150307 Varanger First day in hide

Varanger, Norway 150305-150311 

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© NF Photos 150307, Båtsfjord, Varanger, Norway

I woke up in good time and met the others at 5.00 h.

We had been given some therm overalls so we should not freeze in the hide. It was rather tricky to get it on the first time. And it made you feel like a truck.  Båtsfjord at 5.40 

Well, we got to the hide at 5.30 and started to unpack and getting ready for the birds. We had scared them off when we arrived but the birds soon came back to the location. It seemed as it was a fishing factory that dropped of wastes and the birds came for it. Free breakfast I suppose. That´s great, the birds helped clean the area and was helped surviving the winter at the same time. And also helped the locals to get some much needed income. Three birds in one stone J not bad.

That´s me in the middle of the boat on the way to the hide. 

Birds, gulls,eiders and other ducks, getting ready for breakfast. 

It was a bit tricky getting used to shoot from floor level. But finally I got the hang of it. There was four very nice species that we came for. And they were there, and a few others too. We had mostly sunshine in the morning. Beautiful light on the birds.

King Eider Male and female images. The very reason for my trip. 

 At 9 we were picked up to go by boat and catch flying birds. Now it started to get a bit windy. At 11 we were back to the hotel for lunch and then back to the boat for another trip, But now it was cloudy and really windy. We got sprayed with water and we even got some snow. The wind increased and after an hour we had to go back to shore. Rather wet then.

Looking through my images I realize that it was good having three days in the hide and the boat. It certainly took a while to learn how to get the shots you wanted. The last images is much better then the first ones. 

Back at the hotel I took a cup of coffee and then slept for 2h. Dinner at 18.00, rather long as we had no evening activity planned. And a few other people joined us at the table. Back to the room at 20.00 and fixing things like images and charging batteries. 

Tomorrow morning we will meet at 05.20 to go back to the hide. Right now it seem to be raining instead of snowing. Probably very slippery outside. We did have some problems with icy path between  the parking and the entrance to the hotel. 

Sky Watch Friday

Varanger on NF Photo  NF Birds around the world   

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