Eagles and Seabirds
The white-tailed eagle
The sea eagle is Norway´s biggest bird of prey. The female is a bit bigger than the male, and with a wing span up to 2,60 metres. The white tailed sea eagle does not breed in Bleiksøya, it´s there only for catching puffins to eat. They catch the birds in the air, on the ground as well as on the surface of the sea. Around the top of the cliff we have observed as many as eighty eagles simultaneously, but normally you can see 20 – 25 . You are guaranteed to observe eagles on every trip.
Razorbills and guillemots
Razorbills and guillemots are minority birds in Bleiksøya. They live as good neighbours with the puffins. In distance, it can be hard to see the difference between razorbills and guillemots. The guillemots´s beak is more like a needle, compared to the razor´s beak which is more like the puffin´s beak. Both are hatching under big stones, where the birds of pray can´t catch them. Both of them are good divers, and they are feeding their chicks with fish taken very close to the bird rock.
Shag and cormorant
Both shags and cormorants are breeding side by side in Bleiksøya. In the hatching season the shag is carrying it´s characteristic top on his head, while the cormorant is recognized by it´s white spot under it´s wing. They are both excellent divers and also acrobatic flyers. They live along the coast of Norway all year round. They are both nesting under stones and in deep cliffs.
The black guillemot
In Bleiksøya only 10 -15 pairs are breeding. The black guillemot is a relative of the puffin, and is easily recognized by it´s sharp red feet and beak during the breeding season. The sea birds loose much of their sharp colours during the winter time. Like us, they are most colourful in the “party season”.
The gannet
The gannet colony was established in “Forrøya” in 2012, a small rock just northeast of Bleik, just outside the viewpoint “Kleivodden” (National Tourist Roud). To day approximately 200 pairs of gannets are breeding in “Forrøya”. With a wing span up to 1.80 metres the gannet is an excellent “hang glider”, on the outlook for fish to dive for. When targeted, the fish is taken in a speed of close to one hundred kilometres per hour. The chicks of the gannets are leaving the nests in the middle of September, one month later than the puffins.
