Wildlife of the Arctic
Finnish Lapland is full of incredible contrasts. Small villages with picture perfect cabins are dotted around forests where nature does its own thing, mostly untouched and unseen by people.
Today, we had the opportunity to see some of this nature in action.
Getting us out of bed at 5:30 on a Sunday morning takes something pretty special, but thanks to the team at Ylläs Wildlife, we had the chance to visit the bird-hide that has been the talk of the village here in Äkäslompolo in Finnish Lapland.
Given that we are not really birdwatchers, you might wonder what the excitement was about, and perhaps more so if I mentioned that we regularly have a range of feathered friends visiting our patio.
Today, however, we were hoping to see the king of birds, the Golden Eagle.
Out into the Forest
After meeting up in the centre of the village, we were quickly tied and hooded, chloroformed and hustled into the boot of a waiting car. Ok, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we were asked to keep the hide location secret.
A half hour drive had us parking in a cleverly camouflaged car-port out in the forest, then grabbing our rucksacks (bird spotting books, cameras, sandwiches and coffee) and walking through the snowy and still dark* forest to the edge of the clearing where the bird-hide was built earlier this year.
* Dark is different above the Arctic Circle. As we get nearer to December, the days do get shorter to the point where the sun doesn't rise at all for about six weeks, and there is only a short period of "Twilight" in the middle of the day.
This period of polar night is known as "Kaamos" in Finnish.
However, at the same time, everywhere is covered in a thick blanket of pure white snow that reflects the minimal light, even from the moon and stars, and so it is never completely dark, but has an ethereal, magical feel.
The Bird-Hide
It's only about a 500 metre walk from the car port to the bird-hide, and in no time we were firing up the gas heaters, setting cameras into position and getting comfortable to wait, and hope...
To help things along, the Ylläs Wildlife team provides some very tasty meals, at least from the Eagle perspective, including raw reindeer, moose and occasionally, pork.
This week, pork was on the menu.
Feeding the birds like this is important as it helps increase their chances of surviving the bitter Arctic winter, especially since Eagle numbers are still recovering.
Forest Clearing
As the sun gradually rose and the sky, still heavy with snow cloud, brightened, we began to see the clearing much better. The snowy trees providing a perfect backdrop and a series of kelo-logs in the foreground providing perfect feeding perches.
Almost as soon as daylight started to arrive we had company. First a few magpies then, as if heading for a pre-arranged secret meeting in the forest clearing, ravens began to appear from all directions until there were nearly 30 of them.
At first a bit nervous, then settling down to feed, snow-bathe, get a bit grumpy with the magpies when they got too close, and generally entertain us.
All the while, it was noticeable that there was some shift work going on, with four or five ravens always taking lookout positions round the edges of the clearing.
Vesa, our guide and expert for the day explained that twitchy ravens are a fairly reliable signal that Eagles are moving around in the vicinity.
Eagles are quite nervous and will watch and wait until they see ravens feeding comfortably before they decide it is safe for them to eat too.
This is an odd sort of relationship, since seeing Eagles in the area is one thing that makes the ravens very uncomfortable.
Sure enough, as we watched, it was clear that the ravens were a bit up-tight, and every so often would jump up and scatter before settling down to feed again.
Was that an Eagle?
It was then that we (or at least Vesa) spotted an Eagle in a tree about 300 metres away to the right of the clearing. I tried to take a picture of it, but struggled to hold the camera still at that level of zoom.
We think it was a Sea Eagle, as one had been seen there recently, but it didn't come close enough for us to identify with certainty.
Only a few minutes later, another Eagle was spotted, this time to the left. This time, I managed to get a photo, but not great quality, since it was still quite dark, but it was enough to prove that we had at least seen one!
We settled back down to hope that this second bird would be hungry enough to venture into the clearing.
Movement in the undergrowth
Just as we were getting over seeing our first Eagles, we spotted something moving through the frosty forest undergrowth. It was difficult to tell what it was at first, but as it moved towards the clearing, it turned out to be a fox.
This fine fellow was nothing like the scraggy urban foxes we'd got used to seeing on the outskirts of London, but a healthy fit animal with thick luxurious fur.
As he moved into the clearing, the ravens and magpies didn't seem to be too concerned, and soon he too was enjoying a pork breakfast.
Just as he was getting comfortable, the ravens suddenly scattered again, and the fox and magpies immediately retreated to a safe distance.
Looking round, like us, they were just in time to see two Eagles settling in a tree at the back of the clearing.
Then the oddest thing happened. As the magpies and ravens shuffled nervously around the food, one Eagle took flight and disappeared into the distance. but the other gracefully swooped down and settled in the snow near to the fox.
By this time, we were all holding our breath in expectation of what might happen next.
After a moment or two, the Eagle walked through the trees, to within a few feet of the fox, almost out of our sight, and the two seemed to acknowledge each other in respectful silence.
Seeming happy with events, the fox headed off about his daily business and the Eagle decided that it was safe to return to the pork.
The Eagle has landed
For almost two hours, we watched, transfixed as this majestic bird ripped and tore at the pork, occasionally batting enormous powerful wings to warn off magpies that got a little too close.
The ravens on the other hand seem to have a lot of respect for the Eagle, and mostly stood back watching while he was eating, unlike the cheeky magpies.
I don't think I've ever felt two hours pass so quickly. It's an enormous privilege to be so close to raw nature and see such magnificent creatures at close quarters.
With the eagle so comfortable feeding there for so long, I managed to catch a short video him. Though there isn't any outdoor sound, you can almost hear us holding our breath as the camera shutters fire.
Ylläs Wildlife
If you are interested in Eagles or are visiting Finnish Lapland and would like to try to see them, the team at Ylläs Wildlife would be very happy to see you or hear from you.
Their web-site www.wildlifeyllas.com has details of the hide and the Eagle Safari trips that they arrange.
Our sincere thanks to Vesa and Reino for setting up such a fantastic facility and giving us such an unforgettable day. Special thanks to Vesa for sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge and making sure we didn't miss anything.
I don't think that will be our last visit!
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