Finland 2019 – The Birds

You may have thought that my Finland trip was mainly about the bears. Of course, they were a huge, and very special, part of the trip. There was plenty of other wildlife to see and the birds really blew me away, mainly because they were so confiding. Possibly a combination of the remote location and the fact that they were hungry, meant that we were able to have some really special encounters.

The main species were the Willow tit and the Crested tit; two species that I have very rarely seen. It was amazing to see so many of these in the woods surrounding the lodge, but to have them come close, was so incredible. We had some truly wonderful moments with these tiny birds and they are encounters that will stay with me always.


With no apparent fear of humans, they would happily come to our hands to be fed. A flurry of wings and the tiniest touch on your fingertips, I could have spent all day doing this… in fact, we spent several mornings with this confiding wildlife.

With no apparent fear of humans

We also spent time photographing these birds in their stunning Autumnal landscape. I have only ever photographed crested tits up in the Highlands, in Scotland. The Autumnal landscape here in Finland, gave me the chance to try to get some different types of shots. These are a few of my favourites…

There were lots of European Jays around, but a new species for me was the Siberian Jay. This species was much more elusive and difficult to photograph. One individual did seem to be interested in us and came close enough for a few minutes for me to get a few shots…

I would have loved to have stayed longer and visited some other sites nearby, as this area is pretty good for birds. Another time maybe, but for this trip, I was more than happy with these special encounters and the images…. and memories that I captured!

 

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from www.wildlifekate.co.uk https://wildlifekate.wordpress.com/2019/10/06/finland-2019-the-birds/

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