There and back again - a return to no man's Land, Finland

July 12

This trip report covers a couple of trips to Finland that Ian and I made in 2023 and 2024. This will be an abridged report as we visited the same wildlife hides as this trip report in 2015: https://www.safaritalk.net/topic/15280-finland-into-no-mans-land/#comment-173320

I will, however, focus on changes observed, wildlife sightings at the hides and observations of wildlife around Oulu.

Both times, we combined a few nights at Kuikka Base Camp with staying with friends in Oulu. Our friends also kindly lent us their comfortable Kia to help us get around during our stay- including to drive the 4 hrs to and from the hides.

Trip 1 July 2023

We arrived on the 3/7/2024 and spent the nights of the 4th and 5th with our friends in Oulu. We then travelled to Kuikka Base camp for 3 nights, travelled back on the 9th to Oulu and spent the nights of the 9th and 10th with our friends, returning later than expected on the 13th to the UK.

Local sites we visited around Oulu included Koitelinkoski (i.e. Koiteli rapids) a scenic outdoor recreation area located along the Kiiminkijoki river in the Kiiminki district in Oulu, Finland. The area consists of small islands which divide the free-flowing river into smaller streams and rapids. The Koitelinkoski stretch about three kilometres on the river.

The larger islands are connected with suspension bridges. There is a summer café and an event stage on the largest, Sahasaari, island. There are several campfire sites scattered on the islands and we made use of one of them to cool up some bratwurst. We didn’t see much wildlife here other than a couple of red squirrels and swarms of mosquitoes, a constant annoyance in the Finnish summer.

Koitelinkoski (i.e. Koiteli rapids)by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Koitelinkoski (i.e. Koiteli rapids) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7040031 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

We also explored Liminganlahti ( Liminka Bay,) near Oulu. We started out at the visitor centre at Liminka Bay. The centre itself has a nice cafe and exhibition area showcasing the seasonal wildlife to be found on the reserve. There are a couple of short walks accessible from the centre, one to the bird tower, basically a raised platform and enclosed hide (the platform offers better viewing than the hide) overlooking a vast wetland area.

P7050036_01 Pied Flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Unfortunately for the most part one really needs to bring a scope and we did not see a vast amount of birds up close, especially at this time of year. Common Cranes, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Peregrine and Pied and Spotted flycatchers were the best of our first visit.

P7050056 Pied Flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7050078_01 Yellow Wagtail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7050196 Whinchat by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7050212 Whinchat by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7050264 Common Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7050325_01 Common Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

We also took the other trail, along the coastal path- though you wouldn’t really guess it was a coastal path in the normal sense of the work as it was more through fields and marshland.

There are five bird towers dotted around the wider area and we drove and trekked to some of these, but saw very little. Perhaps a spring visit might deliver better results here. Still, it was a nice enough day out and it gave Ian a chance to get used to the car and practice driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time. Something he picked up very quickly.

July 12

On the morning of the 6th we said a temporary farewell to our friends and headed off on the 4 hour drive to Kuikka Base Camp. You can read all about that camp in my first Finland trip report. On this occasion, we arrived there without issue. It hadn’t changed massively since my first visit.

IMG_20230706_174143 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Key changes were:

Both Lake and Paradise studios were still in use, but the caravan studio, where I saw the wolverine is no longer in use due to an increase in poaching activity in that area.

There was a forest studio- I didn’t visit that one on either trip.

There was a reflection pool set up for photography at the basecamp which was a welcome addition to the bird feeders.

We were put up in one of the lakeside cabins on this occasion. The schedule is basically the same as before, dinner is served early at 4 and we head to the hides at 5pm, stay there until 8am and return for breakfast at 0930.

Ian had opted to rest on the first and last nights and join me in the hide on night 2. I had booked 3 nights in the hides. So on night 1 I was in lake studio, followed by 2 nights in Paradise studio.

