KUUSAMO, FINLAND
Kuusamo attracts photographers with its many taiga species.
Kuusamo is a fascinating location for bird photographers because, from a European perspective, it’s on the western edge of the taiga, in the northern part of the boreal forest, below the arctic tundra. This affects the avifauna of the region, and many species are found in the Kuusamo region that are difficult to see and photograph elsewhere in western Europe.
The second appealing factor for a bird photographer is that Kuusamo is covered with snow for more than half the year. In winter the temperatures dip extremely low, and almost every year the snowpack is nearly a meter (3.3 ft) deep. There’s snow still in May, and during the months between February and May the light conditions are particularly exciting because of light reflecting off the snow (read more in the chapter “Light”). The severe winter conditions with deep snow, cold weather, and short daylight make the birds more likely to visit feeding stations, and the snowy forests are fine settings for your images.
As a bird photographer, I find that the best times in Kuusamo are winter, spring, and summer all the way to the end of the small birds’ singing season at the beginning of July. This chapter highlights the photo opportunities in these seasons.
In the heart of winter from December to February the trees are covered in snow in the most photogenic manner, and January is often the best time for snow-capped trees. The length of daylight is only a couple of hours in December and much of January, setting certain limits to photography, and it’s best not to schedule too many projects in one day. Because the light shines from a very low angle, it has a fabulous quality, but mostly it reaches only the tops of the trees. Any feeding stations should be set on hillsides where the sun shines for the full length of the short day. On cloudy days there is very little light, even at the brightest time of the day.
In deep winter there aren’t many species in Kuusamo, and part of the resident species lead quiet lives deep inside the forests, making them quite hard to photograph. Feeding stations in the woods draw Siberian Jays, Gray-headed Chickadees, and Willow Tits. With good luck you can also see the Crested Tit, infrequent in Kuusamo, or a Eurasian Pygmy-Owl that’s looking to get a juicy meal. White-throated Dippers are quite easily photographed in beautiful winter settings by the open water, which can be found where the streams are so powerful that the water doesn’t freeze over, such as Käylä or Kiveskoski. While driving along the small back roads in Kuusamo, you may spot a group of Black Grouse feeding in the top of a handsome birch.
A Siberian Jay in a winter wonderland (Perisoreus infaustus)
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4.0, 1/100 second, f/4.0, ISO 800, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, January 2010.
A Gray-headed Chickadee cast in the soft January light (Poecile cinctus)
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4.0 plus 1.4x extender, 1/200 second, f/7.1, ISO 800, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, January 2008.
Come February the daylight starts to get longer fast in Kuusamo. What was a mere couple of hours in early January creeps toward 10 hours by the end of February. A photographer’s peak season in Kuusamo starts in mid-February.
The Kuusamo town center has a lot of rowan trees, and when they have a good berry crop, Bohemian Waxwing flocks of several hundred birds feed on them daily throughout the winter, as long as there are berries to eat. Pine Grosbeaks eat rowanberries too, but far fewer of them winter in Kuusamo. They are probably easiest to photograph in November when their quantities are larger.
Toward the end of February there is already enough light to let you take flight shots of Siberian Jays, Bohemian Waxwings, and White-throated Dippers. February also sees the start of the eagle blind season. On short winter days, eagles visit feeding stations practically on a daily basis, and at the end of February and in early March there are good chances of complementing your stock of portraits and flight shots with pictures of mating eagles. Golden and Whitetailed Eagle season continues well into early May.
A flock of Bohemian Waxwings in Kuusamo’s winter (Bombycilla garrulus)
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 70–200mm f/2.8, 1/250 second, 200mm, f/9.0, ISO 500, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, January 2010.
Golden Eagles mating (Aquila chrysaetos)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 500mm f/4.0, 1/500 second, f/4.0, ISO 1600, continuous focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Kuusamo, Finland, February 2008.
February starts to have enough light for freezing a Bohemian Waxwing in flight (Bombycilla garrulus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 500mm f/4.0, 1/3200 second, f/8.0, ISO 1250, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, handheld camera. Kuusamo, Finland, February 2010.
March is the best time for photographing the Great Gray Owl in Kuusamo. When there are no more voles in the woods, the owls come to hunt in the open fields. This makes them easier to spot, and photographing them is made possible by patiently waiting by the side of a field. You might catch the owls hunting, or you could offer them dead mice or voles. The hungry or starving owls eagerly come to food that is offered. Needless to say, these are great opportunities for taking flight shots and other types of shots.
In March Great Gray Owls can be spotted hunting in fields (Strix nebulosa)
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 70–200mm f/2.8, 1/2000 second, 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 1250, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, handheld camera. Kuusamo, Finland, February 2010.
A female Black Grouse selecting a mating partner (Tetrao tetrix)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0, 1/50 second, f/4.0, ISO 200, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Kuusamo, Finland, May 2004.
Two birds characteristic of Kuusamo: Smew between two Whooper Swans (Mergellus albellus, Cygnus cygnus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0 plus 1.4x extender, 1/640 second, f/5.6, ISO 250, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Kuusamo, Finland, May 2004.
The end of April and early May are good times for photographing game birds. Female Black Grouse arrive to the lek around the turn of the month, when the males have reached the high peak of their courtship tournaments. In May the snow vanishes from the roadsides, exposing the gravel for the game bird species to pick up as gizzard stones. Driving slowly along the back roads can take you to the right place at the right time to photograph Capercaillies and Black and Hazel Grouse on the shoulder of the road from your car.
May is also a busy time for bird photographers in Kuusamo. Many of the migratory birds arrive in May, and birds congregate on any patch of open water exposed from the snow and ice, such as geese, cranes, Whooper Swans, waders, and waterbirds. Photographing is done from a blind, and the best results come from fixed blinds that have been in the same place for quite some time. Mobile tent blinds are fine too, but it takes good local knowledge to find open patches that suit photography and perseverance to wait for the birds to get used to the appearance of a blind. Note that fixed structures require permission from the landowner.
Up-to-date information about birds and blinds in Kuusamo can be found online, such as at www.facebook.com/KuusamoNaturePhotography.
Throughout May and in the beginning of June, many interesting small bird species reach Kuusamo: Little and Rustic Buntings, Arctic and Greenish Warblers, plus Red-flanked Bluetails. The best time to see and photograph them is as soon as they arrive, which is their most active singing season. For locating the species mentioned, you must be able to recognize their calls and songs, plus you should know where to look for them.
The Red-flanked Bluetail is one of Kuusamo’s specialties (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0 plus 1.4x extender, 1/160 second, f/5.6, ISO 500, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, June 2005.
Valtavaara Hill in Kuusamo is favored by the Red-flanked Bluetails and Greenish Warblers. Breeding species in the region include Siberian Jay, Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, and Boreal and Eurasian Pygmy-Owl, as well as White-winged Crossbill, if the cone crop has been good.
Kuusamo is a large area (5,800 km²/2,239 mi²), and finding the scattered birds is not so easy. Getting the help of a local guide speeds up things; however, if you can spend a couple of weeks there, you will get good material on your own, too.
The Arctic Warbler doesn’t normally reach Kuusamo before the middle of June (Phylloscopus borealis)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0, 1/500 second, f/4.0, ISO 320, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, June 2005.