Vardø and Hornøya island Vardø is situated in Finnmark county, northern Norway on the Varanger Peninsula, facing onto the Barents Sea. The town is Norway’s eastern-most town (further east than Russia’s Saint Petersburg). It is located on the island of Vardøya (a derivation of Old Norse meaning Wolf Island), north of the Arctic Circle in the tundra region beyond the tree line. Access to the town is via a short undersea road tunnel. Vardø grew up around the Vardøhus Fortress, built on the island in the early 14th century. Main industries are fishing and fish processing. On a cool early summer’s morning (it snowed briefly as we had breakfast) in June 2019, we assembled at the pier for the short boat trip to Hornøya (Bird) Island, home to 80,000 seabirds. This steep rocky outcrop is a truly spectacular sight. Great rafts of guillemots cover the ocean nearby, and tier upon tier of birds occupy every available ledge on the cliffs. The noise (and smell) was incredible. The first birds seen were European Shags, nesting under and in one of the few visitor shelters. They are handsome all-black cormorants, with shaggy black crests and green eyes. Thousands of Guillemots on the cliffs jostled with Razorbills, Great Black-backed Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes. Often, we saw pointy empty eggshells, bright blue with black spots, in the grass by our feet. Our Rockjumper guide, Nigel Redman, pointed out different morphs of the Common Guillemot – bridled (who appear to be wearing white spectacles) and non-bridled. Soon, we began to see Atlantic Puffins – at first just a few, then they seemed to be everywhere. Occasionally one or more large White-tailed Eagles flew by, causing a great explosion of wings as flocks of Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins flew off in panic. We spent hours that morning marvelling at the sheer enormity of the bird population. Some Chinese tourists had a field day with their long-lensed cameras. At one stage, one of my group signalled to me to be careful as I walked along a narrow rocky path. Between us, a tiny clutch of gull chicks regarded us nervously. They were a soft grey with black spots. We did not see the parent birds, so we were unable to identify them. It was an unforgettable morning and is highly recommended despite the remoteness.
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