How did I get into this mess?

Adam: I’m doing Apex Adventures’ first ever tour, we’re going to Norway to photograph Golden Eagles and Goshawks, do you want to go?

Dom: Yes.

Adam: Money plz

Dom: Do I have to?

Adam: Yes.

Day -1: A gathering storm

The day before we were all due to fly to Kristiansand, the already bad January weather deteriorated drastically, with temperatures plunging and widespread flight cancellations. Bags all packed, excitement turned to anxiety as everyone looked at the news websites and only saw airport sad faces. Still *our* flight was still all good, and it wasn’t until the evening, plenty of time for things to go wrong.

Day 0: A rude awakening

Dear reader, it didn’t need much of that time to go wrong, it went wrong straight away. While we all slept, our flight had its time changed. I woke at 6am, to read a text from the airline telling me that the flight was going to be at 10am. Just as well I packed all the bags the previous day, there was just enough time to make it to Heathrow - so long as there was no traffic. On a weekday. At rush hour. In Bad Weather….

Actually, it was fine, we made excellent time and once we’d got most of the way round the M25 it was clear we’d be there with 20 mins to spare. Still way too tight for my liking, but I wouldn’t have to be running through the airport shoving children out of the way in a forlorn effort to watch my flight, hopes and dreams depart without me.

I couldn’t really relax until I got into the airport and past security. Fortunately everything went smoothly. No-one was more relieved than Adam who’d been worrying himself sick refreshing the flight schedule constantly, fearing some kind of snafu would result in us losing hide time.

A hop to Amsterdam, a skip to the pub for a short layover and finally a hop on a janky propellor plane and we landed in Norway. We were met by our host and Norway’s Nicest Man (NNM). First stop was the supermarket, we bought everything we’d need for the next few days. Stressful as it may have been, it was probably a mercy to have got a much earlier flight as it meant we had plenty of time to relax and get our kit all sorted. We were split into two groups, and my group would be doing Golden Eagles for 2 days and then Goshawks for the final day. It was going to be a 4am start.

Day 1: If I had an Eagle, I’d Eagle in the early afternoon

Another day, another rude awakening, but at least this time it’s a day of photography rather than planes, trains and automobiles. Adam got us all set with some breakfast. Turns out as well as an expert photographer, he’s also an excellent cook. I hate him. It’s that time of the morning where I hate everyone. NNM arrives and is somehow even nicer than he was yesterday. I hate him too.

It’s a short drive to the field hide, with the car exterior thermometer reading -25. Everything is snow, and snow is everything. We arrive near the hide and a sort of Grand Canyon of snow has to be traversed to reach the hide. The -25 doesn’t seem so bad, a dry cold, it doesn’t soak in like a wet cold does. We shuffle along snow canyon until we reach the hide. I’m grateful to have not ended up on my arse.

The hide is a big shed, with a paraffin heater, four chairs and a lot of expectation. NMM reads us the rules, he’s less nice about this. No talking, no lights, no moving lenses. The only thing worse than a no-show by the eagles would be NNM’s disappointment, so we meekly agree.

NMM leaves and the lights go out. It’s still more than an hour from dawn. The paraffin burns and the mercury rises. Within 40 minutes everyone’s coats are off. For a people who live and love in a cold climate, Norwegian’s have a heavy hand on the thermostat.

The light arrives and brings us Jays, squabbling and squawking. Their stage is a large field, bounded by dense pine, with all manner of artfully placed perches adding interest. The Jays may be great, but eagles they are not. NNM’s advice ringing in our ears, we stayed still and we stayed silent.

At midday, we started on our lunch, a holiday staple of chorizo and cheese sandwiches. It’s been 6 hours already, seems unlikely that the eagles will arrive before late afternoon/evening right? Wrong, one arrived at 1.15, and somehow all four of us in the hide missed its arrival.

They are every bit as majestic as you imagine with a very imposing presence. When the sun first came, up I was surprised how far away the perches were. Now I’m not. The eagles are so big that everything is pushed back compared with a typical hide.

The eagle was shy, nervous even. This is a wild animal, exhibiting its natural behaviour. In the deep winter, it’s much harder to hunt. Fortunately (for the eagles at least), lots of other animals die from cold and starvation. The eagles capitalise on this, eating mostly carrion. They might as well be eating it front of a hide.

It’s a stunning individual, with a bright golden mane. We get two short visits and it’s gone. Enough for a range of poses. We don’t see it again that day and as dusk arrives, we prepare for a long wait before being collected. The eagles are very shy, and have exceptional vision, so access to and from the hide only happens well before dawn, and well after dusk.

