Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog

Here are a couple of pictures of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) that I captured last weekend while collecting seagull eggs on some skerries on the coast in Northern Norway (a post about the egg collecting is coming in a few days so stay tuned).
Herring gulls live here in large numbers and the sounds of the gulls are to me very typical for summers in Northern Norway.

I love the curious expression of the herring gull in the first picture.

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera May 11th 2008. Click image for larger view.

In the next picture the gulls got a bit too nervous by me coming so close and are taking flight to escape the evil human

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera May 11th 2008. Click image for larger view.
Check out my other seagull pictures here. I love these birds!

Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: West coast on Senja, Troms in Northern Norway

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Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera May 17th 2008. Click image for larger view.
Yesterday was our National Day (also known as the Norwegian Constitution Day) here in Norway and on that day it is typical for everyone to raise the Norwegian flag to celebrate our declaration of independence from the Swedes.
In this picture you can see the old house where I grew up. The weather wasn’t too bad here in Northern Norway, except for the occasional light snowfalls and cold winds from the north

Check out this picture that I shot 17th of May last year in about the same spot. Look how much greener the grass was last year. The spring has been pretty cold in Northern Norway this year.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 30th 2008. Click image for larger view.
Small Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis urticae) butterflies has awaken from their winter hibernation and are flying around in the warm sunshine. Small Tortoiseshell is the first “day butterfly” that one can see here in Northern Norway in the spring, often on the first warm day.
They are really beautiful, don’t you think?

The Norwegian name for the Small Tortoiseshell is “Neslesommerfugl” which means Nettle Butterfly in English. The butterfly got that name because they lay eggs on nettle plants and their larvae eats nettle leaves. I have seen nettles completely covered with black Small Tortoiseshell larvae.

Check out my other insect photos here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 29th 2008. Click image for larger view.
At this time of the year we get to see some amazing sunsets here in Northern Norway. During the spring, before we get midnight sun, the sun is setting in the ocean in the horizon.
In this picture I have zoomed in on the sun when it was about to set in the ocean. There was some mist in the horizon and it made the sun look particularly spectacular with different shades of red.
We’ve had sunsets like this for a week now and the weather have been great with record warmth.
Spring is a nice time to be living in Northern Norway

Check out this photo from last year of the sun disappearing in the ocean.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 25th 2008. Click image for larger view.
The cute white wagtail (Motacilla alba) birds are back! It is so nice to see new birds almost every day as it gets warmer and warmer. All the new birds are a good reason to go outside with a camera and capture some pictures.
The white wagtail is personal favorite of mine because of the way the bird hunt insects. The wagtail usually walks around and then suddenly fly up in an irregular way to catch some kind of yummy insect. They are very fascinating to watch and I’m thankful that they keep the fly population down.
I love the red color on the sand corns on this beach. I’m not sure why the sand is so red, but it looks very different from the other beaches around.

Check out this picture from last spring of a white wagtail sitting on a stone. Maybe it is the same bird?

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 25th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see an European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) couple sitting on the roof of an old, decaying boatshed. Starlings are a sure sign that the spring has arrived here in Northern Norway so these birds are a very welcome sight.
From as long as I can remember starlings has been breeding in the same nest box on our barn and each spring they sit on the barn-roof singing. It is so nice to listen to the starlings mimicking other birds as the starlings are masters of mimicking. When I was a kid I used to try to get the starlings to mimic me whistling. I think I was able to do it once

Check out my other bird photos here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway