Hüttler Béla was a young man when he began to work as a bird mounter at the Museum of Natural Sciences at the end of the 1950's. He also loved photography and was excellent at it. He developed his color pictures himself. The pictures helped him to mount species and create dioramas.

From 1968 until his death he was the head mounter of the Royal Museum of Sweden. He did a number of field trips and expeditions that he also documented with photos. The photos of the bird hills of the north were taken during 1969-1971.


"... Hundreds of thousands of gulls were on the moldings and whenever it was possible there was a dirty nest sometimes with a little bird or two in. ...

When a gull was close, I could take a photo with all details, but when they were far away, then all the photo showed was a white form. In addition, the birds on the moulds formed lines as if somebody had strung them on. ...

An indescribable noise accompanied the view. The voices of the birds closer could be deciphered, but everything still sounded like the noise coming from a schoolyard. However, here the noise came from the throat of thousands of creatures.

I never had a day like that before. I believe I am blessed for my fate and my will that brought me here to the Svarholt bird hill where the laws of the birds are so catchingly obvious.

(Herman Ottó: From the Land of Northern Bird Hills)