Brian Hardanger

Follow The Norwegian Birding Route

“Unforgettable also was the panorama that unfolded when I drew back our room’s curtains next morning. Immediately ahead lay a shoulder of land, flanked on either side by dark, brooding mountain ridges. Cloud billowed up from the valley beyond and swirled mysteriously over the shoulder’s far extremity before sweeping on towards the plateau behind and above us.”

$Tekstboks: It was early afternoon when we departed for the next major destination on our tour, the Hardangervidda, Europe’s biggest mountain plateau, around 200 miles to the north-east. The sensible option would have been to set off much sooner in view of the potential for delays ahead - starting with the ferry crossing on Highway 39 north of Stavanger, which took the best part of an hour, including waiting for the vessel’s arrival. However, Jaeren has so many interesting birding sites, we could have done with spending longer there. Actually we made good progress heading north-east on the E134. Our feeling was that however attractive the surroundings, there was much better to come so, with the clock against us, it made sense to keep moving. As for wildlife, it had been virtually limited to occasional White Wagtails and a couple of Red Squirrels making mad dashes across the road. However, after we turned north on to Highway 13 the appeal of the scenery became too much. There was certainly no way we could drive past Langefoss, the first really jaw-dropping waterfall on the route. The halt was even more rewarding for as we left the car to photograph this supertorrent, the show was stolen by an adult White-tailed Eagle low overhead. It disappeared around a mountain buttress rising from the roadside, but soon turned back. Finding a rising air current, it climbed higher, then drifting on its door-like, up-tipped wings in the opposite direction – laying on an even grander raptor finale than we experienced the previous day. Hardly were we under way again before a further stop, this time to admire the two-pronged Latefoss waterfall. Soon afterwards we pulled into a lay-by strategically-positioned so travelers can look across Sandvatn lake and through a V-shaped gap in the line of peaks towering above the far shore to the Følgefonn, Norway’s third largest glacier, glistening at the top of a cirque. The light faded fast subsequently so, apart from a brief fuel stop at Odda at the head of a long arm of the Hardangerfjord, there were no more distractions as we pressed northward. It was pitch dark well before we reached the end of the fjord’s 75-mile inland thrust and we still faced a steep climb into the mountains. However, the extensive tunnel system beyond the tourist centre of Eidfjord enabled us to corkscrew rapidly upwards towards tomorrow’s lofty target. We spent the night at the chalet-like, yellow-painted guesthouse run by Bjørg and Lars Liseth, high on the final approach to the Hardangervidda. Our eventual arrival was about two hours after the deadline for last orders in the restaurant, but nevertheless a splendid feast, with a reindeer roast main course, awaited us. Unforgettable also was the panorama that unfolded when I drew back our room’s curtains next morning. Immediately ahead lay a shoulder of land, flanked on either side by dark, brooding mountain ridges. Cloud billowed up from the valley beyond and swirled mysteriously over the shoulder’s far extremity before sweeping on towards the plateau behind and above us. The foreground was clothed with birch and willow, much of the foliage already a rich autumn gold. The songs of nesting Bluethroats nest can be heard here in early summer, but at this time of year we had to make do with a few Meadow Pipits over the open ground between the hotel and the scrub and a flyover flock of Crossbills migrating from forests far to the east. Nearby, Garen boasts what is reputedly Norway’s highest golf course, which - in springtime – happens to offer much birding potential. Bad weather can lead to Common Cranes breaking their journeys there; the same applies to songbirds such as Ring Ouzels and Lapland and Snow Buntings. A relatively small, artificial lake on the course can be occupied by the likes of Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter and Red-necked Phalarope. Surrounding low birch and juniper scrub provides yet more territory for nesting Bluethroats. Sunshine had been thinly rationed up to this point on the trip, but there was a very timely break-up of the cloud cover when, finally, we reached the Hardangervidda – which looks much more inviting under blue sky. This 3,860- square mile expanse of Arctic tundra-like habitat is more than 3,000ft above sea level and lies mostly to the south of Highway 7. Access is mainly by a network of walking trails, several starting from Dyranut, a lodge that is one of the few signs of human habitation along a 60-mile stretch of road crossing Norway’s “roof.” However, we drove on a few more miles until a maroon-painted structure resembling a sentry box loomed on the roadside. It houses an honesty box where tolls are left before turning off on to a firm-surfaced track enabling vehicles to venture about six miles over the rolling fells to Lake Tinnholvegen, where