Inverted dimorphism

This is the last story article dedicated to my trip to Lapland and Varanger, back in June. We will have a wrap-up post later on, and then we will be done with it. I have some more photographs from Finland and France I want to show you (many I haven’t edited yet…), and of course there will be more content from New Zealand, as I travel further.

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Several animals look different depending on whether you’re looking at a male or a female. Think of the lion: males have a mane, which females lack. Think of the Paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata): females are orange and white, while males are essentially dark grey.

Paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata)

Spring alcids

What would be a trip to Varanger like without a visit to Hornøya? Well, I have birder friends who do that because they are more interested in the tundra, but for the photographer in me, it’s difficult to pass on such an opportunity.

This time, there was no snow on the cliff, but no sun either, most of the day at least. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, for I didn’t really like the light we had in March last year. Instead, a grey ceiling hung above, but the vegetation provided a welcome contrast.

Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)

The road to Hamningberg

Hamningberg was a place I wanted to see when I visited Varanger again, because the road is closed in winter and therefore we couldn’t go in March.

A blue throat

Sometimes, I’m asked why I travel alone, why I don’t take a friend with me (even if sometimes, I do). Half-jokingly, I say I don’t know anyone who would be able to sit for hours with me just waiting for birds.

That’s basically what I did that day. I went to the entrance of the national park, and waited. I walked a bit as well, but after one hailstorm I took directly in the face, I decided it would be wiser to stay close to the car. I still had time to see a Horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) walking in the tundra, the first one for that trip.

Life along Varangerfjord

My first stop after going down the mountains was in Nesseby. There, a small picturesque church stands on the isthmus, and on both sides a beach attracts birds in search of food, at low tide especially.

High tundra

I’m writing from home, in France, and even though temperatures have been very high here, I still don’t remember fondly the weather I faced when I drove accross the mountains of Varanger, going from Berlevåg and Kongsfjord to the Varangerfjord. Hail, wind and two degrees, that’s not how I had envisioned my vacation.

Arctic ocean, windswept shores

From Høyholmen, I hoped over the high grounds of Gednje to reach the shore of the ocean. I would have liked to search for birds up there, but heavy showers made me change my mind. Fortunately, the weather improved and I was able to get out of the car in Kongsfjord.

Høyholmen

In March last year, when we drove on road 890, we couldn’t turn left to Høyholmen, for the track was blocked by snow. This time, I could drive along this 3-km long jetty… slowly, though, because of all the holes and waves on the track. It left me some time to admire the landscape.

Force of Will

This was not the trip I had imagined.

For these two weeks in Lapland and Varanger, at the top of the world, I thought I would sleep during the day and enjoy the midnight sun to take pictures and watch the abundant bird life. Alas, the weather was not on my side, and I mostly saw clouds above. That’s not necessarily bad per se, for an overcast day brings soft and even light on my subjects. The problem is that, two weeks of cloudy weather, that’s long. And frustrating. Alone in a cold land, it would have been easy to give up.

Varanger: a wrap-up

I have finished telling the tale of our Arctic expedition. Before we move on, I wanted to share some practical tips about traveling in the region.
First, though, here are the links to all the previous posts, in case you’ve missed some 🙂

En rød dør | Hornøya, cliffside haven | Soil, Varanger edition | Vardø | Vadsø | Varangerfjord | Whatever floats your boat | Advanced course in eiderology | Båtsfjord | On the high road | Clear skies | Here are the birds | Varanger, Day White | Castles in the Air | Prince of the woods