Birdfair 2013 - the worlds greatest gathering of birders

We just came back to Varanger, Arctic Norway, after a weekend visit to England and the amazing Rutland Birdfair. Birds migrate worldwide to wherever there is suitable habitat. It seems birders migrate too, and Rutland is the birder site of choice. Some 25 000 birders and nature enthusiasts from all over the world have been recorded in this little village two hours north of London. It should be included in a list of wonders of the wild world, as a migration phenomenon not to be missed. Birders are preferably found behind a pair of binoculars at some nature reserve or some other wild place. At Birdfair you will find birders admiring fine optics, possible adventures, great birding destinations or exciting conservation projects. In addition it is situated next to a spectacular nature reserve, the Rutland Water, so you may see a bird or two as well. The Rutland BirdFair is an amazing blend of bird and nature conservation and business. Whenever I meet people in Varanger or elsewhere that doubt the size and impact of the birding world, I tell them about Birdfair. It is grand!

The Varanger King Eider extravaganza

I just came back from one of my best birding trips ever. Being a fishing town, Båtsfjord harbour is one of the most bird rich places in winter in Varanger. For a birder or bird photographer this small town on the northern side of the Varanger peninsula is actually bird heaven! Thanks to a new floating photo hide, where the initial idea of the hide was to fascilitate for the ultimate King Eider experience. Båtsfjord harbour is now without a doubt the finest place in the world to experience Arctic seaducks! A true nature spectacle in the town centre. Any bird photographer and / or birder will have an experience of a lifetime. 

Båtsfjord town aerial. I took this photo in december 2011 flying over Båtsfjord. The floating photo hide is now situated in the fishing harbour of this amazing little place in northeastern Norway. Winter in Varanger is spectacular!  

Steller´s Eider, male

Below is Ørjan Hansen preparing the RIB to take a group of 4 birders / bird photographers to his new floating photo hide in Båtsfjord harbour. For this experience we got up and met Ørjan at his harbour base at 0600. That gave us time to settle in the hide before daylight. I just came back from a tour in the UK, presenting projects and approaches from Varanger at various UK bird clubs. Ørjan was one of the guys I talked about. One of the things that struck many was how early light returns to the Arctic. In my opinion February is one of the finest birding months in Varanger. The light is simply stunning. Crisp, deep blue light for hours both in the morning and the evening. And to many peoples surprise we have near full days of daylight. By early February the sun rise at about 0800 and do not set until 1400, and by late February you have full days of birding. The rest of the time we chase the Northern Lights! It is pretty cool - litterally - and one of the reasons we have established our architectural practise in Varanger.

Ørjan at his Båtsfjord base, ready for departure at 0600. February morning light.

Long-tailed Duck, male - preparing for a day of showing off

Common Eider, male - this is very cool design by nature

The floating King Eider photo hide

This unique product is now a part of the harbour scene in Båtsfjord: the floating King Eider photo hide. It is based on a concrete jetty and will provide a sheltered comfortable space for a group of 6-10 birders / bird photographers. This is from where all the Arctic Seaduck photos in this article are taken. This is innovation in the Arctic. I am certain that the next few years will bring some of the most stunning photos of Arctic seaducks ever produced. Through changing conditions of light, sun, snow and wind this will be a stable and solid hide, providing the ultimate close encounters with some of the worlds coolest birds! Being a part of this project feels like a privilege. From testing the prototype motorised fish boxes (!) in the harbour, to seeing this ´pro model´ in place is fantastic! 

Close encounters 

The two photos above are taken from inside the floating photo hide with a 50mm lens. It is hard to describe in words how good this experience is. I think these photos make a solid statement: You are surrounded by some of the most spectacular bird species in the world. They are all familiar with both the photo hide and Ørjans boat. It is simply magic! Even armed with no more then an Iphone you should be able go home with pretty cool photos. One thing is certain - you can not blame the camera if you dont!

The variety of birds, behaviour, displays, backgrounds and light is enough to keep a birder, bird sound recorder or bird photographer busy for days. 

Reflections

Steller´s Eider, female

King Eider, male

The making of...

