Birds – Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog

Video of Killer Whales (Orca) hunting herring close to shore at Hamn in Senja, Northern Norway

Birds, Coast, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sea Ocean, Seagull, Senja, Winter / By Thomas Laupstad

Here is a video of a pack (or packs) of Killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunting fish extremely close to the shore at Senja in Northern Norway. We saw 25 whales or more in this small cove, and they were all hunting herring. The next day we even saw a few Killer whales that almost stranded on a sandy beach, but they rolled back out into the sea.

We even saw some other larger species of whales further out at the sea, but due to low light it was not possible to make out the species of whale. There has been lots of observations of whales hunting herring in Northern Norway at places such as Senja, Andenes and islands by TromsÃ¸. If you get the chance you would definitely go on a whale safari to watch these magnificent creatures.

Please see my other pictures of Senja here and follow Photos from Northern Norway on Facebook.

Information about the video:
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Location: Close to Hamn at Senja, Troms in Northern Norway

Here is a phone camera picture of one of the killer whales:

Taken with Apple iPhone 5 camera 25th December 2013.

Photo of White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) catching a fish – captured with iPhone 5 camera

Birds, Clouds, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sea Ocean, Sky / By Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Apple iPhone 5 camera 26th September 2013. Click image for larger view.

Today when I was out fishing I got a visit from a couple of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla). I had thrown a small fish overboard that they really wanted to catch. In the picture above you can see the majestic bird trying to get this fish. I really wish I had brought a proper camera with me, but the photo from the phone actually turned out pretty good.

The white-tailed eagle is very common in Northern Norway, and we have the biggest eagle population in the world along the coast of Northern Norway. The bird is very big (for comparison see the seagull in upper left corner of the picture) with up to 2.45 m wingspan. The eagle feed on fish, but it can also catch other birds and mammals. Whenever all seagulls take flight at once, you can be sure there is a white-tailed eagle around.

You can see other bird photos here.

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Information about the picture:
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/695)
Aperture: f/2.4
Focal Length: 4.1 mm
ISO Speed: 50
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) sitting on lamp post

Birds, Norway Norwegen Norge / By Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera September 11th 2012. Click image for larger view.

On my trip to Northern Norway this summer I went on many fishing trips. One day when I was exiting the harbor there was a Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) sitting on lamp post. It didn’t seem to mind me so I grabbed my camera to get a picture of this beautiful bird. It was not very easy to capture the picture as I was sitting in a boat that was moving both sideways and up and down in the waves, and I wished that I had brought a lens with longer focal length.

The Great Cormorant is pretty common in Norway and I often see it when there is herring in the fjord. In other parts of the world they actually train this bird to fish for them as they are great fishers. I have never heard that this has been done in Norway, though.

Please see my other bird pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: SIGMA 150mm F2.8 MACRO HSM
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

Pictures of eating-frenzy seagulls on the sea in Northern Norway

Birds, Norway, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sea Ocean, Seagull / By Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Apple iPhone 3GS phone camera August 25th 2012.

Here I have photographed some seagulls when I was out fishing last month in Northern Norway. There is always some seagulls around your boat when you are out on the sea, just waiting for you to throw them some goodies. On this trip we caught a lot of fish so we had to do some gutting and these seagulls love fish guts. After a while more and more seagulls arrive at the scene and it becomes quite crowded around the boat as you can see in the pictures.
There were mostly European Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) around the boat, but also some larger Great Black-backed gulls (Larus marinus).
The seagulls come really close to the boat and some even took guts from my hand.

Here is another picture from the feeding frenzy.

Taken with Apple iPhone 3GS phone camera August 25th 2012.

Please see my other pictures of seagulls here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Apple iPhone 3GS
Exposure 1/350 sec
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 3.85 mm
ISO Speed 64
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) bird on birch tree log

9 Comments / Birds, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Tree / By Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera October 19th 2008. Click image for larger view.
Here I have photographed a beautiful Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) bird. This is the first time I have ever photographed a woodpecker as they are pretty rare and often fly off before you are able to take a good photo. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is one of our biggest woodpeckers and it is the most common woodpecker bird in Europe. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is about 25 cm long and weighs 70â€“90 g.
In the winter the bird eats seeds from spruce and pine trees, and some bark beetles. During the summer it mainly eats insects, but the Great Spotted Woodpecker is also known for breaking into nests and eating the young birds.

Check out my other photos of Norwegian birds here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway