Beyond 66.5 Degrees North - Day 3: Battling the Elements

Before we made our trip to Norway, both and Adam and I both made a list of species we wished to see and try to photograph. Top of both our lists were probably the most magnificent of wading birds, the Ruff. This was followed on our lists by Dotterel, a personal bogey bird of mine in the UK, and third on my list was Bluethroat. However, top priority was Ruff and we would be disappointed if we didn't manage to get some in front of us and the camera. So this species deserved a concerted effort.

Our plan  for the third day, was to rise early and explore the nature reserve at eastern end of Vadsoya Island where the hotel was located, before hitting the road and winding our way eastward along the north shore of the fjord. Our final destination for the day was to be a reconnaissance visit of a known ruff lek site which we planned to check out for hopefully our first session with the birds the following day.

As the blackout roller blinds zipped upwards, after an early alarm, the view out the window of the shaking scrub bushes showed a strong wind was blowing in from the north. The sky a mix of clouds, with the occasional blue clear patch, being whisked along quickly overhead by the brisk wind. Temperature outside was about 3 degrees C before taking account of any wind chill. Stepping out the front door of the hotel, the strong wind's sharp icy edge that cut right in to you, became very apparent. Any small birds would definitely be lying low in these conditions. Fortunately the forecast, which to be frank is not too reliable, showed that the wind would ease down the next day. We would just have to try and make the best of the prevailing conditions.

We headed out on foot into the biting wind onto the Vadsoya Island nature reserve. We decided to head off in opposite directions and meet up later by the pond. My first stop was near the entrance with a Hooded Crow hanging on to the top of some scrub in the wind.

I headed off round the island in a clockwise direction. It seemed very quiet for birds and during my wander I came across a group of half a dozen of the island's resident mountain hares in a tight group. Creeping up on single mountain hares is difficult enough but the problem is multiplied when there are six pairs of eyes on look-out duty. Fortunately between me and the hares was a line of scrub that I could use as cover to get close and a few photos of them. They varied quite a bit in colour as a result of their change from winter to summer coat.

As you might know I do have a bit of a hare obsession so it was good to have some on the 'doorstep' of the hotel and I made a mental note to have another try for them later in the week.

As I came around to the pond, I was surprised to find very low numbers of Red-necked Phalarope with only half a dozen female birds present. During my last visit the island supported good numbers of birds across a range of species but this seemed not to be the case now. The Arctic Tern colony at the eastern end of the island was completely empty and few birds were present on the beaches.

As the sun was appearing intermittently I thought I would spend a bit of time with the Phalarope. Typically oblivious to my presence, the photography of these hyperactive birds was made tricky by the large waves rolling across the pond. It felt a bit like trying to photograph a cork being tossed around on a North Sea storm. One moment it was there and the next it had gone over the crest of the next wave and dropped into the trough.

Thought the photo below would give some impression of the size of the waves rolling across the pond.

Adam had picked up a few birds in his wander around the other side of the nature reserve including the odd Knot, Oystercatcher and Turnstone on the beach and a Red-throated pipit on  a fence line post. We decided to head back to the hotel for breakfast. Over breakfast we started chatting with a couple of birdwatchers who had been in the area for a while and commented on the general lack of birds from what they had found on previous trips. There were two theories proposed over the continental style breakfast, either birds were very late arriving or had started breeding early. We would have to try and work it out.

After a long, slow breakfast, we left the hotel and into the sabre-toothed wind once more. This time we got in the car crossed the bridge into Vadso and headed along the coast road eastward to see what we could find. The first birds we encountered that could be put in front of the camera were some Red Throated Pipit. These are attractive birds with their brick red throat patch.

This location  we subsequently nicknamed 'Pipit Bowl'. I often find when abroad that particularly productive places are given nicknames as it easy to refer to them when making plans than using the local place name. With that said the next place we stopped off at became known as 'Temmincks Dunes'. We decided to stop off for some DIY lunch from our Finnish food supplies in the car boot, where the coastal landscape suddenly changed to sand dunes adjacent to the river estuary at Skallelv. I spotted a small bird fluttering up and down like a giant butterfly, despite the strong winds, accompanied by a rapid, loud and high pitched trill and immediately knew it was a Temmnicks Stint. This was Adam's first encounter with one and I think he was impressed with the aerial antics of this tiny wader. We found a very confiding bird and it was lovely to watch both on the ground and in the air  at close quarters.  Down at ground level you appreciate how tiny these birds are.

Brace position against the wind.

