Did you know that Finland is one of the best places in Europe for birdwatching? Follow us as we go birdwatching in Liminka Bay with an exceptional guide; Jari Peltomaki, one of the world’s best wildlife photographers.
The landscape of Liminka Bay
The Liminka Bay viewing tower surveys a wide, flat landscape. A shallow sea, surrounded with reeds and pine forests. Brightly-painted cabins built on tiny islands. Cows wade from one grazing field to another, ducks paddle away, tiny dots barely visible in the distance.
Swallows flying over the treetops of Liminka Bay
Then, something happens. The ducks are disturbed, take off all together in a frenzy, flutter for a few hundred meters then land back in the water. “It was probably a bird of prey” says Jari Peltomaki, a local wildlife photographer, one of the creators of the Liminka Bay protected area and our guide for the day.
Ducks flying over Liminka Bay
“Look, that is a marsh harrier” says Jari, pointing at something that looks like a quick flash of brown to my untrained eye. I peer in the scope and in the binoculars that the Liminka Bay centre lent me, but unfortunately the bird is gone.
The view on the other side from the Liminka viewing tower
Ducks are easier to spot. There are several species, courtesy of the fact that the Gulf of Bothnia, where Liminka Bay lies, is not a true sea. Its waters are brackish; it is on its way to becoming an inland lake, when it will become possible to walk from Finland to Sweden as a result of land uplift.
A duck paddling in the shallow water
Birdwatching with Jari
“Pintail, widgen, teal, mallard, shoveler, coot, greylag goose, bean goose…” Jari repeats, like a mantra. Waterfowl are only part of the amazing array of birdlife that populates the area. Some of the species found in the Liminka Bay area include the bittern, a secretive bird with a very peculiar call (Jari described it as sounding like blowing in an empty bottle), the curious-looking ruff with its prominent neck-feathers and the elegant black tailed godwit, Liminka’s special bird.
A bird nest box near Liminka’s viewing tower
In September, a great crane migration takes place, with more than 6000 birds feeding in Liminka’s waters. The Liminka Bay area is also a popular place to see owls, with eight species inhabiting the area. Jari shows us one of his photographs; a portrait of a great grey owl, with his wings spread open. “Wildlife photography is not a matter of wandering into the forest and taking pictures of what you see” says Jari, before showing us a coffin-looking hide, one of several he uses to shoot his award-winning pictures.
Jari’s scope on top of the Liminka viewing tower
Jari’s wildlife photography secrets
Wildlife photography is a lonely endeavour. A story of love for nature, a life of early wake-up calls and days spent stuck in tiny hides in uncomfortable positions, in the bitter cold or boiling heat. There’s a lot more to those amazing Wildlife Photographer of the Year shots. Preparation, patience, endurance. To get his great grey owl shot, Jari spent days waking up in the early hours in the morning, even in the winter when the temperatures are well below zero. His partner thought he had fallen in love with the owl. “Well, maybe I did, a bit” he jokes.
One of Jari’s great grey owl pictures – Credits Jari Peltomaki/Visit Finland
Jari’s career as a wildlife photographer stems from his passion for birdwatching. He first visited the area in 1984, attracted by the varied and abundant birdlife. However, birds were frequently hunted and the survival of some species was being threatened. Hunting is a popular pastime in Finland, especially in remote areas. Of course, the hunting brigades were less than supportive of his plan to make Liminka Bay a protected area.
A willow tit in Liminka
Wildlife photography, ecotourism and conservation
The Liminka area in Western Finland, and indeed much of the northern half country, is also the habitat of large carnivores, such as wolves, lynxes and wolverines. Yet, not many people think of Europe as a wildlife destination, and – perhaps as a result – conservation still has a long way to go, compared to other places that base a considerable part of their economy on wildlife and ecotourism.
Portrait of a lynx – Credits Jari Peltomaki/Visit Finland
Wildlife photography can raise awareness on conservation. Ecotourism plays a crucial part in that; not only should it bring revenue to be invested back into conservation, but also it should benefit the local community, to educate people in conservation. In India, for example, without tourists there would be no tigers left. “A living bear is much more valuable than a dead one” Jari says. After all, you can only shoot an animal once with a rifle, but you can shoot it hundreds of times with a camera.
“If it were up to me, I would ban hunting altogether” says Jari, before wishing us a safe trip. “Finland could become a giant nature reserve”.
Jari Peltomaki with his binoculars
We were guests of Visit Finland as part of the #OutdoorsFinland blog trip. All opinions are our own.
He was an amazing inspiration to us all! Loved this articlem it reminded me of what a great trip and group of people this was!
Nice article and great photography secrets!
Wow, his photographs are magnificent! I can appreciate how it takes a LOT of patience to be a wildlife photographer. And you must have to sort through a million bad shots for that one good one!
Wow, what an awesome place to visit 🙂 that owl picture is seriously stunning 🙂
Oh man I’d have loved to go on a tour with him. We aren’t real birders but birders do get us excited for their passion …
What absolutely gorgeous pictures – incredible. This sounds like an amazing experience and wonderful trip. We have been to Finland twice and loved it both times.
I had no idea Finland was so great for birdwatching! My husband is obsessed with birdwatching and snapping photographs of different species RTW. Will be sharing this with hiM!
gorgeous photos- love the owl! A day with Jari sounds like a great experience! Another reason to visit beautiful Finland 🙂
I really enjoy reading your posts – and I have to say you’ve inspired me to go to Jordan – I have all of your Jordan articles bookmarked in preparation for November.
Fascinating, you need so much patience to be a birdwatcher and photographer. This was such a great read with magnificent photos, thanks guys.
I did not know Finland is one of the best places in Europe for birdwatching! How fortunate that you had such a wonderful guide for your trip. I learned how addictive birding can be when I visited Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf coast in January. I would love to visit Finland – thanks for sharing your experiences!
I had no idea Finland was a hotbed for birding. I’ve loved following all of your outdoor adventures here.
Great photos! I would love to get a tour like that, you lucky people 🙂
Owls always crack me up, they’re hilarious!!!!!