2019 Migration Project
In connection with several scientific partners, we are currently working on a photographic report on the marking of migratory birds in Europe.
Our objective
Promote research for knowledge and conservation of migratory birds in Europe
Our guiding principle
Accompany the birds as they migrate from wintering areas on Atlantic coast to the northern breeding regions in Lapland
The date of departure
January 14, 2019
Latest news
Two images selected for an exhibition at the Festi'versité of the Salon de l'Ecologie de Montpellier!
October 29, 2019
Two images made this summer in Lapland by Pierre-Lou have been selected by the jury of the Festi'versité of the Salon de l'Ecologie for an exhibition in Montpellier!
You can admire this White-tailed Eagle and this long-tailed Jaeger in large format at the Parc zoologique du Lunaret until December 2nd!
Inauguration of our exhibition at the Montier Photo Festival from November 14 to 17!
October 01, 2019
We will present our exhibition "Birds and Men: Banding and Migration" for the first time at the international festival of wildlife and nature photography in Montier-en-Der from November 14 to 17!
It is the meeting place for enthusiasts and professionals in the world of wildlife and nature photography.
The Montier Photo Festival is a partner of our project and provides us with valuable support for the realization of the exhibition. A big thank you to them and see you soon for the 23rd edition of the festival!
New album : Far-off Varanger Peninsula
September 15, 2019
The last stage of Pierre-Lou's journey, the Varanger peninsula extends beyond the 70th parallel north, at the northern end of continental Europe. It is an exceptional destination for birdwatching. Pierre-Lou visited these areas during the month of July 2019 and found out many northern species, most of them nesting.
The Hornøya colony is one of the most spectacular sites in the region. It is home to about 100,000 individuals each year and up to 11 species of seabirds. An incessant ballet flies over the cliffs of this small uninhabited island in a deafening din, offering unforgettable images, a moving encounter that sounded like the completion of a long captivating journey.
Back at home !
August 11, 2019
After 7 months across Europe and memorable encounters with birds and humans, from the south of France to the far north of Finnish and Norwegian Lapland, the journey ends.
After a long and tiring return trip, AVES Photographie takes a short break, a little rest.
We make an appointment at the beginning of the school year for the latest images of the trip but also for upcoming exhibitions!
It is also with great pleasure that we announce that we will exhibit at the 23ème Festival international de la photo animalière et de Nature de Montier-en-Der from November 14th to 17th!
New album : spectacular eagles of Finnish Lapland
July 30, 2019
Pierre-Lou shares here this impressive experience that he has lived in Finnish Lapland alongside Jarmo Ahtinen and Olli-Pekka Karlin, two passionate and experienced eagle ringers.
After an important tracking work led by Petri Piisilä to locate the nests, Jarmo and Olli-Pekka go to the different sites to capture and mark the non-flying chicks on the nest, perched atop the tall trees. Threatening little chicks that sometimes weigh more than 4 kilos!
The northernmost stage: the Varanger Peninsula
July 14, 2019
Pierre-Lou has reached the extreme north of his journey, beyond the 70th parallel! He is currently traveling the Varanger Peninsula, mythical region in the world of "birders", because of the great diversity of species it hosts.
New album : back to Käsivarsi wilderness
July 13, 2019
Passing through Finnish Lapland, Pierre-Lou took the opportunity to get lost again in the wilderness of Käsivarsi he had traveled in August 2017.
But at the beginning of June, here spring only appears, the surface of many lakes is partially frozen, large and thick patches of snow still strew the vast desert landscapes of the Finnish tundra.
Numerous northern species were present throughout these 6 days of walking through the hills of the region. Find it out in image...
New album : Pentti Runko's Goldeneyes
July 06, 2019
Pierre-Lou presents in images the story of a week spent with Pentti Runko in Maaninka, in the center of Finland.
This ringing experience is the most personal that Pierre-Lou has encountered so far. A fireman by profession, Pentti has taken all his annual holidays for 35 years to give himself up to what he calls "his hobby": the ringing of Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) during the breeding season.
16342 ducklings, 261 juveniles and 474 adults; these are the numbers of Goldeneyes that he had ringed until May 3, 2019. A considerable work at the service of the knowledge of this species with which he has forged a strong link.
But much more than numbers, these results are the fruit of flawless passion and perseverance, and a considerable knowledge developed over all these years.
Many thanks to Pentti for giving me these captivating moments and for his warm welcome!
One of our images has been published in a science magazine!
June 30, 2019
In addition to our regular online publications, our goal is also to support the world of research by providing scientists with the images we have produced alongside them during our project.
