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     I am currently in the process of writing this complete blog report. I will be posting it as I finish a section. It will be posted out of order and sequence. If you want to read it in order,  return to the previous page by clicking on "Older Posts" on the bottom right of this page. 

            

               Day 3, Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Part 2 of 2)

               Continuing.........Second Port- Alesund, Norway

     

     The tour boat continued along headed for the target areas: the deep inner fjords. Along the way the only birds that were visible were just a few Gulls here and there. The boat rounded a point of outcroppings and ledges, when I heard the familiar raspy screeching calls of Terns. On top of a few navigational obstruction  poles and rocky ledges, groups of Terns were gathered roosting the morning away. Having done a little research beforehand at home about the local birds in the areas we would be traveling to, I assumed they were Arctic Terns. The literature I read about the birds of Alesund, Norway in August mentioned that the only Tern species seen in this area would be Arctic Terns. Well, these were all Common Terns. Oh well, maybe the literature needs a little updating!? :^)    

                     Sitting on a rock nearby, an adult and juvenile Great Black-backed Gull- 

   

                                         Getting closer to the deep inner fjords- 

        In an area that is so remote and isolated, local culture and clever ingenuity has met and overcame the challenges.  Winters here are very severe. We were told on the boat that having adequate supplies  and options for heating their homes are limited and extremely difficult here. What better insulation to conserve energy and heat inside your home than a thick layer of growing field grass on your roof? Talk about a wind block! Insurance companies here in the U S will cancel your home owners policy if you have even a small, sheet of paper-sized area of  microscopic moss on your roof! :^)

                          Handsome second summer Great Black-backed Gull- 

         After about two and a half hour boat ride, we had finally reached the spectacular deep, inner fjords. 

      The area was quite remote, with a few farms and homes scattered across the lower elevations near the water. The green colors of the fields and trees were the clearest and brightest greens I had ever seen. Everyone on the boat just gasped at the absolute  magnificence; a beautiful oil painting everywhere you looked. Everyone was quiet as we all just absorbed this incredible splendor...... It was truly breathtaking! The boat shifted into neutral and we just floated around for minutes. The only thing you could hear other than everyone else's slow breathing were the periodic snapping of camera shutters documenting the memories of perfection! 

    We visited several head of the fjord locations, and everyone was more beautiful than the one we just visited...... if you can even imagine that! One of these locations were were told was a perfect location in the eyes of Norwegian royalty. They built a Royal family Estate and compound there. 

                            The perfect location to document the Puffin decoy's journey-

     

     While were were lost in the magnificent inner fjords, how about birds?? Well, honestly, I was not really paying close attention. Jen and I had never seen any place like this; it was amazing beyond words. I wasn't really looking for birds. But the only ones I did see with only minimal interest were the usual Gulls here and there.

     We stayed in the area of this amazing splendor for about a half hour, time to start heading back. We had traveled quite a few miles to get here. The boat took a different route back covering different areas, 

Cormorants started becoming more common here. I had only seen a handful so far. Honestly, I thought I would have seen larger numbers of them. 

      

      Also amazing to me were the steady number of Great Black-backed Gulls. I was happy to see so many.....  they are the most common Gull in many of the harbors here at home in New England

     Did not see too many small fishing boats in the more remote areas of the fjords, but every now and then a few would pass by. I wasn't sure if they were heading out to fish or returning home to port from a day of fishing. 

                                              More Great Black-backed Gulls-

         The boat eventually crossed over the large open water expanse to the other shoreline..... the same shoreline route we navigated on the first part of the trip. Jen and I walked over to the starboard side of the boat to have better shoreline access to look for birds. When we started our trip this morning, the tide was low, incoming. By now, the same exposed rocks and shorelines were being taken back by the now nearly high tide. Birds I had seen earlier on the trip out were still near or on the same rocky outcroppings that I saw them a few hours earlier. One of the benefits of the higher tide is that birds that had been hiding lower in the rocks in the morning or now standing on the tops of the rocks like the above European Oystercatchers. 

    And yes, the Common Terns were still in their same favorite roosting spots where they were in the morning. 

This juvenile Great Black-backed Gull was still on the same rock where it was earlier, which was now almost covered over. The only exception being was the adult was forced off this rock and was perched closely nearby! 

                                    Still plenty of Common Terns flying around- 

        In a little quiet cove a single juvenile Common (Canus) Gull loafed the day away. The bird gave me good looks and a little opportunity to study its plumage. A few rare Canus Common Gulls show up in New England every year and mix with the Ring-billed Gulls. Picking them out of a flock of Ring-billed Gulls is tricky.

          The Gray Herons were still in the area, but resting along the rubble and tide water debris. Their soft gray plumage blended in perfectly making them hard to spot. 

        Cormorants were flying closer to the boat and their numbers slowly increased- 

       Eiders were few in numbers, but the handful we saw were much closer to the boat on the way back. I was still thrilled to see them!

