July – seabirds at Røst

July is peak season to watch seabirds at Røst, and the highlight of the summer is to go off Skomvær – the outermost island in the archipelago – to watch Storm Petrels (havsvaler). They are attracted to chum of cod liver, and this mid-july we had one of the best trips ever, with an unusual concentration of storm petrels.

Other seabirds often come by, like Fulmars (havhest) and Great Skuas (storjo). 

A nice surprise was two immature Long-tailed Skuas (fjelljo) circling around the boat, offering us good views. One was a 2nd cy. bird, the other was a 3rd cy. – both plumages rarely seen in the region.

On the way along the bird cliffs, we meet the regular breeding species.

Razorbills (alke) having a dispute.

Puffin (lunde) with a mouthfull.

Guillemots (lomvi) gather under the colony calling for their chicks to take the great leap from the cliffs. Once united with a parent bird on the water, the chick will be led out in open sea where food is abundant.

Quite a few White-tailed Eagles (havørn) hang around the bird cliffs – most of them immature birds.

The eagles are an annoyance to the local breeding Peregrine (vandrefalk)

Nevertheless, the Peregrines bred successfully, and by late July three sound juvenile falcons were on their wings!

Four days mid-July was spent at the field station at Hernyken, assisting the seabird research program run by The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA).

The main focus is on the Puffins, and to determine their food supply is an important task.

A selection of Puffin chicks is taken out from their burrows every fourth day, and weight and measurements are controlled. The growth will tell us much about the food supply.

Black Guillemots (teist) are also subject to studies. Here a chick is ringed.

Most Black Gullemots breeding around the field station have an individual colour ring and a light-level logger. The individual rings help us determine what food sources they use on an individual basis. The light-level logger gives valuable information about the bird’s whereabouts the rest of the year. Here is SH with a Rock Gunnel (tangsprell).