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Gullfest 2014 - Touring Varanger / Arctic style birding

April 1, 2014, 8:41 am
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Gullfest 2014 was a bit experimental: instead of having a base camp in Vardø like GF2012&13 we designed this years Gullfest to be a tour of Varanger. With our invited guests and contributors we toured Varanger from the Pasvik taiga in the south to Vardø, Vadsø, Vestre Jakobselv and Berlevåg and Båtsfjord in the north. What an amazing experience it was! We managed some spectacular birding, we had three exhibitions, and we gave talks at a pub, a hotel, a guest house, a cultural insititution and a school. Our aim was to inspire people in Varanger with stories from the birding world, and to do some top arctic birding while we where at it! We are very happy to say that we feel this years event have made us better birders too: Gullfest is an event where we aim to inspire each other as birders, and to share ideas and knowledge. 

With us we had a great group of birders from both England, USA, Sweden, Germany and Norway:  
Jonnie Fisk and Zac Hinchcliffe from the Next Generation Birders, Graham White and Mark Thomas from The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), author Richard Crossley, artist Hans Larsson, Hans Dahlgren of Swarovski, digiscoper Jörg Kretzschmar, Anders Mæland (Gullfest veteran and bird guide).
For more info on our guests and contributors check out the pre-Gullfest 2014 article on Biotope

The following post is a photo series from the recent Gullfest 2014 Varanger tour from the 19-24th of March (click on any image for slide show view):


Gullfest 2014 was arranged from the 19-24th of March, from the Pasvik taiga, to the Varanger tundra and arctic coast. Gullfest was designed to showcase the finest birding Varanger has to offer at this time of the year. At Biotope we have been working with describing and researching Varanger as a birding destination for several years. See this detailed article for more on winter birding in Varanger, or have a look at theVaranger leaflets article (on which the above map background is taken from).


Gullfest 2014 started in the Pasvik taiga, at Ellentjernkoia (=Ellentjern cabin) in Vaggetem, south Pasvik. This is 1,5 hours drive from Kirkenes airport where we picked up the Gullfest team. This 100 year old cabin is run as a guest house / accommodation for visitors by Marit Sundt and Arne Liaklev. We have helped them with advice on setting up a decent feeder, with the aim of providing more top bird sites in the Pasvik taiga. It worked brilliantly: We had up to 25 Pine Grosbeaks in the area, in addition to Siberian Tits, Bullfinch, Willow Tits, Arctic Redpoll, etc. We also had great views of Siberian Jay in the taiga, in addition to Willow Grouse. Find Arne and Marit on their Dogpower website.


Photography is great but the birding world is made so much richer thanks to bird artists. Young birder Jonnie Fisk has already proven himself to be a very cool new voice (or line) in the bird art world. His ability to pin down a species character in a few lines is quite impressive. The above Arctic Redpolls are from his Gullfest sketch book.


The taiga cabin had no electricity, but thanks to Marits brilliant off-grid cooking skills we all enjoyed freshly made reindeer stew. Above is Jonnie Fisk sketching in the taiga cabin. With the one room cabin solution we all got to know each other quite well too. A great start of Gullfest. Being ´birders from birth´ we all connected rather quickly.


And there where loads of great birds to talk about. Pine Grosbeaks were my favorites during the taiga  section of Gullfest.

Vardø Birding - Hornøya bird cliff and the King Eider Vortex


We arrived Vardø by the Coastal Express / Hurtigruten. Panorama photo taken from the top deck of the ship. Hornøya bird cliff can be seen in the background. Vardø is one of the finest fishing and birding towns in the arctic. 


Only 5 minutes from Vardø town with its 2000 inhabitants is the Hornøya bird cliff with its 100 000 inhabitants! An amazing place. The above photo will give you an idea of the place. 


Vardø Hotel was our accomodation of choice and thanks to chef Tor Emil it is one of the finest gourmet experiences in northern Norway. At the nearby North Pole Pub we had the first Gullfest 2014 talks: a welcome talk by Tormod of Biotope. Swedish bird artist Hans Larsson showed us prints and talked about his work on Gulls and being a bird artist in general. Very inspiring! US-birder Richard Crossley gave a firework of a talk about his life as a birder and his innovative bird books.



Gullfest walks, talks & exhibition in Vardø: Like in the previus Gullfest events we arranged guided birding trips for the local schools. Big thanks to Vardø super fixer Birger Knudsen for joining the bird guiding! Fotos of birding kids by journalist in local newspaper, Dan Tore Jørgensen. Check out more of his photos from the bird guide day in Vardø.

Richard Crossley being bombarded with photo opportunities on Hornøya 

Puffin fight club - From mid March Hornøya bird cliff is teeming with life. These fighting Puffins paid no attention to me as they came fighting out of a Puffin burrow. 

In Vardø we enjoyed spectacular views of alcids, eiders and gulls.


From the King Eider Vortex boat trip to Bussesundet (with Vardø Havn KF). In addition to the amazing 25 000 King and Common Eiders (!!) we also made another discovery.. (stay tuned for more on that) 


Zac Hinchcliffe of the Next Generation Birders taking notes at Ekkerøy bird cliff. We had one full day of birding along the Varanger Fjord. We could very well have had one or even a few more days to cover the fjord properly. But I guess we have to leave something for later as well.. 

Vadsø Fjordhotell - the birders base camp in Varanger


These guys have really seen the potential of birding in Varanger. We at Biotope are very happy to collaborate with the owners Frode and Ingeborg. When we moved to Varanger a few years ago we were met with quite a bit of sceptisism, and we have hoped someone like these guys would come along and join us in the birdification of Varanger! We spend two days at Vadsø Fjordhotell, where we arranged the main Gullfest exhibition and had a workshop evening and one full evening of talks. Huge thanks to Frode and Ingeborg for supporting Gullfest and for adding more birding power to Varanger! By the way they got onto twitter during Gullfest: follow them @VadsoFjordhotel


Vadsø Fjordhotell hosted talks by Mark Thomas of RSPB, about his work as a wildlife crime investigator and about RSPB in general. This is an impressive pro bird and nature organization that very obvioulsy have done a lot of things right. After all they have more then one million members! Varangers own nature warden, Arne-Petter Sarre (SNO) gave a talk about the wildlife and cultural heritage on Varanger high tundra. Absolutely brilliant!

On our workshop evening bird guide Anders Mæland talked about rarity finding in Varanger. RSPB´s wetland ecologist Graham White talked about how to manage nature reserves. We are already looking at new ideas for Varanger, and it is great to have such recources as Graham to help us with clever thinking on possibilities in Varanger. To be continued..


Jörg Kretzschmar was our other invited Gullfest artist. He both exhibitied his photos and gave a talk. His Swarovski-digiscoped images are spectacular, and it really showcase digiscoping as an autonomous form of bird photography. We added to the total birdification of Vadsø Fjordhotell by filling the lobby and restaurant with Biotopes Varanger bird photos.

More birds from Jonnie Fisk´s sketch book: Harbour birding = Steller´s Eiders 


We were also very generously welcomed at Vestre Jakobselv Camping. where we both held talks and arranged a ringing workshop. Jonnie Fisk and Zac Hinchcliffe gave a talk about the initiative they are a part of: The Next Generation Birders. A brilliant initiative and a great example of young birders defining their birding on their own terms. Inspirational work. Follow the NGBirders on twitter too. We all agreed that passion and hard work will take you to cool places! Quite literally so for the NGBirders in the Gullfest case.


After Vestre Jakobselv we birded the Tana River valley. A key site for Hawk Owl. In the end we found three Hawk Owls in Tana, and two more in Pasvik and one more in Neiden. Seems they will have a good year in Varanger. This is the Neiden bird digiscoped with a Sony compact camera (RX100m2) through the Swarovski ATX 95 mm spotting scope. 


The Varanger high tundra in winter, on our way to Kongsfjord, Berlevåg and Båtsfjord. Spectacular landscape: If you want to experience nature in monochrome this is it!  


We just made it to Berlevåg fishing harbor and had a few minutes of ok light to bird the harbor. Berlevåg is one of the seriously underwatched places in Varanger. Within minutes we had spotted the local Glaoucous Gulls and our first Otter of the trip. 


After a much too short birding session in Berlevåg harbour we headed to Kvitbrakka. This is the place for niceness in Berlevåg. Local just-do-it people have transformed a run down bulding into a local café, ateliér and cultural house. A great place to host more Gullfest talks: Tormod of Biotope talked about nature destination development in Varanger. Graham White talked about the work of RSPB and the potential of birding - both as a conservation model and as a business. This is ideas and knowledge we need more of in Varanger! Jonnie Fisk impressed us all with a talk about his bird art and his inspirations. Thanks to Kvitbrakka and the people of Berlevåg for hosting the Gullfest talks!


We spent the last night at Kongsfjord Guesthouse. The owner Åse Winsents was one of the first people in Varanger to contact us when we moved to Varanger in 2009. She is another one of those great Varanger just-do-it people we know. She makes things happen, and we really like working with such people. She has been one of the driving forces behind the new bird hide / wind shelter in Veines (in addition to rebuilding the entire Veines village!). Thanks Åse for welcoming us!  

Båtsfjord Arctic sea duck niceness!



A visit to Arctic Tourist / Ørjan Hansenfloating photo hide was a pefect grand finale of Gullfest 2014! Normally King Eiders are the most numerous in this harbour, but the later in spring you arrive the more Steller´s Eider you see. Not bad, considering  they surely are the coolest duck in the world! And, yes we had our King Eider views too.


In addition to visiting Ørjans brilliant photo hide we also had a date with the Båtsfjord School. They are actually the closest neighbour to the bird hide. They are situated with great views of the harbour, but I must admit I do not think they realize the full epicness of Båtsfjord harbors bird life. Yes, it is world famous. After an introduction on birding in Varanger by Tormod, Jonnie and Zac talked about their birding adventures and NGBirders project. We also ejoyed the discussions with the students after the talks: Is birding better then Hollywood? Yes. How do birds ´do it´? Shag. Loads of questions to answer. Big thanks to the Båtsfjord students and teachers for welcoming us!


King Eider age studies - more top opportunities in Båtsfjord

The Gullfest bird list: Perhaps not an impressive species count, but it is an impressive numbers of birds of very cool species!
White-billed Diver / Gulnebblom
Gannet / havsule
Shag / Toppskarv
Greater Cormorant / Storskarv
Mallard / Stokkand
King Eider / Praktærfugl - 10 000+
Eider / Ærfugl- 15 000+
Pacific Eider - 1
Steller`s Eider / Stellerand - 1000 +
Long-tailed Duck / Havelle
Common Scoter / Svartand
Red-breasted Merganser / Siland
Gosander / Laksand
White-tailed Eagle / Havørn
Sparrow Hawk / Spurvehauk
Willow grouse / Lirype
Ptarmigan / Fjellrype
Oystercatcher / Tjeld
Purple Sandpiper / Fjæreplytt
Common Gull / Fiskemåke
Kittiwake / Krykkje
Ivory Gull / Ismåke - 1 first- Winter.
Iceland Gull / Grønnlandsmåke - 3 ind.
Herring Gull / Gråmåke
Glaucous Gull / Polarmåke
Greater Black-backed Gull / Svartbak
Guillemot / Lomvi
Brunnich`s Guillemot / Polarlomvi
Razorbill / Alke
Black Guillemot / Teist
Puffin / Lunde
Hawk Owl / Haukugle - 6
Greater Spotted Woodpecker / Flaggspett
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker / Dvergspett
Rock pipit / Skjærpiplerke
Wren / Gjerdesmett - 1
Siberian Tit / Lappmeis
Willow Tit / Granmeis
Blue Tit / Blåmeis
Great Tit / Kjøttmeis
Sibeian Jay / Lavskrike
Jay / Nøtteskrike
Magpie / Skjære
Raven / Ravn
Carrion Crow / Kråke
Tree Sparrow / Pilfink
House Sparrow / Gråspurv
Greenfinch / Grønnfink
Arctic Redpoll / polarsisik
Pine Grosbeak / Konglebit
50 Species (Highlights being amazing numbers of eiders, ridiculous numbers of alcids + a set of very cool taiga birds).

Mega thanks to the key Gullfest supportersInnovation Norway, Nordnorsk Reiseliv and Kulturnæringsstiftelsen Sparebank-1 Nord-Norge 

King Eider, Common Eider & Pacific Eider!

Gullfest is all about discovery, sharing ideas and very cool birding. Prior to Gullfest 2014 Europes /WPs first ever Pacific Eider was discovered (from the Biotope office!). During the Gullfest 2014 King Eider Vortex boat trip we saw approx 25 000 eiders. I took hundreds of photo as the swarms of eiders passed our boat. After going birding in these photos afterwards I re-discovered the Pacific Eider. What an end to this years main arctic birding event! Read more (with more photos) about this record bird in the Pacific Eider Article.

A huge thanks to all the Gullfest 2014 contributors! We also want to thank all birders and nature enthusiasts who followed and engaged in the event as it unfolded on twitter on #Gullfest

Stay tuned for more birding niceness from Varanger / Arctic Norway..

Tormod A. / Biotope
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Hornøya bird cliff - site development scheme / mulighetsstudie

April 17, 2014, 12:22 pm
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Hornøya is perhaps the finest natural attraction in Varanger. The birdlife of Hornøya bird cliff have become famous among birders and nature photographers around the globe. In Vardø locals have a long tradition of gathering eggs on Reinøya and Hornøya, however this has not been practiced in recent years. Now locals are also increasingly becoming aware of Hornøya Island's unique position as a nature attraction. Many companies in Vardo benefit from Hornøya today through nature based tourism. With facilitation like the new bird hide / wind shelter on Hornøya, this attraction has become a destination for the city's kindergartens and schools too. 

Biotope has since 2009 promoted Varanger as a destination for birders from all over the world. We are now very happy to present this site development scheme produced on commission from Vardo Næringsforening (Vardo Business Association). This study presents Hornøya today, while we also point out how we by relatively modest budgets and means can develop Hornøya island's infrastructure, for the benefit of both birds and people.

We are experiencing an increase in visitors to this unique place, and in order to care for the birds while simoultaniously keeping Hornøya amazing for visitors we have made this study. Key actors on Hornøya have been interviewed and we have aimed for a series of infrastructure proposals that will be welcomed by both birders, photographers, scientists, locals and perhaps most importantly, the birds. With proper facilities and infrastructure we are convinced that Hornøya can be sustainably developed as a main attraction in Varanger.

This study is written in Norwegian, and meant mainly for our partners in destination development in Varanger. Still we have aimed for a highly visual document, thereby making it (visually) readable for as many as possible. We hope you enjoy this study, and we hope it will contribute to a positive development of Hornøya bird cliff. 

The following article consist of the total study, pages 1-44 (with the Norwegian intro in the text below)

Click on any image for slide-show mode

 Tormod Amundsen / Biotope




Utviklingsplan for Hornøya fuglefjell  

In norwegian (fra forordet til mulighetsstudien / utviklingsplanen):

Hornøya er kanskje den fremste naturattraksjonen på Varangerhalvøya. Fuglelivet og naturen på Hornøya er blitt et kjent reisemål for mange norske og utenlandske fuglekikkere. I Vardø har man lange tradisjoner for å sanke egg på Reinøya og Hornøya. I de siste årene har også lokalbefolkningen i stadig større grad blitt klar over Hornøyas unike posisjon som et turistmål. Mange bedrifter i Vardø nyter godt av at Hornøya finnes, og ikke minst forvaltes på en god og bærekraftig måte. Med tilrettelegging, som det nye fuglekikkerskjulet på Hornøya, har også denne bynære attraksjonen blitt et turmål for byens barnehager og skole. Vardø Næringsforening ønsker med denne studien å bidra til at mulighetene for å utvikle Hornøya blir best mulig belyst. 

Vardø Næringsforening representerer så godt som alle bedrifter i Vardø, og den har i tillegg en egen reiselivsgruppe. Næringsforeningen er finansiert av Vardø kommune, og er i løpet av de to siste årene blitt en sentral utvklingsaktør i Vardø Kommune. 

Biotope AS har siden 2009 aktivt promotert Varanger som reisemål for fuglekikkere fra hele verden. Biotope har base i Vardø og er sammen med Vardø Næringsforening en av utviklingsaktørene i Vardø og Varanger. Denne studien er produsert av Biotope. I samarbeid med næringsforeningen har også Biotope stått for en inkluderende prosess der alle nøkkelparter som jobber med, og i forhold til Hornøya har fått komme med innspill. Denne studien presenterer Hornøya i dag, samtiding som vi peker på hvordan man med relativt beskjedne budsjetter og virkemidler kan utvikle Hornøyas infrastruktur, slik at hensyn til både fugler og folk ivaretas best mulig. 

Formålet er å gjøre studien tilgjengelig for de aktører som jobber i forhold til Hornøyas fremtid. Dette kan være både Vardø kommune, Vardø Havn KF, forskere, Hornøyas venner, Fylkesmannen i Finnmark og eventuelt andre utviklingsaktører og potensielle reiselivsaktører. Ikke minst ser vi på dette som en mulighet for at man lokalt engasjerer seg i Hornøyas fremtid. 

