Era-Eero

22-26 Jul - I've wanted to visit Era-Eero in Finland for a long time, having heard about the hides there and the chances of seeing Brown Bear, and particularly Wolverine, one of the most elusive carnivores. I spent 3 nights in the hides, deep in the Finnish forest, with Antero Topp of Finnature. The forest is very impressive, with superb trees and luxuriant forest floor, berry plants and dead wood adding to the habitat along with innumerable lakes and boggy areas - a wildlife paradise. The hides overlook both a valley and a lake, and a clearing in a separate part of the forest. The night is spent in the hide, equipped with bed and toilet - it is never darker than twilight at this time of year. The lake hide gave us views of our first Wolverine, which appeared suddenly in front of the hide - a powerful animal with a loping gait, with reddish-brown and buff coat, badger-like in some ways but also Marten-like in its predilection for tree climbing. The forest hide, overlooking a clearing, allowed very good photographic opportunities. A very exciting way to see and this elusive predator. Also good views of a Brown Bear by the lake, momentarily surprising in its bulk as it emerged from the vegetation by the lake. A quiet time of year bird-wise, Spotted Crake and Hobby probably being the pick of the bunch. I love Scandinavia at any time of year, the extreme hot and dry conditions this summer have made the forest very vulnerable to fire, let's hope that they survive intact to mark their passage of the seasons, from deep snow and ice in the winter darkness to the prolonged sunlight and frenetic activity of the short summer breeding season.