It’s an agonising wait, we are all really keen to check out photos. Eventually NNM arrives and is thrilled that we got some visits.

Back to the apartment, and it’s already 8pm. There’s barely time to get dinner made, eaten and charge some batteries. It’s another 4am start so we need to get to bed early. Obviously we still try and sneak a few cheeky edits. After all, theres a few hours of waiting for dawn in the hide, we can catch up on a bit of sleep then.

“At 10:30 everything went completely crazy with the small birds vanishing in a puff of scattered snow!”

Day 2: It’s no fun if it’s easy

Waking up at 4 isn’t any more pleasant next time around. At 5am NMM collects us and it all starts again. We traverse snow canyon and settle in for the first wait. The sun rises and it’s clear that today will be different. Yesterday it was overcast with some snow falling. Today is cloudless and bright. The light intensifies and the hours tick by. We missed the arrival of the eagle yesterday, today we aren’t letting our concentration drop.

It’s tiring, it’s now the early afternoon - the same time as the eagle arrived yesterday. Anticipation is high and so is the sun. It’s streaming into the hide and with the glare from the snow it’s half way to oppressive. Stare as we might, no amount of concentration will manifest an eagle. The afternoon drags, but not endlessly. End it does, and this far north, the evenings are short. This was not our day.

Day 3: Goshawk. Will it or won’t it?

The forest hide has a far more relaxed schedule, with a 7am pickup. As you’d expect there’s more snow between the car and the hide. This time though there’s no canyon; instead we have to wade through a pristine snowfield and then climb into the forest. I can see why this isn’t done in the dark. There’s ropes and everything. For the 3rd time in 3 days, I’m grateful to have not ended up on my arse.

The hide is a more conventional affair, with four chairs pointed at a carefully curated selection of perches and tables. As is normal for woodland bird hides, the small birds arrived more or less as soon as we closed the hide doors. Such a contrast to the long days in the field hide, we could just enjoy ourselves blasting away. Bullfinch, Crested tits, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch being my favourites. Crossbill have been known to arrive on these feeders too, although it didn’t happen on this trip.

Of course the main event would be the Goshawk. Throughout the morning, there’d be several times where we thought the Gos might be near. The small birds would alarm call and scatter. We also saw the woodpecker ‘freeze’ going completely still and drawing themselves as close to the tree as possible.

At 10:30 everything went completely crazy with the small birds vanishing in a puff of scattered snow and the Jays alarm calling like their lives depended on it. Which they probably did. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a large brown bird fly over the corner of the hide and into a tree. It was mostly obscured but we could just see it wagging its tail. There’s nothing else it could have been than a Gos.

All we could do was freeze and wait, just like the woodpeckers. Not that woodpeckers were willing the Gos to come down from the trees of course. She didn’t keep us waiting long. After a few minutes, the Gos came down. A massive female, youngish with bright orange eyes (they start pale yellow, turning red as they age). She went straight to the provided pigeon.

There’s nothing like a Gos, the intensity of their fierceness and their sheer brutality. There’s less of the delicate plucking a Sparrow Hawk might do - they just get stuck in and rip and tear. She kept at it for about an hour, providing lots of poses and opportunities for close ups etc. Having made such a big show of ultra violence, her finally act was to inhale the pigeons leg and foot. This made for a comedic final flourish to the session as the pigeon’s foot disappeared down the Goshawks throat.

The rest of the afternoon was pure joy; having fun blasting the small birds knowing the photos we came for were in the bag already. At 4pm we made our way back through the forest, down the hill and back to the car to meet NNM. That evening theres was plenty of time for a convivial editing session after dinner, enjoyed with some well deserved beers.

Day 4: So Norway is nice

One of the things about all day hide photography is that you never really get to see the place you a photographing, confined to a tiny view through your lens. So, our final treat was to see Norway in the daytime on our way to the airport. Cliffs, waterfalls, fjords, massive ships that probably have something to do with oil - she’s very pretty.

Summary

Adam and Mike have bottled lightening on this tour. It’s a real test of your concentration, patience and endurance, very far from ‘pay and display’ hides with half tame wildlife. Because the eagles are wild and exhibiting their natural behaviour, you’ll get very different photos from visit to visit and year to year. Everything runs very smoothly (although much of the credit has to go to NNM’s ground operation).

I can whole heartedly recommend this trip to any photographer who’s looking for an adventure that ends with unique photographs.

Dom Barker, 2025