Molly and I just got home from the Norwegian Arctic where we bicycled toured for 16 days plus took a short trip on the Hurtigruten Coastal Ferry up to Kirkenes. Given the seven hour time difference, I was awake by 3:30 am and decided it was a good time to process my loon photographs. Here are the fruits of my wee hours of the morning efforts: (the trip back took us almost two full days)

Red-Throated Loon

Album via my Flickr Account (view images directly … 51 in total)

Other Norway web links from Rich and Molly:

• Molly’s blog posts
• Rich bike tour diary

I found some Black-Legged Kittiwakes hanging out on a rock near Russia this afternoon. However  the other birds I saw given this sign made me think perhaps I should not point my super zoom camera (65x optical zoom) in their direction. Discretion is the better part of valor! We were only 200 yards from Russia at this point.

Here are some non Russian birds which were on a Norwegian rock … Black-Legged Kittiwakes.

We were birding and “not birding” a bit east of Kirkenes on the Arctic Ocean. Our guide book said to visit King Oscar’s Chappel. This church was built in 1873 to encourage Russia to leave Norwegian fishermen alone (local conflict over fishing rights). Apparently the local Norwegians wanted to have a gunboat stationed at the mouth of the river on the border. Someone in the king’s court decided that a warship would be inflammatory … they got a church instead. I suspect the Russian fisherman did not stop fishing Norwegian waters due to the new church.

Finally … one more image from yesterday … a Reindeer.

Tomorrow evening we start home to America. It will take us almost a day and a half to get from one remote part of the world to another.

For the first time in my life I took a paid birding tour, and it was worth every penny. Our Hurtigruten ship docked in Honningsvag this morning near the North Cape (northern most point in Norway). By smaller boat we travelled to three small islands leaving from the small fishing village of Gjesvaer. Oh my was it a fantastic trip. I saw hundreds and hundreds of puffins, an equal number of Northern Gannets, and perhaps 100 Sea Eagles (White-Tailed Eagles). With all nesting birds, these raptors have easy pickings for food.

One comment, it is very, very difficult to photograph bobbing birds sitting on top of the water, while standing in a ship plowing through waves with imperfect light! My birding trip was on BirdSafari.Com, and they did an excellent job. Although I did not need any extras, for unprepared folks they had “snowmobile like suits” for warmth, and lots of extra binoculars.

Atlantic Puffins

Sea Eagles (White-Tailed Eagles)

Northern Gannets

My Birding Location