Varanger Eider bonanza

Winter birding in Varanger is an Eider spectacle: Steller´s Eiders, King Eiders and Common Eiders are present in tens of thousands. They share much of the same areas, but the various species have different preferences. Typically the King eider favour the rougher seas. In general they stay further out then the Common eiders, prefering deeper waters. They also like the northern part of the Varanger Peninsula very much, with Båtsfjord harbour as a prime location to experience them at close range. The Stellers Eiders prefer more shallow waters, and have their favoured places from Ekkerøy to Vadsø and Nesseby - Inner Varanger fjord. The large rafts of Common Eiders are found mostly from Ekkerøy (mid Varanger Fjord) to Vardø, outer Varanger Fjord. However all species are found all around the Varanger Peninsula, often in semi-mixed flocks.  In winter and early spring finding them is a very easy task. 

Common Eiders and Steller´s Eiders surfing the waves in gale force winds, photo taken from the Biotope office 28.02.2012.

Lately we have found ourselves doing too much time working and little time birding. We have many projects going on both in Finnmark and other parts of Norway. All bird-related, of course, ranging from mapping and analysing to exhibition design and bird hide / wind shelter projects. This is why we live in Varanger: we are surrounded by spectacular birdlife, so even if the work days are long we can enjoy great nature experiences from our office window. 

Photo above from Biotope office window, taken with Nikon d300s + 50mm F1.4 

Stabbursnes Wind Shelter - bird conservation & promotion

We have designed a series of bird hides and wind shelters that will be built in 2012. We design these hides with weather conditions, sight lines, users and nature promotion in mind. We basically engage in those projects that are truly worth promoting, and Stabbursnes nature reserve and nature trail is such a project. It is situated in inner Porsanger fjord, in central Finnmark. A well known site for Norwegian birders: This is the only place in Norway where you with near 100% certainty will see the critically endagered bird species Lesser White-fronted Goose. 

Birdlife Norway (Norsk Ornitologisk Forening / NOF) have for more then 20 years kept a close watch on the development of the Lesser White-fronted geese at Stabbursnes in Finnmark. One of the last breeding sites in Europe. Every year in May on spring migration

GULLFEST 2012 - INFO på norsk / in norwegian

Grunnet flere forespørsler serverer vi nå all GullFest-informasjon på norsk i denne artikkelen

Due to several requests we now provide all GullFest-information in norwegian in the article below. 

English version:https://www.biotope.cloud/2012/01/gullfest-arctic-birding-highlight-of.html

GullFest 2012 - Verdens første arktiske fuglefestival

Biotope  har tatt initiativ til en aldri så liten innovasjon i fugleverdenen - en arktisk måkefestival: GullFest! (måke = gull på engelsk, uttales ´gøll´). Fra 13-17 April 2012 vil vi arrangere verdens første arktiske fuglefestival, med Varangers unike fugleliv som hovedattraksjon! Dette er et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom flere parter, med støtte fra Direktoratet for Naturforvaltnings Naturarv-prosjekter til Destinasjon Varanger og Vardø Friluftsforening som lokal organisator. Dette er en hybrid av et prosjekt: det er både festival,  fagseminar, natur- og destinasjonspromotering og en web-event! Vi har gjennom mye arbeid fått med oss nøkkelpersoner i den internasjonale fugleverdenen. Martin Garner / Birding Frontiers er en av festivalens internasjonale medspillere. Han vil være både festivalguide samt stå for en svært spennende foredragserie. Tristan Reid fra den britiske podcasten (nettradioen) ´Talking Naturally´ (dette er BBC for fuglekikkere!) vil både holde foredrag og kringkaste på verdensveven under hele festivalen. Ellers blir det mange engasjerende foredrag, blant annet av Nils Van Duivendijk (Nederland) - en pionér innen artsbestemmelse av fugler. Han har skrevet ´Advanced Bird ID Guide´, en bok som ble en anerkjent klassiker umiddelbart etter utgivelse. På GullFest blir det foredrag og lysbildevisninger for både erfarne feltornitologer og måse- og titting-tittere (som det heter i nord)!

