Your stories from Norway Nature
 
“Great morning at the hawk-hide”
By Stian Holmen
24. Nov. 2008
 
 
I arrived the hide in very nice winter weather, stars looking down from the dark and my eyes looking out the small window waiting for light and something to happen.
 
At about 0830 a beautiful young hawk landed on the bird that was put out in front of the hide. It stayed on the pray more than five hours!
 
During the time it was sitting there a adult male goshawk came by many times, but it just sat in the trees and screamed to the young bird. It was a incredible movement and nature-life outside.
 
While the two hawks was visiting it was two squirrels and a lot of birds on the feeding-station. A real adventure in front of my lens.
 
                                                                      Stian Holmen
 
See more of Stians pictures: http://www.stianholmen-naturfoto.no/
 
"4 days with the Eagles"
By Sven Zacek
 
 
I was lucky enough to spend four days in one of Ole-Martin's Golden Eagle hides.
Even though I have visited Norway two times in the summer, it's even more beautiful in the winter. Ole-Martin really has located an amazing place in the mountains for photographing the Eagles. He has thought of everything - a nice background, real bait (not dead pigs from farms or meat from the shop) and a comfortable hide.
The first day in the hide was the most stunning. The night before it had snowed very hard so everything was covered in pristine white snow. The background was excellent and we were lucky with the light and the birds as well. Five adult or sub-adult Golden Eagles visited the bait as did two adult Sea Eagles and one young Sea Eagle. When such a crowd visits a single bait, there is bound to be some fighting. Every day we had three or four serious fights. Only the last day was quiet.
 
What I also liked was the absence of Ravens that usually ruin some shots. All the days we only had two crows. But they only dared to eat if a Sea Eagle was eating. The Golden Eagle is the king and likes to keep the food for itself. Only on the last day, when an adult Golden Eagle fed alone for hours, the crows were driven by hunger to overcome their fears and started nibbling at the Roe Deer carcass. The Golden Eagle sticked immediately. It was a funny display, which also made for some exciting pictures.
 
Sven Zacek