Oulanka National Park

Every year I embark upon a foreign trip to enjoy my passion, nature photography. Since I read the book ‘A Year in Kuusamo’, I have always dreamt of going to Finland in winter. This year the dream became a reality,” says Rene de Heer, nature photographer, who shares with us his experiences gained in Oulanka.

Finnish winters are harsh with temperatures often below 15 degrees centigrade during the day. There are not many birds around as the majority migrates south but the resident birds and the fantastic scenery make it worth the trip.

We have decided to set up a goal for every day. The goal for the first day, moose was not an easy task, but we succeeded to spot a few of them. At the feeders we also took good pictures of redpoll, yellowhammer and various tit species.

The next day saw us setting off for the Kiveskoski rapids, known for the large number of dippers during winter, as the water doesn’t freeze up.
When we arrived we could see them gathered on both sites of the rapids. We had to work our way through knee-deep snow but eventually we managed to get really close to these handsome birds and took many pictures.

The following days were also abundant in new surprises. We succeeded to get some good shots of the Siberian Tit and Siberian jay. The Siberian Tits are very fine birds and can be very tame. On several occasions they were sitting on my hat! The Siberian jays only appeared once but we managed to catch them. On one occasion, when we were searching for Great Grey Owls, I have spotted 3 Hazel Grouses along the road. They were feeding on a birch tree and I was lucky to take great shots of this elusive and secretive species.

My holiday passed so quickly that I could hardly notice it. I felt as if the scenes from the book had come to life and I was very happy that the experience and my own photos would stay with me for the rest of my life.

by Rene de Heer