to drive to the Varanger Fjord itself. The Fjord holds some impressive birds, and en route, as well as during the next two days, we look for shorebirds such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Knot, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone and Whimbrel. In the waters we will especially search for King and Steller’s Eider while other birds might include Black-throated and Red-throated Diver, Goosander, and Velvet and Common Scoter. Numerous Whitetailed Eagles patrol the coastline for easy prey and scanning the skies might produce Rough-legged Buzzard. Weather permitting, we will make a half-day excursion by boat to the large seabird colonies on Hornøya island. The Hornøya Nature Reserve is home to thousands and thousands of Common and Brünnich’s Guillemot, Razorbill and Atlantic Puffin as well as Shag and some 25 000 pairs of Kittiwake. At times, Gyrfalcon patrols over the island in hopes for an easy snack and causes panic among the breeding seabirds.

The air is filled with the cacophony of thousands of birds and there are excellent opportunities here for photographing seabirds at close range. A nice walk all the way up to the top of the island to a lighthouse gives wonderful views over the Barents Sea. We will also make a day trip to Hamningberg which is often referred to as the very end of Europe. The road follows the unique rocky coastline and there are excellent vantage points for sea watching from the road. Here we look for White-billed and Great Northern Diver, Gannet, Fulmar, and King and Steller’s Eider. Sea watching from Hamningberg might give us Pomarine and Great Skua and even Whales!

Day 12:
Vardö – Ivalo
The tour draws to a close and we depart south to Finland after breakfast. We drive along the Varanger Fjord making regular birding stops in small harbours along the way to break up the journey. We enjoy further sightings of the many birds we have already seen.

Day 13:
Departure
Time allowing, a morning excursion to a nearby birding area is possible with hopes to add a few more species to our lists. However, today it is time to say goodbye and catch the homeward flight.

To go birding in Norway and Finland with us, contact our team at info@naturetravelbirding.com