A visit to the Hornøya bird island, the seabird city, is a visit to one of the wildest and most extreme places in Europe.
www.hornoya.com/
Hornøya is the jewel of Varanger Peninsula, a wild island inhabited by 80 000 seabirds, including over 7 500 pairs of Puffins and approximately 500 pairs of the scarce Brünnich’s Guillemot.
Hornøya is a small, 0.4 square kilometers (99 acres), uninhabited island located outside the Vardø town, surrounded by the vast expanse of the Barents Sea. Hornøya is the easternmost point in Norway.
The Vardø (Vuoreija, Vuorea, Várggát) town is located in Finnmark county, in the extreme northeastern part of Norway on the arctic island of Vardøya in the Barents Sea, just off the coast of the large Varanger Peninsula.
Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway and in all the Nordic countries - and Norway’s only town in the Arctic climate zone.
It is just a 10-minute boat trip from the Vardø harbor to Hornøya.
Hornøya is birdwatchers paradise. Hornøya bird cliff is the easternmost protected nature reserve in Norway. It has one of the largest seabird colonies in Norway.
Puffin is one of the famous faces of Hornøya. Over 7500 pairs of puffin breed inside burrows on grassy slopes and clifftops. Each pair mates for life.
Approximately 500 pairs of Brünnich’s Guillemot breed on the birdcliff, wedged between the tightly packed Common Guillemots.
Common Guillemot is the most numerous bird on Hornøya, with 15000 breeding pairs.
Approximately 500 pairs of Razorbill breed among rock crevices on the birdcliff. Razorbill is the closest living relative to the extinct flightless Great Auk, which used to breed on Hornøya.
Black Guillemot is one of the smaller seabirds you are likely to see around Hornøya. They are distinctive birds, with an all-black body, white wing patches and bright red feet.
Delicate Black-legged Kittiwake gull is an important fixture in the Hornøya soundscape, named after their “kitti-wa-aake, kitti-wa-aake” call.
Glaucous Gulls on Hornøya are visitors from the Russian tundra, where they breed.
Large numbers of Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls breed on the grassy eastern slope of Hornøya and on neighbouring Reinøya.
European Shag is a success story on Hornøya, having increased massively in number since the 1990s. Some 1300 pairs now breed on the island.
Great Cormorants do not actually breed on Hornøya but they are common in the surrounding area, often seen perched on rocks with their wings held outstretched to dry their feathers.
Arctic Skuas do not breed on Hornøya, but hunt in the waters around the island. They attack and rob other seabirds.
Fulmars have a toehold on Hornøya, with a handful of pairs nesting on the cliff each year.
Arctic-breeding Leach’s Petrels must wait until the autumn to begin their breeding season.
Gyrfalcons, the largest falcon in the world, do not breed on Hornøya but regularly visit the island to hunt.
White-tailed Eagles do not breed on Hornøya, but visit to hunt the seabirds.
Small numbers of Greylag and Barnacle Geese breed amongst the gull colony.
One of Varanager’s signature species, King Eiders arrive to the waters around Hornøya in winter from their Siberian breeding grounds,
Common Eiders are present all year around Hornøya. Small numbers breed on the island in the summer.
Ravens can be seen patrolling Hornøya in pairs or small flocks.
In addition to the seabirds, Hornøya supports a population of pipits on the grassy areas of the island. Three species breed here, the ubiquitous Meadow Pipit, the Rock Pipit and the rarer Red-throated Pipit, an Arctic specialist.
Twite are a species of finch that can be found on Hornøya, often perched on the wires and buildings around the lighthouse.
Hornøya in autumn provides a welcome rest stop for scores of migrating birds. Redwings, Bluethroats, Twite, Common Redpolls, Lapland Buntings, Snow Buntings, pipits and even migrant geese use the islands as a refouge.
Hornøya is also a great place to spot Grey Seals, Orcas and in summer there is also the rare chance of seeing Belugas.
Vardø gets its name from the words wolf and island. On "wolf island" people have lived for over a thousand years. The rich natural resources of the outer Varangerfjord have created the basis of life for people.
The Vardø tunnel (Vardøtunnelen) connects the island of Vardøya to the village of Svartnes on the Varanger Peninsula on the mainland.
Vardø is housing the Globus II and Globus III radar systems used for space observation and Arctic airspace monitoring. The white globes of Globus system can be seen from Hornøya.
The Komafest urban art and graffiti event was organized in Vardø in 2012. Komafest’s focus is to highlight depopulation problems in the northern regions. Artists created about fifty art works on the walls of abandoned houses and warehouses in Vardø. The name Komafest plays on the imagery of Vardø waking up from a long comatic sleep and starting to return to life.
10 сен 2024