Hornøya er kanskje den fremste naturattraksjonen på Varangerhalvøya. Fuglelivet og naturen på Hornøya er blitt et kjent reisemål for mange norske og utenlandske fuglekikkere. I Vardø har man lange tradisjoner for å sanke egg på Reinøya og Hornøya. I de siste årene har også lokalbefolkningen i stadig større grad blitt klar over Hornøyas unike posisjon som et turistmål. Mange bedrifter i Vardø nyter godt av at Hornøya finnes, og ikke minst forvaltes på en god og bærekraftig måte. Med tilrettelegging, som det nye fuglekikkerskjulet på Hornøya, har også denne bynære attraksjonen blitt et turmål for byens barnehager og skole. Vardø Næringsforening ønsker med denne studien å bidra til at mulighetene for å utvikle Hornøya blir best mulig belyst. 
Vardø Næringsforening representerer så godt som alle bedrifter i Vardø, og den har i tillegg en egen reiselivsgruppe. Næringsforeningen er finansiert av Vardø kommune, og er i løpet av de to siste årene blitt en sentral utvklingsaktør i Vardø Kommune. 
Biotope AS har siden 2009 aktivt promotert Varanger som reisemål for fuglekikkere fra hele verden. Biotope har base i Vardø og er sammen med Vardø Næringsforening en av utviklingsaktørene i Vardø og Varanger. Denne studien er produsert av Biotope. I samarbeid med næringsforeningen har også Biotope stått for en inkluderende prosess der alle nøkkelparter som jobber med, og i forhold til Hornøya har fått komme med innspill. Denne studien presenterer Hornøya i dag, samtiding som vi peker på hvordan man med relativt beskjedne budsjetter og virkemidler kan utvikle Hornøyas infrastruktur, slik at hensyn til både fugler og folk ivaretas best mulig. 
Formålet er å gjøre studien tilgjengelig for de aktører som jobber i forhold til Hornøyas fremtid. Dette kan være både Vardø kommune, Vardø Havn KF, forskere, Hornøyas venner, Fylkesmannen i Finnmark og eventuelt andre utviklingsaktører og potensielle reiselivsaktører. Ikke minst ser vi på dette som en mulighet for at man lokalt engasjerer seg i Hornøyas fremtid.

Tormod Amundsen / Biotope     &     Heidi Kvernevik / Vardø Næringsforening 










































Stay tuned for updates on Hornøya bird cliff development.

Tormod A. / Biotope
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Puffin fight club

May 4, 2014, 11:25 am
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At Hornøya bird cliff the Puffins have to fight for their right to party. As in all densely inhabited places there is a lot of drama. Hornøya bird cliff is no exception. From March to August this is home to 100 000 sea birds. Among the most famous of birds are the Puffins. Most people see Puffins as cute little birds that  quietly sit in the bird cliff. They do that too. But when these birds arrive the bird cliff in March they fight. I have been fortunate to witness this spectacle several times during the past few years. The amount of fighting varies every year, and is typically most intense when there are a lot of fish in the sea. Then the birds have both time and energy to fight for the best burrows and sites. The hierarchy is established, at least for the season. 

click on any image for slide show view


Hornøya bird cliff seen from boat (south of the island, looking north). In March the air is full of birds.

Incoming Puffin. About 10 000 pairs breed on Hornøya.

Picking a fight. 

Puffins tend not to mingle too much with other species. Above is a Guillmot being politely asked to leave the premisses.

Fight for your right to party

This March I spent quite a few days on Hornøya. As with most nature photography you need a bit of luck combined with knowledge: to be at the right spot with your camera set correctly, ready to shoot when the action starts. I have witnessed many fights on Hornøya, but only on a couple of occasions have I been close enough to the action at the very right moment. The Puffins below came fighting out of a Puffin burrow just meters from me. I managed the following series with my Nikon D800 + Nikkor 300 F2.8 combo. What a spectacular scene to witness! I have seen traces of blood in the snow after Puffins fights. There are no mercy with these fierce fighters.







The Hornøya bird hide / wind shelter is a good place to use as a base camp in March. Even with a lot of sun it can be very cold. From the hide you also have great views towards the slope below the steepest part of the bird cliff. This is where the Puffin fighting takes place. And when you are not admiring the Puffins, you can always focus on the spectacular swarms of alcids circling the bird cliff.


Incoming alcids - a spectacular sight

And one more Puffins fight club scene...




The above series was photographed on Hornøya in March 2012. 

For more Hornøya drama check out this Raven versus Gyrfalcon article,
Or this life and death at the bird cliff, from summer 2012

We are quite busy at the Biotope office, but I hope to report from Hornøya this summer too. Stay tuned for more drama from Varanger..

Tormod A. / Biotope

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Birding Svalbard, Arctic Norway

September 14, 2014, 7:44 am
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Svalbard is one of the northernmost civilized places in the world. It is famous for Polar Bears and amazing arctic wildlife. I recently got back from a very brief visit to Svalbards main town Longyear. This autumn I have been invited to give talks at several conferences. In our work as birders and architects we have developed a very specialized expertise in nature destination development. I was particularly happy to be invited to Svalbard, as this is a destination that have always been very high on my wish list of places to see. I only had time for a short visit, but I knew chances was good for some unique wildlife experiences, even if my stay was only based in and around Longyear town. Even the architecture in Longyear town is an attraction. Approx 2000 people live in Svalbard, and mining, science and tourism are key to the community.   

click any image for slide show view

Remains of the mining industry - below is Longyear town, in the background the Advent valley.

Mining architecture - this is hard core functionalism, made without architects. The result however looks cooler then many contemporary pieces of architecture.

Be cool - arctic survival strategy

A key feature of the arctic wildlife is the confiding nature of both animals and birds. My target bird for this short trip was the arctic subspecies of the Rock Ptarmigan, Lagopus muta hyperboreus. Autumn is slow season birdwise in the arctic. I knew chances was slim of seeing Svalbard specialities such as Ivory Gull and Sabine´s Gull. I hoped to see a Polar Bear, but those are best seen if you take a boat trip out of Longyear town, but they can be found anywhere, so beware the bear.

With a few meetings and talks I had to base my birding near town. In mainland Norway both Rock Ptarmigan and Willow Grouse (fjellrype & lirype) are very shy and extremely difficult to approach. The Svalbard Rock Ptarmigans however are very approachable. Getting within a couple of meters of these beauties was undoubtedly the highlight of this trip. 


Day two I spent walking the hillside outside Longyear town, along the ruins of the coal mining rails leading out of town towards the mines. I did not venture far from town, as you are advised not to do so, unless you carry a weapon. Polar Bears can show up anywhere, and people are on its menu. However I was really keen on finding a few Ptarmigans, and I figured the rail towers would provide a safe escape, just in case.. The wind was chilling and after a little walk I found a flock of Ptarmigans seeking shelter by one of the towers. 


Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan - feeding undisturbed, photograped from approx 4 meters distance. They are bigger then its mainland relatives, and much more confiding. This bird was one of 6 that I had the pleasure of studying for a a couple of hours, within meters. Amazing birds! All Ptarmigan photos shot with Nikon d810 + 300mm F2.8

I usually see Ptarmigans as they fly away in the distance. These birds just seemed to mind their own business. 


Ptarmigan hiding from a fly over Glaucous Gull. I followed this flock of 6 birds from some meters distance for approx two hours. They seemed very relaxed all the time, exept when a Glaucous Gull flew over us. Just seeing a Glaucous Gull affected the Ptarmigans instantly: they all hid next to the nearest rock and seemingly tried to look as small and rock like as they could. I was surprised to see this behavior. But then again I have seen many times how much panic a Glaucous Gull can create in a bird cliff. 



The fluffy legged Ptarmigan. ´Lagopus´ (latin) means the ´hares foot´. It is easy to see why. Its latin subspecies name ´hyperboreus´ essentially means ´from the extreme north´. 


A brief post this one, but I think this very cool birding experience was well worth sharing. Big thanks to Ronny Brunvoll (www.svalbard.net) and all the good people I met during this short stay. This was most certainly an inspiring visit, and the first of several. 

Biotope talks: We love to share ideas and knowledge about birding architecture and nature destination development. The next talk coming up is in Kirkenes at the NHO reiseliv conference (program), next week. 

If you need a birder architect to give a talk feel free to contact us on mail tormod@biotope.no or on phone +47 99 33 49 82. 

Follow us on on twitter @BiotopeOffice and www.facebook.com/biotope.no

Architecture is a tool to protect and promote birds, wildlife and nature!

Tormod A. / Biotope

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BIRDING ICELAND - Harlequin Ducks & more niceness along the Northeast Iceland birding trail

October 26, 2014, 3:40 pm
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Harlequin Ducks in Laxa river, Northeast Iceland, october 2014


Northeast Iceland - nature destination development

Biotope recently visited Iceland, invited by the people behind the Northeast Iceland Birding Trail. Naturally we were quite excited about getting this request. Iceland is well known in the birding world as one of the best places in the world to expereience birds like the stunning Harlequin Duck and the Iconic Gyrfalcon. 




We consider it a great compliment to be invited to this amazing birding destination. Our invitation was based much on our work as birder architects and destination developers in Varanger. The people behind the Northeast Iceland birding Trail have done a great job of creating a very solid birding concept and crystalizing a trail that takes you to the finest birding sites Iceland has to offer. Our mission was to spend one week driving the birding trail, and identify further potential to develop the region. In particular we looked at potential sites for bird hides, photo hides and wind shelters. 

The 7th of October we met up with key man Hermann Bárðarson in Husavik, after a 45 min flight from Reykjavik. The next 8 days we spent driving around Northeast Iceland, met a lot of great people, saw some wonderful places and enjoyed some spectacular birding! 

I have already visited Iceland in 2006, as an architecture student, when a friend of mine and I drove around Iceland for one month. This was a bit of an exploratory trip, and we spent all nights outdoors and visited new places every day. Coming back now to research Northeast Iceland as a birder architect is quite a privilege. We do love our jobs at the Biotope office!



Harlequin Duck movie: a 2 minutes & 30 seconds iPhonemovie of Laxa Harleys filmed through the Swarovski ATX 95mm telescope. 


CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR SLIDE SHOW VIEW

Sunrise over the famous lake Myvatn. We arrived with the first snow. Magical. Biotope aerial.
Dramatic scenaries at the shores of Öxarfjördur. Biotope aerial.  

Getting to Iceland is easy. Flights to Reykjavik is surprisingly cheap. Our plan was to continue directly to the northeast. This is where the great birding takes place. Iceland have experienced something of a travel/tourism bonanza since the 2010 volcanic eruption. However it is the aeras near Reykjavik that have seen the significant growth. The Northeast very much feels like the wild, but still accessible Iceland. Much like our own region Varanger, which in a Norwegian context was a bit of an "outsider" place. We really love these places! With fishing towns, unique bird- and wildlife and a sense of potential for something different. Like developing a niché destination. A place where special interests thrive. Like birding. In short: Challenge accepted.


Flights coming to Reykjavik from everywhere are numerous. The trick is to take the Keflavik International Airport bus to Reykjavik Airport (literally in Reykjavik city). After a 45 min bus ride, and a dinner at the nearby hotel, we got on the flight to Husavik. This is a new and a small scale operation, and a travel option not easily found via google. The Eagle Air experience plane was something of a mix of a taxi and a private jet! Small and personal, no luggage check, just walk on board and 45 minutes you are there. Smooth.

The Northeast Iceland birding trail map. Our mission for the next 8 days.

We started our visit with a meeting with the birding trail people. During our 8 days in the northeast we would collect a wide range of site photos, info about possibilities, infrastructure, etc. Everything well documented, mapped and GPS-located, of course.



Most important was the recording of sites for potential bird hides, photo hides and wind shelters. Like  in Varanger wind is very often an issue. When driving around northeast Iceland,  you are really struck by the nonstop birding qualities of this region (just like Varanger!). The numerous wader sites, ponds and river deltas hold impressive numbers of birds. Even in mid October, considered something of a slow season, we saw good numbers of birds. Duck wise it was beyond amazing! 


Above photos: River Laxa meets the sea + Harlequin drakes (iphonescoped). If a single species is ever a reason to travel, it must be the Harlequin Ducks of River Laxa. (In addition we have Varangers own Steller´s Eider, of course. And I guess Hokkaido´s Steller´s Sea Eagles is another species worth travelling to see. Needless to say we do have a bit of a northern preference...)


Husavik harbour: Fishing harbours are always great bird sites, and Husavik is no exception. Husavik town (about 2000 inhabitants) is only 15 minutes from Husavik airport, and marked the start of our little adventure. Our aim was of course not only to look at the obvious potentials, like the Laxa River Harlequin Ducks, but to explore new ideas too. For example there is a small outlet from the local fish factory, that always provide food for gulls and ducks. In ordinary touristic terms a factory dump or outlet would not be considered an attraction, but the world of birding is far from ordinary. With hundreds of white gulls around (Glaoucous & Iceland Gulls), this would be a great place for a photo hide. Watching gulls is easy here. Photographing them at a distance is easy too. But getting great photos is difficult, at least without disturbing the birds. Our aim is always to provide great viewing and photo opportunities, but not at the expence of the birds. A strategically situated bird photo hide could solve this, and provide visiting birders and bird photographers with unique photo opportunities. In general during our trip around northeast Iceland we looked for these very specific sites that could provide better birding opportunities. 

Northeast Iceland aerials

Our birder architect tool kit, includes a small quadcopter for aerials. Seeing and understanding a place is much more interesting from a birds perspective. Below are a few aerials from our trip around the northeast. Any birder will recognize the qualities of these habitats and places. 

Kopasker town. Nice wetlands, sheltered harbour and good sea watching.  

Raufarhöfn, is a good base camp on the Melrakkasletta peninsula, with loads of ponds and wetlands. Going back in May, aiming to get great photos of Red-throated Divers, phalaropes and more.


Langanes and Ytra Lon, is at the far northeastern corner of Iceland. Again, we have to come back in May to see some of the spectacular birdlife along the beach and the wetlands. 
   
Most key bird sites are found along the north shores of the birding trail (+ inland at Laxa and Myvatn). However any visit to Iceland is an amazing landscape experience too. Driving the mountain pass from the northeast coast and to Myvatn was otherworldly. No wonder NASA prepped their astronauts with a visit to Iceland before going to the moon. Aerial approx 1 hr drive east of Myvatn. 

Lake Myvatn aerial, where the river Laxa starts. Lake Myvatn holds a record breaking 16 species of breeding ducks! The highlights for any birder visiting the region is the high numbers of Barrow´s Goldeneyes and Harlequin Ducks. The lake is open all year, but of them only Barrow´s winter here. The Harleys winter along the rough shores of Iceland. When we visited we saw some 30 Harlequin Ducks and 350 Barrow Goldeneyes! We where also met by the first snow this year. 

Aerial from further down stream. Laxa starts at Myvatn and ends near Husavik. That is about 1,5 hours straight driving. 

From Gull watching to Duck bonanza and a grand finale
Outlet near lake Silfurstjarnan. A possibilty for a Gull photo hide. We had some 250 Iceland Gulls here, and this site always holds a lot of birds. 



Barrow´s Goldeneyes photographed with iPhone 5s through Swarovski ATX 95mm telescope (iphonescoping), at Myvatn / Laxa.


While viewing opprtunities where plentifull and awesome, I could not help but dream of a couple of cleverly situated duck photo hides. We have registered a few very nice sites, and hopefully hides will be coming up in the not too distant future!



Humpback Whale may very well have been the most impressive "bird" on the trip. Conveniently Husavik is known as one of the best places in the world for whale watching. There are three companies doing daily boat trips to the Skajlfandi Bay, advertising a 98% chance of seeing whales (season is from March to November). We enjoyed every moment of our trip, with great views of Humpback Whales,  White-beaked Dolphins and Harbour Porpoise. Humpback Whales can be individually identified by the pattern on the underside of their flukes (tails). We saw three different individuals of these ocean giants on our trip. A proper grand finale in Northeast Iceland!


The people!



One of the great things about being birder architects is that we meet a lot of great people. Both birders, and locals at various destinations who enjoy nature and are really keen on developing their places with the best of nature in mind. Both for the benefit of their visitors and the local avian residents. 

A very big thanks to Hermann Bárðarson for taking the initiative to invite us, and for great company and local knowledge throughout the trip! 

A big thanks to Páll Pálsson and Þorkell of the Northeast Iceland Birding Trail board for sharing knowledge and ideas on our first day meeting. We also enjoyed the friendliness and hospitality of so many people around northeast Iceland. Big thanks to the Mirjam at Ytra Lon Farm hostel at Langanes for great hospitality. Thanks Benedikt at Kopasker Hostel for great food and hospitality. Thanks Halldóra at The Nest hostel for small paper bird niceness and great accomodation. Thanks Erlingur for food and company at Nordurljos Hotel in Raufarhöfn. Thanks to Bergþóra at Geotravel for showing us around Myvatn. Thank you Ásdís Erla at Sel-Hotel Myvatn for great accommodation and brilliant food. Thanks also to Arnheiður for joining and co-arranging the last big meeting at Myvatn. A big thanks also to birder Gudmundur "Knot-finder" for showing us the the top sites along the northeast shores. We are looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

And finally a big thanks to Iceland for being cool and bird rich!


One more highlight from the northeast Iceland trip: young Gyrfalcon, 1 of a total of 11 Gyrfalcons seen in 1 week. Surely this arctic top predator is the coolest bird in the world! Photographed with iPhone 5s through Swarovski ATX 95 telescope. Not to bad for an iphonescoped Gyrfalcon.

We will be back for more Iceland niceness. 
Nature destination development to be continued..

Tormod A. 

www.biotope.no    //    www.facebook.com/biotope.no     //    www.twitter.com/BiotopeOffice

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Arctic architecture - new wind shelters in Kongsfjord & Båtsfjord

November 16, 2014, 11:21 am
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The northern part of the Varanger peninsula has some of the most amazing landscape in Eastern Finnmark. Two of our favourite places to go birding are the small towns, Berlevåg and Båtsfjord. Both are fishing harbours with less then 2000 inhabitants. In addition we have the village Kongsfjord and Veines with just a handful of people living there. In this weatherbeaten and wild landscape you can now find shelter from the wind at some spectacular sites. The building of two new bird hides and wind shelters designed by Biotope have recently been finalized. 