Det er mye snakk om nordområdene for tiden, med nye muligheter innen olje, gass og shipping. Vårt mål er å sette fugler og natur på kartet! Varanger har lenge vært kjent blant fuglekikkere som en fugledestinasjon i verdensklasse - og med god grunn. Her møter Golfstrømmen arktiske farvann, og i den østvendte og grunne Varangerfjorden finnes et yrende liv. Dette er intakt natur med fisk i havet og fugl i lufta! Bli med på GullFest 2012:

Vår GULLFEST basecamp, vil være en stor lavvo på Hasselnes, med flott utsikt til Vardø havn og fuglefjellet på Hornøya. I tillegg til et fantastisk fugleliv vil det bli servert lokal varm mat. Det blir satt opp vindskjul, og det blir varme i lavvoen.

Varanger in winter / early spring - info on birds, sites, accommodation

We get quite a lot of requests from birders that are planning trips to Varanger this winter / early spring. Varanger has been rated one of the top 100 birding destinations in the world - but locally no one has, until quite recently, paid any attention to these qualities, but this is improving rapidly! I very much appreciate emails and with both feedback and questions from birders, and I try to respond to all mails as best I can. To make your research a little easier, I have put together a short (or long - depending on your bird interest level..) article with some advice and on birds, sites, accommodation and more for a winter or early spring visit to Varanger (V-Fjord / Peninsula + Pasvik / South Varanger). It is based on mails I have written in reply to birder and bird photographers requests. 

New and updated ´Varanger winter birding article´ 
(with new photos, updated info, etc)

Above: -Steller´s Eiders - a Varanger winter / early spring speciality (digiscoped, by the way)

           - Northern lights (Aurora borealis) in february, over the high tundra, Varanger

With our website we aim to present our engagements as architects and birders living in Varanger (we work on pro nature projects all over Norway). To a large extent this includes

GULLFEST - the Arctic birding highlight of 2012

In collaboration with Martin Garner of Birding Frontiers we have put together a new birding event: the Arctic GullFest! 

Everyone who ever thought of visiting Varanger - this is a very good opportunity to do so! There is a lot happening in the arctic north. There is much talk of the North East Passage opening new global possibilities in trade, oil- and  gas explorations / exploitations - We aim to put birds and nature on the map. Varanger has for a long time been a well known birding destination, and for good reasons: This is where the Gulf stream meets the climate of the arctic. Seas are kept open and the shallow Varanger fjord is facing east and is therefore protected by heavy waves caused by typically heavy westerly winds, on top of this (and because of) is one of the richest fishing fields of Norway. All this combined makes ground for spectacular birdlife. We want to promote and protect this as best we can, and make these natural qualities count when the future of the arctic north is being decided. 

At the same time we want to make this a great experience as possible, for those who are engaged in birds and nature. The first Arctic Gullfest is from 13 - 17th of April 2012 and you are invited to join us for this very exiting birding event! 

GULLFEST PROGRAM / ABOUT : 

This will be five days of great birding experiences, inspiring and educational talks and slide shows.

We invite you to come to the town of Vardø, one of the most bird rich places in the famous birding destination of Varanger Fjord. 

Ørland revisited - back to the roots

and with more on being birder architects..

We just revisited Grandefjæra on Ørlandet. Here you can find our first built project: Grande Amfi, or Grande outdoor amphitheater & bird tower: concept and design by Biotope. This was a birding-to-the-people-project, aimed at making it easy to bring a school class or tour group, and spend the day in what is one of Norways largest continous tidal areas - a Ramsar area and a fantastic place for birds, and for birders. 

Mapping Arctic Norway - birds and sites in Eastern Finnmark

For almost three years we have been travelling around the eastern parts of Finnmark, or ´Arctic Norway´ - the birder term for this region. We are mapping and registrating the birdlife, the bird sites and the infrastructure, the guest houses and towns, etc. In short - we are mapping everything.. Allways with focus on nature and birds.

