last from the north King Eiders

well the end of another great trip to Norway and Finland -- it is expensive but you can cut costs by self catering -- we fly Finnair to Helsinki then Ivalo from Manchester, £232 this year but two overnights at Helsinki airport; car hire from Ivalo, you need to check that you can take it into Norway and insurance covers both countries, then we hired a cabin at Kaamanen, Jokitorma camping and one at Saltjern between Vadso and Ekkeroy -- things are getting more popular so it is best to book accommodation well in advance as there is not  a lot of it-- the supermarket at Vadso is very good, its a Co-op! -- fuel is predictably expensive, why they own it! at about £2 per litre and diesel is cheaper than petrol so if there is a choice book a diesel car; the bird list in M

King Eiders batch 2

last batch Steller's Eiders

I took the Canon 300 2.8 II with me and the two converters but in essence I only used the 1.4x III for 95% of the shots -- I like the versatility of the 300 and back problems suggested that it was a better choice than the 500 for prolonged use -- I think that I made the right choice though you can always do better and a week is never long enough but always a good reason to go back though Norway is EXPENSIVE and seems to get more so every year

Kings and queens part 1

Batsfjord is the spot for close King Eiders though we did see a flock of 500 from our cabin window --