Most of the period from mid-July to mid-August we spent at Røst. However, the really celebrity of the summer was found at neighbour island Værøy: an Oriental Pratincole (orientbrakksvale), only the fifth record for Norway of this East-Asian species.

One of the highlights of the summer at Røst is the pelagic trips off Skomvær where we chum for the European Storm Petrel (havsvale). We did two trips, and while the first was rather unsuccessful, the second went well with a good dozen of birds showed off nicely.

Other guests on the pelagic trip was Fulmar (havhest)…

…and Gannet, here represented by two immature birds.

The skerries near Skomvær also host a good population of Harbour Seals (steinkobbe).

On the main island Røstlandet, the Red-necked Phalarope (svømmesnipe) are among our favourites.

While the adult birds start to fade into winter plumage already in July, we really enjoyed the young birds in their fresh, pristine plumage.

Whimbrel (småspove) is breeding on the island.

Dunlin (myrsnipe) also breeds locally but appears to have declined in recent years.

Red-throated Divers (smålom) had success this summer; at least two couples raised chicks.

Northern Pintail (stjertand) breeds in good numbers. This female managed to raise nine chicks!

We have been concerned about the Arctic Skuas (tyvjo) the recent years. With their parasitic behaviour they attack other seabirds and steal their food. With the dramatic decline of many species – particularly kittiwakes and terns – they have had trouble to raise chicks.

Therefor we were happy to see at least three pairs breeding successfully around the island this summer. Here a dark morph young bird (parent to the right)…

…and a light morph bird of the year.

The Little Gull (dvergmåke) stayed throughout the summer, gradually moulting into winter plumage, loosing its black cap day by day.

A more surprising bird was a male Yellow Wagtail (gulerle) seen throughout the summer. A female was also seen by a couple of occasions, but no sign of successful breeding.

By the start of august, the wader migration was well underway, dominated by Ruff (brushane)…

…and Spotted Redshank (sotsnipe).

The first flocks of adult Knots (polarsnipe) also rested on the island…

… and the first Little Stints (dvergsnipe) showed up.

On a short trip up to the main Lofoten Islands, a couple of really impressive bull Elks (elg) was a highlight.

Sand Martins (sandsvale) roosting in Lofoten.

A stopover at Saltfjellet on the mainland gave a nice encounter with a female Lapland Bunting (lappspurv).

Also a good number of Long-tailed Skuas (fjelljo) were seen feeding over Saltfjellet.