The Kongsfjord wind shelter 

This is a project we have worked on together with Åse Winsents of local guest house the Kongsfjord Gjestehus. Åse runs one of the finest guest houses in Northern Norway, with a brilliant restaurant. She has been a key player, together with Berlevåg municipality in making this project happen. The shelter itself is part of a bigger scheme of ´birdifying´ Varanger. It is a spectacular site. The shelter is part of a local bird conservation project aiming to protect the local bird life. We hope to make both a nature trail, info boards, block car traffic into the terrain and have web-cameras placed to protect and promote birds of the area. In recent years traffic to the area have increased, and we hope to keep improving the facilities in the area. 

This shelter is mainly a seawatching shelter, sat on top of a cliff with amazing views over the Barents Sea. The below photos are taken in early November this year. We had our lunch here, sheltered from the icy arctic wind. What a privilege to comfortably enjoy such a place!

click on any image for slide show view

Interior view of the hide

As far out on the cliff as you can go

The king of the cliff: On our recent visit to Kongsfjord we were treated with a brilliant fly by Gyrfalcon. A top predator in the Arctic (photo from same place, taken atGullfest 2013)

The new Kongsfjord wind shelter is situated on the Veines peninsula, and about a 20 minutes walk from the Kongsfjord Guesthouse. Photos from our recent Kongsfjord visit.

Kongsfjord town is in the centre of this aerial, taken in early December 2011 on a flight between Båtsfjord and Berlevåg. This is a tree-less arctic landscape. The Veines peninsula is below Kongsfjord town in the left corner. 

Båtsfjord: the Skrovnes wind shelter 


Båtsfjord is a 45 minute drive from Kongsfjord. This project is not so much a bird hide, but more a project dedicated to the people in Båtsfjord. Skrovnes is a popular recreation area north of Båtsfjord. It is a 40 minute walk from Båtsfjord town. The idea of this project was to provide a wind shelter with great views of the fjord. This project was made possible thanks to the local municipality, Båtsfjord kommune, local bird guide aka Mr. King Eider Ørjan and a contribution from the Norwegian Environment Agency. 

At this weatherbeaten place, it will take less then a year before this hide will be grey as the rocks around it. 

Shelter & view

White-tailed Eagles are regularly seen in Båtsfjord. This photo was taken on boat trip in Båtsfjord with nature guide Ørjan Hansen.

Varanger is a work in progress, and we hope that the amazing nature of this region will be made accessible to more people, by providing better fascilities for people, and at the same time protecting the local wildlife. We believe that an appreciation of nature comes with making nature more easily accessible. Varanger is about to become a good example of how nature is promoted in a holistic approach, from school and kindergarden nature projects, to nature based tourism and to the building of hides and shelters.

More information on birding in Varanger in winter and spring

More architecture projects by Biotope

Need a birder architect on a project? 
Feel free to contact us on mob +47 99 33 49 82 or mail tormod@biotope.no

Or follow us on twitter and facebook for more news & views from Biotope

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Eagle island Smøla

November 24, 2014, 1:49 am
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Getting a grip on nature destination development  

In 2013 a group of tourism businesses and the local municipality on island Smøla (west coast Norway) asked us to work with them on developing Smøla as a nature destination. Digging in to new tasks with such a holistic approach is a privilege, and without doubt one of the most desired projects for us to work with. This is when you get a chance to meet like minded people, who aim at making nature a key part of their life, for the benefit of their community. Needless to say we jumped at the task. The past year and a half I have travelled quite a few times to Smøla. Mapping sites, potentials and meeting people have been a key to the projects success. The aim is to make a series of wind shelters, bird hides and photo hides at carefully chosen sites. Mixing both public efforts with private initiatives is important. Seen from a nature enthusiast and birders perspective Smøla is a brilliant place: it has the worlds densest population of White-tailed Eagles. Smøla island is also one of the places I know quite well from the early 1990s, when I was a young birder contributing to Norways mapping of wintering bird populations. Several years in a row we counted every bird along Smølas coastline. I clearly remember seeing 50 White-tailed Eagles sitting on a small island! That is when you know you are witnessing something amazing. Coming back to Smøla now to contribute as a birder architect actually feels, well, quite appropriate. 

When a plan comes together


The Svanøya wind shelter. This hide is an open public shelter, and has since this summer been used by a couple of hundred people. Both kayakers, fishermen, birders and locals have found their way to this hide. Kjartan, Owner of the nearby guesthouse Smøla Havstuer is one of the frequent guests here. According to Kjartan this project is huge success, for him as this shelter makes his product and trips better. In addition the locals appreciate a sheltered place to enjoy the scenaries. From a nature conservation point of view, there is huge benefits in concentrating human activity. Traffic becomes less random, and other small islands on Smøla with breeding seabirds are less disturbed.


The Svanøya shelter in silhouette against the mountains on the mainland  


Smøla nature destination development study



Smøla is a unique place in Norway. It is an archipelago with 5800 (!) small islands, and one main island. Smøla is a flat island, with vast marshes and countless small ponds. It is the perfect breeding and wintering habitat for for ducks, terns, Grey Herons, White-tailed Eagles and Otters and more. Biotope aerials above from summer 2013.


Above: Front page of our recent production for Smøla municipality, a 44 page study outlining the potential for developing Smøla as a nature destination. This includes a series of proposals for bird hides, shelters, birdwatching towers, recreational sites with paths, etc. 


As with all projects we engage with, people are key to the success. On Smøla we have been fortunate to work with a very good mix of people from the local municipality, local nature based business owners and local resources like carpenters and the local shipyard.


The aim for the Smøla project is making nature more easily accessible to people. A series of quite diverse fascilities will cater to both local nature enthuiasts, schools, kayakers and to specialists like bird photographers. Appreciation and care for nature comes with experiencing nature. With low impact, and well considered hide and shelter designs we aim to do just that: to bring nature and people closer. 

Fugløya wind shelter / gapahuk (norwegian for basic shelter)

This project is intended to be a landmark for kayakers exploring the many islands of Smøla. It is also frequently used by the guests of the nearby Lillenes Rorbuer (cabins). 

You will find shelter from any wind direction in this hide.  

Sunset on the Fugløya shelter

From wind shelters to photo hides

White-tailed Eagle photographed from Smøla Naturopplevelsers old photo hide. 



In december 2013, on one of our Smøla visits we tried the eagle hide. You have to be enter in the very early morning before the birds can see you arrive. The old hide, a quite traditional box barrack, did not survive the storm that approached as we sat in the hide. But keen eagle photographers should not worry: the brilliant guys, Espen and Audun of Smøla Naturopplevelser, got a new eagle hide nearly finished. It will undoubtedly set a new standard for eagle photography. Enough said. Wait and see. They will launch it in January 2015.


We had 15 different individuals of White-tailed Eagles at the hide that day. These are huge, spectacular birds, and at times they really remind you of the dinosaurs that birds decend from. 


Young White-tailed Eagle in snow storm (probably one of the last photos taken in this hide). 

In one weekend we had spectacular eagle bonanza. We could not have been luckier with the weather: one day with a massive snow storm in the eagle hide, then one day of crisp sunlight and a nice breeze out in the boat. Perfect! The below photo is from the boat trip, with Biotoper Alonza and Espen from Smøla Naturopplevelser and one of the 50+ eagles we saw that day.




White-tailed Eagle in sunset light, December 2013



Innovation and birding architecture

As a part of the destination development scheme on Smøla, we aimed to contribute to both new public fascilities and to designing privately owned photo hides. The below drawings are made for Smøla Naturopplevelser, and will be a part of their spectacular set of bird photography products. This floating photo hide will be built this winter, and we cant wait to try it when it launches! One thing is for sure: new and exciting things are happening on Smøla!

Soon to be launched by Smøla Naturopplevelser. Design by Biotope (above from the 45 page assembly book / tech drawings)

Birding to the people

When designing architecture for nature experiences we aim for sensible designs, based on basic needs. These hides or shelters do not cater to luxury "needs", but rather basic needs for shelter and a place to be social, to enjoy nature and to 

The Svanøya wind shelter / gapahuk. Situated and designed based on wind directions, views and characters of the landscape.


The Svanøya hide has shelter from several wind directions, a fireplace in front, and enough place for spending the night there (if you have a good sleeping bag, that is). The Smøla projects are made possible thanks to Smøla kommune (Also check out their visitors website). A huge thanks goes out to local project manager Einar Wikan, for a great collaboration on Smøla. It is a privilege to work with people who really care about their place. Smøla is a work in progress, and there are more projects and articles coming up from this amazing island on west coast Norway. 



Stay tuned for more niceness from eagle island..

Tormod Amundsen    Biotope  //  Twitter  //  Facebook 

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Birding Varanger in winter & early spring

December 22, 2013, 10:25 am
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The following article outlines the Varanger winter birding experience. During the past few years I have received many emails from birders and bird photographers with questions about winter birding in Varanger. Now I have have collected my responses in this following article, with some advice about birds, sites, accommodation and more for a winter or early spring visit to Varanger (That is Varanger-Fjord / Peninsula + Pasvik in South Varanger)
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The iconic Steller´s Eiders - a Varanger winter / early spring speciality.

Arctic street art 

Northern lights (Aurora borealis) in february, along the road from Vadsø to Vardø.

The birders guide to Varanger 

In Varanger (and the rest of Finnmark county) we are less then ten resident, active birders, but several thousands visiting / foreign birders every year. Varanger is still very much a birding destination in the making, but being a popular destination for birders its fairly easy to find information on both birding, accomodation and more (i.ex check out www.varanger.com). By searching the Biotope website you will also find quite a lot of info. Still, info on birds, sites, accomodation and more is very much scattered around. We are pleased to tell you that we are in the process of making a bird guide for Varanger. Our aim is to publish this book before birders start to visit Varanger, which is by late February / early March. So stay tuned! This guide book will include detailed maps over all key bird sites (and then some), aerial photos, a Varanger bird checklist and info on accomodation and much more. More info to come as we get closer to publishing.


Winter birding - digiscoping with the Swarovski ATX95 telescope for great low light performance. White-billed Diver at Svartnes harbour, Vardø, 21st of December 2013. White-billed Divers are present all year, but in May the numbers can be spectacular (10-150 birds pr day at key seawatching sites). 

General approach

Varanger in winter plumage is spectacular. The white sloping landscape and the deep blue sea bathing in the low arctic sunlight is the most pristine scenery imaginable. The polar night lasts from late November to mid January. Already by early February the sun start to rise at 08.15hrs and doesn't set until 15.30hrs. February is the peak of the blue season. The characteristic arctic blue light is amazing during the long hours from dusk to dawn. With the sun passing quite low over the horizon, both sunrise and sunset seems like an amazing natural event in slow motion. By mid March the sun rises at 06.00hrs and sets at 17.30, giving you full days of birding, and the night to enjoy the northern lights. Unless you find yourselves facing a snow storm, which can be quite spectacular too! I highly recommend taking a walk in one of Varangers fishing towns in a full gale force arctic snow storm.

For the last years the harbours of Vardø and especially Vadsø holds good numbers of Stellers Eiders. Approx 3500-4500 in the Varanger fjord. Of these 250-600 usually consentrate in Vadsø Harbour. A little less in Vardø. The King Eider rafts are in place around Vardø in good numbers from early February, the flocks are dispersing a little more towards the end of March. Seeing a 6-10 000 large King Eider raft is simply beyond amazing. Around mid April the bird cliff of Hornøya is predictably more accessible (in March the boat to the bird cliffs have sometimes to be cancelled due to weather, so more days are required to be sure to get on and off Hornøya. Staying at the lighthouse is possible and recommended: handled by www.vardoport.no).

I would advise to fly to Kirkenes and airport Høybuktmoen. Try to search for tickets from both Norwegian and SAS / Widerøe. Norwegian is often cheaper, but only fly to Kirkenes. You can fly directly to both Vadsø, Vardø, Båtsfjord and Berlevåg, but the you have to use SAS (in collaboration with Widerøe). If you order 2-5 months in avance you can find very cheap flights (like London-Oslo-Kirkenes with return, for 200 GBP)! Rent a car in Kirkenes (several companies available, like Rent-a-wreck and the other ususal suspects) then do the Pasvik taiga, and afterwards drive to the Varanger fjord, and do Varangerbotn to Vardø. Kirkenes -Varangerbotn is only 1.5 hours straight drive (not so much birding there, two or three short stops), then Varangerbotn to Vardø is a 1,5 hours straight drive, but the birding is great so this is where you want to spend your time. As species are fewer in winter, and getting around, outside of the main roads, is not so easy, 4-8 days will often be enough, but this depends of your style of birding. I will highly recommend a trip to the northern part of the Varanger peninsula (Båtsfjord, Kongsfjord and Berlevåg are also great places to visit).

Pasvik : Taiga birding

Pine Grosbeak in Pasvik

If you aim for Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, Arctic Redpoll and other taiga birds then Pasvik is the place, basically all year, but winter and early spring is great. This is a fantastic forest area with all of the northern taiga species present. From the Kirkenes airport there is only a 40 min drive to a B&B (www.birkhusky.no) with a good bird feeder. They specialize in dog sled trips, but with many dogs to feed there are easy snack scraps for the Siberian Jays. At the B&B they are also very much more aware of birders and try to do these little extras like having feeders that attracts Siberian Tits, Arctic Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, etc. You should find Siberian Tit and Siberian Jay rather easily. Probably also Pine Grosbeak. They also have a feeder at a cabin in the forest where all these birds occur all the time. If you are keen on photography then Pasvik can be very rewarding, especially the Siberian Tits are very confiding. Check out this previous Pasvik article from Pasvik. Pasvik can be tricky to bird in winter, so staying at a guest house with a feeder makes sense, but there are a few places available. In Pasvik you can have temperatures down to minus 30 degress celcius in February, rarely below 20 in March and down to minus 10 in April (snow usually start to melt by mid to late April). Wind is not so much of an issue in Pasvik, as it is in near the tree-less Varanger Peninsula.

Taiga transport: go by snow mobile or dog sled. Above is bird illustrator / artist Ian Lewington prepping the dogs for our ride back to the B&B during Gullfest 2013 - the taiga part.

Varanger Fjord / Varanger Peninsula South : Tundra & Arctic coast

Vadsø town, a superb place for Steller´s Eiders. In the background Vadsø airport and further behind is the Ekkerøy peninsula. 

The Varanger Fjord is great for birds as it is a shallow and relatively sheltered fjord. It is Norways only eastern facing fjord. It is far north, well within the arctic circle, but it is kept ice free by the warmth of the Gulf Stream. Since food is fairly easily available for birds that prefer the arctic climate, the Varanger Fjord is simply an amazing place to winter, if you are an arctic sea duck. 

From Varangerbotn, innermost Varanger Fjord, to Vardø, Norways easternmost place, the birding is basically non stop great. The sheltered bays and fishing harbours are easy to bird, and almost all birding can be done from the car or just a short walk from it. Of course, spending most of your time in the car is not the best way to bird - anywhere. In general walking is easy, also in winter. The roads are allways kept open by plow trucks, and very rarely are roads closed due to weather. However, be prepared for the occasiaonal snow storm. By following weather reports you will be well informed, and the good thing about Varanger is that you are always fairly near a small town. Birding the fjord is mostly about scanning the seas, but large flocks of Snow Buntings can often be seen when driving along the Varanger Fjord (from mid MArch to late April). Last year we set up a feeder and a small photo hide by the Biotope office in Vardø. For three weeks we enjoyed hundreds of Snow Buntings just outside our office door. No doubt we are doing that again! 


Snow Bunting at the Biotope office, April 2013.

To make birding the Varanger Fjord even more comfortable you may be glad to know we are in good progress with the birding infrastructure. New bird hides / wind shelters are being built in our garage in Vardø, ready to be transported out to key sites in Varanger this winter & early spring. There are also a few bird hides and wind shelters already in place. Like the Steilnes shelter below, overlooking the amazingly bird rich Bussesundet in Vardø. 


The Steilnes bird hide, Vardø. This is where the mega-rafts of King and Common Eiders can be seen from February to late March, with smaller flocks lingering well into April.


Brand new bird hide / wind shelter in production in Vardø, ready to be transported to site early in 2014. 

In Varanger you will also have more good chances of seeing both Arctic Redpoll and Siberian Tit. The Vestre Jakobselv Camping have cabins and rooms at very decent prices, and its a great budget option. Especially considering they also have a great feeder that attracts loads of redpoll (including Arctic Redpolls), and the occasional Siberian Tit, and several species of woodpecker. Øyvind Arntzens cabin in Vestre Jabobselv is another option. He also have bird feeders and have even made a hide to better cater for photographers. In recent years the numbers of woodpeckers in Varanger have increased, and Vestre Jakobselv (and Nesseby + Varangerbotn) is good places to see them. Greater Spotted Woodpsecker is most common, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker can also be seen regularly and your chances of finding Tree-toed Woodpecker are also fairly good. 

The Varanger Fjord starts in Varangerbotn, which is often frozen at the innermost parts in winter. Then comes Nesseby, which is often the first place many visiting birders see Steller´s Eider. Stop by the Nesseby Church (you can´t miss it). From Nesseby it is a 25 minute drive to Vestre Jakobselv, described above. After that comes Vadsø town, Varangers largest town with approx 6000 inhabitants. This is also central in the Varanger fjord, and it is a very good base camp if you spend a week or so in the southern part of the Varanger peninsula. Everything is within easy reach for a great day of birding (1 hour to Varangerbotn, 1 hour to Vardø - straight driving, that is). In Vardø you can find great accommodation at the Vadsø Fjordhotel. The Biotope office are proud to supply them with both branding and design input. They are most certainly Norway first hotel to brand themselves as a ´birders base camp´! It is very well deserved too, as they are great at sharing bird information with their guests, in addition to being very well located overlooking Vadsø harbour. 