At Lake studio, as on my previous trip, there was some nice bear activity, including some very large individuals. Salmon is placed in the pines surrounding the lake and hidden under logs etc so the bears have to forage for it. Other wildlife seen include Ravens, White-tailed eagles, common gulls, and a few waders including Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper.

P7060045 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060077 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060127 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060195 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060287 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060354 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060400 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060420 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060432 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060452 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060470 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060506_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060517_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060523_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060573 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060599 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

If one is lucky and it happens to be a windless night the lake provides for some beautiful reflections. One bear went for a dip in the lake and had a good shake off afterwards, spraying water everywhere.

P7060829 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060831 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060846 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060849 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060882 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060904 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060925 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7060972 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061020 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061026 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061058 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061086 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061063 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061105 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061112 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7061113 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

After resting up following breakfast I spent some time around the feeders. This attracted Great-spotted woodpeckers, various tits, red squirrels, siskins, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch and greenfinch.

P7061179_01 Greenshank by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7071284 Wood Sandpiper by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20230707_061640 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20230707_061700 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070005 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070039 Siskin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070058 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070097 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070109 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070127 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070184 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070212 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070215 Tree Pipit by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070233 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 12

Night 2, the night Ian joined me in the hide, was sadly the quietest night of the three that I had. I put this down to the fact that there was a bear already waiting for the guide to put our the food, so he was basically following in his footsteps hoovering up the majority of the food that was put out! On top of this, it really rained a lot that night and, unlike on my first trip no carcass had been put out. So basically the upshot of this was we had a brief flurry of bear activity to begin with which then died off and we did not have any other sightings, other than a spotted redshank, that night or morning.

P7070250 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070266 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070296 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070338 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070023 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070061 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070088 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070131 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070173 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070289 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070306 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070316 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070372 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070379 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070397 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070405 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070512 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070525 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070530 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070647 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070577 Spotted Redshank by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7070640 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080004 Siskin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080009 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20230708_142909 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20230708_142919 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080012 Swallow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080025 Swallow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080038 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080079 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080123 Siskin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080131 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080146 Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080158 House Martin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080296 Siskin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080313 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080325 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080357 Bullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080362 Great-spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 12

Night 3 - On the third night, I had commented about the lack of a carcass and I think that spurred them on to put one out. This seemed to have the desired effect as this was the best night of the trip with bears and a lone wolf coming throughout the night, making for some great interactions (although not on the scale of my first trip where I saw a pack of five wolves interacting with the bears).

P7080371 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080394 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080413 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080433 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080461 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080471 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080496 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080523 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080530 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080534 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080630 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080652_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080650_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080664_01 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080758 Raven by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080883 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080907_02 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080940 Hooded Crow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080951 Hooded Crow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080995 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081005 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081061_01 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081118_01 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081122 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081142_01 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081247 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081408_01 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081490_01 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081491_01 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081525 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081535 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081553 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081557 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081609 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081618 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081624 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081670 European Brown Bear and European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7081721 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7080097 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090123 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090127 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090203 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090343 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090364 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090423 European Grey Wolf and European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090458 European Grey Wolf and European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090469 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090487 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090551 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090595 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090664_01 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090701 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090026 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090029 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090102 Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090116 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090143 Dusk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090160 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 12

A few more

P7090472 White-tailed Eagle & European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090544 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090549 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090589 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090618 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090632 White-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090643_01 European Grey Wolf & European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090677_01 European Grey Wolf & European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090691_01 European Grey Wolf & European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090718_01 European Grey Wolf & European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090733 European Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090760 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090764 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090779 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090784 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090802 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090900 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090947 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090954 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7090995 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7091022 European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

We spent most of the rest of the trip not doing wildlife stuff, although we did take a trip to Hailuoto island, which lies opposite the city of Oulu in the Gulf of Bothnia. We tried to locate some more bird towers on the island but given that we were in our friend Marko’s Vauxhall VXR8 this was met with mixed success and we had to turn back after driving down an increasingly narrow forest track. In the end we gave up on searching for wildlife and instead just enjoyed a drink at a local cafe before heading back.

