BIRD WATCHING ON RUNDE ISLAND, NORWAY: Above the Cliffs and Along the Shore

Shelduck, Runde Island, Norway.

Thousands of seabirds—puffins, gannets, kittiwakes, gulls and more—make their summer home on Runde Island on the west coast of Norway. Birdwatching is always high on our list for vacation trips, so Runde was a must on our recent visit to Norway in May. After renting a car in Alesund, we drove to Runde, about a two-and-a-half hour trip which includes a ferry and numerous tunnels and bridges.

Bridge to Runde.

After leaving the main highway connecting Alesund and Bergen, we followed smaller roads along waterways, through coastal farmland (overshadowed by snow covered granite peaks), over bridges and through more tunnels, until finally arriving at the tall one-lane bridge that joins Runde to the mainland. Luckily, there is not much traffic. If you see an approaching car when you get to the top of the bridge, you wait at the layby until it passes, before proceeding down the other side.

At the information center.

Our first stop on the island was at the information center (also a café and hostel) where we learned that we were unlikely to see any puffins unless we stayed until the evening. (In mid-May the sun doesn't set until 10pm!) During the day one puffin parent goes out to sea collecting food, which it brings back at sunset to its mate, who is sitting on eggs in their tunnel nest on the cliff face. (Later in the season the food is for the puffin chicks.) So, even though we knew we probably would miss the puffins, there were plenty of other birds to see on Runde.

Starting out on the uphill path to the overlook of the bird nesting cliffs.

So, after eating a picnic lunch and parking in the designated parking lot, we set off to climb the steep path from the village to the overlook of the bird nesting cliffs. Huffing and puffing and making many stops along the way, we finally made it to the top, a distance of just one kilometer, but which seemed like much more.

As we peered over the top of the cliff face, we could see birds (gannets) wheeling over the water far below, but even with the binoculars, they were just tiny dots. We could see people at a further overlook spot, but we had no more energy for climbing and turned around to return to the bottom.

Skua.

The main path goes through a designated reserve where skuas nest. Skuas are the marauders of the bird world—in the Antarctic they prey on penguin chicks—but we had never seen them in the wild, so we felt lucky to see them here. We learned that on Runde the skuas chase the cormorants until they regurgitate the fish they have caught. Then the skuas get an easy meal. 

Pipit

On our way down the path we also spotted numerous smaller birds hopping around in the grass and perched on rocks and fenceposts.

Sheep.

Close to the village we passed a flock of sure-footed sheep, grazing on the rich green grass of the steep pasture. Like us, they were enjoying a warm, sunny day, although even in summer Runde can be cold and windy. I imagine the animals' heavy wool coats help keep them warm in the cold, dark days of winter.

Rocky shoreline on Runde.

Along the shoreline of Runde we had much better luck spotting birds. 

Greylag geese.

Some were foraging for food among the rocks or in the tall grass.

Oyster catchers.

We caught one pair of oyster catchers in the act of mating.

Kittiwake on a nest.

Some birds, like this kittiwake, were tending nests.

Kittiwakes displaying.

On the cliffs above, we watched kittiwakes performing elaborate aerial dives accompanied by loud vocalizations in what appeared to be mating rituals.

Shelduck.

In the shallow water, we spotted a swimming shelduck, its bright colors reflected in the calm water.

Shags.

And just off-shore, a group of shags had claimed a large rock. Shags are a type of cormorant. They are good swimmers and hunt for fish underwater.

After spending the night at a hotel in the nearby town of Fosnavag, we returned to Runde the following morning for more bird watching along the shore, spotting both seabirds and smaller birds like this pied wagtail.

Pied wagtail.

A total of 230 different species of birds have been sighted on Runde. Among the species we saw in our short visit were herring gulls, kittiwakes, shelducks, mallards, greylag geese, oyster catchers, hooded crows, herons, gannets, shags, swallows, wheatears, pipits, and pied wagtails. Although we never saw a puffin, the trip to Runde was still well worth the visit.

Hooded crow.

Note: Besides hiking to the top of Runde to an overlook of the cliffs, the other option for seeing the bird cliffs where the puffins nest is to take a boat trip around the island. Perhaps we can do that on another visit.

Village and path leading to cliff overlooks.