....Birding in Norway - by Eddie Chapman. Norway is divided up into

19 counties from Finnmark in the far north to West Agder in the south. Today there are over 1000 protected areas in Norway, including 17 national parks, over 900 nature reserves, 67 protected landscape areas, 57 reserves for the protection of plant and animal life and 281 sites of special scientific interest. In fact 5,4% of Norway is protected.This outstanding site provides information for each of the 19 counties as well as site descriptions and likely sightings for the following Norwegian "Hotspots":
• Herdla - An Airport For Birds
• Voss - Mountains, Woodlands and Marshlands
• Golta - Where The Sky Meets The Sea
• The Hardangervidda National Park.
• Ulvik - Majestic Mountains - Deep Blue Fjords

and birdlife in various parts of Norway, as well as guided birdwatching trips to see the Scandinavian specialities and manificent scenery.

county for birdwatchers. The wild and untouched Norwegian nature attracts many visitors from all over the world. They come to experience the variety of landscapes: mountains, fjords, valleys, bird cliffs, virgin forests, salmon rivers and endless wilderness with more than 60 000 lakes. There are still large predators around: wolf, brown bear, wolverine and lynx may all be seen if you're lucky. Other birders come to Finnmark to add to their "life list" easterly bird species which otherwise rarely appear in Europe.

midnight sun: what the holiday brochures don't tell you though, is that it is also the land of the mosquitoes, and believe me there are plenty of them. Norway has a large variety of habitats, ranging from broad-leafed deciduous forests in the south, to Arctic tundra in the north. In between you will find a country that contains 455,000 lakes, 42 sizeable rivers and 9 of the world's 20 highest waterfalls. With so much water its no surprise that the mosquitoes do so well.

Island and the fishing village of Bleik is Bleiksøy Island, one of Norway´s most famous bird cliffs.

During the months of June and July there are always a lot of visiting birders here, both Norwegians and foreigners, with telescopes a common sight along the road. 

expedition to Arctic Norway. 18 June to 6 July 2001 - by Nick Smith. 

kilometres east of Kirkenes, a small, modern town in the far north-east of Norway.

the Bergen area, the summit is 987m above sea level. It is easily accessible and there are a variety of habitats including conifer plantations, birch wood, juniper-covered slopes, heather, grasssland, a few lakes and the sparsely vegetated heights. 

Karhu contains a list of bird species recorded in Inari Lapland (Inari and Utsjoki communes), and the most popular birdwatching places where the birds can be found. See here for a map of the area.

charming and beautiful North Sea island, 24 km southwest of the city Haugesund. Haugesund is the town between Bergen and Stavanger in the western part of Norway. Utsira is widely known for its peculiar birdlife, and has many of the same qualities as Fair Isle and other off-shore islands.

the Oslofjord, the south-easternmost part of Norway. The island belongs to the municipal of Hvaler, a group of small islands outside the town of Fredrikstad. The observatory was founded in 1961.

July 1 - 30, 1987 - by Gerard Joannes. Scandinavia has changed a lot recently. Finding food at a reasonable price was very difficult during my first trip from 1 to 30 July 1987. I did a lot of sight-seeing then only watching birds when I saw them. During my second trip in 1996 which was entirely devoted to bird-watching, we found food very easily at supermarket prices..

Harry Lehto. This trip report covers identifies the key sites in Varangerfjord and Tana River, Norway, as well as brief information on Tenojoki, Finland and Lapland. A list of birds seen is provided, as well as a lot of useful information about the country generally.

June 13-28, 1998 by Gruff Dodd. In June 1998 I was finally able to satisfy a long outstanding ambition to travel to this wonderful part of Europe in search of some of its most magical birds. I had wanted to visit this region for many years

Roberto Garavaglia & Federico Bonicelli.  The main target of our summer birdwatching trip was the famous Varanger Fjord in Norway. We combined this destination with a tour of the main birding spots in both south-eastern and northern Finland.

and I had postponed a trip to Scandinavia for the past several years, opting to travel to warmer climates instead. But since we will be returning to the US next spring after 6 years in Germany, we decided this summer we would be brave and drive north to the very end of Norway. What follows is our report, perhaps useful for someone else planning a vacation to the area for the first time.