Our Finnair flight was cancelled in the middle of the night just a few hours before we were due to head for the airport. We eventually made it back a few hours later than planned.

P7110027 House Martin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7110057 House Martin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P7110175 Common Tern by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited July 12 by kittykat23uk

July 18

Thanks for sharing @kittykat23uk, you had some nice sightings offer a fairly short time period.

July 19

Thanks @Zubbie15yes not too bad was it?

Trip 2 June 2024

Our itinerary for our most recent trip was to arrive in Oulo on the 5th June, stay the night of the 5th and 6th with our friends, then we had 2 nights at the Finlandia Hotel in Oulu so that we could join Finnature’s birding day tour which departs 3am from the hotel on the 8th, then the nights of the 9th-12th at Kuikka Base Camp (Ian planned to have 2 nights in the hides this time whilst I had all four), back to Oulu on the morning of the 13th staying with our friends and then back home early on the 15th.

We took a short walk close to the house and I spotted something foraging in one of the water-filled dykes, I’m pretty sure it was a Water Shrew but it didn’t really show itself enough for a clear view.

Once again we were given the use of our friend’s Kia for the duration of our stay. We revisited Liminka Bay, again it was pretty quiet. But we did have nice views of cranes, marsh harrier, brief flyover of Ruff, Whinchat, Pied and Spotted flycatchers again.

IMG_20240606_190202 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Marsh Harrier by Jo Dale, on Flickr

black-tailed godwit by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Barn Swallow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Common Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Tree Pipit by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Whinchat by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Pied Flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Whooper Swan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240607_173103 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240608_022555 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Cranes over Liminka Bay by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited July 19 by kittykat23uk

July 19

Similar birds were seen around the Finlandia hotel as well as Whooper Swan. The hotel has a small cafe which sells a range of sandwiches, tasty tarts and local cakes and pastries. So we decided to have dinner there rather than heading out. After getting an early night, we were ready to meet our guide, Pasi, in the car park along with the other tour guests at 3am. We had unfortunately heard in advance that it had been a bad vole year and therefore a bad owl year. This was really disappointing because the key highlight of the tour should have been the prospect of finding five sought-after owl species. Our first stop was to find a Wryneck, which offered fleeting views as it responded to tape flying in and out of the forest along a roadside.

It was then a fair drive to our next location to try and locate Ural Owl. This location was quite deep into the forest and as soon as we exited the minibus we were accosted by swarms of mosquitoes! We did thankfully manage to get reasonable views of the Ural Owl and a branching owlet which was delightful. I have only seen Ural Owl before in Japan. They do say it is not a photography tour and photography is sort of discouraged. But I didn’t find any issues with taking photos and the tour was not especially fast paced. Whether it is a different situation earlier in the season or in a better owl year I don’t know, but over the course of the 8 hour trip we only targeted a handful of species that were spaced quite some distance away. I would say it was not birding, so much as driving to a location for a specific bird and then moving on. When we piled back into the minibus we were followed by the mosquito swarm and as such spent a lot of the drive trying to blow them out of the windows and squash as many of the ones that refused to leave as we could.

Ural Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Ural Owl Owlet by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Ural Owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Ural owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Our next stop was for Ortolan Bunting, which we managed to find without too much effort. This being in a more open arable area we also came across a number of Brown Hares as well as a few cranes and curlews, a Snipe and a Great Grey Shrike which was gone before we could stop for it.

Ortolan Bunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Snipe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Our next site had the potential for several species of woodpecker including Three-toed, lesser and Grey-headed. However, despite the best efforts of our guide we only managed to see three-toed here, along with a wood warbler.

Three-toed Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Wood Warbler by Jo Dale, on Flickr

These sites were quite far apart and time was getting on so after a good effort to try and lure the birds we eventually had to move on. Next stop was a pond on which we had wonderful views of a Slavonian Grebe. Originally some distance away, it kindly swam closer and closer to us, allowing us to truly appreciate this beautiful bird.

