This Norway bird photography trip report will share some of the images we managed to take during this 8 day adventure in March 2025. The country fascinates with its remote nature and pristine habitats. I have been visiting the country for bird surveys and birdwatching trips for nearly 10 years now, and have a special interest in this remote area. It does take ages to arrive, but it is well worth it!
This time, it was with a group of birdwatchers and wildlife photographers. We visited Varanger Peninsula in March 2025 and spent a total of 8 days. We aimed to see the Northern Lights and the special diving ducks: King Eider and Steller’s Eider. Did we see them? Read to the end to see. More importantly, we wanted to see Norway in winter with snow.
Norway bird photography trip: Itinerary
We started our trip from Kirkeness, where we spent our first night. We arrived late, so we had to spend the night here. Collected our van late in the evening and, when driving towards the hotel, saw our first Aurora borealis! Hooray! The first mission was accomplished. Some people from the group decided to walk around and make use of the superb night sky and Aurora activity. It was not very strong but the desire to witness it was great!
On the following day, we headed to Finland where I wanted us to visit a bird feeder right at the hotel. The feeders is well visited by some of the Arctic specialities like Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay and Pine Grosbeak! All on our target list. We did not rush it, but enjoyed the landscape and used any opportunity to stop along the way and enjoy the landscape.
It was truly stunning to see this white fairy tale! We had many Willow Grouses feeding on the trees by the side of the road but they were too shy and not photographable. There were many reindeer but the surprise was a bird that I really wanted to see: Little Auk!. It was just swimming in the only creek that was not frozen.
Finally, we arrived at the hotel in Finland and headed directly to the feeders. Here are some of my pictures of Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, Redpoll and Pine Grosbeak.
Kongsfjord
On the following day, we headed to Kongsfjord: a small village which offers great opportunities for birding in the area. On the way we stopped at several places to photograph Reindeer and look for Hawk Owls but could not see any. The views on the plateau just before entering the fjord were simply stunning! Very simple but so empowering. This is what the snow desert must look like.
We spent a whole day birding in the fjord, where we saw our first Puffins and Purple Sandpipers. We also added Glaucous Gull and many Steller’s and King Eiders.
The Arctic lodge where we stayed was absolutely superb. Very basic but extremely cozy. The food was prepared by a special chef, which was a very memorable experience. In the late afternoon, we headed to Batsfjord, and again, we couldn’t stop ourselves from enjoying the views on the plateau.
Just before entering Batsfjord, we stopped for a flock of Rock Ptarmigan, which was trying to find some food under the snow.
Batsfjord
Some of us got up at 4 am to enter a hide and photograph King Eider, Steller’s Eider and Long-tailed Ducks. Luckily, we were placed in the best hide and managed to get some great shots. The fairly “hot” weather has sent away the King Eiders, so we didn’t see many in the harbour, but still a few to take a picture or two.
We spent the afternoon exploring the area and went back to the plateau to admire the views.
Vardo
On the following day, we headed to Vardo, which was our last destination for the trip. En route we had several fantastic places to stop. One that is worth mentioning is the Nesseby church, where there is a vast flooded tidal area preferred by waders. Several dozen Purple Sandpipers were feeding in the shallow waters and were very tame, allowing us to take their pictures.
On the second day of our stay in the area during the Norway bird photography trip, we visited the Hornoya island. It was rather windy and a bit risky to get off the boat but the captain managed to park safely. We had 3 fantastic hours in the snow. The seabirds were only starting to come back to the island, and we could not take the portraits we were thinking of, but managed to take some different shots using slow shutter speed and wide-angle lenses.
In the evening, two of us decided to enter a hide for Arctic Hare and Arctic Fox. This was another superb experience! We spent a few hours with the wild animals which were visiting the hide quite often. Although it was completely dark, we could still focus and expose.
Back to Kirkeness
Back at Kirkeness, we had nothing left but to try our luck again with the Northern Lights during the last day of our Norway bird photography trip! Well, this was the best attempt of all.
Hope you enjoyed my report for this Norway bird photography trip. Feel free to contact me using the form here and discuss how you can join me next year.