the plateau’s remote interior begins. At this time of year we could only anticipate a tiny fraction of the range of birds possible during the nesting season. The wildfowl, waders and the majority of songbirds that make these million-plus acres so internationally special had already departed with the shortening daylight and falling temperatures. However what remained made the journey worthwhile, with Rough-legged Buzzards especially outstanding. The first two were hanging in the stiff, chilly breeze sweeping the moorland, within a mile of the road, and at least five more appeared, one of them mobbed by a Merlin, as we drove on to the lake. It was the second most numerous species of the visit; beaten only by Meadow Pipit, which managed to just scrape into double figures These handsome raptors looked particularly majestic against the fells, a horizon-to-horizon mosaic of browns, greens and greys. Areas of heather were responsible for the browns; expanses of lichen and low willow scrub laid on the green; frequent rocky outcrops were responsible for the greys. With the light brightening and dimming constantly, as the bright sunshine was switched on and off frequently by racing clouds, these basic colours appeared in a multitude of different shades. Such was the scale of the ever-changing patterns, as far as the eye could see, that it was like wandering through a gigantic kaleidoscope. On reaching Tinnholvegen we found it was not totally devoid of wildfowl. A lone Goldeneye rode the wind-ruffled surface of the sheet of water stretching towards distant peaks, the last vestige of the life that would have still be teeming here a month ago. This upland paradise holds southern Norway’s most important diving duck populations, including Long-tailed Ducks and Common and Velvet Scoter. Surface feeders are represented by Wigeon, Teal, Mallard and Pintail, while Ringed and Golden Plovers, Dotterel, Temminck’s Stint, Purple and Wood Sandpipers and Red-necked Phalarope are among waders likely to be found during the nesting season. Apart from that Goldeneye, a solitary, migrating Fieldfare and the occasional Rough-legged Buzzard hovering over a nearby hillside, we were the only living things moving about this area. However, we were not alone in the wider sense; our car was among several dozen occupying the parking area. With the hunting season then in operation, some of the drivers and passengers would no doubt have trying to bag Willow Grouse and Ptarmigan that frequent these uplands. Others would have been roaming the paths that carry more adventurous walkers into the heart of this exhilarating wilderness. With our schedule too tight to follow in their footsteps, we retreated eventually to the Trondsbu hostelry about half-a-mile from the lake. There we were able to carry on enjoying the scenery, only from the cosiness of a window table in the log fire-warmed cafe rather than being buffeted by the biting breeze. The hot chocolate drinks and pancakes with raspberry jam made it even more delightful. In fact had we been there during the early summer it would have been positively ecstatic as Great Snipe can be seen displaying from the very same window. As we set off back towards Highway 7 no less than four Rough-legged hung in the air nearby. We were set for a repeat of the pleasures of our incoming drive but, actually, it turned out even better. Just a few hundred yards along the track I noticed a small cluster of shapes above a ridge; on raising my binoculars I found myself looking at three Ravens under attack from a pale-plumaged, fast-moving, stockily built bird of prey – a Gyr Falcon. It pursued them for some distance over the fells then turned back to rejoin its mate circling over a hilltop before they disappeared into the Hardangervidda’s vast airspace. Yet again a raptor had provided a thrilling end to the day’s birding. Actually it was still only early afternoon but soon afterwards the weather window closed; as heavy rain started to pound it made sense to make rapidly for a lower altitudes. Fortunately there was a break in the downpour to stop for photographs of the Voringfossen, one of Norway’s highest waterfalls, hurtling 490ft down a great, dark precipice. After returning to the fjord and crossing via the Brimnes – Bruravik ferry, we were bound for Voss, where we’d be sampling more Farm Holiday Home accommodation. However, with time to spare we took the even more scenic route that follows the fjord finger topped by the pretty village of Ulvik, nestling below orchard-covered slopes, where Icterine Warblers sing in summertime. Although around 70 miles from the open sea, the tide still rises and falls and at low water a mud bank exposed in a small bay near the village can attract waders. However, we were out of luck; the tide wasn’t low enough and only a few Mallard and a couple of Grey Herons awaited us. Next Page$

White Wagtails are a common species in Norway during the summer months

A lone male Common Goldeneye

Twite can be found at Eidfjord

Europe’s Largest Mountain Plateau

Grey Heron - A common species along the fjords

The weather can shift at a drop of a hat

Even by June there is still snow on the ground - but most of the breeding species have arrived.