They will be able to use these images to communicate on their work via different media, as for this article published on the website of the American Society of Naturalists.
At the beginning of May, we met on the island of Ruissalo the team of Bin-Yan Hsu and Suvi Ruuskanen, researchers at the University of Turku. Pierre-Lou participated with them in monitoring nest boxes of Great tit (Parus major) as part of their studies on the breeding of this species.
Good and bad news...
June 27, 2019
Bad news, Pierre-Lou had to shorten his stay in the Lofoten Islands...
The good news is that the reason for this program change is a last-minute appointment. Pierre-Lou joined Jarmo Ahtinen and Olli-Pekka Karlin in northern Finland to take part in ringing of Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)!
An impressive experience in perspective, the images will arrive soon!
New album : exploring Aasla
June 28, 2019
From May 09 to May 12, Pierre-Lou accompanied for several days Lennart Saari on the island of Aasla.
This island located in the Archipelago of Turku welcomes in spring many species in migration or breeding. And no better than Lennart Saari knows this island because it carries out species monitoring for more than 40 years. He has identified just 100 species in 4 days, and for the majority it is by ear that he was able to recognize them!
Here are some images encountered during these days at his side. A big thank you for his welcome!
New album on ringing : the authentic Jurmo Bird Observatory
June 21, 2019
During some days in May, Pierre-Lou accompanied Kim Kuntze, one of the volunteer managers and ringers of the Jurmo Bird Observatory. Despite cool weather conditions that did not favor the migratory passage, Pierre-Lou spent interesting days in a peaceful atmosphere alongside Kim and Meri, his faithful assistant!
Furthermore Pierre-Lou discovered a very different but no less effective operation for passerines ringing, compared to the Swedish station Ottenby, met a few days earlier.
New album : sea ducks at the Bengtskär lighthouse
June 19, 2019
On May 4 and 05, 2019, Pierre-Lou had the chance to visit the Bengtskär lighthouse. This small island, approximately 200m in diameter, is located south of the Turku Archipelago and is home to a large breeding eider colony (Somateria mollissima).
Many Long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) were also in staging off the island.
A big thank you to the Wilson family who welcomed me and gave me the chance to find out these singular atmospheres.
Birdwatching in Lapland alongside Eero Perttunen!
June 08, 2019
Although Eero Perttunen is a former ornithology researcher, he has not stopped chasing after the birds to photograph them in the Pelkosenniemi area, Finnish Lapland.
Eero has agreed to welcome Pierre-Lou to show him many lakes and other sites of interest in this areas that he knows well. Eero has concocted a nice program to observe and photograph for a few days the species present here!
A big thank you for his warm Finnish welcoming !
New album : the Ottenby's "duck trap"
June 07, 2019
Find out the story and images of the duck catches made at Ottenby Bird Observatory alongside Larissa and Stina, in charge of the "duck trap" this year!
At this time, the capture season only begins and it is still rather calm. Some ducks per day satisfy us. In autumn, sometimes a hundred ducks are trapped in a day!
New album on ringing : Passerines, passing through Ottenby
May 29, 2019
Here are pictures taken at the end of April at the Ottenby Bird Observatory, Sweden.
The Ottenby ringing station is probably one of the largest in Europe in terms of numbers of birds caught, especially migratory passerines, even if many waterbird captures are also carried out depending on the seasons, as well as different monitoring of migratory or breeding species.
For a week, Pierre-Lou shared the tiring yet captivating routine of this team of ringers and passionate birders.
This album presents the operations of passerine ringing passerines at the Ottenby Bird Observatory.
Well arrived in Maaninka for Goldeneye ringing
May 25, 2019
Pierre-Lou was welcomed by Pentti Runko in Maaninka, central Finland. He will accompany for a few days this ringer passionate about Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula). Fireman as a profession, he made "as a hobby" catches of females and their ducklings during the breeding season for 35 years! At present, he has already ringed over 16,000 chicks, a considerable work at the service of the knowledge of this species.
Pierre-Lou will soon present you these moments spent at his side. In the meantime, feel free to check out his Twitter account or Youtube channel!
Du terrain aux côtés de chercheurs de l'Université de Turku
May 15, 2019
At the beginning of May, Pierre-Lou participated in various field missions alongside several teams of researchers from the University of Turku.
On the island of Ruissalo, he accompanied the team of Suvi Ruuskanen and Antoine Stier to carry out monitoring and studies on breeding passerines, especially Great Tit (Parus major) and Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).
