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TRIP DATES	AVAILABILITY	PRICE	SPACE LEFT
02/10/2021 - 09/10/2021	Available	EUR 1,980.00	6 Available	Book Now

This autumn tour has 3 big target species – Eurasian Lynx, Brown Bear, and Grey Wolf. The main focus is on the lynx, who is also the most secretive of the three species. During different periods, Estonia has been the country with the highest population density and the local individuals are one of the largest in the world. Its’ main prey – Roe Deer, is doing better year after and so is the local lynx population.

Overview

Itinerary

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Map

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Overview

Right now, an estimate of about 500 Eurasian Lynx inhabit the forests of Estonia and one of the best areas to spot them is Lahemaa National Park, which is also Estonia’s oldest NP. About a dozen trail cameras give us information about their movements and other technological solutions, such as thermal cameras and LED-lamps help to locate them during dark times. Thus, 4-5 evenings looking for the lynx give us a high probability of seeing one. It must be noted, that looking for lynx means quite a lot of driving around in the dark. Besides a healthy lynx population, there are about 750-800 Brown Bears and 200 Grey Wolves. Although the 3 big predators are the main targets of this tour, we’ll have good chances of spotting Raccoon Dogs, Elk, Red Fox, and Red Squirrel. We’ll also visit a Brown Bear hide in Alutaguse forests, which has the highest density of Brown Bears in Estonia. In autumn bears are trying to fatten up for the forthcoming winter hibernation and actively roaming around the forests searching for food. We’ll not only overnight in the watching hide, but also look for tracks and traces of bear activity before during the daytime. From the hide, we’ll most probably see also Raccoon Dogs, who similarly to bears are opportunistic omnivores and actively look for food through most of the day. Wolf cubs are becoming more and more independent and quiet autumn nights are the best time to hear them howl together with the pack. Daytime will be spent by resting or doing birdwatching trips. Although birds are not a real target for this tour, our guides will definitely keep their ears and eyes open for owls, wild grouse, woodpeckers, and other forest birds.

Day 1 :

Arrival (Tallinn) and Lahemaa NP – first lookout for the lynx

The group will be picked up from Tallinn Airport and driven to Lahemaa NP, where we will overnight for the rest of the tour (except the night in the Brown Bear hide). During the first evening, the local Lynx tracker will make an overview of the Lynx situation and how we will look for it in the following days. We won’t waste any time and go looking for lynx on the forest roads and opening. Night in Lahemaa NP.

Dinner

Day 2 :

Night in the Brown Bear hide

Day 2 Night in the Brown Bear hide.

From Lahemaa we will drive for 1 day to Alutaguse area, where we first look for tracks and activity traces of Brown Bears. In the afternoon we’ll enter the Brown Bear hide with the high hopes of spotting one of Europe’s most impressive mammals. From the hide, we have chances of spotting also other mammals, such as Raccoon Dogs, Red Fox, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, and Elk. The hide is equipped with bunk beds, sleeping bags, pillows, and speakers that transmit the live soundscape of an autumn forest, captured by a high-end microphone next to the hide. Night in the Brown Bear hide.

We will observe thousands of Long-tailed Ducks, geese, divers, and Scoters 3Hundreds and – ducks, geese, loons, waders and as we pass by th Silma reserve is a complex of coastal meadows, lagoons and reedbeds with lots of ducks, some Slavonian and Red-necked Grebes, Goose, Cranes, Penduline and Bearded Tits. The Nõva forests welcome the Capercaillie, Hazel Grouse and Nightjar.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3 :

Early excursion in Alutaguse and back to Lahemaa NP

After leaving the hide, we’ll drive through the forests back to 2 around in the forests near the hide with the hopes of spotting Elk, Western Capercaillie, Black Grouse, and Hazel Grouse. If the evening is windless, the tour takes us to the forests of Kõrvemaa, where we hope to hear wolf pack by howling. Otherwise, our main target of the evening will again be lynx. Night in Lahemaa NP

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4 -7 :

Lahemaa

The routine of the three last days will be quite the same – we rest during the day or make short birdwatching trips and during the evening and early morning, we’ll go and look for the elusive Lynx again. As we concentrate on the Lynx, the most important time will be early mornings, late evenings, and the night. So depending on our level of tiredness and our success, we might use the daytime for resting. Nights in Lahemaa NP.

Breakfast

Day 8 :

Departure

Unfortunately, that’s the last day of the tour. Depending on the level of tiredness and our previous success, we might do a last early excursion, otherwise we’ll have breakfast and head back to Tallinn.