        A regal-looking adult Common (Canus) Gull stood quietly on a nearby passing boulder. Another interesting third cycle Great Black-backed Gull flew away from the boat passing close to the bow- 

     Our four-hour cruise excursion was coming to an end. We were getting closer to the main cruise ship dock and the massive Nieuw Statendam grew bigger as we got closer. It was a very satisfying tour and so glad that we booked it. The birdwatching was good with just enough pockets of birds to make it real interesting. But the main point of our excitement for today was the astonishing and spectacular scenery of those magnificent deep inner fjords. That was well worth the trip! Was I disappointed about not seeing more Eiders? Well, in a way I was..... a little, but I did see them! I did achieve that goal of seeing the nominate subspecies of Common Eider. It would have been great if I could have observed more of them and in a much closer range, but overall, I am satisfied. And besides, we still have another two chances as we will be visiting the Outer and Inner Hebrides in Scotland near the end of our cruise. 

      The closer we got to the cruise ship dock and the Statendam, there was a good activity of birds buzzing by the tour boat: mostly Gulls and Cormorants. 

   We were about a quarter of a mile from the dock, about four minutes, when Jen pointed to three birds in a cove out in front of  the bow of the Statendam. The cove had a containment-type barrier or floating pipeline stretching from the cruise ship dock all the way to the other shore of the cove. The three birds were Eiders..... and much closer to us. It took a four hour boat trip to end up finding Eiders so near in the last few yards of the trip exactly where we started from. My auto wind was running at high speed since I would only be able to take pictures of these Eiders for about a minute as we passed by. That encounter gave me a huge smile.... Jen just looked at me and just shook her head!! 

         Last bird before we disembarked the tour boat was a beautiful adult Common (Canus) Gull-

     We were back standing on the dock ready to head back and board the Statendam. Common Terns were buzzing the docks and all through the area. Many passed right over our heads...... these images were taken while walking on the main cruise ship dock. 

         A Hooded Crow landed on the top of a light pole along the dock. This was the first one I had seen on this trip-  

     The ship was scheduled to leave the dock in Alesund at 7:00 pm. This gave us three and a half hours to get cleaned up and (maybe a little siesta). After a short exploration of the ship, Jen and I decided to just go to the restaurant and relax with a little afternoon tea before dinner. We were led to our usual table by the window on the starboard side. This afternoon it had a superb view of the inner harbor watching boat traffic and what else; birds. And even better was the short walk towards the stern of the ship to access the outside decks...... just in case some cool birds came into view. 

     Just outside our window from our table we were positioned perfectly next to this rock ledge hazard marker which seemed to be a magnet for birds. Because the crew of the Statendam was so meticulous and thorough were on their game with maintaining the ship, these windows were spotless clean! These next series of images were taken directly through the windows from our table. 

     The obstruction marker just about always had a few Cormorants and Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls, and a few Herring Gulls perched and coming and going.  

     From across the harbor, this small flock of Eiders just swam into the picture. I would have never expected to be sitting at a restaurant table on a ship having tea and coffee to see more Eiders come into view. I thought the looks I had on the morning tour were my only opportunity here. Now, I had a small flock swimming right at me. The tide at this point had passed high and was outgoing. Due to the fact that there was a large tidal fluctuation here, I literally watched the ledge rocks and boulders gradually appear minute by minute. The Eiders swam right up to the ledge as if they were anxious for the ledge to become exposed so they could crawl out of the water and relax on the dry ground. 

     Apparently they were not very patient and simply swam off heading across the harbor.    

      Over the next hour or so, this small group reappeared after two more smaller groups of Eiders swam up and then swam across the harbor. The tide continued to drop because a pipe that was protruding from the ledge began to reveal itself. This group of Eiders was hanging out a little longer...... I think they knew that soon, the ledge would begin to show.

                   Singles and pairs of Gray Herons flew back and forth across the harbor area. 

      Outside the window there was some sort of commotion going on with Gull activity next to the boat. A 30 second walk from the table brought me to the outside deck viewing area. Apparently this time of day, the Gulls become active and go for their afternoon fly-about. The beautiful European Herring Gull decided to drop in and land on the roof of one of the tendered shuttle/tender boats directly below the outside deck.

      During this time, Lesser and Great Black-backed, Common and Herring Gulls and increasing numbers of Kittiwake passed by. 

      We enjoyed a delicious dinner and Jen and I went for an after dinner walk on the outside deck. The tide had now dropped quite a bit and the rocky ledge was exposed. One of the Eider groups had returned, and just as I expected...... time to enjoy a little dry land. That is exactly what they did, like a small precession..... one hen led the way, followed by the next and the next. In half a minute each one in this small group had made it ashore. Since Jen and I were outside next to and much closer to the ledge and marker, have to take a few images!! 

   It was getting close to the 7:00 pm departure time. After the relaxed afternoon, exceptional dinner (roasted Chicken leg and perfectly cooked petite Beef Tenderloin) and peaceful after dinner walk we were soon in our suite. Jen put on a movie and caught up on some of her emails, I went out on our veranda, binoculars and camera in hand!  

                

     With the afternoon fading into early evening, the bird activity picked up. The activity was mostly Gulls and Terns........

