Tautra 19th June 2011

Yesterday (19th June) I visited the island of Tautra. Tautra lies in the Trondheimsfjord - I can see part of Tautra from my house - it is just across the fjord - but in order to get there it is a one hour drive. Tautra is an internationally important site for wetland birds (a Ramsar site). Tautra is accessed from the mainland via a causeway. The causeway was built 40 years ago, but unfortunately it led to dramatic changes in tidal flow and resulted in a serious drop in numbers of seabirds. In addition, predators such as red foxes and mink could easily cross from the mainland to Tautra, reducing numbers of breeding birds on the island. The solution was to build a bridge in the middle of the causeway to improve water flow. Also, an electric predator gate was built to prevent land mammals from crossing over to the island. Today, numbers of birds have increased, although they have not reached levels prior to the construction of the causeway.

There were lots to see yesterday, in particular good numbers of moulting and breeding seaducks, greylag geese, waders, terns and gulls. Highlights were gadwall Anas strepera (N=snadderand), northern shoveler Anas clypeata (N=skjeand), good numbers of common shelducks Tadorna tadorna (N=gravand) with young, and the hundreds of common eiders Somateria mollissima (N=ærfugl) - the latter both breeding and moulting in the area.

A group of moulting male common eiders (with oystercatchers in foreground).

A female common eider with young.