The Birdwatcher aka The Observer (Estonian title: Vaatleja) is an Estonian film directed by Arvo Iho for the Tallinnfilm studio, filmed in 1987 in the northern Urals, and first shown in cinemas in 1988. It stars Svetlana Tormahova as a Russian forester and Erik Ruus as a student who meets her while studying ornithology on the island where she works.

Plot

24-year old Estonian ornithology student Peeter travels to a small island in the Russian North for fieldwork, where he meets Aleksandra, a middle-aged Russian forester and poacher. They begin a love/hate relationship that leads to tragic consequences when Peeter is killed in a trap set by Aleksandra.