This trip was primarily for sightseeing purposes, though one eye was always kept on the wildlife and a trip was made to the nature reserve at Reppen which held several wader species but nothing unfamiliar to British birders.  It was not possible to use a local guide for a day or half a day as none were available.  Overall the number of birds (rather than species) seen without the local knowledge of a guide was low, and some omissions were very surprising (e.g. Dippers despite looking at several apparently suitable rivers). 

We stayed at the Park Hotel in Voss, which was an ideal venue close to a lake shore and some conifers which held different birds on different days as migrants presumably passed through, including Icterine Warbler, Willow Tit and Yellow Wagtail.  Elsewhere Nutcrackers were relatively conspicuous, being seen on most days.

The ferry crossing from Newcastle on the first day was very productive, with a whale, dolphins and porpoises seen as well as birds including Long-tailed Skua and Sooty Shearwaters.  The return journey was less productive due to the conditions being less calm but still produced two shearwater species and Great Skuas.

Bird list (including all species seen from the ferry):

Fulmar
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Eider
Goldeneye
Goosander
Merlin
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Oystercatcher
Turnstone
Dunlin
Curlew
Whimbrel
Redshank
Common Sandpiper
Snipe
Great Skua
Pomarine Skua
Long-tailed Skua
BH Gull
Common Gull
Kittiwake
Herring Gull
GBB Gull
LBB Gull
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Little Tern
Guillemot
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Swift
Green Woodpecker
GS Woodpecker
Sand Martin
House Martin
Swallow
Meadow Pipit
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Icterine Warbler
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Goldcrest
Spotted Flycatcher
Marsh Tit
Willow Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Starling
Nutcracker
Magpie
Jackdaw
Raven
Hooded Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Brambling
Siskin
Greenfinch
Lesser Redpoll
Reed Bunting

Cetaceans – Minke whale, presumed Bottle-nosed Dolphins and several pods of porpoises on the ferry over.  Two pods of porpoises also seen in the fjords on the Norway in a Nutshell cruise from Flam.

Butterflies – Brimstone, Green Veined White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady

Dragonflies - none