In Vadsø there is also the option of Rica Hotel Vadsø, with a good restaurant, strategically placed in the middle of Vadsø town. Everything is within a couple of minutes walk, including the bird rich harbour. There are also a a couple of guest houses in Vadsø town. Find more info at www.varanger.com


Ekkerøy bird cliff, another amazing Varanger bird site. 


Gyrfalcon action - best experienced at Varangers bird cliffs (above scene from Hornøya bird cliff. Full photo series in the Gyrfalcon versus Raven article)

A little further out the Varanger fjord you find Ekkerøy (20 min drive from Vadsø). Another great place to bird! Here you can find very good accommodation too. From classy eco-style to basic style, two places, same owner. More info at Ekkerøy Holidayhouse.
This is also a favored area for Stellers Eiders, and from April it is often favored by the White-billed divers (sometimes present even in March and February). Ekkerøy has a bird cliff with 20 000+ pairs of Kittiwakes, only 4 min walk from one of Ekkerøy Holidayhouse´s cabins. If you want to see Gyrfalcons the bird cliffs of Varanger are the best places to spend time at. Gyrfalcons are seen regularily hunting Kittiwakes at Ekkerøy, but you better keep an open eye: from the moment the entire bird cliff panic it can be hard to spot the huntig Gyrfalcon. The recipe is simple: a little luck, sharp eyes and optics and then add some patience.

Basically from Vadsø harbour to Vardø is non stop fantastic birding (the last piece of road to Hamningberg is cosed in winter, and usually opens no later then May 1st). Describing all the sites along this route is something we will leave for our coming guide book, as the sites are plentiful. This is what Varanger is famous for: very good numbers of birds, intact nature and beautiful tundra landscape. Be sure to stop many times scanning the sea with telescope and binoculars, especially at Skallelv, Komagvær, Kiberg.

Kiberg harbour - another great place for Steller´s Eider in Varanger. Above photo from March.



Vardø is good for all the arctic sea ducks, Glaucous Gulls, the occasional Iceland Gull and maybe even more gull surprises (in Feb 2011 I had a very nice adult Ivory Gull flying by a good sea watch site at the northern tip of Vardø). A cheap and very good place to stay in Vardø is Skagen Bo- og Havfiske, or Vardø Hotel www.vardohotel.no - here you can have a great dinner and watch arctic sea ducks and white gulls from their restaurant. The hotel has its own little bird beach and great views of the harbour.

The waters around Vardø holds very good numbers of quite a few species. From late February to early April there can be up to several hundred thousand alcids (!), mostly Brünnichs Guillemots. In March it seems a substantial part of the Russian population of Brünnichs Guillemot are resting and feeding in the very productive waters of the outer Varanger fjord. In fact, if any person working in the oil industry saw the amount of birds present, they would very quickly realize that this is not the place for such activities. It would simply be very strategically unwise (unless one aim for maximum high risk areas). For a birder or a fisherman, however, this is heaven! All winter massive rafts of King Eiders and Common Eiders are found around Vardø, and very often in Bussesundet (between mainland Vardø and Vardø island). The winter 2013 we counted an amazing 10 000 King Eiders and 12 500 Common Eiders. It is one of the most spectacular of natural phenomena I have ever witnessed! Check out the King Eider Vortex story, for some spectacular scenes. Several other species are present as well, often in good numbers. Svartnes harbour is also a great place for arctic sea ducks, and the river delta in this harbour is a very good place for large numbers of gulls, waders (in summer).  


Vardø town, with a small portion of the 20 000+ Eiders in the air. The Biotope office is the white house by the shore, just below the church. Guess why we bought that place - a view of epic proportions!

Then of course you have Hornøya bird cliff, 10 min by boat from Vardø harbour, which is allways fantastic! The guys at Vardø Harbour KF / www.vardohavn.no will take you there by RIB or their harbour boat. This will be a life experience - simply fantastic! 100 000+ seabirds, fighting puffins (see end of the Hornøya webcam article), and much more. Brünnichs Guillemots will be all around, giving great views. Depending on your timing, Glaucous Gulls can be seen in hundreds if not thousands (my day record is 3300+ in April), but numbers seem to vary a lot every year. But they are always around in good numbers in winter and early spring.

Hornøya bird cliff, seen from the harbour-boat "Hornøya", mid March 2013. In the air: King Eiders, Common Eiders, Gulls, Kittiwakes and alcids. 

Incoming alcids, photographed from Hornøyas south end. Vardø town in the background.

Northern Varanger Peninsula : Arctic coast  

Another advice, after doing the southern part of the Varanger Peninsula, is to drive over the high tundra (Båtsfjord Mountain) to Båtsfjord, via Tana. On the road (along the Tana River) is one of the best sites to check for Hawk Owls (watch roof tops and light poles from the road). Then drive to Båtsfjord (Varangerbotn-Båtsfjord is a 2.5 hour drive) 

King Eider male in Båtsfjord harbour, photo from the ´King Eider hide´ in Båtsfjord.

I would very much advice you to go to Båtsfjord for close views of King Eiders. If you are a bird photographer visit fisherman and nature guide Ørjan Hansen of www.arctictourist.no in Båtsfjord harbour. In Båtsfjord you can enjoy the most amazing views of King Eiders, Common Eiders, Steller´s Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks. The photo opportunities from Ørjans new floating photo hide is simply amazing. Ørjan is a true entrepreneur in Finnmark, and is well worth a visit. We first met Ørjan in spring 2010 when when we arranged our first bird promo-trip to Varanger, for a mix of birders, bird bloggers and bird tour operators. Since then we have worked with Ørjan many times, and the new floating bird hide is a pioneering project it is cool to have supported. Check out the King Eider Extravaganza article from February 2013.


The drive from Båtsfjord to Kongsfjord and to Kongsfjord Guesthouse (www.kongsfjord-gjestehus.no) is only 40 minutes. This is a great place to stay if you want to explore the northern side of the Varanger peninsula. In winter the famous road from Vardø to Hamningberg is closed, but the road from Kongsfjord to Berlevåg fishing town is equally amazing with its harsh rocky landscape. The fishing town of Berlevåg is also well worth a visit, as it attract good numbers of white gulls, and it is probably the most underwatched place in Varanger. As such it is very much something for the pioneering birders visiting Varanger. More about Varanger harbour birding (on gulls)


Berlevåg town, winter aerial

A general note on King and Stellers Eider:
They stay until late May. By mid / late may they start moulting and are less numerous. A few birds of both eider species stick around all year, but not so good for photographing in summer (mostly females, 2cy males). The rafts of Arctic sea ducks is undoubtedly a highlight of any early spring / winter trip to Varanger. 

Orca family hunting in the Varanger Fjord, early March 2011

As a very fine arctic bonus experience you have good chances of seeing the Northern lights, or the Aroura borealis. This can be everything from a slowly moving vague haze of green light to a pulsating breath-taking display of light. For mammals chances are very good for Orca / Killer Whale, several species of seal, dolphins, Otter, Arctic hare, Reindeer and more.

The Varanger birding info leaflets


We recently made a set of double-paged info leaflets describing Varanger, the birding destination in winter, spring and summer. Above is page 1 of the winter leaflet. Download the full pdf-leaflets here:

- Winter birding in Varanger
- Spring birding in Varanger
- Summer birdding in Varanger

Get dressed for the Arctic

For clothing I would advice warm and wind proof clothing. Several layers. Typically what you would wear at a day out skiing / mountaineering. February and March can be very cold (easily with 15 - 20 minus celcius). Mid to late April is usually quite nice in Varanger. But by nice I mean not so much wind (less likely with heavy snow storms), usually much sun, probably little snow (no rain), and with lots of snow on the ground. Wear solid boots (hiking type, or similar, with space for good wool socks). Temperatures will be around -5 to +5 celcius from mid April. But that can be very cold should the wind pick up. Birding Varanger means standing still a lot, scanning flocks of birds. For a Hornøya bird cliff visit I would recommend to think about wearing something that you are ok with being shit on by birds. I have been to Hornøya many times and been shit on many times. Particularily if you spend much time under the bird cliff for photography and bird studies. There are lots of birds there and it is basically a matter of time spent at the cliff. However it is very rare with the all over Great Black-backed Gull spray (in summer, when breeding, they aim!), mostly it is ´rain drops´ from overflying alcids hitting you. not much, but worth considering when choosing your clothing. 

Thanks for tuning in, and welcome to Varanger!


With our website we aim to present our work as architects and birders living in Varanger. We work with bird and nature projects all over Norway, but we are based in Varanger and this is where we work with everything from designing and building bird hides and photo hides to arranging workshops, festivals, planning, mapping and concept development. In short: a holistic approach to pro nature destination development. This also includes to a large extent 
serving updated information with bird news from Varanger. I Hope this article will help birders who are doing research foran arctic adventure.

I am are always interested in getting feedback from birders both before and after their visits to Varanger: you can help us improve fascilities and also provide us with more info on birds in Varanger.  We are very interested in expanding our knowledge of Eastern Finnmarks birdlife. We have a good overview of much, but bird info on good numbers, rarities, etc is always very interesting. 

Find regular updates on birding (and more) in Varanger on the Biotope facebok page
Or check out the Biotope twitter account @BiotopeOffice for more news & views 

For strictly bird news from Varanger / Finnmark / Arctic Norway check out @Finnmarkbirding   
Also feel free to tweet your bird observations to @Finnmarkbirding, as we retweet noteworthy observations, comments, etc. 

Best wishes from 

Tormod A. / Biotope


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Northern Norway Architecture Award 2014 to Biotope

December 13, 2014, 6:18 am
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"Nordnorsk arkitekturpris tildeles ´Fugleskjul i Varanger´, mottaker: Biotope"

Juryens begrunnelse:
"Nordnorsk arkitekturpris 2014 gis til et prosjekt som forholder seg til årstidsrytmene og kombinerer kunnskap og erfaring fra forskjellige fagfelt. På strategiske punkter, i forhold til globale migrasjonsmønster, skaper prosjektet en diskret infrastruktur for tilstedeværelse og observasjon. Prosjektet legger til rette for miljøbevisst turisme, stedsutvikling og forskning. Her kan besøkende komme nært innpå livsrytmen til de fugleartene som gjester kysten vår hvert eneste år."

Jury: Sara Lund, Berit Steenstrup & Kjerstin Uhre

Translation from diploma:

"Northern Norway Architecture Awards goes to ´bird hides in Varanger´, given to Biotope"

"Northern Norway Architecture Award 2014 is given to a projects that relates to the seasonal changes og combines knowledge og experience from several disciplines. At strategic sites, in relation to global migration patterns, the project creates a discreet infrastructure for presence and observation. The project facilitates environmentally conscious tourism, destination development og science. People are given the chance to come close to the life of the bird species visiting our coast every year"

More on the award website




A very big thank you to the jury, from the Biotope team: Elin Taranger, Tormod Amundsen & Alonza Garbett (photo above from the Steilnes bird hide by Ivan Brodey)

We are very gratefull for this award as a great recognition of our work. Perhaps this is the right opportunity to write a few words about our office. I guess it is something of an unlikely story of making new things happen. 

In 2009 Elin and I moved to Vardø in Varanger with the ambition of starting the worlds first architectural office dedicated to birding and nature experiences. We both had the ambition of doing something different. It seemed that the architecture scene was occupied by ´starchitects´ and all the architectural media was flooded with pompous and grand buildings trying to be more spectacular then the previous. What we really missed hearing more about was architects who engaged with nature and ecology. In short: we set out to establish the office that we missed. We were certain that we could make a difference as architects, by working pro nature and without overly expensive projects. We wanted to design strategically situated, small pieces of architecture that would bring people and nature closer. 

Against everyones advice, we decided to move to the furthest away, small fishing town in Norway: Vardø. The perfect place to set up our office. We knew that Vardø and Varanger was a place of unique qualities that was yet to be explored properly. For the past 5 years we have worked diligently to establish Varanger as the worlds finest arctic birding destination. No less. This work have included doing everything for designing bird hides, photo hides, exhibitions, info-folders, maps, graphic design, branding, international promo, science projects, etc. We have been privileged to work with local nature based tourism business, birders from all over the world, and many key people throughout Varanger. 

Kongsfjord cliff wind shelter

King Eider, Båtsfjord

Steilnes bird hide, Vardø 

Puffin fight club, Hornøya 


Ekkerøy wind shelter 


 Guillemots, Hornøya

Hornøya bird hide

Thank you..

There are so many great people we have worked with that we can not possibly name them all here, but we would very much like to express our gratidue to some key partners in the development in Varanger: 

One of the first to aknowledge our ideas of making a birding destination was Innovation Norway, by supporting many of our projects, like Gullfest (the arctic birding festival) and our continued strategic work in Varanger.  We also owe a big thanks to Finnmark Fylkeskommune for supporting the production the very first Varanger Birding Destination plan, an analysis of Varanger potential to develop birding infrastructure. This work was also supported by the Nowegian Environment Directorate (Miljødirektoratet), and contiued with their support of co-financing a series of bird hides. We are also very happy to have worked with the good people at Varanger Næringssenter (among several things, they are key people in co-financing the hides), and like us, they have the ambition of building a better region, with more collaboration between the municipalities. We have also been very fortunate to increasingly work more with the Varanger municipalities, like Vardø, Vadsø, Berlevåg, Båtsfjord in both realising new hides and events. 

We have also been privileged to have the support from Nordnorsk Reiseliv and Sparebank-stiftelsene (SNN fund) of Northern Norway who have supported the making of key events in Varanger. We also appreciate working with key people from Statens Naturoppsyn and Fylkesmannen i Finnmark (county environment authority). There are so many projects we have been involved with, and it is hard to cover them all, but we also want to thank the National Park board, Vardø Museum and Vadsø Havn KF, Vardø Næringsforening. 

There are also many nature based tourism businesses in Varanger with whom we have worked lot: We really dig you all for making the Varanger peninsula a more hospitable and amazing place! A very big thanks to top places like Vadsø Fjordhotell, Vardø Hotel, Vestre Jakobselv Camping, Arctic Tourist, Rica Hotel, Vardø Havn KF,  Ekkerøy Feriehus, Kongsfjord Gjestehus, Berlevåg Pensjonat, Kvitbrakka in Berlevåg and Skagen Bo- og Havfiske. Thankyou to the top carpenters Ken Lorentzen, Leif Jonny Josefsen and Gunnar Isaksen. We also owe a very special thanks to the Norwegian National Tourist Routes for taking ownership to several of the hides, and for contiued support and partnership in the making of the infrastructure that supports the birding destination Varanger.   

Last, but not least: we want to say thank you to the international birding community! We feel privileged to be part of a worldwide community of such highly engaged people! Many of you have contributed to making Varanger better, by sharing stories from Varanger, and by inspiring us and many others! 

Varanger is an amazing place and we look forward to continue working with the development of the worlds finest arctic birding destination! As an architectural practise dedicated to birding people and nature closer we also look forward to working with new friends and new places in Norway and internationally. It seems there is room for such a niché office as ours, and we are very gratefull to be able to make a positive difference. 

Thank you Sara, Berit and Kjerstin from the Northern Norway Architecture Award for recognising the ´Varanger bird hide projects´ with this award. 


To be continued!

Tormod Amundsen, Elin Taranger and Alonza Garbett 

Architects & birders at Biotope   //  facebook.com/biotope.no // twitter @BiotopeOffice

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The Dark Knights

December 31, 2014, 7:28 am
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Arctic chillout

Purple Sandpipers are some of the toughest birds on the planet. Too often these birds go by unnoticed, and they are rarely on any ´top birds list´. In fact in Varanger we often make that mistake too. The striklingly beautiful King Eiders and Steller´s Eider grab our attention. It is about time we make a tribute to the toughest of birds. These guys are found in Varanger all year, and somehow they manage survive the arctic winter. When all the other sandpipers fly south to Africa or more comfortable parts of Europe, the Purple Sandpipers stay.  

I must admit that after spending a few years in Varanger, Arctic Norway, these birds are becoming some of my favourite birds. I enjoy walking around Vardø harbour when the arctic winter is at its harshest, dressed in multiple layers of wool and wind proof clothes. When you have a warm fire place to get home to being outdoors is an easy thing to like. Which is why I really admire the Purple Sandpipers. Their survival skills are just beyond belief. In raging snow storms, freezing temperatures and near complete darkness these birds seem just to go about their ususal business. These small sandpipers are about the size of a Starling, but they still manage to find food and stay warm despite extreme conditions. In Varanger a proper winter storm in December og January can last for two to three weeks, with temperatures down to minus 25 celcius. Add gale force winds on top, and the wind chill factor approaches minus 50 celcius! 

The Biotope office is found by the shore in Vardø. We have great views of the Barents Sea. Arctic Sea Ducks, Guillemots and Purple Sandpipers are our garden birds. During this December and December 2013 I have spent quite a few hours flat on my belly in on the office "beach". Appropriately dressed in a survival suit, camouflaged by dark clothes on top. The following are a few photos I wanted to share with you all, of the amazing Purple Sandpipers. They may not be spectacular or striking in colour, but they are without a doubt some they coolest birds in the Arctic! I hope you enjoy these photos. They are taken at the lightest hour of the day in December. That is one short hour of dusk. The rest is dark blue and complete darkness. I enjoyed taking the photos - and I enjoyed going in doors after..


Purple Sandpipers chilling out, waiting for a snow storm to pass 


Snow storm passing south Vardø. Photo from outside the Biotope office 


Purple Sandpipers flying by in the dark 


Purple Sandpiper facing a snow storm


Purple Sandpiper - still around when the light slowly returns in late January

Check out more winter birding in Varanger on this Steller´s Eider in January blogpost
Follow our adventures in the Arctic and beyond on www.facebook.com/biotope.no 
and on twitter @Biotopeoffice

We also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone we have worked with in 2014, or who have followed us and supported our work as pro bird and nature architects. Thanks all! And to be continued in 2015!

