Preparing for Finland

Not long back from Belarus, but now I'm getting ready to head off again! This time it's Finland, with another Ornitholidays group. This is another 9 day tour, concentrating mostly just south of the Arctic Circle at about 65 degrees North. Our first centre will be Oulo - regarded by birders as the owl capital of Finland. We will also be visiting the Oulanka National Park, on the Russian border north of Kuusamo. There are seven possible owl species - including this Pygmy Owl, taken in Belarus two weeks ago. It's only six inches long, the length of a Chaffinch, and weighs 60 grams. It is a fierce predator on small birds. Another hoped-for owl is at the other end of the size scale: the Great Grey. There's a photo of this fine owl on the nest, below, on my Belarus blog.