This is an unashamedly bird-oriented holiday combining the wonders of the enormous Siberian forest with outstanding beauty of the Arctic tundra. In short, this holiday offers the most comprehensive itinerary with the best guides and at the best price when compared to any other UK operator. It is timed to perfection and our visit gives us the best possible chance of finding all of the 'northern' owls - something we manage every year. It also offers an excellent line-up of other resident species and summer visitors, many of which are difficult to find elsewhere in Europe. Plus it's also timed to avoid the dreaded mosquitoes spoiling our fun! We'll begin in Finland and gradually work our way up to Norway - as far as it is possible to go on the European mainland!

Click here to see a slide show of images taken on our recent spring trips to Finland and Norway.

PLEASE NOTE: Although we are running this trip as a complete 14-day holiday from 23 May - 5 June 2009 we are happy to make this trip as flexible as we possibly can for those who cannot commit to the whole itinerary. We therefore offer the unique option to join leg one from Saturday 23 May to Friday 29 May or leg two from Friday 29 May - Friday 5 June. If joining leg one you will fly from London Heathrow to Oulu and return to London Heathrow from Kuusamo. If joining leg two you will fly return from London Heathrow to Ivalo. Please refer to the cost section for prices of both holiday legs.

Saturday 23 May - Monday 25 May 2009

We fly to Helsinki from London Heathrow, arriving in the early afternoon. From Helsinki we take an internal flight to Oulu, which takes approximately forty-five minutes. We will be met here by our good Finnish friend and ace-birder Harri Taavetti, and transfer to our hotel. Singing Redwings will serenade us in the car park along with striking Pied Flycatchers and the bay just behind the hotel often holds Smew and Red-necked Grebes. For the next three days (and nights!) we will explore the varied habitats of the Oulu region with our prime targets being owls and woodpeckers. The Oulu area is indeed perhaps best known for its breeding owls - in a 'good vole year' they include Eagle Owl, Ural Owl, Great Grey Owl, Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm's Owl. In most years we can also find the stunning Hawk Owl. Their domains are also home to other forest species like the enormous Black Woodpecker, the stunning Three-toed Woodpecker and the equally impressive Wryneck, Goshawk and Crested Tit. Just south of Oulu is Liminganlahti - an important wetland reserve that is home to a multitude of wildfowl and shorebirds including Curlew, Greenshank, Ruff, Temminck's Stint, Common Crane, Little Ringed Plover, Caspian Tern, Blacktailed Godwit, Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser and Garganey. Bitterns can be heard booming in reeds that are quartered by Marsh Harriers, Little Gulls are common and a few pairs of Red-backed Shrike and Ortolan Bunting breed in the area. Kempele meadows, dotted with rustic timber barns, have colourful male Ruff lekking, whilst the Tauvo peninsula in Siikajoki hosts displaying Temminck's Stint and the very scarce Terek Sandpiper - they will hopefully be arriving in Finland at the time of our visit. The air is busy with Arctic and Caspian Terns, along with flocks of Arcticbound divers; offshore we may see flocks of Common and Velvet Scoters, Rednecked Grebes and with luck maybe a Long-tailed or Pomarine Skua. Overnights at Oulu.

Tuesday 26 May - Thursday 28 May 2009

After a morning's birding in the Oulu area - where we will make a special effort to find Citrine Wagtails if they have returned to breed - we drive north east towards the Russian border, where we spend three nights in the 'taiga' regions around Kuusamo. Stretching in a broken belt around the northern hemisphere, this vast coniferous forest zone is a wild wood of mammoth proportions and holds great biological riches. In Europe this great forest ribbon only just stretches into Scandinavia, but it is truly at its best here in the north of Finland. Early morning or late night Grouse-drives will reward us with Black Grouse, Willow Grouse, Hazel Hen and Capercaillie - and all normally provide excellent views. We shall also visit some excellent 'quaking' bogs with Cranes, Green & Wood Sandpipers, velvety Spotted Redshanks and dainty Red-necked Phalaropes. We will also make a special effort to witness the amazing 'galloping horse' display flight of the Jack Snipe. Naturally we'll visit any breeding owl sites that Harri has pinned down as well as exploring Oulanka National Park. This beautiful park is a thrilling boreal wilderness, rolling into Paanajarvi National Park across the Russian border. With wet mire 'aapa' bogs along the River Oulankajoki, birdlife here is the stuff of myth and legend - Bluethroats, Bramblings, Golden Eagles, Common, Parrot and Two-barred Crossbills, Rustic Buntings, Waxwings, Little Buntings and Hazel Hen to name but a few! Reindeer and Arctic Hare are here too. Climbing higher, the pristine, narrow-shouldered Siberian spruce forests of Valtavaara National Reserve are cloaked in beardlichens and littered with snow patches. Siberian Jay and Siberian Tit can be quite tame, whilst exciting, but unpredictable, specialties include Pine Grosbeak and, present most years, the rare and beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail. Overnights at Kuusamo.