Tormod A. / Biotope

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Arkitekter med luft under vingene

January 22, 2015, 3:35 am
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Artikkel fra magasinet Arkitektur N (nr8-2014) / Article from Norwegian Architecture magazine Arkitektur N (This article about Biotope is in Norwegian, but with an English summary at the end ).

Biotope er verdens første fuglekikkerarkitektkontor. De har skapt en egen nisje for sin virksomhet ved å koble kunnskaper som vanligvis ikke møtes. Tormod Amundsen forteller om arbeidet som fuglekikkerarkitekt i Varanger:


Ark N nr8-2014

Da vi i 2009 bestemte oss for å flytte til Vardø for å starte et arkitektkontor ble vi utelukkende møtt med advarsler og skepsis. Som om det ikke var vanskelig nok å starte eget arkitektfirma, skulle det i tillegg gjøres fra en liten kommune lengst vekk i Norge. Vi spurte mange om råd, både arkitekter og forretningsfolk, og alle var klare på at dette var en dårlig idé. Ikke bare var det langt unna “alt” – Vardø kommune hadde i tillegg i 2009 blitt kåret til Norges dårligste kommune å etablere bedrifter i. Rangert på en lite flatterende 430. plass i NHOs årlige nærings-NM. Men her er vi også ved kjernen i vårt prosjekt: å utvikle muligheter andre ikke har sett. Vi var overbeviste om at man i Varanger satt på en uutnyttet ressurs som ingen enda hadde tatt skikkelig tak i.  

Ny klimatenkning i arkitekturen

Det var mot slutten av utdannelsen på Bergen Arkitekthøgskole at ideen om å skape et naturbasert arkitektkontor begynte å ta form. Som student samler man på inntrykk, leser alt man kommer over og blir eksponert for en rekke forskjellige måter å tenke arkitektur på. BAS var en god plass å trene seg på å tenke utenfor boksen. Men den viktigste inspirasjonskilden var det vi savnet å høre mer om. “Starchitects” og en desperat, pompøs ”se-på-meg-arkitektur” syntes å være forbildene i alle fagmedia, og vi savnet å høre fra arkitekter som snakket om økololgi, biologi, natur og miljøvern på en gjennomtenkt måte. Litt for ofte kan det synes som om arkitekters oppfatning av miljøvern stopper ved byggets CO2-regnskap. Klimatenkning i arkitekturen er selvsagt bra, men det er bare en liten del av mulighetsrommet for å tenke miljø, natur og økologi som en del av arkitekturen. Dette ønsket vi å gjøre noe med: Kort og godt å skape det kontoret vi mente burde finnes. Til å begynne med var ambisjonen å bli et slags miljøvern-arkitektkontor. Men vi skjønte raskt at dersom vi ønsket gjennomslag for nye ideer som omhandlet natur og miljø, måtte vi også bidra til å skape et marked og en arena der dette blir relevant også i et økonomisk perspektiv. Vi måtte bidra til å utvikle naturressursenes næringspotensial. 


Fugleskjul i Kongsfjord

Praktærfugl i Båtsfjord
Fuglene: Enorm variasjon blant fuglekikkere

Ved å kombinere svært detaljert kunnskap om fugler med arkitekturfaget har vi kunnet skape en ny nisje. Jeg har alltid vært glad i natur og friluftsliv, og siden 12-årsalderen har jeg vært en svært ivrig fuglekikker, eller feltornitolog, eller birder, som det heter internasjonalt. I Norge er fuglekikking relativt lite, og oppfattes nok ofte som en sær interesse. Internasjonalt, derimot, er fuglekikking svært stort. Med over seks millioner fuglekikkere har birding i England passert fisking som den største hobbyen (etter fotball, så klart). Det er folk i alle sammfunnslag og aldersgrupper som er interessert i fugler. Det skiller seg likevel ut en ganske stor andel høyt utdannede og ressurssterke folk, med reiselyst. Fugleinteressen handler om så mange ulike ting. For noen er det ren sport, der målet er å se flest mulig arter, og man konkurrerer med andre og fører artslister. For andre er fugler en viktig del av friluftslivet. Andre er ivrige fuglefotografer og liker kreative og kunstneriske utfordringer. Noen liker vitenskapsdelen, ofte som fugle-ringmerkere, mens andre liker utfordringen i å artsbestemme og finne sjeldne arter. Med mange millioner fuglekikkere på verdensbasis er variasjonen enorm, og næringspotensialet likeså. Det er imidlertid en total mangel på arkitekter innen dette feltet. Svært mange aktører innen miljøet har naturfaglig bakgrunn.

Stelleranda er en svært sjelden arktisk dykkand. Den har blitt en ikonart for Varanger, og en turistattraksjon.

Tormod Amundsen fotograferer stellerand i fjæra (foto: Alonza Garbett)

Fugleskjulet på Steilnes, med arkitekter og fuglekikkere Elin Taranger, Tormod Amundsen og Alonza Garbett (foto: Ivan Brodey).

Varanger: Verdens beste arktiske fugledestinasjon

Jeg hørte første gang om Vardø i 1991, i en engelsk bok om sjeldne fugler i Europa. Boken beskrev blant annet hvordan Vardø og Varanger var en av hovedtilholdsstedene for den arktiske andearten stellerand. I fugleverdenen finnes det noen ikoniske arter som nærmest har fått mytologisk status, basert på spesielt utseende eller særegen væremåte, eller gjennom sjeldenhet og utilgjengelighet. Stelleranden er en art som representerer naturens design på sitt beste, i tillegg til å være en art som svært få har sett – den holder jo til i et av jordklodens minst gjestmilde strøk. Når denne arten kommer til Varanger om vinteren er den på sydenferie. Til vanlig holder den til på den Sibirske tundraen. I tillegg finnes en lang rekke andre arter som tilhører den nordlige taigaen, tundraen og den arktiske kysten.
Da vi som arkitekter ønsket å spesialisere oss på natur og fugler, måtte vi selvsagt gjøre dette et sted der potensialet var størst mulig for å lykkes. Til tross for at man i en årrekke har hatt en del fuglekikkere fra hele verden på besøk i Varanger, har ikke dette vært noe man har tatt tak i lokalt. Fuglekikkerne har nok vært for få i antall, samtidig som man ikke har forstått helt hvorfor de har kommet til Varanger. Fuglekikkerne har vært de litt sære grønnkledde folkene som parkerer midt i veien og står der med store kikkerter og kamera. 
Vi visste at om vi skulle lykkes med å starte nisjekontor måtte vi flytte dit vi ville møte våre likesinnede. I Oslo ville vi nok forblitt et lokalt norsk lite kontor, mens vi i Varanger er en del av et internasjonalt miljø. Basert på våre erfaringer og vårt arbeid i Varanger begynner vi nå å få oppdrag i flere land. Vi har blitt en aktør med en stemme i det internasjonale fuglemiljøet. For regionens del går det fremover, og Varanger promoteres nå som verdens beste arktiske fugledestinasjon.


Biotope er etterhvert blitt kjent i reiselivsnæringen. Her forberedes materiell til fuglekikkermessen Birdfair i Strobritania.

Fra en av folderne som beskriver fugledestinasjonen Varanger.

Engasjert stedsutvikling

Til å begynne med ble vi møtt med hoderisting i Vardø og Varanger også. Få hadde tro på at fuglene i regionen kunne være grunnlag for noe nytt. Oppfatningen var nok at her fantes det kun ”mås og titting” – noen måker og en og annen småfugl. Jeg har ikke tall på hvor mange møter vi har vært på og hvor mange foredrag vi har holdt, for alt fra lokale politikere, næringslivsfolk, byråkrater, forskere og andre. En solid porsjon stahet har vært viktig. Vi er jo ikke arkitekter som venter på at jobber skal komme til oss og håper på at vi skal få nok å gjøre. Vi initierer prosjekter og finner gode samarbeidspartnere for realisering. De første par årene var ikke dette noen lett jobb. Men nå begynner det å svinge: Vi samarbeider med og jobber for både næringssentre, fylkesmannen, kommuner og private reiselivsaktører. Fuglesatsingen i Varanger er blitt et stort prosjekt der mange aktører bidrar, fra Nasjonale Turistveger til Miljødirektoratet og enkeltbedrifter i regionen.
Som arkitekter er det viktig for oss å engasjere oss. Vi har en agenda, og jobber i alle sammenhenger for å fremme naturverdier og for at man skal ta vare på unik natur både av økologiske og økonomiske grunner. Selv om fugleskjulene vi tegner er små enheter, står de i en stor sammenheng. Vi er ikke bare arkitekter for bygg, men driver med stedsutvikling. Derfor gjør vi også større stedsanalyser, og utvikler strategiske planer for regionen. Vi jobber med alt fra kompetanseutvikling til bedriftsrådgivning, utstillinger, vitenskapelige prosjekter, kartproduksjoner, PR-materiell, internasjonal markedsføring og så videre. Tradisjonelt har bird hides, eller fugleskjul, bare vært en boks med kikkhull i, etter en engelsk modell som ikke har vært videreutviklet. Det å utvikle nye typer fuglekikkerskjul, fotoskjul og andre rom for naturopplevelser er en svært viktig del av vårt arbeid. Det handler om å forstå hvordan fuglekikkere opererer og bruker arkitektur. For eksempel er det ikke bare å sette inn vinduer som slår utover, da skremmer man gjerne fuglene man vil se. Så må man tenkte på siktlinjer, hvor fuglene flyr, at ulike arter har ulike tålegrenser for mennesker, og så videre. Om en kikkeåpning i et vaderfotoskjul er tre eller åtte centimeter høy er avgjørende for hvor tett på man kommer uten å forstyrre.

Det finnes en del eksempler på arkitekttegnede fugletårn, der det er tydelig at arkitekten ikke har forstått oppgaven. Det er kanskje ikke så rart, siden kravene gjerne er noe spesielle. I sommer jobbet tre arkitektstudenter fra England på kontoret vårt. Vi hadde over 60 søkere på tre stillinger, og det gikk igjen i deres søknader at vi representerte en måte å jobbe med nisje på som de ikke lærte om på sine skoler. Jeg mener arkitektrollen har mye å gå på ved å utforske nisjer i langt større grad. I dag skal man kunne litt av alt, og arkitekter fremstår ofte som generalister, men det finnes et utall av spesialfelt som kunne tjent mye på dedikerte arkitekter. Etter å ha bodd i Vardø i fem år har vi sett potensialet for at noen burde være arkitekter for fiskere langs norskekysten. Nå har vi valgt vår retning, men det er stort rom for ny kompetanse.

Ekkerøy bird hide / wind shelter section ©Biotope

Bird hides x 4 plans ©Biotope

En rekke fugleskjul finnes nå på strategiske lokaliteter for fuglekikking i Varanger. Disse er realisert i samarbeid med flere aktører. Nasjonale Turistveger er nå blitt en viktig samarbeidspartner som bidrar til realisering av flere nye skjul.

Arkitekt i Vardø: Skepsis til luftslott

En utfordring for oss da vi kom til Vardø og Varanger var faktisk synet på arkitekter. Vi ble møtt med en del skepsis. For var det en ting man hadde sett nok av i Varanger, så var det arkitekter med storslåtte planer om kostbare drømmeslott. Som vi fikk høre flere ganger: ”skuffene på kommunehuset er fulle av svært gode planer”. Dette er vel en god blanding av stigma og en helt korrekt virkelighetsoppfatning. Nøkkelen vår har nettopp vært å flytte til Varanger og følge prosjekter helt fra idé til gjennomføring. Vi engasjerer oss i samfunnet og ønsker å bidra, samtidig som vi klarer å skape grunnlag for å drive et såpass spesielt arkitektkontor. Som mange andre gründere har vi kastet oss helhjertet inn i dette.

Fuglekikker i Vardø, av Biotope

Stedsutvikling, street art og sosiale medier

Da vi kom til Vardø var det mange som ikke så hvordan det plutselig skulle begynne å kry av fuglekikkere i regionen. I stedet for bare å snakke om muligheter, begynte vi derfor like godt å spraye fuglekikkere på vegger rundt i byen. Vi skal kanskje ikke kalle det street art, men det var mange som sperret øyene opp når det plutselig sto fuglekikkere her og der. I samarbeid med aktører innen reiselivet har vi også arrangert en fuglefestival tre år på rad. Lokale reiselivsaktører og destinasjonsselskaper ønsket å bruke oss til å lage en visningstur for fugleturoperatører (en slags Star Tour for fuglekikkere). Vi spurte om vi ikke heller kunne få bruke de samme midlene til å lage en fuglefestival, og så inviterte vi en rekke kjente fugle-bloggere, kunstnere og fotografer til å bidra. I dag er det vel knapt noen i Varanger som ikke vet hva en stellerand er. I tillegg er festivalen Gullfest (gull = måke) blitt et viktig web-event, og et gedigent PR-stunt for Varanger.
Sosiale medier er en viktig del av vårt arbeid. Nettsiden vår er i format mer som en fugleblogg enn en ren arkitektside, med historier om fugler, stedsutvikling og prosjekter under utvikling. Vi er veldig bevisste på å kommunisere med de som bruker arkitekturen. Både facebook og twitter og diverse fugleforum er glimrende plattformer for å jobbe både lokalt og internasjonalt. Dersom man bruker oss til for eksempel å få bygget et fuglefotoskjul, får man ikke bare et lite stykke arkitektur, men det blir også en del av en større fortelling som får et svært stort publikum. Et høydepunkt for Biotope var å bli invitert til å holde åpningsforedraget på verdens største fuglefestival, Rutland Birdfair nord for London. Festivalen har over 25 000 besøkende fuglekikkere, og alt som rører seg innen fugleverdenen er der, fra turoperatører til destinasjonsselskaper, optikkforhandlere, miljøvernorganisasjoner – og nå også fuglekikker-arkitekter.  

Tormod Amundsen

Tormod Amundsen er arkitekt MNAL og daglig leder i arkitektkontoret Biotope AS. Biotope består av tre arkitekter og ivrige feltornitologer (fuglekikkere): Tormod Amundsen, Elin Taranger og Alonza Garbett. 



English summary:

"Biotope - birders and architects"
from Arkitektur N nr8-2014

Bitotope is the world´s first architectural office with expertise in the area of birds and birdwatching. Located in the arctic surroundings of Vardø in the very north of Norway, they have created a niché of their own. Starting a new business in a remote location has not been easy, says CEO Tormod Amndsen. He has been interested in birding since childhood, and the idea of forming a nature-based architectural office was born during his final years at Bergen School of Architecture. He partnered Elin Taranger to form Biotope. "We missed hearing about architects speak about ecology, biology, nature and environmental protection", says Amundsen. It seemed to him that architects rarely consider environmental measures beyond the energy consumption or C02 emissions of the building they are designing. Biotope wanted to start the office the felt ought to exist - a sort of environmental protection and promotion architecturl office. In order to have an impact, they had to create their own market and an arena where their work would be relevant both environmentally and financially. Biotope designs bird hides, shelters, nature trails and outdoor amphitheaters. They work closely with the local municipalities as well as private travel companies. Biotope works both localy from their base in Varanger and internationally.

Visit Biotope on facebookand twitter

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Biotope & RSPB touring UK

January 23, 2015, 11:15 am
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We are very happy to launch a new UK tour! Tormod from Biotope and Graham White from RSPB will be giving talks at Minsmere, Poole or Flamborough. We hope to see you in February!

The great guys at ´Birds of Poole Harbour´ made this introduction:

"The talk is titled ‘Viewing the Future’ and focuses on how interaction between people, wildlife and the natural world can be managed in such a way, creating a totally new experience for visitors to a nature reserve or to the public in an urban area. The presentation will be spit into two parts, the first being presented by the RSPBs senior wetland ecologist, Graham White who will talk about how to maximise nature reserve design for both people and wildlife. The second half will be hosted by Tormod Amundsen from Biotope, the worlds first (and only) Ornithological Architects. Biotope are a Norwegian based company that specialises in 'thinking outside the box' when it comes to interpreting the natural world. Biotopes concepts and bird hide ideas have become widely talked about across the country over the last few years, prompting Tormod to host his second tour here in the UK (last one was in 2013) and sharing some of their ideas and visions." 


Since we started the Biotope office in 2009 we have been fortunate to contribute to the birding world as birders and architects. We set out to become an office that would bring people and nature closer. Now we are a 3 man architectural practise fully dedicated to birding and pro nature projects! From our base in Varanger we have been exploring many new ideas. We aim to present our work as birder architects in Varanger and to look at new possibilities in UK. 

In addition to giving three public talks, we will do several RSPB reserve visits and meet RSPB staff for a couple of workshops. Graham White is RSPBs senior wetland ecologist. He was one of the keynote speakers at Varanger bird festival Gullfest in 2014, where he inspired us all with sharing the work of RSPB and the amazing efforts of designing and building new nature reserves. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is through its making of wetland reserves giving nature a home in the very widest sense! 

I am very much looking forward to coming over to the UK again to meet old friends and to make new ones. My first visit as a birder in UK was the Scilly Isles in October 2007, a place I had dreamt of visiting ever since reading Ian Lewingtons ´Rare birds´ book from 1991. Since then I have visited UK quite a few times. The Rutland Birdfair, the worlds greatest gathering of birders, is of course a huge highlight every year. Visiting the RSPB Minsmere reserve was an eyeopener: This really is intelligent design!

In 2013 I did the ´Pushing the Bundaries Tour´ with Martin Garner of Birding Frontiers. A marathon of bird club visits, meeting inspiring people and doing some great birding too. We are very happy to say Martin Will join us at the Flamborough talk, to present give a new talk about "Arctic Birding in Yorkshire". Pioneering as always, I am sure!

