Overview
Along the Finnish and Russian Border lies an area of land as empty and as wild as it gets in Europe. Amongst this Taiga Forest roams some of Europe’s most impressive and threatened mammals and birds. We have been running trips to Finland for many years now searching for the iconic wildlife of these wild forests. This is a new trip that we have put together and our target is the elusive Capercaillie. This is a very secretive bird and is rarely seen but in the spring during its breeding season it lets its guard down and it is possible to photograph the elaborate courtship ritual of this impressive bird. We have been trying to secure a slot for this very special week for several years now and are delighted that we have now been able to secure it as the week is critical for the activity at the Capercaillie Leks, where the females visit in big numbers and select the most dominant males. Our hosts have years of experience in working with Capercaillie and will have put the time and effort in selecting the right dominant male. We will be working from two different locations to give us variety in our portfolio. This trip is a great opportunity to experience the boreal forest as it begins to wake from the long winter months whilst working with one of its most elusive residents.
Itinerary Open +Close -
Day 1: We will fly out from our chosen destinations in the UK to Kuusamo in Finland via Helsinki where we will pick up our hire van for the short transfer to our base for the entire trip. (We will send out the flight recommendations nearer the time).
Day 2: Breakfast is served at the hotel and after breakfast, we have the day to look at each other’s images and talk about what we expect from the trip and what to look out for during the photography sessions and take a rest ready for the long evening ahead. After an early dinner we will be transferring to the hides for our first evening in the hides. At this time of year, we have enough light until around 8.00pm. We must stay in the hides overnight, where a bed/mattress is provided for each person to sleep on. We can sleep for around 7 or 8 hours and then the light starts to improve around 4.00am. The Capercaillies start arriving to roost in the trees just before dusk right above there lekking arena and then during the early hours the male will drop down to start his courtship ritual. This can go onto to around 9.00am We then leave the hides and head back to our accommodation to have breakfast.
Days 3 – 6: After breakfast, we have a choice to either relax in our rooms or look at each other’s images and do some processing techniques or critic some images. Again, after an early dinner we will then head back to the hides for our second evening. Hide etiquette is so important throughout this trip and one mistake by us could cost the group the morning’s photography but might do so for the rest of the trip. Once you are in the hides you cannot leave until one of our guides comes to get us. You must have a certain type of endurance to do this trip. After our second night/morning with the Capercaillie it will be a case of heading back to our accommodation for a well-earned breakfast and then spending the rest of the day relaxing or sleeping. After an early dinner we will then head back to the hides to spend the evenings/night ready for the morning session. Food and drinks will be provided for the long night if needed.
Day 7: Afterwards we will have breakfast and relax and then get ready for our last session with the Capercaillie. By this time, you will be in a good routine, and we can then take stock of what we have achieved so far. The days are important to rest and relax and maybe spend some time looking at what images we have achieved and see what we could do differently.
Day 8: After our last session with the Capercaillie we will then head back to our hotel for some breakfast and pack our gear ready for the journey home. We will head to Kuusamo Airport for our flights back to the UK.
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