Read the right books, and you think you have an idea what the birdlife must be like in the Arctic midsummer. Nothing, though, prepares you for the scale of it, for being able to birdwatch 24 hours a day, every day, as well the sheer number of birds out there. If you’re heading to Varanger Fjord, the north-easternmost point of Norway, prepare yourself for sensory overload.
Near our first overnight stop, the Samiowned Birk Husky B&B, we ticked Willow Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, Red- and Black-throated Divers, White-tailed Eagle, Rough-legged Buzzard and, just to emphasise that Mother Russia was a few hundred yards away, Siberian Chiffchaff, Siberian Tit and Siberian Jay.
Around Vadso, where we stayed at the excellent Vadso Fjordhotell, Arctic Terns were never too far away, of course, and…