Now we set out on a new UK adventure: I hope to meet you at some of the venues, or perhaps we will meet somewhere in an RSPB reserve. Updates and news will follow on twitter @BiotopeOffice

To be continued...

Tormod Amundsen - architect & birder
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Birding Architecture - bird hides & nature reserve innovation

February 22, 2015, 12:50 pm
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 Merlin (adult female) at Snettisham RSPB reserve, Feb 2015


3000 kilometers on the road in UK 

             

On our recent tour around UK Tormod from Biotope and Graham White from RSPB visited several of RSPB´s nature reserves. We have also given many talks, both public and staff talks at various places, from Dorset in the south to Minsmere in the east and Flamborough in the north. Our aim has been to share ideas and inspire people by presenting our work. This article feature some thoughts and ideas presented on the UK tour.


"Viewing the future tour" or "The mud and the wood talks"

Our talks was quickly labeled the ´mud and the wood talks´, referring to our respective fields of expertise. Graham White is a senior wetland ecologist at RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). In his talks Graham have outlined the amazing work done by the RSPB and their making and management of nature reserves. Their aim is to make the most biodiverse and bird rich places imaginable. Designing wetlands, with an immense variety of micro habitats within them is Grahams speciality. This work includes moving a lot of mud around! Hence the reference. 

Tormod have focused on the thinking behind Biotopes bird hide projects, the wood part. Our aim as a pro nature architectural practise is to introduce new ideas, fine tune them and innovate within the niche that is birding architecture. 

From February 2nd to 15th we travelled 3000 kilometers around UK. We met a lot birders, nature enthusiasts, conservation people and more. It has been a very inspiring trip, with lots of valuable discussions and great field trips. We are very gratefull to be part of the international birding community, which is such an engaged group of people. There are so many good things happening with so many great initiatives: From very active and clever nature reserve management, to high tech science and bird monitoring projects, sound recording, to bird art, bird photography, bird identification, citizen science, etc. The RSPB nature reserve projects are impressive both in scale and in detail. At the Biotope office we aim to contribute to the international nature scene by innovating the architecture that will bring people and nature closer. 


The wood 


As a part of the "Viewing the future tour" we have presented the Biotope story, of how we started our architectural office in the Varanger region. This is the place in Norway that we knew had the biggest potential of becoming a world class birding destination. We decided to move to the fishing town Vardø in northeast Norway, and set up the worlds first birder-architect office in 2009. Since then we have engaged with a wide variety of pro nature projects. This work includes setting up a regional bird ringing scheme, doing school bird projects, arranging the bird festival Gullfest and working closely with the regional tourism scene. A key part of our work have been to complement the Varanger birding destination with a series of custom designed bird hides, photo hides and wind shelters. A work we are very happy to say we got the Northern Norway Architecture Award for in 2014. A lot of our work has also been to engage with people locally, but also to constantly think internationally, and to engage with birders world wide. Our aim has been to positively contribute in Varanger, while at the same time we knew that our birding architecture ideas would have an international audience. We are now a pro nature architecture office based in Varanger, but working all over Norway, in Iceland, in UK and we aim to keep it international. Read more about birding architecture in the second half of this article..

The Mud


The RSPB Minsmere nature reserve. The above aerial was taken on our recent tour around UK. It clearly shows the variety of habitats and scale of RSPBs work. It is an amazingly bird rich place. Graham Whites talks about reserve design and management puts things in perspective. When you walk around in the reserve it seems, well, quite natural and it is easy to think it´s just nature working well. But with the aerials, from a birds perspective, you realize the amount of work that goes into making these incredibly bird rich places. This does not happen by chance. In general humans have become experts in destroying nature, removing nature and replacing it with build landscapes that have little or no biological value or diversity. RSPBs work is the opposite, it is maximising biological value and diversity. It is ´giving nature a home´ in the very widest sense! 

On this tour I brought my small GoPro camera, and made this 2 minute interview with Adam Rowlands, where he explains Minsmere. After walking around Minsmere with Adam and Graham for a full day, you learn to appreciate the work they are doing. A very big thanks to Adam and the Minsmere RSPB team for hosting the "Viewing the future talks"! 

               

Bearded Tit, male, photographed at Minsmere on the tour. A key species at the reserve. Brilliant birds!


More amazing reserves by the RSPB, with aerials by Biotope 

...and a very big thanks for hosting the talks goes to the good people at RSPB Saltholme, Arne, Snettisham, Bempton, The Lodge and furthermore to our friends at Flamborough Bird Observatory and the Birds of Poole Harbour Charity. Click on any image for bigger, slide show views.


RSPB Saltholme, Feb 2015


RSPB Ham Wall, Feb 2015

RSPB Arne, Feb 2015

RSPB Frampton, August 2014

Thinking inside the box - bird hides

While the creating and management of nature reserves in UK is probably some of the most forward thinking in the world, the arhitecture seems to be less innovative. I guess the first bird hides erected some 40-50 years ago look pretty much the same as todays model. The standard is the box hide and it seems there has been very little evolution in the design of bird hides. This is not just a UK thing. Everywhere we can find these box hides, that aim to hide people away from birds. 

The combination of being both a birder and an architect is rare one. This is where we at Biotope aim to make a difference. Birding architecture is our full time project. We are not your ordinary architecture office doing the occasional bird hide project, as a fun ´side project´ or to boost the ´green profile´ of the company. We have seen many examples of architecture companies trying to do bird hides, and after studying this niché, we have also seen which mistakes that allways repeat themselves. As with the niché of bird art, it becomes obvious when it is an non-birding artist drawing a bird versus when a dedicated bird artist draws a bird. A bird artist will be aware of feather details and bird topography in a way a non birding artist can never match. Lack of dedication and interest in birding architecture, often leaves us with architectural flare over function (= looking good, doesn´t work). 

To me it seems the architecture scene has a very generalistic approach: the Architect is trained to know about a lot, but specializing in a niché is not a part of the education. Many architects complain that the role of the architect is becoming less important, and that other businesses, like the building industry, dictate the standards. Perhaps the architecture scene would benefit from leaving the ´starchitect´ ideals, with pompous building projects aiming to dazzle its audience. Perhaps it is time we go niché and specialize more. There are so many fields one can specialize in as an architect. The birder architect is just one of many possible nichés. Whichever niché of choice it demands dedication, focus and detailed knowledge of the subject. Perhaps it also includes the idea that the architecture itself is not the end goal. 

Still the vast majority of bird hides are not architect designs. They seem to be more or less copy-paste versions of previous hides, originating from the garden shed, but with viewing slots. We appreciate the need for budget hides and rational design, and we are not on a mission against box hides. They are often the appropriate solution. There has also gone a lot of work into fine tuning the box hides technical specifications. Sometimes you need to hide people away from birds, otherwise you would scare the wildlife you are trying to see. 


The above photos show the box hide variety. Essentially it is the same design, but with the variety of taking away the back wall. In many cases the box hides still scare birds away from the hide, as you enter them and that white flash of light and silhouettes of people moving suddenly becomes very obvious to the birds in front of the hide. The potential to evolve birding architecture is huge, and even the box hide could use some design evolution.


Standard box hides. Elevated model + the variety of ´box on top of another box´. Considering that the box-on-box hide found at RSPB Arne reserve has to cater to nearly 100 000 visitors (!), it seems obvious that more people friendly designs would be of great benefit to the reserve. There is a huge potential in improving the ways in which we let people connect with nature. 


The screen hide, is often considered the budget version of the box hide. Again, the aim of them are valid, as birds and people often do not go well close together. But the problem of this hide variety is that in terms of architectural expression, this model basically says to people that they do not belong here. The way we design clearly express our views of people and nature. There is a huge potential to make people feel more included as part of the scenery. Even when there is an obvious need for hiding people, there are ways to make more welcoming designs. 


Thinking outside the box - birding architecture

The Steilnes bird hide / wind shelter in Vardø (in winter above, summer below)

For us birding and nature is the niché we are dedicated to. Bird hides may be smaller pieces of architecture, but that does not mean less design thinking goes in to it. After working full time with bird hides and pro nature projects for five years, we still feel we are at a pioneering stage of this niché. For us at Biotope architecture is a tool to protect and promote birds, wildlife and nature.  

There are many ways in which architecture can bring people and nature closer. Again, we see the value of the standard box hide. The trouble, however, is when it becomes the only solution. One size does not fit all. Anyone who have been in a box hide occupied by a couple of hard core birders, some keen bird photographers and a family on a day out, know that one box does not fit them all, peacefully. 

We are on a mission to bring variety to the birding architecture scene. We believe this will provide better birding for birders. We can fascilitate better for the photographers, who´s needs are different from those of a birder. Introducing new people to amazing nature experiences is vital, and designing bird hides and shelters with welcoming qualities is a key part of this. 



Above is the Barvika wind shelter in Vardø, Varanger. Still a kind of a box, but with very different qualities then the standard box hide. As is often the case with hides, there are not birds directly in front of the hide, and this design shelters you from the winds, while also giving great views of the landscape. When its not needed, why design a dark box with limited views?



At Biotope we do a lot of prototyping and developing of news ideas. Like the above turtle-style photo hide, aimed at getting you very close to waders without disturbing them. The lower design is of a new floating photo hide currently being built, again in search of new bird photo opportunities.


Providing shelter and comfort is vital for a great nature experience. The above shelter is from our Smøla projects, in west coast Norway. 



When building regulations prove tricky, we design mobile shelters and hides (concept & design © Biotope). These can be easily built in a garage and transported to the site, and even removed if so desired. The above shelters are from Varanger (more recent birding architecture projects from Varanger).


Another concept we have developed: the combined bird tower & outdoor amphitheater (concept & design © Biotope). This facility at Ørland, central Norway, sets a welcoming tone and easily accomodates a school class or group of people enjoying a day out. As with all projects we work with we are constantly developing and fine tuning our designs and concepts. There are always things which can be be improved upon, like universal accessibility (wheelchair access), constructional rationality, etc. Newer versions of this concept is already under construction.

If you are planning on birding Varanger here is a map showcasing the bird hides / wind shelters made in Varanger the past few years. We have more projects being built at the moment so this is a work in progress. For more info on birding in Varanger check out this Varanger birding articles overview


Bird hide Innovation - the Biotope hide

We are very honoured to be featured in the recently published book ´Birdwatching in 100 objects´, by David Callahan (with Dominic Mitchell / Bloomsbury publishing). ´The Biotope hide´ is featured alongside important birding innovations such as the microphone and the Swarovski telescope. This fuels our passion for contributing to the world of birding with new ideas in birding architecture. The book itself is well worth the money as it presents the history of birding in a very clever way (that is beside the fact that we are in it!). It features 99 other objects that have had a great impact on birding as we know it!


A request for bird hide photos & a big thanks! 

We are working on a book about bird hide design, and would very much appreciate your input. If you have photos of hides you like, or don´t like, please send them to us (if you allow publishing later on). This is a project in progress, and we aim to make a collection of both good and bad examples. Thanks for sending your photos to tormod@biotope.no

We are currently assembling a set of designs that we have available. We are grateful for all the interest we get, and as the birding and conservation community is international we aim to be so too. If you are in need of a birder architect feel free to contact us!

A big thanks to all birders and nature enthusiast for coming to our talks in UK, and for following our work as pro nature architects!


Tormod Amundsen - architect & birder

email: tormod@biotope.no  ///   twitter @BiotopeOffice  ///   www.facebook.com/biotope.no

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GULLFEST 2015 - Art & Birding in the Arctic

March 3, 2015, 6:38 am
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GULLFEST 2015 in Vardø, March 13-15 
(click on poster for slide show view)

The annual arctic bird festival, Gullfest, is coming up very soon! This year we go back to basics, with a big lavvo basecamp in Vardø. Local super chef Tor Emil will serve great Varanger food. We are very happy to say that Lars Jonsson, the world famous bird artist will join us! At Biotope we think art is an amazing way to show nature, so in addition we are very pleased that the brilliant UK bird artist James McCallum will join us to, together with up and coming bird artist Jonnie Fisk. We will have talks by Martin Garner of Birding Frontiers, presenting his pioneering book projects. Local nature warden Arne Petter Sarre will present his take on Varangers nature. We will have gull ringing at the base camp with our good friends Colin McShane and Fergus Henderson, accompanied by Norway Gull aficionado Sindre Molværesmyr. We will arrange guided trips to Hornøya bird cliff. Loads of niceness coming up!

After a couple of years Gullfest going on tour around Varanger, we now aim to make it local. Birding to the people style! If you are in Varanger this weekend feel free to come by our basecamp at Hasselnes, the northeasternmost point in Vardø. Its open to all. We are looking forward to meeting you!

Updates will follow on the Biotope Facebookpage and on twitter @BiotopeOffice

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Da er vi igang igjen med ny arktisk fuglefestival i Varanger. Denne gangen går vi back to basics, med flott basecamp på Hasselnes i Vardø: Det blir stor lavvo med mat fra Varangerkokken Tor Emil. Det blir kunstutstilling, foredrag, turer til Hornøya og ringmerking av fugler på Hasselnes. Gullfest er åpent for alle som vil komme! Vi gleder oss stort til å feire Varangers rike fugleliv enda en gang. I fjor var Gullfest på turné rundt i Øst-Finnmark. I år får Øst-Finnmark finne veien til Vardø. Vi har fått med oss kunstnere i verdensklasse og gleder oss til å høre mer fra Lars Jonsson, James McCallum og Jonnie Fisk. Martin Garner kommer også og forteller om sine bokprojekter. Mest av alt blir dette er helg med god mat, naturopplevelser og god stemning ute på Hasselnes i Vardø. Du er velkommen! Vi følger opp snarlig med mer info. Hilsen oss i Biotope

Common Eider, oil on canvas by Lars Jonsson © 

Gullfest 2012 - the first ever arctic bird festival. Birding to the people!

Hornøya bird cliff is only 5 minutes from Vardø, and we will arrange guided trips to Hornøya on Saturday and Sunday, 09-11-13.00hrs from harbour).

Expect great views of thousands of alcids (photo from Gullfest 2014)

We should see a Steller´s Eiders too. This field sketch was made by artist James McCallum on a Varanger bird trip arranged by Biotope in 2011.

Gullfest basecamp in the distance, photo from Hornøya bird cliff

Expect Gulls 

Hornøya bird cliff always provide something extra!

If you are in Varanger on the Gullfest dates feel free to join us at the Hasselnes base camp in Vardø. Free entry, open to all. You can buy your lunch / dinner at the base camp, meet people, check out top bird art, bird ringing and enjoy the scenaries! Welcome!

Check out the Gullfest 2014 event report or go back to the first Gullfest 2012 event! 

Best wishes from all of us at the Biotope office!  Biotope Facebook  //  @BiotopeOffice

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Gullfest 2015 - Arctic Art & Architecture in progress

March 11, 2015, 3:59 pm
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Gyrfalcon by Lars Jonsson ©, Gullfest 2015 artist, talking at Unni´s Kafé in Vardø on Friday at 19.00hrs. Surely the birding talk of the year in Varanger.

Gullfest 2015 is just about to start. We have a lot happening at the same time these days: 
- A new Varanger Peninsula National Park Exhibitions opened yesterday, designed by Biotope in collaboration with Varanger Museum. 
- We have a new bird hide / wind shelter being built, to be ready for opening on Saturday on the Gullfest base camp. 
- The base camp itself is being set up ready for this weekend. 
- Our invited artists Lars Jonsson, James McCallum and Jonnie Fisk are already in the field creating their magic take on the Varanger birdlife!
 

There is much more going, but here is a few photos from today and yesterday to share some of the action in outer Varanger Fjord at the moment. I expect we are in for a very hectic weekend. 

Check out our Gullfest2015 intro post for program, etc  - and if you are in Varanger you are most welcome to join us at the Hasselnes basecamp in Vardø! 

Please check out out our Facebook page or our twitter feed to follow Gullfest 2015 as we go (#Gullfest2015)!

Lars Jonsson birding Kiberg harbour today.


The Gullfest team arrived Vardø tonight under flaming Northern Lights. A pretty good start! We will keep practising the light-writing. Jonnie Fisk got to Gullf... in the too short 8 second exposure.



Well timed with Gullfest 2015 we had the opening of a new National Park Exhibition in Kiberg yesterday. More pro nature niceness happening in Varanger. 


The exhibition is situated at the old, abandoned school in Kiberg fishing village, and marks the start of news things happening in Kiberg. Before and after-photo. 



Building of a new bird hide / wind shelter in progress at a garage in Vardø. To be ready for Gullfest 2015! A real marathon project for all involved!



Photo from yesterday, when the hide was driven by truck from the garage to its site at Hasselnes in Vardø.  



Finalizing it on site, with som late work hours! Photo taken tonight at the final hour of light. In the distance is Hornøya bird cliff. Now lets hope the hide will be ready for opening in Saturday!


As this is written Gullfest artist Jonnie Fisk is walking around Vardø by night, creating some of his bird pieces.. Stay tuned for more.  



Brilliant bird artist James McCallum has already spent two day studying and painting Steller´s Eiders in Kiberg harbour. We are privileged to have him here, working in Varanger!



Feel free to join us at the basecamp in Vardø this weekend or follow us onFB and twitter as we go.

Thanks for sharing, and thanks for following!


Norwgian edit:


Kjære venner, bekjente, Varanger-entusiaster, fuglefolk og reiselivsfolk!

Vi har igjen gleden av å invitere deg / dine gjester til årets Gullfest i Varanger. Tidligere år har vært vært på turné rundt Varanger og Pasvik. I år blir Gullfest i Vardø. Det er åpent for alle som vil komme på åpningsforedrag på fredag, og på basecampen på Hasselnes på lørdag og søndag. Gullfest er en årlig begivenhet i Varanger, som er laget for folk i Varanger og for å formidle Varanger til et stort internasjonalt publikum på nett, gjennom sosiale medier. 

