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Birding Norway trips:

Birding Runde and Dovre

1. Daytrip to Runde
Runde is the most famous seabird colony in Norway, and together with the Varanger Peninsula the most popular destination for visiting birders from abroad. The main attraction is the large colony of atlantic puffin, but there are also large numbers of northern fulmars, northern gannets, european shag, common guillemot, razorbill and black guillemot as well as great skua and a few pairs of peregrine falcon. A number of other seabirds such as several species of gulls and terns, arctic skua, common eider, common shelduck, eurasian oystercatcher, white-tailed eagle and quite a few species of passerines can also be seen on most visits to Runde. On calm days you can experience the birds from the sea, and have close encounters with most species from the small tourist boats that circumnavigate the island several times a day when the weather permits it. To have the best views of the puffin colony and the great skuas a short hike to the clifftops is still recommended. Or you can do both! Our Birding Norway guide in Aalesund, Tore Christian Michaelsen, will take you there and tell you all you need to know about the seabirds that inhabit the island.

If you travel with the Coastal Voyage, a trip to Runde can be arranged from Aalesund if you don't follow the ship into the Geiranger Fjord. The ship arrives at Aalesund at 8.45 in the morning and departs from Aalesund at 18.45 during summer, leaving plenty of time to visit this incredible seabird island!

2. Runde and woodlands near Aalesund
A two-day birding experience, with one day at Runde and another day focusing at woodlands or other habitats depending on individual preferences, will add a significant number of species to your trip list. Depending on the time of the year you can join our guide in search of black-throated and red-throated divers, woodland birds such as woodpeckers and a large number of passerines, or you can visit some of the regions best migration hotspots.

3. Runde and Dovre
If you want to experience Norway's birdlife in a nutshell then a 3-day birding experience starting and ending in Aalesund is worth considering. Day one we visit the seabird colonies at Runde, where you can experience northern fulmar, gannet, european shag, common shelduck, common eider, gulls, terns, skuas, four species of auks etc. Two or three species of raptors can be expected, most often white-tailed eagles and peregrines but other species are often seen as well. Excellent photo opportunities. Night in Aalesund.

On day two we drive from Aalesund to Dovre before lunch. We drive through breathtaking scenery along the Romsdalsfjord and into Romsdalen, where 1800 meter high peaks rise steeply from the bottom of the valley. The route also takes us past Trollveggen, the highest vertical mountain wall in Europe. After lunch we visit Fokstumyra, one of the best low-alpine birding hotspots in Norway. We search for species such as black-throated diver, hen harrier, wood sandpiper, whimbrel, ruff, red-necked phalarope, common crane, bluethroat and lapland longspur among many other species. Night at Dovre.

On day 3 we search for mountain birds at slightly higher altitudes, the main targes species being species such as rough-legged buzzard, rock ptarmigan, eurasian dotterel, european golden plover and horned lark. Depending on individual preferences, how much time it takes us to find the most wanted species and whether or not we missed anything significant the day before, we can visit Fokstumyra one more time or we can make a stop somewhere else before returning to Aalesund in the afternoon.



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