Norway cruise (1 Viewer)

[Steve.Jonesy]

We are off on a 7 day P&O cruise around Southern Norway end of April 2024.
Southampton - Haugesund - Olden- Stavanger and Kristiansand are the places where it seems to stop for a few hours!
Are there areas where I might be able to squeeze in some birding during the obv tight schedule? Any chance of seabirds sightings from the ship? And particular rarities I ought to watch out for which I might find hard to see in the UK?
Any advice or guidance would be appreciated
Thanks in advance

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

One thing I'd recommend is using the Norwegian record system to get information on places and species. It's extremely detailed:

Artsobservasjoner - rapportsystem for arter i Norge

Artsobservasjoner er Norges største kunnskapsdugnad. Her kan du registrere funn av alle arter i Norge. Artsobservasjoner er for mange en digital felthåndbok – samtidig som det bidrar til å øke kunnskapen om naturmangfoldet i Norge.

www.artsobservasjoner.no

 

[Steve.Jonesy]

Very helpful thanks

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

I guess there could be some worthwhile seabirds in April. When I did a cruise to southern Norway the only birds that I saw which would be hard to see in the UK were Nutcrackers, unless you included borealis Willow Tit.

 

[Steve.Jonesy]

Okay thank you

 

[greer3]

Okay thank you

 

[greer3]

You might want to look at my report in the vacations forum on here 'A 14 night Cruise from Southampton to Norway and Iceland, 22/6/23 to 6/7/23' It includes reports of what you might see on the sea days.
Just done another cruise to Norway including Olden and Haugesund. Not much to see in terms of bird at either port or in the fjords, the latter generally birdless. There's a nice woodland walk from Olden which steadily climbs the mountain parrallel to Olden and the cruise port which goes through some woodland. There were Crossbill and Nutach and a few other woodland birds about. In April there should be some birds around ( you'll see it marked on the map you'll find when you leave the ship). At Haugesund there's a pleasant walk north west along the coast where you should see a few birds. I saw Shag, Eider, Meadow Pipit, and Hooded Crow; there may be more in April. Again you'll see the walk on the maps handed out at the port.
If you're sailing from Southampton the first day going north and the last day going south are generally good for seabirds. On both cruises there was a lot about such as Fulmar, Gannet, Kittiwake, auks, and Little Gull. We had a Northern Diver in the ship's wake, some Velvet Scoter, terns and, oddly, what was most likely a juvenile Peregrine Falcon which was resting on top of the ship and and flying back and forth. As you sail between ports in Norway you should see a fair few birds as you sail out to sea in the evening, or early morning as you sail in.

 

[Steve.Jonesy]

Thank you very much
I’ll check your report and thanks for the guidance

 

[Dyrlege]

If you're visiting fiords in Norway remember to check what's in the woodlands above the shoreline!