2025 for us was a recce without clients as there were new hides and locations to explore and we always like to check them out first. Wow is all we can say!!! The black grouse setup is amazing, really good hides with slots for low angle and normal sitting angle per photographer. Having two hides is great, one is backlit that is perfect for sunny mornings and the other is front lit for cloudy / rainy days. That way we will not get affected by the weather. No one can predict the climate at the moment, so we will not and cannot promise snow, all we can say is that it is usual at this time of the year to have snow and if we get it both black grouse hides are epic!!! Black grouse is an early morning shoot so in the afternoon we balanced our time between the two Goshawk hides, one on the edge of a forest and the second actually at our accommodation! Both yielded great goshawk images, the latter gave us some lovely bullfinch and siskin too. 

Our priority was the grouse and goshawk so we did not use the golden eagle hide this time but we have before, going into the hide if there is snow after a grouse session (taking breakfast and lunch with us). This year there were no Great Grey Owls around but most seasons there are so we will take advantage of these as well if the opportunity arises!

As always with Jari and Kaisa the operations and hides are first class and the accommodation is wonderful too. This is going to be an epic tour that will suit all levels of photographer, access to the hides is easy with a maximum walk across a field of 200m.

Dates:              March 28th to April 1st 2026

Availability:     5 / 6 places available

Cost:                 £3250 per person no single supplement

So here are all the essential facts that you need for this trip....

Hide Sessions - we have scheduled 4 morning black grouse sessions and 3 afternoon hide sessions for goshawk plus an adhoc golden eagle session as required. Trust me this will be well enough!

Weather - it might be snowy, it might rain. It might be sunny it might be cloudy!! We cannot tell. It can be -12C or 5C, it all depends. All hides have some form of basic heater.

Daily Plan - The days are long and packed with photography. We leave our accommodation at 445am sharp for the drive to the hides. Usually we are finished by 9am, so we will return for breakfast at the villa and a welcome sleep. Or after breakfast you can use the hide at the villa to photograph various birds including Goshawks (we saw one every day of our stay). After lunch we will head out for the afternoon, either to the main Goshawk hide or for some other local wildlife if we get a tip off. Usually we finish at 830pm, when you will return to the Villa for a home cooked dinner and bed before your next day's adventures begin. If we decide to do the golden eagle hide then we will take packed breakfast and lunch and head there straight after the grouse. We will likely stay there most of the day, returning to the villa for dinner and bed. On departure day you will have another black grouse session, time for a shower / sleep / last garden photo session before leading to the airport. 

Accommodation and food - superb! We will stay at the Villa Finnature, a wonderful exclusive forest house just for our group. Bedrooms are for single / couple occupancy, rooms are warm, showers / toilets are shared per group of rooms and the food is amazing!!! It's a real home from home and everyone loves the vibe of staying there!

Black Grouse Hides - As we said above there are two very different black grouse hides. The main one where you will spend most of your time is the backlit hide shown below. As you can see there are multiple slots for low angle and seated hides and it is very comfortable. There will be 2-3 photographers per hide at this location as you each have space to setup two lenses, one high and one low.....

The third set of images shows the lay flat hides at the front lit location. Here you will share with one other photographer and again have space for two setups, there are chairs to sit comfortably!

All hides have sleeping bags for you to sit in if you are cold and simple candle heaters that are very effective. You will not have to take a tripod with you, just a tripod head (Flexshooter discount rates are available for all clients) as the hides have flat metal plates with 3/4" bolt to screw the head on to. They are basic but comfortable as you are there for the photography first and foremost!

Toilet wise there are no toilets in the hides, you will be provided with a bucket! Obviously we will not mix sexes unless you are a couple. 

Goshawk hides - At the villa the hide is on the side of the house, has a non reflective glass window and plenty of chairs for you to sit. You either handhold or use your own tripod here. The goshawk visits several times a day. For the main Goshawk hide you will be 4-5 photographers in old converted caravans, there are no low angle slots since the Goshawk perch is eye level. There is good heating in both hides, the Villa obviously has good toilets and the caravans have curtained off chemical toilets.

The golden eagle hide is similar to the black grouse hides as you will not need tripods, it is very warm, comfortable and has a decent chemical toilet at the entrance.

Of course black grouse and Goshawks aren't the only species we might see....

Photography Kit - For the grouse they can be variable in location but a 600mm lens will be too tight for most shots apart from single bird portraits. So a 200-600, 100-500, 150-400 will be perfect for this. The goshawks are perfect for a 300mm reach. If we do golden eagles then they will be further away and you will need at least 500m to get a nice shot. So it's not a difficult ask this one. You will need decent tripod heads for this trip.

Fitness and Health - In terms of fitness this is a very easy trip.  You will need to be able to carry your kit across a field with sometimes uneven footing but the distances involved are fairly short (around 300m), please ask us directly if you are unsure.  The golden eagle hide is a 10 minute walk along a level forest track. If we do the Great Grey Owls then you will be walking along a road or through or field. In short anyone with average fitness can manage this trip.

Group size - We will have 6 photographers on this trip so that you will have maximum opportunity to get those great shots. You will have two professional guides on this trip to help you, Andy Rouse and Jari Peltomaki. They will take their hide spaces when all clients have chosen theirs.

Why an Andy Rouse safari?- Myself and Jari will be there at all times to help you to ensure that you get the maximum from the trip, we are both very approachable and always happy to help. Logistically everything will be arranged from once you land in Finland to when you depart, so you have no worries there. My tours deliver, that is the bottom line, when you come with us you get quality from start to finish.  Before the trip we will provide you will a comprehensive pre-departure guide which details everything you need to take with you, photographic and otherwise. Of course there will always be people offering cheaper trips, but they are cheaper for a reason.

Bonded tour operator - We are proud members of the Travel Trust Association, which means that you can book with confidence knowing that your money will be held safely in trust until the completion of the tour.  The TTA is an independent trade organisation of tour operators that we are proud members of.  The TTA provides guarantees for your booking with us in two forms. The first is that all monies are deposited to a trustee managed trust bank account and any payments to / from them have to be authorised at several levels. Secondly your booking is protected by the TTA Safe Seat Plan and Supplier Failure Cover, both of which are insurance policies to protect your money from fraud and supplier failure.