Program finner dere her:
Følg også siste nytt på FB-siden vår www.facebook.com/biotope.no

Vi ønsker alle velkommen til Gullfest 2015, med åpningsforedrag på Unni´s Kafe kl 19.00 på fredag, med Tormod som forteller om utviklingen av verdens beste arktiske fugledestinasjon, Varangers egen Arne Petter Sarre forteller om livet som naturoppsynsmann i Varanger, og den verdensberømte fuglekunstneren Lars Jonsson forteller og viser bilder. sistenevnte er årets foredragsscoop i Varanger!

På fredag er det skoleopplegg fra kl0900-1400 på basecampen på Hasselnes i Vardø (det er åpent for å stikke innom, men ikke matservering). Det blir måkeringmerking og uteundervisning.

På lørdag er det snorklipping av et nytt fugleskjul på Hasselnes i Vardø kl 12.00! Dette realiserers med støtte fra / i et samarbeid med Miljødirektoratet, Vardø Næringsforening, Vardø Kommune, Finnmark Entreprenør og Biotope. Etter snorklipp serverer Tor Emil mat i Gullfest-Lavvoen. 

Søndag er det også åpen basecamp med mat (fra Varangerkokken) fra kl 1200-1500, og ringmerking av måker fra kl 10.00.

Vardø havn kjører også turer til Hornøya (kl 09,11 og 13.00, med avgang Vardø Havn)
Vardø Havn KF stiller også med Gullfest-priser for anledningen: 
Voksen: kr 300 pr pers (ordninær 350,-)
Famile, min 3pers: 200kr pr pers.
Barn t.o.m 16år: 150kr

Gullfest gjennomføres med støtte fra en lang rekke aktører som ønsker å bidra til å sette Varanger ppå verdenskartet. En stor takk rettes til SNN-stiftelsene, Vardø Kommune, Vardø Hotel, Varangerkokken og ikke minst våre venner fra England og Sverige!

Vi ønsker alle velkommen til å feire Varangers unike fugleliv, og alle de gode folkene som er med på å bygge verdens beste arktiske fugledestinasjon!


Tormod Amundsen, architect & birder

 tlf  +47 99 33 49 82  //  mail tormod@biotope.no 

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Gullfest 2015 - art, architecture & science in the Arctic

March 18, 2015, 10:39 am
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Varangers iconic Steller´s Eider - field study by bird artist Lars Jonsson, Varanger March 2015


Lars Jonsson - field studies of Steller´s Eiders (click on any image for full screen / slide show view).

Gyrfalcon by Lars (photographed in Kiberg harbour). Lars is very well known in the international birding community as the grand master of bird art. No less. Check out Lars´ website for more brilliant bird art!
   With the Gullfest project we feel very privileged to be able to invite such great artists as Lars Jonsson, Darren Woodhead, Ian Lewington and James McCallum to Varanger. They inspire us, and they inspire birders throughout the world with their art.

Gullfest 2015 - the movie

             

Glaucous Gull - The great white of the Arctic, photographed from Hasselnes, Vardø, during Gullfest 2015.

Birding to the people

Bringing birding and appreciation of nature to new generations is always important, through architecture or events. At this years Gullfest we were building on our collaboration with the UK bird ringers Colin McShane aka Mr. Colin, Fergus Henderson and Sindre from the Norway Gull ringing project. Some 75 students from Vardø school experienced the excitement of Gull ringing. They also made their own bird art contributions.  


Colin McShane explaining the science of bird ringing. 

Through ringing the gulls with uniquely numbered rings, they are identifiable as individuals. Gulls ringed at previous Gullfests have been recorded again several places in Europe. Check out Martin Garners Gullfest Gull refind post


Bird art by Vardø school kids 


Making it happen - The great contributors of Gullfest! There would be no Gullfest without the help and engagement from a lot of good people in Varanger and beyond.

Steller´s Eider by James McCallum

A highlight of Gullfest was seeing artist James McCallum in action. His in the field paintings are truly amazing and in a very lively way show the Steller´s Eider behavior. Painting in the Arctic has its challenges, and not only do you have to dress for the occasion, but you have to expect your paint to freeze too. 


Steller´s Eiders by James McCallum

James spent several days in Kiberg harbour painting Steller´s Eiders. 


A sheltered corner with views of Kiberg harbour.


Find more of James´ amazing art from the Arctic in his book ´Arctic Flight´, or check out his website for more niceness!


Birding destination development 

Birding architecture is one of Biotopes core endevours. At Vardø islands northeasternmost point, Hasselnes, a new bird hide / wind shelter was finalized for Gullfest 2015. In the frosty arctic winds nothing improves your birdng like a well placed shelter. From this new hide you have spectacular views of the very bird rich Reinøysundet and Hornøya bird cliff. This is part of a project we run in collaboration with a series of people and businesses in Varanger, with the aim of promoting one of Varangers finest attractions, the Hornøya bird cliff. This bird hide project was made possible with the financial help from Miljødirektoratet and help from Vardø kommune, Finnmark Entreprenør and Vardø Næringsforening. Designed by Biotope and built by Vardø carpenter Ken Lorentzen and Alonza from the Biotope office in the days leading up to Gullfest.



The hide building was a hectic marathon project, and it was finalized the day Gullfest started. The Lavvo base camp had to be moved to the harbour due to the heavy storm that hit Vardø the Gullfest weekend. The new bird hide was instantly filled with birders who enjoyed the spectacular stormy seawatch.


King Eider Vortex again!

The waters around Vardø island is very rich in fish, mussels and all marine life. The past years we have registered thousands of King and Common Eiders who winter in Vardø. This year there was slightly fewer eiders around due to the warm weather. But the sight of 15 000 King and Common eiders swarming around you is something you will never forget! It is epic birding.


The King Eiders Vortex, as experienced from the Vardø Harbour boat

A great occasion for plumage studies. Check out our Gullfest 2013 King Eider Vortex too
We had a few Guillemots too 


Photo from Lars Jonssons talk at Unni´s Kafé in Vardø. 

Art, architecture & science

The highlights of Gullfest are many. Seeing local kids enthused about birds and bird ringing is great. The Gullfest team changes every year, but somehow we are allways joined by the friendliest people and the finest artists. We belive science, art and architecture are amazing ways to connect nature and people. At Gullfest we aim to do just that - to bring birding and nature to the people. We are very privileged to be able to invite such great birders and experts in their various fields. We get inspiration from them to continue our work as birder architects in Varanger and beyond.

We wish to extend our deepest gratitude to the artists Lars Jonsson and James McCallum for joining us this year. Up and coming artist Jonnie Fisk has also brought good vibes to the Gullfest project. Next time you are in Vardø try to find some of his street art in town! The Gullfest ringing team with Colin McShane, Fergus Henderson and Sindre Molværsmyr (from the norwegian gull project), have all been great at showcasing Gull ringing  for the locals. More then 150 Herring Gulls and 10 Glaucous Gulls was ringed during Gullfest this year. That is more then all previous Gullfests in total. Expect to see a Gullfest Gull showing up somewhere near you (look for black & white leg rings starting with JX).

The Gullfest is made possible thanks to a number of great people and businesses in Varanger and northern Norway. A very big thanks to SNN Kulturstiftelsen for supporting the art section of Gullfest, which includes flying the worlds greatest bird artists to Vardø. Vardø Hotel have very kindly supported Gullfest with rooms for our invited guests, speakers, bird ringers and artists! Thank you! Northern Norways premium chef, Tor emil aka Varangerkokken have supported us with the most amazing local food. Cod is great! Thanks Tor Emil. The guys at Vardø Harbour / Vadø Havn KF have very kindly supported us with a boat trip - of epic proportions! Vardø kommune have also supported Gullfest, and our Hasselnes bird hide project. Many thanks to the guys for helping us make this event happen, again! Arne Petter and Torkjell from Statens Naturoppsyn (nature wardens) made the school kids day so much more pleasant with their mega-lavvo with a fireplace at the Vardøbruktet base camp. The brilliant guys at Vardøbruket (the local fish ´factory´) deserves a special thanks for helping us when the storm set in. They provided us with shelter on their site, and fish to feed the hungry gulls. Top guys! Also thanks to Unni´s Kafé for hosting the Gullfest opening talks! A very big thanks goes out to Vardø superfixers Tove and Birger, you made the niceness possible. We also owe a big thanks to everyone who visited and those who followed our event online too! Thanks for support and encouraging comments. 

For more Gullfest: rewind to 2014 and have a look at last years Gullfest tour around Varanger.

Stay tuned at Biotopes twitter or facebook for more Varanger niceness! 

Vardø town aerial

Thanks all!

from the Biotope office / Gullfest team 
Tormod Amundsen, Elin Taranger & Alonza Garbett

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Ivory Gull in Varanger - the great white

March 22, 2015, 10:35 am
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Ivory Gull. The name itself rings of exclusiveness. This is the great white of the Arctic. A dream bird rarely seen unless you travel to the high arctic. This bird was found by visiting birders Simon Colenutt and Trevor Codlin. Thanks to a quick alert on our Varanger bird news twitter feed @Finnmarkbirding (via Simon Rix) I headed out to Svartnes instantly. This is luckily just a five minute drive from the Biotope office. The big harbour of Svartnes hosts one fish / crab factory and the spill water from this attracts a lot of Gulls. Among them today: a beautiful Ivory Gull. I am sharing these photos I just took less then two hours ago. I am now on my way to Båtsfjord on the Hurtigruten (Coastal Express). This is the second time I have seen this bird in Vardø, but last time was a more distant, but still very nice flyby in February 2011. Well, no need to overdo the writing. I will simply let the photos do the talking. This is arctic birding at its finest. Lets hope it stays a while..







If you are in Varanger at the moment, it is worth noting that a new bird hide / wind shelter is in place at Hasselnes in Vardø. It has great views towrds Hornøya bird cliff, and large numbers of Gulls, King Eiders, Alcids and the occasional Gyrfalcon has been seen from the hide already. It was opened during the recent Gullfest 2015.


Perhaps a bit over the top with an Aurora photo now... But the polar nights are still dark enough for some amazing Northern Lights, so please don´t go indoors just because the daylight is gone! This photo is taken from Gullringnes in southeast Vardø island. 10 000+ King and Common Eiders are currently hanging out on the sea, well viewed from this point. 


Please feel free to share any birds news from Varanger / Arctic Norway on twitter @Finnmarkbirding, or email tormod@biotope.no or on phone to Tormod 0047 99 33 49 82
We will pass on news to birders visiting Varanger. Thank you.

Tormod A. / www.biotope.no

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Hasselnes Wind Shelter - Watching Auroras in Varanger

March 26, 2015, 6:48 am
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Aurora-watching from the new Hasselnes bird hide and wind shelter. To left in the distance is Hornøya bird cliff.

  

Hornøya bird cliff is one of the key attractions in Varanger. We are currently working on a project aiming at improving the fascilities on Hornøya, and to connect Hornøya more with Vardø island. At Hasselnes, northeasternmost Vardø island, you have great views of Hornøya bird cliff. Hasselnes used to be the town dump. With the new bird hide and windshelter we aim to make Hasselnes an attractive place to visit. It is already a key place for birders and all visitors to Vardø, but fasilities and information have been absent. During our recent bird festival Gullfest 2015 we opened the Hasselnes wind shelter. With its varied seatings and spaces it gives you shelter from the main wind directions. The views towards Hornøya bird cliff and the bird rich Reinøysundet is brilliant. And in the evenings it works brilliantly as a Northen Lights watching shelter.

A spectacular polar front over Vardø is nicely viewed from new shelter at Hasselnes, northeasternmost point on Vardø island.

Pro nature development in progress

The Hasselnes project was made possible with the kind contributions from Vardø Kommune. A big thanks goes out to Erik and his collegues at the municipality office who built the fundament. Miljødirektoratet  / the Norwegian Environment Agency supported the project with funding for all materials and carpentry. A very big thanks to them for believing in this project, and for contributing to the ongoing Hornøya project. This project is all about making nature easily accessible and more valued by both locals and visitors. Transforming an old dump into an attraction is a pretty cool thing to do in this respect. Together with Vardø Næringsforening (the local commerce organisation) we run the Hornøya project. Making the Hasselnes shelter is a good starting point for creating more local awareness of this world class attraction. Vardø-carpenter Ken Lorentzen have built the hide, together with Alonza from the Biotope office. Finnmark Entreprenør have contributed with both transportation and garage space for this prosject. A very big thanks to all involved! Vardø and Varanger just got a little bit better!



Bird hides and wind shelters are a key part of developing Varanger as the worlds finest arctic birding destination. The idea is to make easily available and inviting pieces of architecture at key sites in Varanger. We also aim to use local resources whenever necessary. The Hasselnes shelter is built with locally sourced Pasvik timber, delivered by Ben Arne from Pasvik.

From the building of the hide in Finnmark Entreprenørs garage in Vardø.  


Erik from Vardø kommune making the foundation for the hide. This is a part of a process of turing the old dump into an attraction. The concrete slabs are recycled material from an old building in town. 


The main part of the project was built in the garage, then taken to the site for finalizing. 


Carpenter Ken Lorentzen working on site.

Vardø - Hornøya - Varanger

Hornøya is perhaps the finest nature attraction in Varanger. The birdlife of Hornøya bird cliff have become famous among birders and nature photographers around the globe. In Vardø locals have a long tradition of gathering eggs on Reinøya and Hornøya, however this has not been practiced in recent years. Now locals are also increasingly becoming aware of Hornøya Island's unique position as a nature attraction. 

Vardø island seen from Hornøya bird cliff. Hasselnes is to the furthest right in the photo. The concrete pier on Hasselnes is actually the old sea dump. What was not burnt on land was dumped in the sea. Now Hasselnes is on its way to becoming a new attraction in Vardø town.

Hornøya bird cliff photographed from Hasselnes. This is home to 100 000 seabirds. 


Glaucous Gull flying past Hasselnes. Photographed during the recent bird festival Gullfest 2015.

King Eiders are gathering in huge numbers around Vardø island. This is part of a megaraft of 7500+ birds seen from the Hasselnes bird hide during Gullfest 2015 .

Bird artist Lars Jonsson was one of the first to use the new hide. 

The design is based on creating sheltered spaces, but with great views towards the rich birdlife around Hasselnes. Depending on wind and weather you can choose your place to sit. 


A long bench on the east side of the hide provides great views of Hornøya. 



A very big thanks to all involved in this project!
Varanger is becoming icreasingly better, and we hope you find the bird hides both sheltering and inviting. 

Follow us on twitter @BiotopeOffice or like us on the Biotope Facebook page to stay tuned with more pro nature projects fromVaranger and beyond.

Tormod A. / Biotope

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Gullfest 2014 - Touring Varanger / Arctic style birding

April 1, 2014, 8:41 am
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Gullfest 2014 was a bit experimental: instead of having a base camp in Vardø like GF2012&13 we designed this years Gullfest to be a tour of Varanger. With our invited guests and contributors we toured Varanger from the Pasvik taiga in the south to Vardø, Vadsø, Vestre Jakobselv and Berlevåg and Båtsfjord in the north. What an amazing experience it was! We managed some spectacular birding, we had three exhibitions, and we gave talks at a pub, a hotel, a guest house, a cultural insititution and a school. Our aim was to inspire people in Varanger with stories from the birding world, and to do some top arctic birding while we where at it!
We are very happy to say that we feel this years event have made us better birders too: Gullfest is an event where we aim to inspire each other as birders, and to share ideas and knowledge. 

With us we had a great group of birders from both England, USA, Sweden, Germany and Norway:  
Jonnie Fisk and Zac Hinchcliffe from the Next Generation Birders, Graham White and Mark Thomas from The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), author Richard Crossley, artist Hans Larsson, Hans Dahlgren of Swarovski, digiscoper Jörg Kretzschmar, Anders Mæland (Gullfest veteran and bird guide).
For more info on our guests and contributors check out the pre-Gullfest 2014 article on Biotope

The following post is a photo series from the recent Gullfest 2014 Varanger tour from the 19-24th of March (click on any image for slide show view):


Gullfest 2014 was arranged from the 19-24th of March, from the Pasvik taiga, to the Varanger tundra and arctic coast. Gullfest was designed to showcase the finest birding Varanger has to offer at this time of the year. At Biotope we have been working with describing and researching Varanger as a birding destination for several years. See this detailed article for more on winter birding in Varanger, or have a look at theVaranger leaflets article (on which the above map background is taken from).


Gullfest 2014 started in the Pasvik taiga, at Ellentjernkoia (=Ellentjern cabin) in Vaggetem, south Pasvik. This is 1,5 hours drive from Kirkenes airport where we picked up the Gullfest team. This 100 year old cabin is run as a guest house / accommodation for visitors by Marit Sundt and Arne Liaklev. We have helped them with advice on setting up a decent feeder, with the aim of providing more top bird sites in the Pasvik taiga. It worked brilliantly: We had up to 25 Pine Grosbeaks in the area, in addition to Siberian Tits, Bullfinch, Willow Tits, Arctic Redpoll, etc. We also had great views of Siberian Jay in the taiga, in addition to Willow Grouse. Find Arne and Marit on their Dogpower website.


Photography is great but the birding world is made so much richer thanks to bird artists. Young birder Jonnie Fisk has already proven himself to be a very cool new voice (or line) in the bird art world. His ability to pin down a species character in a few lines is quite impressive. The above Arctic Redpolls are from his Gullfest sketch book.


The taiga cabin had no electricity, but thanks to Marits brilliant off-grid cooking skills we all enjoyed freshly made reindeer stew. Above is Jonnie Fisk sketching in the taiga cabin. With the one room cabin solution we all got to know each other quite well too. A great start of Gullfest. Being ´birders from birth´ we all connected rather quickly.