The floating photo hide has been developed over 2-3 years. From the testing of the concept by motorised fish boxes to the solid concrete jetty based new model. It is still a fascility of basic comfort, but it has insulated matresses for comfort, and even a camping toilet. It will provide the best possible photo opportunities imaginable! It may not be a place you go for a honeymoon, but it certainly is the best option if spectacular birding is on the menu. The photo montage above shows some of the drawings we made for Ørjan and a few prosess photos from the making of this new hide during the summer 2012, at Ørjans base camp in Båtsfjord. 

A good man with a very cool car!

I have written about fisherman and bird guide Ørjan Hansen before. He is one of the just-do-it-people I have been lucky to cooperate with since we moved to the Arctic in 2009. Varanger is a sparsely inhabitet place. About 10 000 people live in an area the size of Wales in UK. In such small conditions you realize that everyone matters - and that you can make a big difference. We are a group of dedicated and entrepreneurial people in Varanger, working to realize as many pro nature ideas as possible. Now the ultimate winter birding experience is here.

Båtsfjord is a fishing harbour. It is also a birding harbour! Photo taken from RIB when driving back from the photo hide experience. 

Ørjan driving four very exited birders / bird photographers by his RIB to the photo hide at about 0600 in the morning, february 16th 2013.  

Some of the birds where sleeping when we arrived the hide in early morning. The variety of backgrounds cought my eye. Being able to portray some of my favourite birds in such stylish surroundings was amazing. The February light is very photogenic.

Steller´s Eider male.

The King and the Queen

For a little while light snow showers created a magical scene in the harbour. The chance to portray King Eiders in such beautifull light was amazing. I still havent quite landed after this experience. Nature is fantastic! 

Queen Eider 

King Eider

I hope you enjoy these photos (by the way, you can click on the photos for slide show mode).

If you need a birding architect feel free to contact me at: tormod@biotope.no 

Best wishes from the Arctic

Tormod A. / Biotope

Touring UK - the Iphone road movie

Pushing the Boundaries Tour - the Movie

During my 15 days tour with Martin Garner around UK, I recorded a series of video clips with my Iphone. I had a very simple idea: Instead of recording masses of video from the tour, I would simply record a few seconds long moments every now and then. So here it is - 150 moments avarage 2.8 seconds condensed to 7 minutes. A speedy glimpse of our tour around UK, visiting bird clubs, giving talks, meeting new people and birding. Not any kind of masterpiece but it gives a relatively good idea of how the tour was. It is an all Iphone production. Hope you enjoy :) 

Also check it out at our youtube chanel

A series of Iphone video fragments recorded on tour, and edited on my way home. Basic and doable during a hectic tour around Britain (Iphone screenshots above). 

Touring UK

This tour have been a fantastic experience, and a more personally engaging experience then I expected. As I have spoken of in our talks at the numerous bird clubs we have visited, I really own much of my birding knowledge and enthusiasm to English bird litterature - being practically raised on it! During this tour the highlights have been many! Meeting so many engaged birders is a privilegie. There are too many meetings to name them all, but meeting Ian Lewington certainly stands out for me. Simply because the Rare Birds book from 1991 sparked my interest in birds outside Europe. As a young birder I read this book, and studied its art in detail. It widened my horizon. Visiting Ian now and seeing his art in progress today was great. Simply amazing work! Birding with new birders all the time was fantastic too. Seeing new places and talking birds with new people non stop for 15 days was brilliant. Being in a place where phrases like "the abietinus is really the Baltic Gull of the warbler world" is part of a normal conversation is good (thats Martins phrase, by the way). I wish to thank all the bird clubs who hosted our evening talks, and all the kind birders we stayed at - grand thanks for your hospitality! During my talks I also spoke of an amazing visit to the Scilly Isles in 2008 - a trip that strengthened me an Elins ambitions to be pro bird architects. Talking to so many birders after our talks have also been a great experience. So many encouraging words and good ideas have been shared. Thanks all!

Also touring with Martin have been a brilliant experience. We connected early in 2010, when I wrote Martin a mail about a strange looking Bean Goose I had photographed in Varanger (probably an eastern type, ssp middendorfii-ish kind of bird). We have stayed in contact ever since. I really admire the openess and inquisitive approach of Martins Birding Frontiers concept. He proves over and over again that new discoveries is within reach - it is all about your own perceptions and eagerness to learn more. Being two rather entrepeneurial birder types on the road has been a great experience! Sharing ideas and fine tuning concepts over so many hours have been the on-the-road privilegie! Thanks Martin! Much more to come... Meanwhile, do check out the Birding Frontiers blog for an eyeopener in the world of birding.