It is a very rewarding more-then-full-time job. We have covered a lot of ground in this time, allways with an open eye for new and interesting places. Arctic Norway really gives you a sense of wilderness and intact nature, at the same time it is very easily accessible. There are two basic combined reasons for this: The Gulf Stream (simply making it livable this far north), and Norwegian district policy (the will to support living this far north - with almost every modern commodity available). Roughly speaking, this is. 

We started in 2007, on a study trip to Vardø island. For a long time (being birders..) we had been aware of Varangers status as a premium birding destination

The bird cliff web camera story

-Adventures in destination development

For us as architects destination development is more then just building. It is very much about beiing involved all the way. The hornøya wind shelter (below) and bird hide has been in place for a year. It has sheltered both visiting birders and locals, and it has survived the test of heavy arctic storms. We are now working on a scheme to further develop Hornøya as a fantastic bird and birding place. This includes improving the nature trail / path, improving the lighthouse accomodation fascilities and making new and better information folders for the nature reserve. In addition we are now setting up a wireless bird cliff web camera.

Birding to the wwworld! 

We have spent quite some time finding the funding for this project, and in collaboration with Eivind Bøhn from Cloudware(moment.team) we have researched and developed a high speed wireless web cam solution.

Hornøya bird cliff has for more then 30 years been a reseachers heaven. The very close proximity to Vardø, with all necesarry amenities and infrastructure, and the easily accesible birdcliff with a wide variety of species, is the key. The result of these studies can be found in many publications. Our aim for this web cam project is to give everyone the possibility to tune in to the Hornøya bird cliff, and perhaps follow the birds trough a whole breeding season. From the birds arrive in mid march in snowy blizzards to when they leave in early August.

 Incoming Puffins, fratercula arctica

Varanger harbour life - northern and eastern gulls

Winter is arriving in Varanger - and Siberia is visiting. 

We are at the outer limits of Europe. Far east - further east then Istanbul - and far north. Varanger is truly a place of extremes. From 24-hour daylight in the summer with an abundance of life, and birds. It is for many the attraction of the north. We meet quite a few birders in Varanger that have trouble with the midnight sun. You can actually go birding non-stop in the summer. On the other hand you have the arctic winter, with heavy snowstorms and near total darkness day and night. In these conditions there are still birds that thrive. Gulls are birds with phenomenal capabilities. Experts on flight - and survival. They are generalists that can adapt to people. In Vardø harbour the arctic gull species Glaucous Gull is just arriving. These are birds form Siberia.

Adult Glaucous Gull, Larus larus hyperboreus (polarmåke), Vardø harbour, outer Varangerfjord, nov 2011

PASVIK - one autumn day in the taiga

All photos by Tormod Amundsen and Elin Taranger of Biotope / copyright. 

Photos below: 

Siberian Tit - a perfect match and a compliment to its environment 

Old house in Pasvik 

Pasvik river scene. 

Birds, architecture and landscape of the northeastern taiga: A study in all shades of brown and green.

We are working on a project where we assist approximately 30 tourism businesses in Central and Eastern Finnmark with expertise and advice on arrangements and fascilities for birds and birders. We have for more then two years initiated and contributed to several bird projects in Finnmark. The aim is to promote birds, nature conservation and nature-based tourism. This goes very well together. Both tourism and conservation has much to gain from a focused initiative and close collaboration. This work involves everything from giving advice about feeding stations to attract birds, to bird-watching facilities at strategic locations. Varanger Fjord is an already well-known birding destination in the world. Here you can experience the tundra and the Arctic coast and all the bird species that belong to this environment. In Scandinavia Pasvik is well known among birders. Internationally, however, this is a better kept secret. We aim to change this. The combination Varanger and Pasvik is actually quite unique. Here you find taiga, tundra and arctic coastline within a days drive. It takes less than 4 hours to drive from Vardo / outer Varanger Fjord to Nyrud, deep in the Pasvik taiga forest.

Conseptual map: Biotope - architecture & nature