And there where loads of great birds to talk about. Pine Grosbeaks were my favorites during the taiga  section of Gullfest.

Vardø Birding - Hornøya bird cliff and the King Eider Vortex


We arrived Vardø by the Coastal Express / Hurtigruten. Panorama photo taken from the top deck of the ship. Hornøya bird cliff can be seen in the background. Vardø is one of the finest fishing and birding towns in the arctic. 


Only 5 minutes from Vardø town with its 2000 inhabitants is the Hornøya bird cliff with its 100 000 inhabitants! An amazing place. The above photo will give you an idea of the place. 


Vardø Hotel was our accomodation of choice and thanks to chef Tor Emil it is one of the finest gourmet experiences in northern Norway. At the nearby North Pole Pub we had the first Gullfest 2014 talks: a welcome talk by Tormod of Biotope. Swedish bird artist Hans Larsson showed us prints and talked about his work on Gulls and being a bird artist in general. Very inspiring! US-birder Richard Crossley gave a firework of a talk about his life as a birder and his innovative bird books.



Gullfest walks, talks & exhibition in Vardø: Like in the previus Gullfest events we arranged guided birding trips for the local schools. Big thanks to Vardø super fixer Birger Knudsen for joining the bird guiding! Fotos of birding kids by journalist in local newspaper, Dan Tore Jørgensen. Check out more of his photos from the bird guide day in Vardø.

Richard Crossley being bombarded with photo opportunities on Hornøya 

Puffin fight club - From mid March Hornøya bird cliff is teeming with life. These fighting Puffins paid no attention to me as they came fighting out of a Puffin burrow. 

In Vardø we enjoyed spectacular views of alcids, eiders and gulls.


From the King Eider Vortex boat trip to Bussesundet (with Vardø Havn KF). In addition to the amazing 25 000 King and Common Eiders (!!) we also made another discovery.. (stay tuned for more on that) 


Zac Hinchcliffe of the Next Generation Birders taking notes at Ekkerøy bird cliff. We had one full day of birding along the Varanger Fjord. We could very well have had one or even a few more days to cover the fjord properly. But I guess we have to leave something for later as well.. 

Vadsø Fjordhotell - the birders base camp in Varanger


These guys have really seen the potential of birding in Varanger. We at Biotope are very happy to collaborate with the owners Frode and Ingeborg. When we moved to Varanger a few years ago we were met with quite a bit of sceptisism, and we have hoped someone like these guys would come along and join us in the birdification of Varanger! We spend two days at Vadsø Fjordhotell, where we arranged the main Gullfest exhibition and had a workshop evening and one full evening of talks. Huge thanks to Frode and Ingeborg for supporting Gullfest and for adding more birding power to Varanger! By the way they got onto twitter during Gullfest: follow them @VadsoFjordhotel


Vadsø Fjordhotell hosted talks by Mark Thomas of RSPB, about his work as a wildlife crime investigator and about RSPB in general. This is an impressive pro bird and nature organization that very obvioulsy have done a lot of things right. After all they have more then one million members! Varangers own nature warden, Arne-Petter Sarre (SNO) gave a talk about the wildlife and cultural heritage on Varanger high tundra. Absolutely brilliant!

On our workshop evening bird guide Anders Mæland talked about rarity finding in Varanger. RSPB´s wetland ecologist Graham White talked about how to manage nature reserves. We are already looking at new ideas for Varanger, and it is great to have such recources as Graham to help us with clever thinking on possibilities in Varanger. To be continued..


Jörg Kretzschmar was our other invited Gullfest artist. He both exhibitied his photos and gave a talk. His Swarovski-digiscoped images are spectacular, and it really showcase digiscoping as an autonomous form of bird photography. We added to the total birdification of Vadsø Fjordhotell by filling the lobby and restaurant with Biotopes Varanger bird photos.

More birds from Jonnie Fisk´s sketch book: Harbour birding = Steller´s Eiders 


We were also very generously welcomed at Vestre Jakobselv Camping. where we both held talks and arranged a ringing workshop. Jonnie Fisk and Zac Hinchcliffe gave a talk about the initiative they are a part of: The Next Generation Birders. A brilliant initiative and a great example of young birders defining their birding on their own terms. Inspirational work. Follow the NGBirders on twitter too. We all agreed that passion and hard work will take you to cool places! Quite literally so for the NGBirders in the Gullfest case.


After Vestre Jakobselv we birded the Tana River valley. A key site for Hawk Owl. In the end we found three Hawk Owls in Tana, and two more in Pasvik and one more in Neiden. Seems they will have a good year in Varanger. This is the Neiden bird digiscoped with a Sony compact camera (RX100m2) through the Swarovski ATX 95 mm spotting scope. 


The Varanger high tundra in winter, on our way to Kongsfjord, Berlevåg and Båtsfjord. Spectacular landscape: If you want to experience nature in monochrome this is it!  


We just made it to Berlevåg fishing harbor and had a few minutes of ok light to bird the harbor. Berlevåg is one of the seriously underwatched places in Varanger. Within minutes we had spotted the local Glaoucous Gulls and our first Otter of the trip. 


After a much too short birding session in Berlevåg harbour we headed to Kvitbrakka. This is the place for niceness in Berlevåg. Local just-do-it people have transformed a run down bulding into a local café, ateliér and cultural house. A great place to host more Gullfest talks: Tormod of Biotope talked about nature destination development in Varanger. Graham White talked about the work of RSPB and the potential of birding - both as a conservation model and as a business. This is ideas and knowledge we need more of in Varanger! Jonnie Fisk impressed us all with a talk about his bird art and his inspirations. Thanks to Kvitbrakka and the people of Berlevåg for hosting the Gullfest talks!


We spent the last night at Kongsfjord Guesthouse. The owner Åse Winsents was one of the first people in Varanger to contact us when we moved to Varanger in 2009. She is another one of those great Varanger just-do-it people we know. She makes things happen, and we really like working with such people. She has been one of the driving forces behind the new bird hide / wind shelter in Veines (in addition to rebuilding the entire Veines village!). Thanks Åse for welcoming us!  

Båtsfjord Arctic sea duck niceness!



A visit to Arctic Tourist / Ørjan Hansenfloating photo hide was a pefect grand finale of Gullfest 2014! Normally King Eiders are the most numerous in this harbour, but the later in spring you arrive the more Steller´s Eider you see. Not bad, considering  they surely are the coolest duck in the world! And, yes we had our King Eider views too.


In addition to visiting Ørjans brilliant photo hide we also had a date with the Båtsfjord School. They are actually the closest neighbour to the bird hide. They are situated with great views of the harbour, but I must admit I do not think they realize the full epicness of Båtsfjord harbors bird life. Yes, it is world famous. After an introduction on birding in Varanger by Tormod, Jonnie and Zac talked about their birding adventures and NGBirders project. We also ejoyed the discussions with the students after the talks: Is birding better then Hollywood? Yes. How do birds ´do it´? Shag. Loads of questions to answer. Big thanks to the Båtsfjord students and teachers for welcoming us!


King Eider age studies - more top opportunities in Båtsfjord

The Gullfest bird list: Perhaps not an impressive species count, but it is an impressive numbers of birds of very cool species!
White-billed Diver / Gulnebblom
Gannet / havsule
Shag / Toppskarv
Greater Cormorant / Storskarv
Mallard / Stokkand
King Eider / Praktærfugl - 10 000+
Eider / Ærfugl- 15 000+
Pacific Eider - 1
Steller`s Eider / Stellerand - 1000 +
Long-tailed Duck / Havelle
Common Scoter / Svartand
Red-breasted Merganser / Siland
Gosander / Laksand
White-tailed Eagle / Havørn
Sparrow Hawk / Spurvehauk
Willow grouse / Lirype
Ptarmigan / Fjellrype
Oystercatcher / Tjeld
Purple Sandpiper / Fjæreplytt
Common Gull / Fiskemåke
Kittiwake / Krykkje
Ivory Gull / Ismåke - 1 first- Winter.
Iceland Gull / Grønnlandsmåke - 3 ind.
Herring Gull / Gråmåke
Glaucous Gull / Polarmåke
Greater Black-backed Gull / Svartbak
Guillemot / Lomvi
Brunnich`s Guillemot / Polarlomvi
Razorbill / Alke
Black Guillemot / Teist
Puffin / Lunde
Hawk Owl / Haukugle - 6
Greater Spotted Woodpecker / Flaggspett
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker / Dvergspett
Rock pipit / Skjærpiplerke
Wren / Gjerdesmett - 1
Siberian Tit / Lappmeis
Willow Tit / Granmeis
Blue Tit / Blåmeis
Great Tit / Kjøttmeis
Sibeian Jay / Lavskrike
Jay / Nøtteskrike
Magpie / Skjære
Raven / Ravn
Carrion Crow / Kråke
Tree Sparrow / Pilfink
House Sparrow / Gråspurv
Greenfinch / Grønnfink
Arctic Redpoll / polarsisik
Pine Grosbeak / Konglebit
50 Species (Highlights being amazing numbers of eiders, ridiculous numbers of alcids + a set of very cool taiga birds).

Mega thanks to the key Gullfest supportersInnovation Norway, Nordnorsk Reiseliv and Kulturnæringsstiftelsen Sparebank-1 Nord-Norge 

King Eider, Common Eider & Pacific Eider!

Gullfest is all about discovery, sharing ideas and very cool birding. Prior to Gullfest 2014 Europes /WPs first ever Pacific Eider was discovered (from the Biotope office!). During the Gullfest 2014 King Eider Vortex boat trip we saw approx 25 000 eiders. I took hundreds of photo as the swarms of eiders passed our boat. After going birding in these photos afterwards I re-discovered the Pacific Eider. What an end to this years main arctic birding event! Read more (with more photos) about this record bird in the Pacific Eider Article.

A huge thanks to all the Gullfest 2014 contributors! We also want to thank all birders and nature enthusiasts who followed and engaged in the event as it unfolded on twitter on #Gullfest

Stay tuned for more birding niceness from Varanger / Arctic Norway..

Tormod A. / Biotope
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Birding Alaska in spring - Homer & Seward

May 19, 2015, 10:29 am
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The name Alaska rings of wilderness and grand nature. At Biotope we have a thing for the northern birding. Which is why we live and bird in Varanger, Arctic Norway. However, we allways need a bit of inspiration and fresh ideas to fuel our birding passion. Since moving to Varanger a few years ago we have started a project to visit top nature destinations around the northern hemisphere.
We have visited northern Japan twice, Iceland, Svalbard and now Alaska. Our aim is to see these places from a birder architects viewpoint. We look at similarities, like how fishing is key to the northern communities, and how nature based tourism is becoming increasingly important. We are very interested in studying how these places work with dedicated nichés like the birding niché. 

As most keen birders and nature enthusiasts we like to travel. Seeing spectacular nature is always great, and meeting people and hearing their stories from the northern communities is inspiring. It helps us become better birder architects, in the sense that in our work we always aim to connect people and nature.

Biotope is a small family business, and on this tour was Elin & Tormod of Biotope with our up and coming birder, Lila. A good mix of family holidays and business. 

Birding Alaska, part 1: Kenai Peninsula 

Visiting Alaska have been a dream for a long time. Finally we are here. This short blogpost was written on tour as we just arrived Nome, and start part two of our Alaska adventure. This blogpost features some highlights from the first section of our Alaska trip: the Kenai Peninsula. Our tour was based on quite lot of planning in advance. We wanted to do so much more then we had time to do (like the Aleutians). Birding Alaska has its similarities to birding Varanger, but to get to the right mix of birding habitat, like boreal forest, tundra and arctic coastal waters you need several flights and destinations. In any case Anchorage is your main hub. For our first section of the tour we rented a car in Anchorage, then drove to Homer, which takes a day of birding and driving. In Homer we stayed at the very nice Lands End Hotel at the Homer Spit. A bit pricy (surprisingly more so then in Norway in general), but the views of the Kachemak Bay was brilliant, and birding from our hotel room was great! We had our first Marbled Murrelets from our room. 
   We had timed our visit with the Kachemak Bay Bird Festival and the arrival of thousands of waders. Mostly Western Sadnpipers and Dunlins, all in very stylish summer plumage. Our other target birds in Homer was Black Turnstone and Tufted Puffin (at Gull Island). 
   A key reason for going to Homer was also the convenient option to fly to Katmai National Park, which is about an hours flight away (in a 6 seater plane). 
   The Kenai Peninsula interior also offers some great boreal forest birding along the Kenia River, and in other creeks, valleys and ponds. We enjoyed great views of other target species like the brilliantly looking Steller´s Jay and Gray Jay.
   Lastly we had enjoyed a visit to Seward, from where we took a boat to the Chiswell Islands. This is a series of small islands and home to thousands of seabirds. Tufted Puffin and Horned Puffin are among the key species here. What absolutely stunning birds! Like our own bird cliff Hornøya in Vardø, there are some amazing places in the world that is worth visiting and taking care of. The Chiswell Islands is such a world class place. Want to see a Tufted Puffin Vortex? Stay tuned..

Below follows a series of photos from our Alaska adventure. We will make a blogpost from Alaskas Nome and St.Lawrence island too. For now we hope you enjoy these photos from the Kenai Peninsula. For the occasional trip update (limited internett access in Nome) follow us on twitter @BiotopeOffice - Part 2 coming soon..


Biotope´s birding Alaska tour map, featuring part 1 / the Kenai Peninsula (to the right)


click on any image for slide show view / bigger photos
Homer: the Spit. We stayed at the Lands End Hotel and the furthest end on the Spit. Most of the birding in takes place from the Spit towards the town centre. As always, it is great seeing a buzzing fishing harbour. Gull Island is in the distance (did my first Tufted Puffin sighting from a kayak which I paddled from the harbour to Gull Island). 


Bear with me


The highlight part 1 of the Alaska tour: Brown Bear viewing in Katmai National Park. Amazing animals. I took a tour with Alaska Bear Viewing Tours, one of the three original companies in Homer that will take you out to meet Bears up close. Very professional, yet intimate and personal. In fact I was very early in the season, and this was their first trip so excitement was high when we spotted our first massive Brown Bear from the small plane. 


The Bears are curious, but not aggressive towards people (normally..). We landed on a beach in Katmai where we spotted a saw with her (probably) three year old cub. The Bears came close, but was politely ´hushed´ away by our guide Michael. We hung around the bears for nearly three hours on the beach, watching them feast on Clams.

Bears have five times better sense of smell then a dog, and by smell they seemed to find Clams on every attempt, despite no visible sign on the surface. 

A Bears paw and claws is a delicate tool when needed. They are true proffesionals at opening Clams nicely. 

Seafood is best fresh.

Bear searching for Clams on a Katmai beach. What an amazing experience!


Aerial view over a small  part of the Katmai National Park, which is home to an estimated 3000 Brown Bears. There is certainly a lot to learn in Norway from how they handle Bear tourism in Alaska and live with Bears. 

Shorebird bonanza

Part of a 3000+ flock of Western Sandpipers (70%) and Dunlins (30%) and Mud Bay, Homer

Western Sandpiper in stunning breeding plumage


One of our top target birds: The Black Turnstone. We had about 15 of these along the Homer Spit, accompanied by 600+ Surfbirds and a few Rock Sandpipers. 


Another target species for us: the Rock Sandpiper. Very stylish birds, and in many ways similar to our Purple Sandpipers. A hardy Calidris for sure. 


Chiswell Islands and the Tufted Puffin vortex


In many ways the Alaskan coastal landscape is similar to Northern Norway. From the fishingport Seward we took to boat trips out to the Chiswell Islands and visited the Kenai Fjords. 

Of course the Norwegian Fjords are rarely accompanied by bears, like this Black Bear we saw from the boat in Aialik Arm / Holgate Glacier.


Despite the awesomeness of Black Bear and calving glaciers, the highlight of the last part of our Kenai Peninaula trip was the amazing numbers of Tufted Puffins.


Tufted Puffins are spectacular birds, in their striking black plumage, and probably one of the most wanted birds on any European seawatch!


One is cool, but the Chiswell Islands will present you with a couple of thousand Tufted Puffin. It is hard to say how many we saw, but in total it must have been 2500+ Tufted Puffins around the Chiswell Islands. 


I had never thought I would see a Tufted Puffin Vortex. The experience of being surrounded reminded we of our very own King Eider Vortex in Varanger. Again: world class birding!


Chiswell Islands are steep, many, and perfect habitat for seabirds, set in the middle of very rich waters. 


Horned Puffin - equally great to see. Fewer in numbers, but still around with 150 birds seen on the two trips we did. Our first trip was with the biggest Fjord tour company is Seward. Too big, too crowded, but birding was still amazing. Second day of birding was better as I got Louis who run a local Seward Water Taxi to take me out to the Chiswells. Seawatching is so much better when it is all about birding, and you get to decide where to go..


Horned and Tufted Puffins and Chiswell Islands. 


And the ever present Sea Otters. Always relaxed it seems. Dining must be good and generous.


Same, but different

One of the great things about birding the northern hemisphere is how similar many things are, yet different. Climatic conditions, landscape and seascape make life and its challenges similar for species in northern Norway, Hokkaido in Japan and in Alaska. Still some of the excitement is seeing the endless nuances and variations of nature in these destinations. They are truly some of the premium birding destinations in the world. Experiencing these places and the varied birdlife and nature they have to offer is a privilege.  

Pigeon Guillemot at Gull Island, Homer


Gray Jay, at Cooper Landing, Kenai River

Best wishes from Nome, May 2015. 
Stay tuned for more Biotope birding Alaska coming up soon..

Gambell, St.Lawrence May 21-24th 2015:
http://www.biotope.no/2015/05/gambell-stlawrence-island-alaska-spring.html

Tormod Amundsen 

www.biotope.no  //   www.facebook.com/biotope.no  //   twitter @BiotopeOffice

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