120.00€
Brown Bear photography hide
We offer the possibility to spend an unforgettable night in our Brown Bear photography hide. The hides are situated in Alutaguse, which is a huge area in N-E Estonia, covered with taiga forests and vast bogs. The area is also a home for about half of Estonia’s 700 brown bears. We have photography hides in 2 different locations with 2 different surroundings.
The old photography hides are situated in a boreal pine-dominated forest with blueberry undergrowth. The light conditions for photography are great as the trees are sparsely situated. The hide has windows only on one side.
There are 2 hides for Option 1 – a Lux-photo hide for 4 persons with photography holes on 2 different heights for every person. This is the most beloved photography hide. There is also a bigger hide for a maximum of 10 persons and photography holes on mid-level.
Most common mammals to be seen are Raccoon Dogs and Brown Bears. Other visitors include Red Fox, Red Squirrel. Common birds seen from the hide are Pied-Flycatcher, Nuthatch, Crested Tit, Common Jay, Great-spotted Woodpecker.
Where?
The Brown Bear photography hides are located in Alutaguse, N-E of Estonia. It takes about 1,5-2 hours to drive from Tallinn or Tartu to Alutaguse.
Conditions
They are simple, comfortable, cosy and have separated cabins with bunk beds, sleeping bags, pillows and a dry toilet. It is possible to take pictures through the windows and photo holes.
You can get an idea of the old hide/Option 1 by looking at a story made by BBC in 2014
At the moment Option 1 can be booked only until the end of June. At the end of April, we can confirm if it stays open until the rest of the season.
Price 120€/ per person.
The new photography hides have windows and photo holes on both sides of the hide. Northern windows overlook on a taiga forest and most common mammals to see would be the Raccoon Dogs and Brown Bears. Woodpeckers, Red Squirrels, European Nuthatches, Crested- and Willow Tits and Jays visit the feeders.
Southern windows offer a view on a stream and a flooded meadow. Sometimes Elk and Roe Deer would come to feed on the meadow and European Beavers might occasionally swim by. Ural Owl and Red Fox come here to hunt for mice and sometimes also Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle and buzzards come by and look for prey. Other rare visitors include Wolf, Lynx, Eurasian Otter and Mink.
Where?
The Brown Bear photography hides are located in Alutaguse, N-E of Estonia. It takes about 1,5-2 hours to drive from Tallinn or Tartu to Alutaguse.
Conditions
They are simple, comfortable and cosy, they have separated cabins with bunk beds and a dry toilet. It is possible to take pictures through the windows and photo holes. This is also the only difference between the Brown Bear and wildlife watching hide and Brown Bear photography hide – for the photographers, we also open the photo holes for a low photographic angle.
The light conditions are the best during the second part of May and in June. The photo holes are about 60 cm from the floor. The terrain slopes upwards from the northern side, which offers an opportunity for a lower photographic angle.
You can use your tripod. For professional photographers, we suggest having two tripods and cameras – one pointing at the meadow side and the other at the forest side.
Price 120€/ per person.
It is possible to stay in the hide every night.
in Spring (May, June, July and August) 17:00 PM – 8:00 AM
in Autumn (September/October) 16:00/15:00 – 8:00
Option 2 – Gerlach Photography – http://www.focus-on-wildlife.de/blog/156-herbst-in-estland.html
Option 1 – Aare Udras– http://udras.eu/loodusepildialbum/mommi/photoalbum
Option 1 – Pawel Makar – http://www.pbase.com/pawelmakar/estonia
Option 1 – Kestutis Cepenas- http://en.naturephoto.lt/photography/rudasis_lokys_ursus_arctos_brown_bear_2
Katrin (store manager) –
I just wanted to thank you very much for the beautiful bear watching experience. Everything was well organised, the photo hide was very well positioned, very clean, and I had the possibility to photograph several bears, including a mother with three cubs. Again, thank you very much. Next year we will take more time to experience Estonia and book a photo safari with you.
Pawel from Poland (store manager) –
This photo hide is like **** hotel:)