The two last weeks of June was spent in Porsanger, Varanger and the Pasvik Valley in Finnmark county.

Among the highlights in the mountains was finding Little Stint (dvergsnipe) at their breeding sites.

The Temmincks Stint (temmincksnipe) is a character bird in Finnmark.

Female Red-necked Phalarope (svømmesnipe) from Vækker.

Male Ruff (brushane) from Vardø.

Wood Sandpiper (grønnstilk) from Vardø.

Many Long-tailed Skuas (fjelljo) was seen in the mountains. Small flocks were found feeding on insects on the snow patches or eating berries from last year. This is typical behaviour when rodents are absent, and they give up breeding.

To our surprise we found a neat immature bird among the adults.

Plenty of Rock Ptarmigans (fjellrype) in the higher altitudes.

An encounter with Golden Eagle (kongeørn) in breeding habitat was a highlight.

Male Lappland Bunting (lappspurv) from Kongsfjord Mountain.

Red-throated Pipits (lappiplerke) from varanger.

Rock Pipit (skjærpiplerke) from Hornøya.

Horned Lark (fjellerke) from Vardø.

A Greater White-fronted Goose (tundragås) was seen in Varangerbotten, at the same location where we found the first breeding pair in Norway three years ago.

A few King Eiders (praktærfugl) among the Common eiders in Varanger. Here a immature male…

…and an adult male and a female.

A Common Gull (fiskemåke) nests in an old shipwreck.

White-tailed Eagles (havørn) in Varanger; an adult bird bathed in the midnight sun…

… and an immature bird surrounded by kittiwakes

A visit to Hornøya, with its huge colonies of Puffins (lunde) and other seabirds.

Razorbills (alke).

Hornøya is a good place to find Brünnich’s Guillemots (polarlomvi).

A small colony of Barnacle Geese (hvitkinngås) has started breeding on Hornøya and around Vardø.

Common Cranes (trane) feeding in Varanger.

Immature Grey Heron (gråhegre) at Vækker.

When on the Finnmark coast, one should also watch out for cetaceans. White-beaked Dolphins (kvitnos) in Porsangerfjord.

A Grey Seal (Havert) in Varanger

From coastal Finnmark the trip went on to the Pasvik Valley in the search for typical taiga species. The Little Bunting (dvergspurv) is a Pasvik speciality.

The Siberian Tit (lappmeis) breeds in breeding boxes in the valley.

The Brambling (bjørkefink) is among the more common birds in Pasvik, and the first chicks had already left the nest.

A major surprise was a Wood Lark (trelerke) singing eagerly over the pine forest.

Woodcocks (rugde) are common in Pasvik.

A Spotted Redshank (sotsnipe) on the breeding grounds was a pleasant encounter.

Another surprising find in the Pasvik valley was a Collared Dove (tyrkerdue).

The trip ended up at Alta Airport, to see the sensation of the summer: a Crested Lark (topplerke). The crested Lark has been regarded extinct as breeding bird in Norway for more than 50 years, and the last observation in the country was made 20 years ago. Who would believe a singing bird would show up in arctic Finnmark?