There are so many species that I enjoy photographing, iconic predators like Bears and Wolves, birds of prey especially eagles and one family in particular, the grouse family. One member of this family is particularly striking, the Ptarmigan especially during the winter months when it sports its beautiful white winter plumage. After my week with the Woodpeckers and Jays I then headed up to the very northern part Finland where I was hoping to catch up with this mountain bird. The Ptarmigan is not that common in Finland as it doesn’t boast of many mountain ranges, this birds prime environment. I have photographed this species many times over the years in Scotland and Iceland but was not particularly happy and always felt that I could improve on the images that I had managed.
I was in Finland last March photographing Black Grouse with Markus Varesvuo and he was showing me his latest grouse images for his new book (highly recommended by the way). His Ptarmigan shots were very impressive and so I was really interested in giving this location a go. Markus put me in touch with his good friend Jame who lives in Northern Finland; so a year down the line I found myself in the mountains of Utsjoki with Jame and his two dogs. The plan was to stay in Jame’s cabin for a week and spend the days searching for Ptarmigan. Now I have done some great trips, visiting some fantastic locations over the years but the week I spent in the mountains was one of the best trips I have done and I don’t say that lightly.
It was already dark by the time I got to Utsjoki and so it wasn’t until the morning that I got see what a beautiful location Jame’s cabin was set in. Nothing around for miles but a sea of white snow, this week was going to be pure bliss. I knew Ptarmigan were here too because there was fresh tracks right outside the cabin. The plan was to travel around by using a snow mobile and look for these elusive birds. Ptarmigan were not my only target, Willow Grouse were also on the agenda.
The plan sounded easy on paper but these white Grouse blend in so well with their environment and we had to cover a lot of ground to find them. Some days they appeared to be everywhere and others not a sound. The terrain was very difficult in places too and although modern snow mobiles are fantastic machines, they do get stuck from time to time which was a little worrying, especially when you are such a long way from the warmth of the cabin. Jame was excellent with the snow mobile though and got us out of some pretty difficult scrapes.
On some days they were proving elusive but Jame said if we can’t find the ptarmigan, then we have to find the reindeer. True to form once we had found some Reindeer then the Ptarmigan were not far behind. The snow is deep here in the mountains of Utsjoki but the reindeer are perfectly designed for scraping away deep snow to find the food buried beneath. The Ptarmigan take advantage of this behaviour and can be found feeding at the Reindeers feet.
I have always enjoyed photographing in a snowy environment. One of the reasons is I like clean and simple images and photographing white birds, in white snow certainly produces clean images. I think Ptarmigan are great subjects too because once you have found a bird they can be pretty confiding. This is great because you can then work on various compositions, using different lenses and so your photography session can be very flexible.
In the past if I was visiting a country like Finland I would like to cover a number of subjects during my stay. Nowadays I prefer to work on a single subject over longer periods, that way I can achieve a more varied portfolio. Everyday is different when working in these northern parts of Europe as the weather conditions are so changeable.
The Willow grouse is another beautiful member of this family. I have seen many on my travels throughout Scandinavia but only had a handful of opportunities to photograph them. On this trip I had a few really good encounters.
So there you go a small selection of these beautiful white grouse of the high mountains. This was a great trip and a fantastic experience. A big thank you to Jame and Kata for making my week so enjoyable. I loved this special adventure and I shall return. I went back to Finland in late March to work with another member of the family, the Black Grouse and I will post a blog in the next few weeks. I will finish off with another couple of Ptarmigan images.