Talking 

The Pushing the Boundaries Tour was an idea that me and Martin have been talking about for a while. The idea was simply to make an extended event, a tour, and share stories of birds, people, discoveries, conservation work and new and innovative approaches to birding. I have shared my story from Varanger / Arctic Norway. This is where I live and work, and run the pro bird architectural office Biotope. Varanger is without a doubt one of the worlds birding hot spots, and certainly the easiest accesible arctic birding destination in the world. In my talks I have told stories from the work with the development of this amazing destination. No birding destination just exists, it is built, with infrastructure, bird guides, local nature awareness, mapping and loads of enthusiasm from locals and visitors. During our tour in the UK I have also met several of the british birders who are contributing to the building of Varanger as a birding destination. Among them the Brewood Ringers (photo above) who have made the Nesseby Ringing Scheme possible. I have also spoken much of the locals in Varanger, and how people like Ørjan Hansen in Båtsfjord, fisherman gone bird guide, have made a great impact in Varanger and for visiting birders. I have talked about Varanger gardens, of the kind with grenades and Snow Buntings. I have also shown a series of photos of unique arctic bird life (f.ex the Phalarope story and the fighting Puffins). I am very happy for all the encouraging comments from birders we have met about our birder architecture projects - both mapping and bird hide designs. I hope to meet many of the birders we have talked to during the past weeks in Varanger at some point. Or perhaps in the UK. I will certainly be back! It has been very inspirational.

Back in Varanger

Two busy weeks on tour in UK was grand, but being back is fantastic. I made little attempt to hide my enthusiasm for Varanger in winter and early spring. February is one of my favourite birding months in Varanger. The light is simply spectacular and the birding is fantastic too. Just got back from a  walk in the harbour (photo above fromyesterday). The Stellers Eiders, King Eiders and flocks of Gulls are enjoing life in the harbour.  
The photo below is taken yesterday just after sunset at 15.00, from the mainland, with a view towards Vardø island. A pretty cool place to live, work and bird!

Thanks all! 
We are in the mood for action: next project is the Gullfest 2013!

To be continued...

Tormod A. / Biotope

Birding Britain - two weeks on the road

We have now been on road for two weeks with the ´Pushing the Boundaries Tour´. We have enjoyed some very cool birding, met so many enthusiastic birders and seen new places. For me it has been a crash course in Britain. My previous UK experiences are two early school years trips to Britain, with little birding in it. And an amazing three week visit to the Scilly Isles in 2008, which was a key ingredient in me and Elins choice to start the adventure that would lead to us setting up the Biotope office - the first ever architectural office dedicated to birding. Being on tour in Britain for these past two weeks have been an amazing experience! Below follows a few photos and thoughts as the tour comes close to and end.

We have not really had time to do that much birding on tour. We have almost met more birders then birds. I had a few target birds when I arrived UK. Two of them being the Red Grouse and the Brown-bellied Dipper. Both subspecies I have not previously seen. And what beauties! I guess a lot of people travel north, having a ´White´ Grouse on their wish list , for me seeing a red one was equally amazing. The Dipper was a bird I had to put in a little extra work to get, but finally after a checking a few kilometers of river streams I was rewarded with three of these distinctively different birds. A very smart looking bird, with its warm brown-red earth colours. Some surprises also followed. A new bird for me was Caspian Gull. So gull watching is very different in UK and Varanger. I would say watching gulls in a fishing harbor has a slightly more picturesque feel to it, but birds are birds, and a Caspian on a dump is still great! Then we invented the term Chiffchaffing, meaning looking through Chiff Chaffs trying to find a Siberian Chiff Chaff of the subspecies ´tristis´. Another great experience which Martin wrote about on his blog. 

