Arctic Dreams

So our last full day then and really busy. I'll cover as much as I can today but will probably do a couple of extra blogs over the next couple of days just to round up and re-cap so stay tuned.

Up at dawn which was frosty, clear and calm and down to the main site.
We had a steady morning's ringing with 313 birds caught of which 303 were new birds. The wind got up, the wind chill kicked in big style and we closed the nets at midday. Then a busy time taking down all the nets and sorting and storing all the equipment for next years expeditions. Back at home we ran the garden nets for a little while just so that we could break the 300 birds caught for the day barrier - not that we're competitive.

Taking down the nets, as you can see autumn is well and truly here now. It snowed a few miles away yesterday.

Final shot of ringers for 2014 just before we left the site for the last time - Simon, John, Tim, Fergus, Cloe and Andy

View from the ringing site over the fjord at low tide - Nesseby church with fish drying rack to left.

View of the ringing site for the last time.

Kate Utsi our wonderful "landlady" popped in to say goodbye during a break from catching up her reindeer. Tormod (who runs Biotope who organise the funding) along with Elin and Lila (my new best friend) also came to say farewell.

Then a final walk in the amazing Varangahalvoya National Park which is a mere 20,000 sq.km., to try to find Siberian Tit, another mystic taiga speciality which we had yet to see. Had a fantastic walk in late afternoon sunshine and then finally just before sunset there it was - a little fluffball gleaning insects from the birches just a couple of meters away.

Here's a pic of one that the previous team caught - it's a cracker.

View in the National Park this afternoon - a mere 20,000 sq. km. of pristine taiga and tundra.

To top it off as we were driving out of the park we saw yet another two Hawk Owls - brilliant!

Hawk Owl, star bird. This one seen by previous expedition.

Then a bit of a tidy up of Kate's house (much more to do in the morning) and down to Varangerbotn for a meal of reindeer fricassee and chips at the great little Capri Cafe. We bumped into a hunter in the car park who had a boot full of Willow Grouse and had a long interesting chat with him. This was a proper sportsman who has to walk (yes walk) 8 hours to get to his cabin on the tundra, before he can even start hunting and you can bet you'd never catch him shooting a bird of prey, unlike the pampered Red Grouse "sportsmen" in the UK who have never walked 8 hours in their life and have virtually wiped out Hen Harriers in England.

Back to the house by 2130 to pack. To cap a perfect trip we then had the most spectacular auroral display against a brilliantly cloudless sky with the accompaniment of Redwings calling as they moved south for winter - some of them will be in your gardens soon.

Tonight's view from the garden.

Well that's all for now. The rest of them are fast asleep already. Tune in Sunday/Monday for a final resume of what has been a fantastic experience.


We ringed 303 birds today comprising -

Common Redpoll - 143
Reed Bunting - 76
Meadow Pipit - 37
Greenfinch - 14
Dunnock - 10
Arctic Redpoll - 8
Redwing - 8
Brambling - 3
Fieldfare - 2
Chiffchaff - 1
Bluethroat - 1