Time to move on, passing by some distant White-tailed Eagle loafing around the beach and a very long furred red fox heading over a ridge. By this time the sun has burst through the rushing clouds above. Its always good to have some sunlight for photography but in these cold climates it comes at a cost which it almost an instant development of heat haze. I have mentioned this before and the devastating effect it can on photography should not be underestimated.  Basically it makes it nearly impossible to get a sharp image and the only thing you can do is take a lot of photographs and minimise the wobbling air between the camera and subject. We suffered this problem with the next pair of birds we tried to photograph which was a pair of dark phase Arctic Skua. We spent a very brief time with them, as the red mist typically descended with these birds as we approached and they initiated their characteristic swooping attacks. This meant the female had got up off the two eggs on the ground and we were concerned the effect that the bitter wind may have on them if left uncovered for any period. We backed off rapidly and she quickly returned to incubation duties. Of the  photographs taken, I only kept one which was just about passable, with the rest ruined by heat haze.

Finally we reached the track that cuts in land leading to the ruff lek site. This is a 7.5km dirt track in poor condition and took quite a while to get the hire car along in one piece. The progress along the track was slowed by a couple of birds we encountered. By now the sun had departed and drizzle had started. Rapid changes in weather conditions are common at these latitudes but the one persistent feature that was constant was the driving cold wind. I decided for this solitary Skua to do the 'Skua crawl'. This is basically doing a commando crawl up to the bird which seems to work well with these birds. I was soon getting full frame images with the main problem being getting a decent composition which is always tricky for birds with long tails.

We continued our bumpy and uncomfortable journey along the track and soon came across a Golden Plover for which we stopped to take a few photographs. The short tundra vegetation always makes for a colourful and attractive setting.

Eventually we came to the end of the track and the ruff lek site next to a medium sized lake. There were ruff present but mainly as heads popping up through the vegetation of a marshy area at the southern end of the lake. Across the lake we could see a distant nesting Black-throated Diver with the male holding station in open water close by. Occasionally they would let out their wailing call which is one of my favourite bird sounds as it seems to encapsulate the essence of these remote places. It was difficult to say with any certainty where the ruff lek was going to be but a relatively flat area of short vegetation close to where we were parked looked like a strong possibility. We would find out when we returned the next morning.

We made our way back along the bumpy track and picked up a solitary Whimbrel to photograph before we reached the main road.

Time was moving on be now and we decided we would start to make tracks towards our hotel in Vadso. However, before heading there we thought we would check out another dirt track heading in-land from the coast.  We saw a few Golden Plover  along this track but all remained distant occasionally piping out their plaintive call note. The occasional Ruff was seen flying over. Just before we got back to the main road I spotted a solitary male Ruff. A fine looking male with a ginger orange collar. This was our first opportunity to put one in front of the camera and as this was the last bird of the day to be photographed, then hopefully its was a good omen for a successful Ruff session the following day.

We headed back to Vadso. We had worked hard that day in the the challenging icy wind and it had produced a good variety of interesting birds species but all in low numbers. There just strangely seemed to be relatively few birds around. Back at Vadso,  and with it being Sunday evening , we struggled to find any food and ended up having some weird kebab made with a folded nan bread stuffed with meat and sauce from a take away at the back of the Indian. More fuel than food really. This seemed to be the only place open in town that was selling food. Back at the hotel the daily battery charging, photo downloading and back up ritual was gone through before hitting bed relatively early. The alarm was set to stun mode at 3:30 am with the exciting prospect of attempting to photograph Ruff on a lek. This was the main objective of our trip but would we succeed?

Romania and the Last Frontier - Day 6 a.m: Day of the Jackal

It was good to have a a bit of extra time in bed on the morning of the 6th day with breakfast slightly later at 5 a.m. There had been rain overnight and a blanket of grey cloud hung overhead. It was to be our first session trying for European Golden Jackals, which had been one of our primary reasons for travelling to the 'Last Frontier'. That morning I was going to share the Northern Jackal Hide with Rene. 'Would they show-up?' was the main nagging question on both our minds.

Luca took us up to the northern end of the site and after a short drive the pick-up came to a stop in a small grass clearing bordered on either side by low scrub with a couple of old stumps and logs on one side. At the end of the clearing  a permanent hide was positioned which was partially sunken into the ground and fitted with the glass that has become a common feature of wildlife photography hides throughout Europe. Personally I am not a big fan of this glass as I have mention previously in this Blog. To get the best out of it you need to position the camera, without lens hood as close and square to glass as possible and don't use the lens with a wide open aperture. You also lose quite a bit of light through this one way glass (which I estimate to be between 1.5 and 2 stops) which was not going to be ideal as we had limited light at dawn on this overcast day.  We were going to have to rely on the high ISO capability of the 1DX to help us get some photos in the gloom of this dawn. This was our view from the hide that morning.

