Willow Ptarmigan at Varanger

Out on the Varanger Peninsula, where Finnmark's treeless tundra runs out to meet the Barents Sea, the Willow Ptarmigan finds cover among the wind-scoured coastal cliffs and open fjord edges that define this stark Arctic landscape. Photographers joining the Winter Wildlife of Arctic Varanger holiday should plan around April, when the species is typically encountered here. The bare, exposed terrain offers little in the way of concealment, so patience and a keen eye for movement against the tundra are essential. This remote corner of Norway, reaching well above the Arctic Circle, rewards those prepared for its raw, open conditions with a genuine chance to capture this hardy bird in its element.