Golden Eagle
Our photography hides near Oulu are the best place for Golden Eagle photography in Finland and with our instructions, it is easy to succeed! Golden Eagle is a great example of a bird that is impossible to photograph without a hide. Even with a hide it needs patience and caution. Our hides provide excellent opportunities for a great diversity of images of Eagles in action, in flight, on the ground and perched in trees. The photography season at these hides is long and in different seasons it is possible to get different images!
Golden Eagle hides from 165 € / session
Photograph the mighty Golden Eagle from our hides
Book our Golden Eagle hide
Book our Golden Eagle hide
Premium Golden Eagle hides
200 € / day / person
670 € / 4 days / person (167,50 € / person / day), package can be used alone or with a friend
Our new Premium hides bring comfort to photography! These hides offer large windows and standing height, and you can also adjust the height of the camera shelf. There are two shooting openings for each photographer, and the hides can be heated nicely with gas heaters. In the entryway, you can stretch with full standing height and there is also a spacious dry toilet. We feed smaller forest birds in front of these hides and have decorated the feeders nicely. These hides were built in 2023 and there are 3 two-person hides with a common entryway.
Book Premium Golden Eagle hide in our web shop
Economy Golden Eagle hides
165 € / day / person
540 € / 4 days / person (135 € / person / day), package can be used alone or with a friend
Our original Economy hides are located in the same Eagle site. These hides are traditional photo hides with basic level: the hides are low and have small windows, and you cannot adjust the camera shelf height. There are two shooting openings for each photographers. In these hides you can also use a bean bag for your camera. Hides can be heated with gas heaters. There is a dry toilet in the entryway but no standing height. You may bring your own food for the smaller forest birds with you; there are no feeders in front of these hides. There are 2 hides for 2 + 3 photographers with a common entryway.
Book Economy Golden Eagle hide in our web shopPrice notes
Season: Golden Eagle 10 September – 31 March, Sparrowhawk 10 September – 5 October
The prices do not include transportation.
One-day price includes the use of the hide. If you visit our Golden Eagle hides for the first time, we charge a 105 € guidance fee / booking. Our guide will meet you at the hides and bring a bait with.
The package price includes the guidance and a natural bait on the first day.
Golden Eagle hides can also be booked from our office via email at info(@)finnature.fi or via phone at +358 45 129 4264. Full payment of the hide is required at the time of booking. We will also provide information and photography tips for Golden Eagle hides after booking. Remember also our new 10 ticket hide package!
You can combine our Golden Eagle hides with our Black Grouse hides in March and in September-October. Have a look at images of the hides and taken from these hides at our Flickr gallery for Golden Eagle hides.
Not only Golden Eagles!
While waiting for Eagles, it is nice to photograph other forest birds visiting the smaller feeders in front of the Premium hides. We have set up natural perches for the many small birds visiting here. For example, Eurasian Jay, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Crested Tit, Willow Tit as well as Magpie, Hooded Crow and Raven visit here in addition to Eagles. Also Red Squirrel comes eagerly to the feeders.
In autumn our Golden Eagle hides offer a special photo target: fast Sparrowhawks visit our feeders and chase the Jays around. They will keep you well busy while waiting for the Eagles and are fun to photograph!
During migration season, also White-tailed Eagles visit our feeder. White-tailed Eagles can be photographed mostly in October-December and in March.
Eagle photos from low angle
Our Eagle photography hides are located in the edge of a rocky opening in the middle of a Pine forest. Baits are set up on top of a gentle slope in the middle of the opening and photography from our hides is from low angle. There is frontal lighting at the site.
Our both hides – Premium and Economy hides – have similar distances and photo opportunities for Eagles. There is wonderful visibility from our hides and the opening offers good chances for flight photos. The long distance from the hides to the forest in the background makes the birds stand out nicely in the images. The forest is covered with snow and frost during winters. In autumns, we decorate the background with colorful autumn leaves. The ground vegetation turns colors as well in September-October.
Different Golden Eagle photos in different seasons
We have been feeding Golden Eagles at our site in Utajärvi, near Oulu, already since 2005. We start to feed Eagles every year in late August. Golden Eagle photography season lasts all the way from September until to the end of March. In October, however, we advise to avoid the first days of the local Elk hunting season because Eagles can find hunting scraps from nature during this time. Our office provides more information when needed.
Autumn is a wonderful time to visit our Eagle hides. The days are long and Sparrowhawks and Eurasian Jays keep you busy while waiting for the Eagles. It’s great action! And to top of it all are the Golden Eagles with colorful autumn leaves in the background. These photos stand out!
In mid-winter the days and hide sessions are short. In December-February, the day length is at its shortest. We take this as an advantage: Golden Eagles are diurnal birds and the short daytime forces them to come to feed at the same time. Mid-winter is definitely the best time to capture fights between Eagles! It is most interesting to photograph and observe their behavior and interaction with each other.
When the spring advances, the days get longer and longer, providing more light for photography. From late February onwards, the resident Eagle pair starts to claim their territory from wintering Eagles and chase the other birds away. In spring it is possible to combine Eagle day with early morning photo session at our nearby Black Grouse hides!
Recommended equipment for our Golden Eagle hides
Eagles are big birds and can be captured with different lenses. Distance to Eagles varies from 20 to 250 meters. Lenses with 300-500 mm focal length are great for flight shots, and longer lenses are better for portraits. For action shots with Eagles with spread wings, lenses with 200-400 mm focal length are suitable. Converters can be used as well.
Smaller birds, size varying from a Blue Tit to Black Woodpecker and Eurasian Jay, that visit the feeders in front of the hides come very close, only a few meters from the hides.
Please note that Golden Eagles have exceptional vision and it is not allowed to change lenses during the hide day. We will provide instructions for successful Golden Eagle photography.
Bring your own ball head with you. Cameras are attached to sliding mounts (premium hide) or to wooden shelves (standard hides) with a standard 3/8” mounting screw. Some bean bags are available as well. Tripods cannot be used in our hides.
From the parking area, it is about 300m walk along a forest trail to the hides. In winter, proper snow boots are required to keep snow out of the shoes.
Our hides are cold or chilly when entering in the early morning. Dress warmly for the beginning of the hide session and be prepared to undress layers during your hide session when the hide warms up. Put on comfortable clothes as the day will be spent mostly sitting down. We also recommend to take woolen socks to keep warm!
Take also your own thermos with hot drinks and snacks with you for the session – the hides are not equipped with kettles for boiling water.