We both entered the hide which was flooded in the bottom with dark foul smelling stagnant water and a wooden platform had been placed on top which we set up on with the cameras and tripods. Obviously the hide was in need of a few drainage improvements. Meanwhile outside Luca was preparing some 'breakfast' for the Jackals which were one very large and one smaller dead carp which he staked  with large bent metal rods hammered into the ground. The rhythmic chime of metal on metal no doubt providing the equivalent sound of a dinner bell announcing this regular feeding for any jackals lurking nearby. A half bucket of peanuts were scattered around the grass clearing to attract in Magpies and Hooded Crows. The activity of all the birds being a further visual and auditory cue of a potential waiting meal to the jackals.

As Luca drove away the first Hooded Crows came in for the free handout and the numbers of corvids quickly began to build. It was only about 10 minutes later and with the light levels still very low that we had our first view of Golden Jackal. A large male, its fur soggy, cautiously appeared from the long wet grass on the left side of the clearing. My first impression was that these were much larger and stockier animals than I had anticipated.

Having checked the area to be clear, the male approach the staked fish and ripped a small piece off before retreating quickly to the scrub on the left hand side. A process it repeated several times over a short period.
It was obvious the Jackal knew that something was in the hide as it kept staring right at us. I suspect it could hear the shutter sounds of two Canon 1DX whirring away every time it stopped moving as there was not enough light to get any photos of it on the move. We were really struggling for any shutter speed even with the cameras set to high ISO.

A second smaller Jackal which appeared to be a female appeared with a snarl on the left hand side of the clearing and seemed slightly wary of the male which again retreated back into the scrub.

The male appeared once more and this time managed to rip the entire large carp from the stake and quickly carried to carcass back into the scrub. I turned to Rene and said I thought that would be game over in terms of photography as the jackal had just walked off with around 8kgs of fish to eat and probably didn't need to come back. It did return once more and walked out to where the fish had been, cocked its leg to mark it territory and casually walked off, giving one last look back before disappearing out the back of the clearing.

That was to be last we saw of them morning. It was all over within 30 minutes of getting in the hide. At this point I made the decision that I was going to spend each of the two remaining mornings of the trip trying for Golden Jackal, as although we had got some photos there was certainly room for improvement!

With the jackals departed we stayed in the hide for another hour or so just to make sure they did not return and would not be disturbed by us leaving the hide. I passed the time photographing some Hooded Crow and also a Hoopoe that appeared on a soil pile to the left of the hide.

There seemed little point staying there much longer and we called Luca to collect us. Despite the light and the brevity of the action it had been a wonderful experience to see have our first sight of the European Golden Jackals which surprisingly few people seem to know are present in Europe.

I decided I would walk back to the hotel which proved to be further than the short drive I remembered. I felt like I needed to stretch my legs and it would be interesting to get a feel for some of birds around the site. It was very enjoyable just casually walking the sandy track and absorbing the sights and sounds around me in the early morning. On my journey back I  did not bother trying to take any photos as I just wanted to enjoy the vibrancy of the abundant wildlife. I saw and heard a good variety of species that included Hoopoe, Cuckoo, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, White Stork, Thrush Nightingale, Great Reed Warbler,Bee-eater and Kevin (who was set up in a temporary hide next to the track trying to photograph some Bee-eater in a shallow sandy depression in the bank).

Back at the hotel I decided to have a rest before lunch and think about what I wanted to do during the afternoon from the wealth of hides on offer. My thoughts turned back to the Bearded Tits of the previous and found myself wanting to get some better photographs, maybe an afternoon of stalking photography rather than being cramped in a hide was in order.

Romania and the Last Frontier - Day 4: Sleepy until Sundown

I always think of my trips overseas as a 'holiday' but they are never really very relaxing. In fact they are a bit more like a survival course as they are always fairly punishing in terms of schedule and sleep deprivation. The early starts, combined with the time difference, and long days quickly take their toll with cumulative fatigue. I find it easier by trying to keep organised and sticking to a fairly strict regime whilst away.

On the morning of the 4th day the effects of lack of sleep were starting to take their toll. There was a subdued atmosphere on the boat that morning. Some were more subdued than others.

The boated gently chugged through the back channels of the soft pre-dawn light and we entered into the small western 'Grebe Lake' once more. We had barely entered the lake when the first bird, a Squacco heron,  was in front of us bathed in early light. The mosquitoes seemed to be out in force that morning.

