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Life above the Arctic Circle is really for the birds



May and June are prime times to be on Fleinvaer to catch migrating birds making a pitstop on their way to nesting grounds farther north and resident birds setting up housekeeping for the short summer. Geese, snipe, eiders, crows, eagles, seagulls, ptarmigan and various smaller songbirds all appear on the island this time of year as nature wakes up from its winter rest.


Many of the birds who have come to breed on Fleinvaer are ground nesters. These nests are next to impossible to spot until you are literally right on top of them. That’s why it’s important to remain on established trails and the one narrow dirt road to avoid stressing nesting birds or worse, destroying any eggs.


The easiest birds to spot are the greylag geese. Large birds with orange beaks that are on their way north from their winter homes in southern Europe and northern Asia. Many stop briefly for a rest on Fleinvaer before continuing on to higher latitudes. But some decide to stay for the summer and raise their chicks here. These are the most common wild geese in Europe and the ancestor to most modern domestic geese. There is a nesting pair right next to the trail with the eggs visible and they are massive!!!


On the other end of the spotting spectrum are the snipe. They are everywhere here this time of year sitting on their ground nests, but good luck seeing them. The only way you know they are around is by the distinct sound the males make when they dive downward from the sky. I can only describe it as a techno-goat bleating sound. Or what a UFO would sound like as it takes off. Walking along the trails, the sound is everywhere as snipes shoot out of their camouflaged nests long before you know they are even nearby. My goal is to responsibly capture an image of a snipe before leaving Fleinvaer.


Speaking of goals, among them for this visit was spotting and photographing one of the local willow ptarmigans. These Arctic dwellers don’t migrate. Instead they have thick muscles and plumage that keeps them warm all winter in these northern latitudes. The only concession they may make to the cold is coming down from the mountains in the fjords to the valleys where it may be easier to find the grasses, leaves, berries and seeds upon which they feed. Their plumage turns white in the winter and back to mottled brown in the summer making for perfect camouflage from predators. Unfortunately, thanks to global warming the white plumage season lasts into late spring, making the birds quite visible in these early warming months.


One of the ptarmigans’ predators is the European whitetail sea eagle. This is a massive bird of prey with a wingspan of up to eight feet and weighing in around nine pounds. On my last visit to the island in the fall of 2024, a pair of these eagles were a common sight soaring on the thermals and air currents overhead. The few human residents here tell me that this time of year the eagles are nesting on other islands and are occasionally spotted hunting for fish or ground nesting birds.


When it comes to showy plumage, it’s hard to top the male Eider duck. These are among the largest ducks and are common in Northern Europe and North America where they live during the summer months in breeding colonies of a few dozen to several thousand. The males in their breeding plumage are impressive sights gliding effortlessly near the shore here on Fleinvaer. Bright white and glistening black feathers cover their bodies. They have a black cap, speckled neck ring and a green patch stretching from the back of the head down the nape of their neck. Finishing off the ensemble is a bill that is orange to yellow. Typical among birds, the females are a plain, mottled brown. But both are among the speed demons in the sky, clocking in up to 70 miles-per-hour.


Another showy bird here is the Eurasian oystercatcher and one of the four sub-species of this group nests on Fleinvaer. It has striking black and white plumage, a long straight orange-red bill, red eyes and relatively short dull pink legs. The sexes are similar in appearance but the bill of the female is longer than that of the male. Oystercatchers breed in Northern Europe and spend their winter months in southern Europe and north Africa. They hang out here in pairs on the shoreline and in the smaller inland tidal pools hunting for small crustaceans and mollusks.


Crows are a common bird around the world, but that in no way diminishes their importance. On Fleinvaer it's the hooded crow that flies overhead looking for an easy meal. Crows are opportunistic feeders and show up uninvited whenever anyone is cleaning fish, cooking outdoors or taking out the trash. Last week I watched as a crow attempted to steal a freshly caught fish from a very disgruntled looking sea otter. Hooded crows are very distinctive looking with an ashy gray body and contrasting black head, wings and tail. They live throughout Europe extending down into parts of Africa, Iraq and Iran. Fun fact — The hooded crow is one of the 37 Norwegian birds depicted in the Bird Room of the Royal Palace in Oslo.


Wherever you have saltwater and land you will have seagulls. They are among the more ubiquitous birds in the world with unmistakable screeches and calls as the whirl around overhead. There are 23 different species of seagulls in the world and seven of them live in Norway. The most common one I’ve been spotting are the black backed gulls. Like the hooded crows, these are opportunistic feeders not at all shy about trying to get a free meal wherever and whenever possible. A seal trying to hunt in shallow waters the other day had a cloud of seagulls gliding just above his head and watching from nearby rocks hoping to cash in on its hunting skills. Any island would just not seem complete without these shameless and comedic thieves.


There are many more birds that call the islands of Arctic Norway home. For a complete list, I recommend checking out these websites:







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