Bird watching IN NORWAY

A flock of male Common Eider with one female
Tekstboks: The municipality of Loppa covers an area of 695 sq. km. Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, the area not only offers some great seabird colonies, it is also the home of Finnmark's highest mountain with Svartfjellet at 1,218 m. above sea level. Loppa is also the home of Finnmark's largest glacier with Øksfordkulen covering 26 sq. km. The habitat is wild and varied - just like the bird life. The main sea-bird colony is also called Loppa and covers the an area of 7,2 sq.km on the north westerly side of the island. Of this 2,4 sq.km is land based, consisting of a plateau and  steep cliff face that drops 200m into the sea.  Most of the seabirds can be found in the areas Svarthelleren and Storskardet. At Krykkjeberget, in the  northerly part of the reserve, you will find a slight change in habitat. Here you will find that steep cliff faces are replaced by steep slopes, some with patches of grassland and grass covered ledges. The plateau is also covered in vegetation, a mixture of grassland and heather and a bountiful supply of Cloudberries. By the end of May all four species of Diver will be passing by. Duck numbers too will be on the increase with both Common Teal and Northern Pintail joining the resident Mallards. Common Eider will just be starting their breeding season, but still check the flocks for King Eider as this species has been recorded. It won't be long before the Long-tailed Ducks start heading to their freshwater breeding sites. Both Red-breasted Merganser and Goosander can be seen. White-tailed Eagle can be seen throughout the year while Rough-legged Buzzard is a migrant. Four species of Falcon have been recorded including Gyr. Waders are represented with the usual species. Coastal habitat and tidal areas should  produce such species as Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank while moorland habitat should produce European Golden Plover, Whimbrel and a chance of Eurasian Dotterel. Both Ruff and Red-necked Phalarope have been recorded, so keep an eye open for these species as well. Moving on to seabirds. Arctic Skua breed in the area while Great Skua seems to be on the increase. Gull numbers on the other hand are always good with breeding Common Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Black-legged Kittiwakes number a few hundred pairs and are a typical cliff nesting specie, laying their eggs on ledges on the steepest of the cliff faces. These cliff faces are shared by a host of other species Common Guillemot and Razorbill are just two of the auk family that nest in varying numbers. As with other seabird reserves, also Loppa has seen its auk colonies decrease in numbers over the years. Of the auks, it is the Atlantic Puffin that is the most numerous. As this species nests in burrows it is the grassy areas that are the most sought after, the birds returning to the same burrow year after year. With an estimated 20,000 pairs. The last members of the family is not as numerous, Black Guillemot can  be found nesting along most of the sea bound side of the island and there has been winter observations of Brunnich's Guillemot. There is breeding records of both Short-eared and Tengmalm's Owl, but it is worth noting that both species are rodent specialists, and may only be found in the area when numbers of mice and lemming are high. Several Passerines have been recorded, though the area is definitely under watched. Both Meadow Pipit and Rock Pipit breed while Tree Pipit have been seen in the breeding season. White Wagtail are amongst the first of the migrants to arrive and are quickly joined by Hedge Accentor. By mid May Common Cuckoo can be heard calling and White-throated Dipper maybe all ready feeding young if they have breed.  Check areas of scrub willow for Bluethroat while Northern Wheatear prefers more open areas. Both Fieldfare and Redwing breed on the island though numbers can vary from year to year. The same can be said for Sedge Warbler while Willow Warbler seem always to be plentiful. Brambling and Redpoll are two of the commoner members of the finch family while buntings are represented by Reed and Snow and Lapland Longspur.   How to get there: There is daily arrivals of both the northward and southward bound coastal steamers throughout the year. Other than that you can follow route 882 to Øksfjord. From here there is a local ferry to Nuvsvåg where you can follow the road to Bergsfjord. To get to the seabird colonies you could ask Bergsfjord-ferie who run boat trips. However please remember that there maybe restrictions during the breeding season on the reserve. Click here for map

Loppa

White-tailed Eagle

Reed Bunting can be seen

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