The breathtaking stopover

After a great three day partner-meeting (me representing the Norwegian Ornithological Society) where we want to integrate birding as an offer from the local tourist entities in Finnmark county (arctic Norway), we went to do some of our own birding last night. The target spot was Lille Porsangen, about a 100 kilometers northwest of Lakselv. This is a stopover site for Red Knots on their way to northern Greenland and Canada.

The drive from Lakselv to Lille Porsangen goes through spectacular scenery along the western part of the Porsanger fjord. Birds are numerous at this time of year, with species like Arctic Loon, Bar-tailed Godwit and White-tailed Sea-Eagle being common all the way.

Finally, when arriving at the Lille Porsangen, we were met by a red carpet on the shores. Red Knots! They were sitting in a dense flock on the exposed rocks (high tide), and were almost impossible to count. Suddenly something disturbed them, and all the birds lifted. The silence of the fjord was broken by kind of a windy sound, and tens of thousands of Knots were in the air. Breathtaking! I cannot remember the last time I was paralyzed like this by birds. One of my greatest birding moments ever! The flock was estimated to count some 35000 individuals, but it could well be more. When flying they behaved like one single organism. It could not be easy to pick one out for a potential predator I suppose. When the tide withdrew, small parties of birds left to feed, and eventually all the birds dispersed in the area.