Birding is not same same as a general interest in or love of nature, it goes slightly beyond that. You go where the birds are, and if that is not an escpecially beautifull site, you can still have an amazing experience. We have visited several dumps during our tour, and been rewarded with some very cool birding. Such as seeing the Gull variety: Caspian Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull ssp argenteus & argentatus, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull and Common Gull, possibly even Russian type ´heinei´ Common Gull. Right photo above is of the Milton Tip in Cambridgeshire. Great birding. Left photo above is from the spectacularly beautifull fields and wetlands of the Norfolk coast. Thousands of ducks and geese winter here, and we had great views of a wide variety of species. More great birding.

UK - the homeland of birding

Meeting so many birders across UK have been a real privilege! The people we have met on this tour have all made the Pushing the Boundaries Tour a real adventure for us. Thanks to all of you! The great thing about being a birder is that you meet and connect with people, where ever in the world you go - especially in Britain. Birders make a differende - ´A force to reckoned with´ is the right frase, I feel. It has been a true inspiration meeting the digiscopers, the reserve wardens, the tour operators, the bloggers, the twitchers and many, many more! 

Thinking outside the box

Lots of birders count their species. As a birder / architect I also tick bird hides! I have already a quite large library of bird hide photos, and this has grown even more on this trip. Finding new inspiration, and always looking into how bird hide design can be improved is one of my favorite topics. It is one of the key things we work with at the Biotope office: how to improve architecture for birders. Britain probably have more hides than any other country, so in this respect it was a fruitful tour. Still, as in Norway, there is potential for improving the designs. At our talks on this tour I have shown photos and spoke of how new bird hide design can improve our birding, and even invite more people to the birding scene. 

   

On our tour we have tried a variety of hides, from the standardized box hides, to the one of a kind Titchwell hide to the simpler, but equally functional screen hides. I will make a more in-depth article on hides soon. This is a topic that is worth researching and describing much more. The amounts of hides that are build is amazing, and evidence of a birding scene with the impact and power to promote birds and nature. However this is also a frontier to be developed. To be continued…

On the road

During this tour I have filmed a series of short cuts with my iPhone. Approx 100 three to six seconds clips will be edited down to a short Pushing the Boundaries movie. To be released very soon. It is an all phone production, giving a glimpse into the tour on the road. 

It has been hectic and inspiring. Grand thanks to all the birders we have met on the road! In the end our scheme was bound to be revealed. Andrew Chick of the Lincolnshire Bird Club connected the dots, and revealed the Curlew plot :)

Well - what an adventure it has been! Need a little power-nap after this tour. Thanks all! Hope to be back soon. 

to be continued..

Tormod A. / Biotope

Pushing the Boundaries Tour - birds & people on the road

We are on the road touring the UK with the ´Pushing the Boundaries bird club talks´. So far we have given talks at 3 bird clubs / groups, and we still have the 7 to go. Already meeting so many inspirational people and seeing new places, and new birds!

For me a big highlight is close encounters with the Red Grouse - very different from our Varanger ´white´ Grouse. I expected the Grouse to be a more rare bird, but surely as Martin promised this would be an easy tick. Within an hours drive we had seen more then 100 of these beauties. The female above posed for a while for a very exited guy from arctic Norway!

They were not difficult to find...

We are also getting lots of nice feedback on our talks, and meeting all the UK birders is an inpiring experience for an arctic birder. Though the weather is not treating us nicely - by UK standards that is. Two talks have been postponed due to heavy snow. 

The definition of heavy snow...

Change of plans - UK birders are adaptable :)

The term ´heavy snow´ still have a very different meaning in Britain then in Varanger. This is a scene from the beautifull landscape above Sheffield yesterday.

I guess this is what we call heavy snow in Varanger. Drivable, but any more then this and we give up too...

Birding in the UK is different too, but birds are birds and I am certainly up for an urban Gullfest! From downtown Sheffield factory area.

Another bird highlight for me: a very stylish looking 1st winter Caspian Gull! Iphonescoped by the way. A bird yet to be seen in Varanger. I feel more prepared to see one after this experience, and after Martins Gull Masterclass on Monday 28th of January, probably even more so!

And we are also meeting other locals. A rarity in Varanger - the Robin. 