We decided to try and get some tern flight photos, as everyone was keen to try and get some Black Tern shots, but it was never really going to happen as the gentle breeze was  completely in the wrong direction seeing the birds generally flying into the light. If the conditions are wrong it doesn't matter how hard you try, it will always be a struggle to get images. I managed to get my first couple of photographs of the Black Terns but could see it would have been so different if the wind had been blowing the other way.

In the end it soon became obvious it was fairly hopeless continuing, as the camera shutters progressively fell more silent, it was time for the boat of tired photographers to move on. A Hooded Crow flew lazily overhead on the look out for an easy food opportunity

We entered into a back channel and encountered a pair of Red-necked Grebe which we stayed with for a short while before continuing our journey.

A little further on a Squacco Heron preening amongst the emergent aquatic plants.

Onwards we traveled before entering the large lake where we had finished the previous evening and the boat came to rest amongst a large lily bed which groups of Whiskered Tern were hunting insects over. The same frustrating problem though of the wind being in the wrong direction persisted to thwart our efforts with few useful photos being produced.

While we were sat there I decided to make a short video which I thought you may find of interest. The video is not about what you will see but will be hearing so make sure you have some volume on before hitting play. Now you may think this wetland paradise is an oasis of tranquility? It is far from it and what you are hearing in the video, except for the occasional camera shutter, is the constant background chorus of thousands of frogs. The volume of these amphibians increases quite considerably at night.


Tranquility in the Danube Delta from Richard Steel on Vimeo.

The morning outing was over and it was time head back to our hotel. This has been our least productive session on the trip, partly due to making a wrong choice with the conditions and also due to a general lethargy amongst the photographers that morning. Hopefully a dose of carp broth for lunch and an extended siesta would set us back on track and raring to go for our final evening boat session on the Delta.

I had a good sleep and felt much more back on the planet when we assembled on the hotel jetty around 3 p.m. I put this down more to the curative properties of the afternoon nap than the fish and vegetable soup.
The boat slipped away from  the jetty and headed off downstream which meant we would be travelling to one of the large eastern lakes, and probably some pelicans which seemed to be showing a preference for those areas. I must admit I do like photographing pelicans as they always look great either stood on an accumulation of vegetation, swimming around or in flight. I was hoping we could get some more flight photographs during this session.

We encountered a solitary Dalmatian Pelican stood on the same area were we had encountered pelicans previously.

After a few photographs the bird took off and we moved across the lake to a small group of White Pelicans, which provided us with some good flight photographs. Photographing pelicans in flight is relatively straightforward as they are such large birds that they require a long run up to get airborne which allows plenty of time for the photographers to get locked on to the with the cameras.

The boat manouvered back around and we made our way slowly towards two more Dalmatian Pelicans. En-route we came across a male Ferruginous Duck in a patch of lilies, a new species for me. An attractive bird in its rusty plumage.

The boat eased up close towards the two Dalmatians Pelicans which also provided us with some good flight opportunities.

A bonus Purple Heron passed the boat with long slow wing beats  allowing opportunity for a couple of welcome bonus photographs.

On our travels we came across a Little Egret stood on a log mid-channel with the strong currents swirling round it. A fairly tough exposure with the sun still bright and the background relatively dark.

We were heading to the same destination as the previous evening and paused as we entered once more into the large lake for a loafing Pygmy Cormorant. If ever there was a bird species which reminds me of birds reptilian ancestors then this would be it.

The same cast of birds was set out before us as the previous evening, with numbers of herons and ibis picking their way through the large floating mass of weed . The sun was starting to soften down  now and we started with a Glossy Ibis. This bird was not looking as a good as the one from the previous evening with its guano splattered feathers where it had been sat on the lower branches of the roosting tree. An avian analogy of human lives really, with the lower your position on the ladder the more you tended to get dumped on!

A Grey Heron stopped by briefly which was a good reminder of how small both Squacco and Night Herons actually are.

Of course with the light becoming better by the minute the cameras turned back to both of these smaller herons until there was no glow to play with using sensible camera settings.

Another very enjoyable session had come to an end and as we headed back to the hotel, we were treated to a beautiful sunset as the grand ending to our final evening session.

We had one last boat photography session left the following morning, before we headed off to our new destination, deeper into the Delta, to a place known as the 'Last Frontier'. Would a overnight complete change in wind direction finally allow us to photograph the Black Terns the next morning?  Well  you will have to wait for the next instalment to find out :)