Birdwatch Norway ... Båtsfjord

The Scandinavian Birding Experience

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Situated furthest north on the Varanger peninsula between Berlevåg and Vardø, Båtsfjord is Norway's largest fishing village. The borough covers
an area of 1,431 sq. km including Finnmark's highest mountain pass over Ordofjell at 400 m.a.s. With the Barents Sea pounding the rocky
coastline, Båtsfjord is at the mercy of the elements, but it is a great place to visit with the worlds northern most Gannet colony to be found on
the stack at Syltefjordstauran. The two pairs that were discovered
in 1961 have now grown to well over 300 pairs

What To Expect:
140 species have been recorded at Båtsfjord.Here you will find a selection of some of the species that have been recorde.

Winter/Resident: Common Eider, Great Cormorant, Div Gulls, Magpie, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow.


Summer/Breeding: Whooper Swan, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, King Eider, Steller's Eider. Common Scoter. Velvet Scoter, Great-Northern Diver, White-billed Diver, Eurasian Dotterel, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Little Gull, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Brunnich's Guillemot Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Bohemian Waxwing, Bluethroat, Ring Ouzel, Twite, Arctic Redpoll,

Passage/Rarities: Bewick's Swan, Brent Goose, Barnacle Goose,
Gadwall, Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Hen Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red Knot, Sanderling, Pectorial Sandpiper, Great Snipe,
Terek Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Bridled Tern, Whiskered Tern,
Red-backed Shrike, Rose-coloured Starling.
 
How to Get There: The walk out to Syltefjordsstauren (stack) is not an
easy one. For those wishing to make the walk then you can drive
towards Veines, turning left when you see the sign for Nordfjord. From
here its hard walk out to the colony. For many however, viewing the
colony from the sea will produce most of the species. This being the
case contact the local tourist officeand find out if there are any local fishermen that are willing to take you out.

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