Another June, another field season in Ammarnäs: we continued our Dotterel and survey work in the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve as in previous years. Clouds were very, very, very rare this year.
Instead we had a crazy heat wave and rather mediterranean than arctic weather. Offering less suitable light for photography. For that reason we entirely switched our rhythm from day to night to grasp some nice light conditions and walk under more pleasant temperature conditions.
Finally, I took some time in the birch forest to photograph Bramblings. One of the most common species in Swedish Lapland, which I never really tried to photograph. During a survey in the primeval forest we surprisingly found a Greenish Warbler and on the way back we could not resist checking out a Bluetail territory. I´ve been dreaming to see a singing male in the breeding grounds for many years.
Most of the time however, we always spend above the treeline with wader surveys and our Dotterel project.
On one of the ridges in Dotterel land were at least two singing Horned Larks. A magic song in the silence of the arctic midsummer night.
We spend nearly every night with the Dotterels on the mountain ridges.
In the clear nights I finally managed to get some more backlit pictures I was waiting for.
In the early, early mornings mist came up in the valleys accompanied by the dawn chorus of Bluethroats, Longspurs and all the wader calls. The magic of Laponia.