Between Vadsø and Ekkerøy, Norway

While driving along the coast of the Varanger fjord it is wise to keep one eye on the open water (and the other eye on the road of course). Dense groups of Steller's Eiders (polysticta stelleri/Stellers Eider) can turn up everywhere. Often they are far out in the sea, but sometimes with a bit of luck, you see them quite close to the shore in a characteristic circular communal fishing formation.

Purple Sandpipers (Calidris maritima/Paarse Strandloper) are common residents in the Varanger fjord. In this picture I especially like the natural habitat, i.e. rocks covered with acorn-shells and green slippery seaweed.
Have you ever laid down on an icy-floor between a group of 500+ Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis/Sneeuwgors)? No? I did! A wonderful experience. The birds were very hungry, and eagerly returned to those few places in the field were the thaw revealed some grass. The white blobs in the background are also Snow Buntings.

Vestre-Jacobselv, Norway

Stockfish up for drying, another characteristic element of the ice-free waters of this fjord. As long as temperatures are below zero, various wooden scaffoldings along the indented shore are loaded with frozen stockfish; a fridge is not necessary here.

Speechless in Vardø, Norway

Vardø is situated at the northeast point of the Varanger peninsula. Here, the sparsely populated land extends out from the continent towards the icy waters of the Barents Sea. Standing besides the master of the ‘birds-in-flight’ shots (Arie) I tried to photograph Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla/Drieteenmeeuw) that were passing by. The temperature was –5ºC, but because of the wind chill it felt below –20ºC. This is my best result, after 1½ hour of hard work. Note that the reflecting snow on the ground lights up the underparts. We were both speechless … not only because of the spectacular scenery, but also simply because we could not move our jaws. On our way back to Vestre-Jacobselv we ended up in a blizzard. Thank God, that we had a rental car with spike tires and a seat heating system.

From taiga to tundra

Today was a transfer day, a long drive (400km) along the Arctic highway (E75) all the way up to the Vestre-Jacobselv in the center of the Varanger fjord.
I enjoyed the views very much, an endless white taiga landscape, with numerous frozen lakes and rivers that just start to melt, gradually changes for the open tundra. On the picture you see frozen melting water, near Utsjoki, close to the Norwegian border.

Feeding station Kaamanen, Finland

In the second half of April, I went together with Arie Ouwerkerk on an early spring birdwatching and photography trip to the most northern tip of Europe. A big adventure, I entered a completely unknown, empty and white world well above the Arctic Circle. Weather conditions were still wintery, although the daylight lasted already for 20 hours. Our tour started at Ivalo in Finnish Lapland, amidst wonderful taiga forests with lakes that were still frozen and covered with a 1m thick layer of snow.
The first day we visit a feeding station in Kaamanen, an experience that I would never forget. The ‘stars’ were definitely Siberian Tit (Parus Cinctus/Bruinkopmees) and Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator/Haakbek). Other ‘lifers’ of today were Siberian Jay (Perisoreus infaustus/Taiga Gaai) and Arctic Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni/Witstuitbarmsijs).

Dutch Limosa

Almost 75% of the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa/Grutto) population, at least the nominate race, breed in The Netherlands. Unfortunately, numbers of this elegant species are declining rapidly for several reasons. Intensive and large-scale farming is the most important one I guess. When they return, the birds are very much bound to water (after all, they are waders!), later in the season you can see them more and more on wet meadows, preferable those below sea level. I took these photos on a cold afternoon from a hide, together with Astrid Kant. There were many snow showers interspersed with a few sunny periods. Top: ♀. Bottom: ♂.

Blue frog

Ever seen a blue frog? The first time I saw them I could not believe my eyes. In early spring Moor Frog (Rana arvalis/Heikikker) males gather in ‘plopping’ mating choires in shallow water (which is slightly warmer) and turn bluish by a hormonal process. This lasts only for a couple of days. Weird!
The photo below shows the miniature world of frogspawn. The pale colour of the water is caused by the reflection of dry grass which is illuminated by warm sunlight.