       .........but even more surprising were the steady numbers of single and pairs of Gannets cruising the harbor area. 

                        Common Tern with an early evening catch most likely for its young. 

      At precisely 7:00 pm the ships horn sounded and we were off the dock on our way to Iceland. Talk about exciting!! On the way out of port, Jen and I had the opportunity to see the other shoreline that we didn't see in the morning. The first landmark that caught my eye was this lighthouse. Living in New England, we love the symbolic history of Lighthouses. 

                  There were several Lighthouses heading out of Port and into the North Sea. 

      Perfect  time to document the fledgling Great Auk and Puffin decoy's travels. Literature states that the Great Auk had nested on a few isolated islands along this section of the Norwegian coast northward. I think this was a perfect location to photograph this Great Auk carving. 

         Out into the North Sea free from the sheltering protection of the high mountainous slopes, the wind began to show itself once again. Land was slowly distancing itself from us, the bird activity slowly increased and started competing with the palette of the geometric shapes of the waves. The first birds to present themselves were Kittiwake and this one Common Gull which seemed to be enjoying the company of all the Kittiwake.  

        A single dark seabird appeared to shadow the ship at a hundred yards. The binoculars soon revealed its identity: a Sooty Shearwater! Wow, I never expected to see a Sooty..... I thought they had moved on by now off the coast of Norway. Fantastic bird..... so unexpected!

       

                          ..... and another and another, all distant single birds.

       Then the Gannets started, small flock after small flock intermingled with singles, pairs and trios. And interesting......most were adults.

           Finally, the Fulmars! They appeared just after the Gannet numbers faded. I was starting to wonder if I would see any before the day ended. 

     It would be dark very soon, the day was growing old. I was beginning to worry about not seeing any Puffins in Norway, even being in the perfect area. And maybe my chances for a closer look at Great Skua in Norway would be fading just as the daylight was. I did get a quick look at one at a great distance in the morning, but not what I was hoping for. If both of these species are coming, it better happen very soon! The light to the north was growing darker and more gray. There was some sunlight poking through the clouds to the south, which was just enough to keep the sky a little lighter to help even if I had a last minute shot or two. 

     In writing this I am about to add one of those "yeah sure" unexpected well-timed moments to this story. In reviewing and editing it several times, I had to laugh at myself. Although the appearance seems a little hard to believe or even contrived..... it really is not! I was leaning against the railing of our veranda with my binoculars and camera ready just in case.....and I spotted two brown dots on the sea off the starboard bow about fifty yards out. Just as I pulled my camera up to my face in position, one of the birds lifted off the water......immediately I recognized the pair as Great Skua! Under my breath the words came "you got to be kiddin' me"!! One of the birds lifted off the water and flew directly at the ship, the other one remained swimming with what seemed like little concern about the huge floating city steaming by. This encounter turned out to be wonderfully close, with perfect views to study and observe.

           Love it when seabirds shutter and shake off their wet feathers in flight-

                    A good comparison shot of a Northern Fulmar and Great Skua-

    

                           Wait a minute, a third Great Skua swimming by the ship- 

                     Not so fast, an amazing forth Great Skua passed by the bow-

        Holy Skua, that was incredible.....what an absolutely powerful bird, not just its lifestyle, but also its beautiful rich brown plumage. 

      And here comes the second "Yeah Right" moment! As I watched the fourth Skua fly off into the distance, a small group of birds were heading toward the bow of the ship about a hundred yards out. They would disappear in the small troughs of the waves and then reappear again....... Puffins!! Yup, I couldn't believe it!! They were heading southwest towards the Runde Island area with their bills packed full of small fish presumably to feed their "getting late in the season" young. The young Puffins were probably waiting back in their burrows anticipating the perfect night to leave the burrows and start their new life as  "Pufflings" wintering far from shore on the open sea. 

      The inner fjords were the big highlight of the day. Although, seeing the four Great Skua followed by the small group of Puffins within a few minutes of each other during the last remaining minutes of the day was every bit as remarkable. I had accomplished my three bird wish list observations in one port in one area in Norway. What a way to end a perfect day! 

              Time now to sit back, relax and enjoy the last birds of the day before the light fades to "too dark to take pictures"! More single Sooty Shearwaters! 

                               ..... and of course, continuing Northern Fulmars..........

                               ...... and Kittiwake..........

                ............Wait a minute! A fifth Great Skua! Wow, five, and six for the day!~ 

         The Fulmars turned out to be the last birds of the day! 

              A last minute shot of the Puffin decoy's travels........

         ...... and a few shots of the beautiful sunset to the South! Norway was just spectacular! It was a one-day adventure packed full of amazing!! Good Night!

                     Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 13- Day Four,  we will be at sea all day. On Thursday, August 14- Day Five, we will be arriving at Djupivogur, Iceland..... our first stop in Iceland. 

This will continue....when I finish writing it, I will post it. I am posting it now out of sequential order for now! Keep checking in! To read the prior first few days of this trip posts, click on "Older Posts" below right-