Thank you for a wonderful stay. I have now visited you four times, and every visit has offered new experiences.
Thanks again.
Karl Ravn
Denmark
PC: Hold CTRL and press + (plus) to enlarge or - (minus) to shrink.
MAC: Hold CMD and press + (plus) to enlarge or - (minus) to shrink.
Thank you for a wonderful stay. I have now visited you four times, and every visit has offered new experiences.
Thanks again.
Karl Ravn
Denmark
This was my first trip to Norway and to the realm of eagles and The Eagle Man Ole Martin Dahle.
I was not disappointed!
Yes there were times of bad light and too much falling snow, but what can you expect in February?
To sit in Ole Martins eagle hide at the “first knockings” of daylight and hear the sound of an eagle calling just meters above your head is to be communing with nature on another level!
For the first-time visitor, as I was, this was something of a heart-stopping moment; but nothing to compare with the visual spectacle I got when one of these awesome birds came in to feed, just a few meters in front of me.
From the first day to the last I was privileged to photograph wild White-tailed and Golden Eagle in the beauty of their natural surroundings – in short, Ole Martin gave me a most unique opportunity – which, to be honest, is the “stuff” of a wildlife photographers dreams.
Wild eagles in wild Norway exhibiting natural behaviour – what else can I say except “Utrolig!!!”.
After returning to the UK from my visit with Ole Martin Dahle the only question I ask myself is “When am I going back?”.
Andy Astbury, Wildlife in Pixels
It is interesting to see and at the same time forward-looking that the free and intact nature is growing in significance and that the encounter between man and nature helps protecting the rare species.
I’ve known Ole-Martin from when I worked on the white-tailed eagle project and I know that he cares for and respects nature. Like me he is fascinated by the eagle and is highly professional in his work. So, I decided to travel to the Norwegian winter in February to photograph the golden eagles in the deep snow of the mountains.
When the long winter descends upon the Norwegian mountains, days are growing cold and lonely. The countryside seems lifeless and it is quiet, very quiet. Most birds have moved in great flocks to the warmer regions of the south. Crows and grouse are among the few who brave the cold. The sky covering the grand Norwegian mountains now belongs to the king of the skies – the golden eagle. Now, towards the end of winter, the white-tailed eagle as well has moved from the fjords to the mountains.
Photographing eagles also means being extremely patient. One hour before sunrise I move into my hideout. Everything is well prepared. The hideout offers quite a bit of room. I spend my days bundled up in a sleeping bag sitting on a reindeer skin. Outside it is cold. With strong winds and -10º C I am very grateful that my hideout is extremely well built and keeps out the fierce wind. We had placed bait only about 20 metres from our hideout, but the eagles are cautious and a lot of patience is required.
It paid off – I’ve waited 60 hours, and everyday I was able to photograph golden eagles. I’ll never forget, how, on this trip, I saw my first golden eagle, one metre above the ground, swooping down from the snow-covered mountain side like an arrow to land on a pine tree. From there he observed the territory for a few seconds – hours to me. But when the eagle appears within the viewfinder of my camera, I suddenly feel warm inside and time does not matter anymore.
It isn’t only spectacular experiences like this that make a trip to wintry Flatanger worthwhile. The beautiful snowy landscape, the creeks, the ice and, finally, the fast starlit sky offer more than enough subjects for great photos.
Willi Rolfes, Germany
As soon as I entered the guesthouse I felt at home. My eyes were drawn emediatly to all those photography books signed by the author during their stay at the same place. I couldn’t wait to get in the hide the next day to see the eagles myself. First came the Raven and Hooded craws. Not long after that I heard the first White-tailed Eagle screeming in the mountains. After half an hour he landed right at the bait. Beautiful!!!!! You almost forget to push that shutter button. This is the real thing, this is wildlife as it should be. These birds are even more beautiful than I thought they would be.
I had it all. Golden Eagle, White-tailed eagle, Raven and Jays. All that in a beautiful setting and real snowstorms as well.
Oh, I’m going back, that’s for sure. I just want to thank Ole for his great help and understanding what nature photographers want. And that’s a lot, but I’m not lying when I say that Ole is a professional and very very helpful.
Edwin Kats, Netherlands
www.edwinkats-natuurfotografie.nl
I arrived the hide in very nice winter weather, stars looking down from the dark and my eyes looking out the small window waiting for light and something to happen.