The diversity of the bird cliff – Stora Karlsö, May 2022
– Thomas Ek, Nacka
We were eight participants who gathered in Klintehamn and travelled together to Stora Karlsö with our extremely knowledgeable workshop leader Magnus Martinsson. He truly knew everything about the plants and animals of Gotland and the Karlsö islands, and shared many fascinating stories about how they are interconnected. In addition, he is, of course, also a very skilled photographer.
We arrived at Norderhamn in the afternoon to spend three days on the island. We settled into our rather simple accommodation in Norderhamn and Hien, a few hundred metres to the west. We stayed just a few steps from the beach. We began exploring the island by walking up to the lighthouse and photographing down towards the bird cliff. There were plenty of common murres and razorbills sitting on the ledges, crowding together, as well as large numbers of birds on the sea below. An impressive sight!
We spent the evening on the beach. Magnus recommended durable clothing—the rocks clearly bore traces of the birds, to put it mildly…
The water and shoreline were filled with murres and razorbills, both in the sea and on the stones.
SLEEPING IN…
…was not really on the agenda.
We were up and ready for the morning session at 03:45, heading back to the beaches to photograph until it was time for breakfast. We moved carefully into position so as not to disturb the birds, and then it was simply a matter of finding good compositions and interesting situations. Activity was high, and it was breeding season—the birds were not exactly shy—so there were plenty of great photographic opportunities.
On the beach at Norderhamn, Arctic terns were nesting, and beneath the railway tracks leading to the slipway, a ringed plover had chosen to settle. Along the paths, eider ducks were incubating eggs just next to where we walked. It was truly as close as you can get to wildlife!
NOT JUST BIRDS
We took several walks across the island and explored almost all of it, apart from the bird protection areas of course.
We visited the cave Stora Förvar, the ancient “Linné’s ash” (about 400 years old and named after Carl Linnaeus following his visit in the 1740s), and of course the many orchids. Magnus Martinsson captivated us with stories about plants, geology, and landscape management. We learned an incredible amount during these intense days!
Alla bilder ©Thomas Ek
SLEEP…
…was postponed for some of us who chose to take a late evening walk up to the lighthouse for night photography. A bit of mist had moved in, creating a very beautiful atmospheric effect.
RESEARCH…
…on common murres has been ongoing for many years, and we had the chance to meet the lead researcher who explained their work and some of their findings. They have built an artificial nesting shelf equipped with cameras and other monitoring equipment. It is 11 metres high and anchored at the top of the cliff. Researchers can climb down and access the birds through hatches. You definitely cannot be afraid of heights if you work as a scientist on Stora Karlsö!
There is plenty of food in the sea for the birds. They mainly feed on sprat, which often stay near the boundary of the deeper, more saline bottom waters at around 60 metres depth. No problem at all for the murres to reach that depth!
THANK YOU!
Time passed quickly, and it was already time to return home.
A big thank you to Magnus Martinsson and all the participants for several interesting and highly rewarding days—we will surely meet again!
