FINLAND
Friday 5 June - Wednesday 10 June 2009
Price £ 1895 ssupp£160 Deposit £600
 
This spring short break in Finland has been specially designed to give you a tremendous experience of the birdlife of this fascinating country, whilst using our time efficiently to keep costs to a manageable level. Key owl, woodpecker and grouse species are targeted, as are breeding and migrating waterbirds and inportant specialities of the area. This is a holiday of late nights and early mornigs in one of Europe's most rewarding regions, where birds rare or absent elsewhere can be added to your list.
Finland is a destination every birder hopes to visit at least once, and this holiday has been designed to give you the best available birding at a key time of year. Come and see!
ITINERARY
Day 1; Fri 5 June 2009
Arrival at Oulu airport, where we meet out guide. If time allows, we will make an excursion for some of the local specialities. Overnight at Hotel Vihiluoto in Kempele close to Oulu.
Days 2 and 3; Sat 6 June - Sun 7 June
This area is best known for its breeding owls, which include Eagle, Ural, Great Grey, Tengmalm’s, Short- eared and Pygmy Owl, most years also Hawk and Long-eared Owl. We shall spend some time in the forest and have an excellent chance of seeing a good number of these at close range. Other possible forest species include Black Grouse, Capercaillie, and both Black and Three-toed Woodpecker.
We will also visit Finland's most important wetland, Liminka Bay, which is good place for waterfowl and shorebirds such as Curlew, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Little Ringed Plover, Caspian Tern, Black-tailed Godwit, Shoveler and Garganey. Bitterns can be heard booming, and a few pairs of Red-backed Shrike breed. Numerous migratory birds come to rest here and hundreds of young Cranes and Whooper Swans spend their summers. Terek Sandpiper and Citrine Wagtail are rare breeding birds in the area, and naturally we target these too. There are a number of excellent observation towers, and a delicious lunch at Liminganlahti Visitor Centre is included.
Bothnian Bay offers a good migration route for many waterfowl and waders, so one morning we visit a peninsula to watch the migration. Good possibilities for big numbers of divers, scoters and Long-tailed Ducks. Overnight again at Hotel Vihiluoto.
Day 4 Mon 8 June
We drive eastwards through the beautiful northern landscape blanketed with forests and boglands, lakes and rivers to Kuusamo, a small city by the Russian border. Birding en route.
Overnight at Sokos Hotel Kuusamo.
Day 5 Tues 9 June
In Kuusamo we can expect to encounter a veritable feast of eastern specialities in the expansive taiga forests. Red-flanked Bluetail, Rustic Bunting, Two-barred Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Black and Three-toed Woodpecker, Black Grouse, Willow Grouse, Hazel Hen, Capercaillie, Red-necked Grebe and Little Gull all breed here.
We intend to visit the untouched Siberian taiga forest in Oulanka National Park. Oulanka was established in the Kuusamo and Salla region in 1956 and expanded in 1982 and 1989. The park now extends over 270 sq. km. Here we have fair chance to see Parrot Crossbill, Dipper and Golden Eagle. Rapids and waterfalls have carved steep ravines and valleys, which are home to moose and reindeer.
A natural reserve adjoining the Paanajärvi National Park across the Russian border, Oulanka is the westernmost extreme of the taiga or boreal coniferous zone. In addition to beard-lichened, thick-mossed spruce forests, lichen-clad upland pine forests, wild river valleys and miry aapa bogs, Oulanka also preserves wild flora and fauna including innumerable rarities. Its river-valley plant and animal life is a distinctive mix of northern, southern and eastern species. North and south join hands in Oulanka. Narrow shouldered Siberian spruce forests create a strong sense of boreal riverine wilds.
Overnight again at Sokos Hotel.
Day 6 Wed 10 June
After birding in the morning in Kuusamo region, we drive to Oulu to catch our homeward flight.
Price includes return scheduled flight from London – Oulu via Helsinki, airport taxes, ground transportation, accommodation and all meals, incidental tips, and the services of an experienced Finnish leader, joined by another from our main guiding team with more than 7 clients. Max 14 clients.
Request more detail
in our EXTRA PACK for this holiday
Please note: all itineraries are given as a guide only. Actual
holiday content may vary according to the judgement of your guide, and
elements beyond our control (eg weather).
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