Spring in Lofoten and Vesterålen

May-June

Spring develops slowly in the north, but from Mid-May the hillsides explode in green and the migratory birds gradually arrive. 

The first adventure involves enormous flocks of Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese, pausing to feed in Vesterålen on their way to the breeding grounds in Spitsbergen.

Black Grouse and Willow Ptarmigan lek in marshes and hillsides, and waterfowl and shorebirds return to the wetlands.

Even if the weather is cold and unstable, late migrants like Bluethroat and Sedge Warbler will sing from the start of June. And when the Cuckoo can be heard from the hillsides, we can declare the summer for open!

Target species:

Early period:
Black Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Red-throated Loon, White-tailed Eagle, Black-headed Gull, Black Guillemot, White-throated Dipper, Reed Bunting

Later period:
Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Black-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Merlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Ruff, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Parasitic Jaeger, Common Cuckoo, Short-eared Owl, Sedge Warbler, Ring Ouzel, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Pied Flycatcher, Brambling.