Then, he accompanied Céline Arzel and her team on the site of Evo, located further north, to set up invertebrate traps in different lakes in the study area and carry out bird survey on these same lakes. These works aims to study some factors that affect waterbird populations.
New album : Passing through southern Sweden
May 14, 2019
We have posted a new album in the section On the flyway. The photos of this album, entitled Passing through southern Sweden, were taken between April 1 and April 20 in Skåne and Kronoberg counties, located in southern Sweden.
It was with the help of Johan Elmberg, a researcher at the University of Kristianstad, that we were able to define several interesting places to visit. Thank you for his welcome and for his good advice!
Presentation of the project at the University of Turku
May 13, 2019
On Tuesday, May 14, Pierre-Lou presented our project to the researchers of the University of Turku.
After presenting the project and its construction, he used his images to explain the various capture and ringing techniques encountered so far.
Pierre-Lou has reached Finland !
May 08, 2019
After a week at Ottenby Bird Observatory in Sweden at the end of April, Pierre-Lou went to Stockholm to take a ferry to Turku in southern Finland.
The archipelago of Turku is a privileged stage for the migration of many species. Pierre-Lou has already visited two islands: in Bengtskär to photograph common eiders and then to the Jurmo Bird Observatory. Now, he is about to discover Aasla, well accompanied by the researcher Lennart Saari who carries out follow-ups for more than 40 years.
After that, Pierre-Lou will go through the University of Turku to present our project and the first results in pictures, before continuing to the North!
New album : Eiders of Christiansø
May 07, 2019
We have put online pictures of our week on the small Danish island of Christiansø.
From 09 to 15 April we participated in studies on Common eider (Somateria mollissima) during breeding period, alongside Svend Erik Garbus, veterinarian and researcher at the University of Aarhus.
Pictures, from Belgium to the Netherlands...
April 25, 2019
We put on line a new album, entitled "From Belgium to the Netherlands". It presents images made during our visit to these two countries on our way to the North.
The ponds of Virelles, the Marais d'Harchies and the Zwin in Belgium, Zeeland and the island of Texel in Holland, were our main stops, which we were able to define thanks to the precious advice of Sébastien Pierret, responsible for conservation at the Aquascope de Virelles.
Pierre-Lou arrived at the Ottenby banding station!
April 22, 2019
Pierre-Lou is about to spend a week at the Ottenby ringing station, located on the island of Öland in southern Sweden. He will participate with the team in catching passerines and ducks.
This area is a privileged site for bird migration and the ringing station is one of the largest in Europe in terms of number of captures.
AVES Photographie also did its egg hunt!
April 21, 2019
From April 9 to 15, Pierre and Pierre-Lou participated in studies on Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) during their breeding season. These studies have been carried out on the Danish island of Christiansø for 5 years by Svend Erik Garbus, veterinarian and researcher at the University of Aarhus.
Common Eiders are a species of sea ducks mainly from Northern Europe and this small island of just 500 meters in diameter is an important breeding site for this species.
And in this Easter times, one of our first missions was to raise the nests of eiders and count the eggs, often well hided. (Warning: eiders are not sensitive if we touch their nest in their absence but in other species, approaching the nest can cause the abandonment of the nest by adults, so stay away!)
We will soon present you these works more in detail, and with pictures!
A meeting with Johan Elmberg, researcher at the University of Kristianstad
April 04, 2019
When we arrived in Sweden, we met Johan Elmberg, a researcher at Kristianstad University. He helped us to identify points of particular interest in Skåne province that he knows very well.
At the same time, we had an interesting exchange about his research on geese, which can pose problems for agriculture.
Texel, the island of birds !
March 24, 2019
The island of Texel, located in the north of the Netherlands, is home to many species of breeding or migrating birds. We spent a few days there to enjoy this real island of birds!
A passage through the Aquascope de Virelles
March 21, 2019
This Friday, March 22, we had an appointment with Sebastien Pierret at the reserve of Étangs de Virelles. Sébastien presented the work done on this site and gave us interesting information on ornithological sites in Belgium and the Netherlands for the rest of the trip.
We will go through the marshes of Harchies and Zwin in Belgium, before heading to Zeeland, south of the Netherlands.
We then discovered the reserve, which was home to a few species of ducks despite the unusually high water level.
A big thank you to all the Aquascope de Virelles team for their welcome !
Pierre joined the adventure
March 20, 2019
Pierre joined Pierre-Lou to go north after the last preparations in Paris. First step, Belgium and he will travel until Sweden at the end of April!
New album : duck captures at the Grandes Cabanes du Vaccarès
March 20, 2019