Slavonian Grebe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

We were all very keen to get at least one more owl and Pasi had promised to stop in at a place for Eurasian Pygmy Owl. Sure enough, after a bit of tape playing the diminutive owl appeared and put on a good show for us.

Eurasian pygmy owl by Jo Dale, on Flickr

The last of the available Finnish specialties in this region was the Black Woodpecker. We were really pressed for time by this point but Pasi kindly extended the tour for an extra hour to allow us time to get to this last site so that we could have a chance for this bird. We located the nest hole on the side of the road and could just about see a powerful beak poking out of the huge hole. A bit of tape playing near the hole did not bring a bird in so as time was getting on we headed back to where we’d parked the minibus, in a small green. Pasi gave the tape one last go here and lo and behold a rather agitated Black Woodpecker appeared, calling and then launching off with a powerful undulating flight before landing on the opposite side of the clearing. We were delighted! The black woodpecker was far larger than I had expected, a very impressive bird indeed!

Black Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited July 19 by kittykat23uk

July 19

Lovely photos, and you saw a really good range of species @kittykat23uk

July 19

@TonyQthank you x

July 19

Sadly it was now time to head back as one of the guests needed to check out and we were already late. It had been a nice day out and a fun group to spend time with, despite fewer owls that I had hoped for.

We relaxed around the hotel for the rest of the day, there is a small bird tower on the grounds and the gardens are home to fieldfares, a pair of spotted flycatchers on a nest and Curlew. A walk to the bird tower produced a Red-breasted Merganser. Again, a scope would have been useful here. In the evening we visited another of Ian’s friends and got dinner in Oulu centre before getting an early night.

Spotted flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Fieldfare by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P6088706 White Wagtail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Spotted flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Sedge warbler by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Curlew by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Spotted flycatcher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 19

The next day we headed to Kuikka Base Camp. All was going well until we must have been almost at the camp when google decided to take us on a magical mystery tour into the depths of the forest about 6km away from the camp. People beware! There are two places marked on google maps, Wildlife Safaris Finland and Wildlife Safari Finland. I was sure we were going the wrong way after a few turns (I distinctly remember last time that it was pretty much straight until a final turn off that was signposted and we knew that we were initially on the right road because we’d seen a sign for the camp) but Ian though he recognised a small bridge that we crossed (it turned out that he remembered it from driving from the camp to Paradise studio) and the tracks were getting more and more overgrown so we knew we’d gone wrong somehow. After a few nerve-wracking minutes Ian managed to get a different app to navigate us back to where we should have been. With nerves somewhat frayed, being that we were right next to the border at this point, we arrived at Kuikka and got settled in before going for dinner.

The first night we were the only guests. On all four nights I was in Paradise studio. I think the main reason for this was that at this time of year, in this area the bears are off mating and lose their appetite. As a result, unless you are lucky to have the bears courting around the studio, the chances of seeing bears in early June are often much reduced. This was not something I had realised when I booked and it seems to be a situation that is unique to this particular location. I know of others who went to different hides at the same time as me and had great bear sightings.

So I believe they were trying to concentrate all activity at one studio, Paradise. Which made a lot of sense to me. Ian rested on the first and last nights and joined me in the hide on the second and third nights.

Aside from the time in the hide, the days were spent resting between around 1030 and 1400, a bit of wildlife photography around the base camp. On this trip the reflection pool was dilapidated, which was a shame. But there were at least 3 red squirrels coming to the feeders, as well as siskins, great spotted woodpeckers and House Martins and Swallows were hawking around the buildings and collecting mud for their nests.

Night 1 was very quiet. I saw absolutely nothing but ravens and gulls, the odd snipe and greenshank, as well as a vole inside the hide, until twilight at about 1 am when a Red Fox made an appearance in the rain. It was so dark I didn’t manage to get any photos of it.