Friday 29 May 2009

After breakfast we travel about 400 km to the north to Ivalo. Although today is very much a travel day we'll make several stops in suitable habitat for special taiga birds such as Broad-billed Sandpiper, Jack Snipe, Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, and any owls that might be around. Overnight in Ivalo.

Saturday 30 May - Sunday 31 May 2009

After breakfast, we'll continue our journey north through Arctic Lapland. We pass through some incredible birding habitat that is a combination of taiga forest and 'quaking' bogs. We'll stop to look at groups of extraordinary-looking Ruff performing their incredible lekking routine and we'll also be treated to the sights and sounds of displaying Temminck's Stints, Whimbrels, dapper Golden Plovers and Waxwings. We'll also have further chances of finding Siberian Jays and Siberian Tits but neither is anything like as difficult to find as Pine Grosbeak - we'll certainly not spare any effort in trying to find one. Following the Tana River, we arrive at Tana Bru, gateway to the Varanger Peninsula. From here we drive northeast to Batsfjord, stopping to look at a Gyrfalcon eyrie. Further on, we visit the inlet at Hoyholmen where we should see many shorebirds and our first flocks of eiders. We'll then pass through an area of majestic upland tundra, where typical birds of this habitat include Long-tailed Duck, Scaup, Long-tailed Skua, Willow and Rock Ptarmigan, Arctic Redpoll, Shore Lark and both Lapland and Snow Buntings in their resplendent summer plumage. On the Sunday we'll enjoy a whole day's birding in this diverse tundra wonderland searching for the majestic - but rarely seen - Snowy Owl as well as Dotterel, Red-throated Pipit, Bluethroat and Rock Ptarmigan. In addition we will also visit Berleveg, a town on the northern edge of the Varanger peninsula. This town, and especially the nearby lighthouse offer good views of the Arctic Ocean. We'll hope for a few migrating seabirds here with White-billed Diver, Pomarine and Long-tailed Skuas, Gannet and Fulmar all possible. Flocks of King Eiders often gather in the harbour allowing close views. On both days we overnight in Batsfjord.

Monday 1 June - Wednesday 3 June 2009

We drive to the southern part of the Varanger peninsula, stopping to scan the cliffs for breeding Gyrfalcon and Rough-legged Buzzard. Varangerbotn may well reveal Black-throated Diver and Bar-tailed Godwits and at the head of the fjord we should find parties of Velvet Scoter and small numbers of White-tailed Eagles. Among the flocks of Common Eiders we'll search for another one of the region's specialities - Steller's Eider. The shores of Varanger Fjord itself can hold large concentrations of waders at this time of year and species likely to be encountered include Purple Sandpipers, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpipers, Knot and handsome Bar-tailed Godwits - all in their full breeding plumage. Small parties of the delightful Red-necked Phalarope will have arrived this far north and we'll watch the antics of the handsome females who will be busy trying to attract a mate as part of their famous role reversal lifestyle. We'll also take a boat trip and visit Hornoya and its awesome seabird colonies. Here we'll witness thousands of Kittiwakes, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Shags and Black Guillemots. Another high Arctic denizen that's famous to see in these parts is the Brünnich's Guillemot and we should have no problem finding them. We may also encounter 'true' Arctic seals such as Harp and Bearded Seals and maybe even a cetacean or two. We'll also explore the famous road to Hamningberg - pretty much the end of Europe! Here we'll search the coastal bays for 'banana-beaked' Whitebilled Diver and more resplendent King Eiders. Overnights in Vardo.

Thursday 4 June 2009

After breakfast we'll drive slowly back along the fjord, stopping on the way to look for any freshly arrived Red-throated Pipits and Long-tailed Skuas, and back at Nesseby we'll take a last look at the wonderful Steller's Eiders. We continue slowly back to Ivalo making plenty of birding stops on the way, one of which will involve us searching the hills above Utsjoki for more Dotterel - fortunately we can drive right to the top!

Friday 5 June 2009

This morning we explore the wet taiga areas at Toivoniemi looking for Broad billed Sandpipers, Jack Snipe, Ruff and Spotted Redshank. Pine Grosbeak is also a possibility here. We'll then catch our flight from Ivalo to Helsinki with an onward connection to London Heathrow.

Holiday Information 2009 Operating Dates

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