On tour : Martin Garner / Birding Frontiers & Tormod Amundsen / Biotope 

Stay tuned :)

Tormod A. / Biotope

Birding Destination Varanger - the pro nature development study

Varanger is the worlds easiest accessible arctic birding destination. In Varanger you have the northern taiga, tundra and arctic coastline in one destination. Within a days drive you can experience the Pine Grosbeaks in the taiga, and see a wide variety of species on the tundra of the Varanger peninsula. At the coastal bird cliffs the arctic species Brünnichs Guillemot is accompanied by a hundred thousand seabirds. The summer is a hectic season with 24 hours daylight and birds in beautifull breeding plumage. In winter and early spring arctic seaducks concentrate in huge rafts, and at night the Aurora borealis completes the experience. We are at the northern edge of Europe, further east then Istanbul. Despite its extreme northerly position, the Gulf stream keeps the Varanger fjord ice free in winter. It is the only fjord in Norway facing east, and the shallow waters provide feeding grounds for great numbers of birds, and with all basic infrastructure in place it is truly a birders destination.

The Birding Destination Varanger document is a 137-page study describing this region and its potential as an international birding destination. It is a document that in detail outlines the characteristics that makes this a truly unique nature destination. It is both a public awareness project / nature conservation and a document that describes the possibilities within nature-based tourism. The study is in its entirety produced by Biotope during the three years we have lived in Varanger, since 2009. To briefly introduce our background: Being architects and birders we have found our niché in making architecture dedicated to birders and nature enthusiasts. Our idea is simple, and stated in our company ethos: "Architecture is a tool to protect and promote birds, wildlife and nature."

This study is the result of this approach / attitute: In 2007 we visited Varanger - as birding tourists. What a grand experience! In 2009 we moved to Varanger and started our pro nature architecture office. For a long time Varanger has been known among the most enthusiastic birders. Locally, however, the visiting birders have been considered oddities - strange people parkeing at the ´wrong´ places, and what they seemed to study with their huge binoculars was not that clear. We quickly realized the potential of making Varangers unique birdlife a key part this destinations development. The aim: birding to the people - by architecture, by awareness, by business - appreciation of nature in its widest sense. Much has happened since 2009 and the Birding Destination Varanger study outlines the development that has taken place, and advices on further action to be taken and at which sites in Varanger.

This study has been made as a part of the natural heritage project (naturarvprosjektene) funded by the Norwegian directorate for Nature Management (Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning). This local project VVV-naturarvprojekt is owned by the Varanger-municipalities Nesseby, Vadsø, Vardø and Båtsfjord. It has been co-funded by Finnmark Fylkeskommune and Varanger næringssenter - and the countless hours of work, field trips and meetings undertaken by us at Biotope. It has been fantastic experience: As architects we believe in working locally - with people. Thanks all, from the fishermen in Vardø harbour to the twitchers from Britain, for input and inspiration! By this article we will share some of the work that is done, and by coming articles on our website we will let you know how Varanger continues to develop as a nature aware destination. It is birding to the people... 

  

Featuring in the study: Birding and nature-based tourism, the birdlife of Varanger, building a nature aware destination, mapping Varanger: the sites and potentials in Varanger, the architecture of birding, and more. This article features 20 pages of the study, and gives and overview of the project, without going into to much detail - that takes 137 pages.

Birders at Nesseby - a hotspot in Varanger. Visiting birders are a part of nature conservation in Varanger, and it is one of perhaps few places in the world where birders really make a difference.

The Varanger peninsula is situated at 70 degrees north and 30 degrees east. It is 100% birding! We just had to make this one... 

At the core of this study is countless hours of field work. We have mapped the Varanger peninsula by car, fishing vessels, kick-sled, RIB, foot and even rented a plane to get those birds perspective aerial photos from around the peninsula. (More info on the ´Mapping Arctic Norway´-article.)

As architects we engage in the process of the destination development, and we spend a lot of time developing new architectural concepts for experiencing birds and nature. Both photo hides, wind shelters, bird towers and more are being designed and built. Birders do not need one grand monument of architecture, but we prefer modest but precise buildings that gives shelter from wind and weather. Nature and birds play the lead role, and we much prefer several small strategically placed bird hides to one grand piece of architecture. Finding the exact right site and building according to the optimal sightlines, whilst at the same time not disturbing birds, are keys to a good project. 