P6099119 Raven & Herring Gull by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240610_003916 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240610_003946_1 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240610_003948 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Things finally picked up at around 0645 when a male wolf appeared, followed by a female, the alpha pair. I was told the female has pups somewhere, she certainly looked like she was lactating. They stayed for about 45 minutes and only left shortly before I was due to leave the hide.

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 19

IMG_20240616_163645 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240616_171516 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240705_121427 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240705_121507 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240705_121525_edit_126514522999964 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 19

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Night 2 was better. No sooner had we entered the hide than we saw our first wolf. A subordinate individual it seemed, slighter and scruffier than the alpha male with a scar on its muzzle. He wandered off after a while. Then it was just the ravens and gulls to entertain us for a bit. The wolf returned to forage for the salmon scraps, but left the pig carcass alone. In fact they seemed quite nervous around the carcass.

Hooded crow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Raven by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Raven by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 19

The bigger, fluffier alpha male emerged from the treeline and headed for his packmate. They greeted each other, with the subordinate acting submissively to the aloof alpha seemingly begging for food, without success. On my past two trips I found Finnish wolves to be quite short coated, not to the extent of Indian Grey Wolves of course but certainly not always what one thinks of when they imagine a wolf, especially as they can often be quite pale and yellowy (like the current alpha female), making them look a bit dog-like. But this male wolf was the wolfiest Finnish wolf I have seen, he was soo fluffy and handsome! I found it hard to put my camera down! I think these are also the best (well clearest) pictures of wolves I have taken to date. So I guess the OM1 was a good investment.

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

The less fluffy wolf came close to the hide and dug up a bit of salmon.

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

The big male was busily marking his territory

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

They eventually regrouped and headed off into the treeline.

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited July 20 by kittykat23uk

July 20

Beautiful photos of Bears and Wolves, and good going with the Owls! Even though we have Pygmy and Ural I have never seen one.

July 20

A black kite put in an appearance when there was a lull in wolf activity and the wolves returned later that evening, however unlike the previous night there was no activity between twilight and 8 am the next morning.

Black Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240610_205855 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240610_205916 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

flowers by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240611_033555 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

White Wagtain by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Moody skies at Kuikka by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240611_054425 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Moody skies at Kuikka by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

12 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Beautiful photos of Bears and Wolves, and good going with the Owls! Even though we have Pygmy and Ural I have never seen one.

Thank you @michael-ibk TBH I was a bit disappointed that our timing sucked and we didn't get to see a great grey owl. That was what I had really been hoping for. Unfortunately the only nesting bird they found earlier in the season got pushed off their planned nest site by the previous owner, a buzzard!

July 20

A few shots of other wildlife from around basecamp

Great Spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P6110559 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240611_100526_1 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Barn Swallows by Jo Dale, on Flickr

House Martin by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

P6110648 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Red Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

Night 3 was really good. A black kite put in an early appearance.

Black Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

After two nights of no bears, a nervous one put in an appearance early on. It was a bit far, and stuck to the treeline, but we hoped that it would return later.

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

Then Ian achieved his goal, as I spotted a wolverine heading for the carcass, and put on a great show as it was trying to rip a chunk off the pig. We’d been told that they knew of two wolverines in the area, one, nicknamed “Scarface” , who had been badly injured on the head the previous year (presumably by a bear or a wolf) and for some time they were not sure if he was going to survive or not. But thankfully he’s made it! Scarred, but still full of attitude, he managed to rip off a leg that was as big as he is and trotted off to eat it in peace in the seclusion of the forest.

Wolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

About 45 minutes later a bear appeared but again did not stop to feed at the carcass and stayed close to the treeline. Our final sighting was an early morning visit from the male alpha wolf. He stayed for about an hour.

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240611_215744 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

IMG_20240612_020734 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

flowers by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

July 20

Beautiful wolves, and well done with the Wolverine - it must be a great animal to see!

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