Short trip report Faroe Islands July Matts Lindbladh, Malmö, Sweden

Transcription

1 Short trip report Faroe Islands July Matts Lindbladh, Malmö, Sweden The trip was not mainly focused on birding, but on hiking and to experience the Faroe Islands in general. However, the Faroe Islands offer rather exciting birding and photo opportunities during breeding season, in spite of that there are surprisingly few reports available in English. Here follows a report from the summer of 2017 and some information and advices that might be useful. We rented a nice two-bedroom house (7 nights, ~1500 ) with a fjord view through Airbnb in Kaldbak some 20 minutes north of Torshavn, and rented a car through Avis (~800 ). I recommend two booklets; Birds of Faroe Islands, and for hikers Hiking in the Faroe Islands. Both available on visitfaroeislands.com or can be picked up at the airport or tourist office in Torshavn. We took the ferry Norröna from Hirtshals in Denmark to Torshavn, but flew back. The boat trip was nice, also from a birding perspective. Many Gannets and Fulmars and quite a few Great Skuas followed the ferry, in particular along the Norwegian coast and when we passed the Shetland Islands. I was able to get some good pictures from the stern of the ferry (sheltered from the wind). It was rather windy (perhaps 15 m/s at times), which might have increased the numbers of birds seen. Northern Gannet and Great Skua, North Sea, Norröna ferry, July 2, 2017 On the Faroe Islands the highlight from a birder s perspective is of course Mykines. I have visited bird cliffs before; Runde and Hornøya in Norway. Mykines is better than the former from a birders perspective, and at least equal to the latter, with the scenery at Mykines (and everywhere else at the Faroes) more stunning than almost anywhere else I have visited. We tried unsuccessfully several months ahead to book for staying overnight. We did not book the boat until two days in advance, but were lucky as the large interest made them add an extra trip that day. It is advisable to keep an eye at the weather forecast as they don t run in high winds from the wrong direction. We got tickets to a trip that left Sørvágur at 12 am, with a return That was enough for hiking back and forth to the westernmost tip at Mykineshólmur, but needless to say, we would not have minded to stay longer. Puffins, Gannets, Fulmars and Kittiwakes were everywhere, and both Great Skua and Parasitic Jaeger were very common. Although the number of puffins were overwhelming (you literally step on them), apparently the numbers are constantly dropping over the years. We saw many birds with the beaks loaded with fish, I don t know how much this observation is worth but

2 hopefully it was a good sign for successful breeding this summer. I was able to spot a group of Manx Shearwaters way off from the Mykines harbor just before the boat picked us up. Mykineshólmur lighthouse, Mykines, July 5, 2017 We did a nice hike from Miðvágur to Bøsdalafossur (hike 15 in the booklet as above). Many Whimbrels, Oystercatchers, Common Snipes, Northern Wheatears and a few pairs of Parasitic Jaegers were seen. On the cliffs bred Fulmars, and Kittiwakes flew in a constant stream across the lake. Lesser Black-backed gull where common here, as everywhere else. Atlantic Puffin. Mykines July 5, 2017 Another nice place was the village Gjógv. Apart from the village itself and the spectacular gorge/harbor, there is a trail up the steep pastures to bird cliffs with breeding Puffins and Fulmars. We furthermore did a hike Oyndarfjørdur-Eldsvik back and forth (hike 6), which produced some inlands species, for instance Golden Plover. The last day before leaving we took the ferry to Nólsoy, and spend the evening there. We started by visiting the shop of Mr. Ornithologist at Faroe Island, Jens-Kjeld Jensen (a small fee). We checked out the stuffed birds and he informed us about the bird life on the islands. Nólsoy hosts the world s largest colony of European Storm-petrels, and we had hopes to spot a few before the ferry left. But we were told they do not show up before around when the pairs change guard. JensKjeld offers guided tours, but we had to return with the ferry However, he said there was a good chance of seeing Manx Shearwaters from the northern tip in the evenings, and we hiked out there and had a nice couple of hours with all the usual seabirds passing close the tip. And around seven several groups of shearwaters showed up from the north and passed rather close to the tip and then south on the east side of the island. The island also hosted a large colony of Artic Terns.

3 The Faroe Islands in summer was a very nice experience, a perfect combination of tourisms, hiking and birding. The village of Gjógv and the bird cliffs, July 4, 2017 List of birds seen Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) Sångsvan Two individuls several days at Mjáuvøtn (Streumoy) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Gräsand Several individuals Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Ejder Common along the coast Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus Serrator) Småskrake A few individuals seen Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellate) Smålom Two individuals, Kaldbaksfjørður July 4th Common Loon (Gavia immer) Svartnäbbad islom One adult in summer plumage and one first summer, Kaldbaksfjørður July 4-7. The species doos not breed on the Faroes, but are regularly seen. Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) Stormfågel on the Faroes and hundreds seen from the ferry in the North Sea Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) Mindre lira Around 10 seen off the harbor in Mykines July 5, and 13 flying southeast as seen from the northern tip of Nólsoy July 7 Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) Havssula A very common breeder at Mykines and hundreds seen from the Norröna ferry in the North Sea. European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) Toppskarv A few individuals seen along the coast, around 50 in Tjørnuvik (Streumoy) July 6 Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) Strandskata Very common breeder European Golden-plover (Pluvialis apricaria) Ljungpipare Two seen when hiking Oyndarfjørdur-Eldsvik July 6 Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) Enkelbeckasin Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) Småspov Very common breeder Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) Tretåig mås at Mykines and elsewhere on the cliffs Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) Skrattmås

4 Around 10 seen regularly at Kaldbaksbotnur Mew Gull (Larus canus) Fiskmås Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) Havstrut Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Gråtrut Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus graellsii) Silltrut The most common gull Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) Silvertärna Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) Storlabb Common, about 20 seen at Faroes and 10 in the North Sea from the Norröna ferry Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) Kustlabb Common, around 20 noted Common Murre (Uria aalge) Sillgrissla Not uncommon. Also a few seen from the ferry Razorbill (Alca torda) Tordmule Uncommon breeder at the cliffs, only a few individuals seen Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle) Tobisgrissla Fairly common breeder Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) Lunnefågel A very common breeder, especially at Mykines. A few also seen from the ferry in the North Sea Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) Klippduva Common. Supposedly only little influenced by domestic pigeons Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) Gråkråka Common Common Raven (Corvus corax) Korp Relatively common, around 20 seen Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Ladusvala One in Miðvágur July 5 Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes borealis) Gärdsmyg Seen twice, at Mykines and Gjógv European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris faroensis) Stare Very common Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) Koltrast Seen twice, in Kaldbak and Torshavn European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) Rödhake Seen once in Torshavn Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) Stenskvätta A couple of observations, among other sites Bösdalafossur and Oyndarfjørdur-Eldsvik House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Gråsparv At a few occasions Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) Ängspiplärka Spotted once, at Bøsdalafossur, but probably overlooked Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) Skärpiplärka Common along the coast

5 Clockwise from top left: Great Skua, Mykines July 5; Northern Fulmar, Gásadalur July 9; Common Loon, Kaldbaksfjørður July 7; Black-legged Kittiwake, Mykines July 5; Manx Shearwater, Nólsoy July 7; Atlantic Puffins, Mykines July 5