At Biotope we not only work in Varanger, but deliver hides, shelters, towers, etc for other destinations. The above combined bird tower and outdoor amphitheater is built in Norways best tidal destination, Ørlandet. Read more on this project soon here at the Biotope website (or check out the birdlife.no article on this project). Making nature accessible to people is a key ingredient of nature conservation. The logic is simple: we care for what we love - and if it can be good business too, then that just add to the conservation argument.

In Varanger we have spent much time fascilitating collaboration. In 2009 we met those who strongly believed in borders and that each municipality must find its own way, and that the neighbouring municipality was competition only. The map above show the borders that no one but the locals see. To the visitors these are mostly invisible.

A birder or a nature enthusiast visit Varanger because of the rich and varied habitats that are found. From forest, high tundra, valleys, marshlands, tidal lanscapes and shallow seas - the nature is the attraction and not even bordes like the national park border is really important. Varanger is a region with intact nature at your doorstep. 

Being a birding architect is really about working with people:

Since we moved to Varanger we have had the pleasure of working with lots of great people: locals that value their nature, from fishermen that are very much aware of natures balance to visiting birders from all over Europe . Local schools, kindergardens, politicians, beaurocrats, businessmen and many more have become involved in the development of Varangers natural resource. 

Architecure is not only building - it is describing and visualising 

We have carefully mapped and described all important bird sites and areas in Varanger. From the overall picture (above) to the key sites in each municipality. Then, within each site the local potential and value has been outlined, and where possible suggestions for new improvements have been made. These proposals range from new bird hides to habitat restauration and construction of new bird habitats. Even new possibilities for birding and nature based products are outlined.

Hotspots in Nesseby municipality

Proposals for Nesseby like the ´ringing scheme site´ (already a project in great progress, see the Nessby ringing project blog), Nesseby seawatch bird hide / wind shelter (to be built very soon). The maps are custom made to provide info dedicated to birders, with hybrid maps showing important features like the tidal landscapes. 

Aerial photos from key sites makes the Birding Destination Varanger study a visual experience. Again with proposals for hides and shelters at strategic sites. Here from Vestre Jakobselv.

In Vadsø we propose rebuilding an old and abandoned radioshack into a new bird tower and amphitheater. Using the existing concrete base and even some of the bulding itself makes it a low impact, high value birding fascility project. 

In Vardø we find some of the best bird sites in the town centre. Birding and people can mix well - just have look at the harbour in winter. It is a seaduck and arctic gull spectacle!

Hornøya bird cliff is only ten minutes by boat from Vardø town, and is without a doubt one of the finest bird cliffs in Europe! The fascilities are already in place (article on the building of the bird hide).

In Båtsfjord local fisherman and now nature guide Ørjan Hansen (link to his website) will make sure you have some of the best bird photo opportunities imaginable. Where else in the world will you be able to photograph King Eiders, Stellers Eiders, Common Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks with a wide angle lens? We have now designed a new floating ´King Eider-photo hide´ for Ørjan to open this coming season / winter+spring 2013. After some testing with a prototype winter 2012, we expect this will be a fantastic experience. So even an architect armed with no more then a 300mm/F4 lens will perhaps have decent photos to show off. More on this new photo hide is coming soon. 

Making an impact

In short: it has been three years, with thousands of meetings, and we are just getting started. Like the arctic birding festival ´Gullfest 2012´ made clear: this development is made possible by the efforts of every single birder who visit Varanger combined with all the local nature enthusiasts. It is a combined effort, and thanks to good friends like National tourist routes, birdlife Norway, the Directirate for Nature Management and many local businesses, hotels and guesthouses Varanger is making great progress. 

If birding is your thing then arctic Norways Varanger region i well worth a visit! 

The photos below are taken with a d300 + 300mm/F4 lens - not the most powerfull of lenses. Now with the photos hides and general development in Varanger we hope to see much more striking bird and nature photograpy in the coming years! And locally there is no doubt that the regions birdlife is high on the agenda. 

King Eider / praktærfugl

White-tailed Sea Eagle / havørn

Lapland Bunting & Wood Sandpiper / lappspurv og grønnstilk

Puffins / lunder

to be continued...


Tormod A. / Biotope  -  pro nature destination development