I had the pleasure of spending the summer in Norway, mostly in the small college town of Ås, about 30 km s-se of Oslo. With my non-birding spouse, 5 year old, and 2 year old, we did some travelling: to Hardangervidda, Dovrefjell, Andelsnes, many of the fjords from Romsdalsfjord south to Stavanger, Jæren, Lista, and Mandal. Birding was often limited by family responsibilities (i.e. hardcore birding opportunities were very limited). Nevertheless, birding in Norway is a delight. The scenery varies from picturesque to breathtaking, native habitat is easily found, and it's a free country -- that is to say, under Norwegian law any person is allowed to walk and even camp on anyone's property (except near homes or on cultivated fields), making about 96% of the land accessible to birders.

In June 1999, Pieter van der Luit and I set out for a trip through Northern Sweden, Finland and Norway. In this report I have summarised our findings, mostly regarding to the birds (and mammals) we observed. Our goal was to find as many of the 'Northern speciality birds' as possible. Any birder will know what I mean with this: the (North-)Scandinavian forests and tundra's host a number of bird species that are difficult, or even impossible, to see elsewhere.

by Barry Cooper & Gail Mackiernan. This report describes a trip we made to Finland and arctic Norway in June 1999. Our targets were the many species which are more characteristic of regions to the east, which in Europe are easiest to find in Finland, as well as the excellent suite of owls, raptors, grouse, waders and seabirds which frequent the vast forests, wetlands, tundra and fjords of these two beautiful countries. 

Simon Woolley and Julia Casson.

Evelien Goldbach. After several visits to more southern areas in Norway, Sweden en Finland, and a productive trip to the Varangerfjord in 1992, we decided to make a trip completely focussed on the extreme northern part of Fenno-Scandinavia, far above the polar circle, to enjoy the arctic specialities. The top 5 target species were this time Gyrfalcon, Snowy Owl, Hawk Owl, Brunnich's Guillemot and  White-billed Diver.

and Ari Latja. 186 Species seen. Great company, excellent bird sightings with everything seen well by everyone and all backed up by very good weather and fantastic scenery.A Birdseekers Tour Report.

Part 1 is from Estonia. Part 2 covers the Stockholm area. Part 3 and Part 4 cover the Norway coast to the mountains. Part 5 continues with some coastal Islands off Bergen. See also the Bird List and the Addendum to the Report.

Norway site is now offering birdwatching tours. For personally guided tours of various areas in Norway contact him at echapman@online.no. 

on the west coast. We offer expert guides when travelling in Norway, to take you to prime birding sites and to help you find the more difficult and scarce species. Basically we will guide you anywhere you like whenever you like, we can also help you arrange the whole trip, including booking of accommodation and car rental. We will travel to meet you anywhere you arrive in Norway!  If you have not yet decided where to go birding, check out our suggestions for trips starting in Bergen and Finnmark to cover different parts of the country with lists of species you can expect to see on each trip. 

the bird rich forests, lakes and marshes of Finland with the tundra of Norway and the Arctic Ocean in the land of the midnight sun and northern lights. We will look for species that are difficult to find elsewhere in Europe as well as those that reach their westernmost outposts in northern   Scandinavia. June 4 - 15, 2003

Tours (VENT). Here, in the Baltic/Scandinavian northeast, we find a good number of rarely seen birds: specialties of eastern Europe; Russian/Asiatic species on the western edge of their range; and high Arctic birds-and all on their breeding grounds. We have worked closely with expert Finnish birders to devise a special itinerary concentrating on species of particular interest to American birders. 
• The Baltic, Finland and Arctic Norway June 01 - June 22, 2003 (21.0 days - Limit 14 ) with leader Peter Roberts
VENT offers nearly 140 tours to over 100 land-based destinations each year and is the largest tour company in the world specializing in birding and natural history.