Norwegian Kittiwakes ravaged by bird flu

Kittiwake has been severely affected by an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI; bird flu) in northern Norway in recent weeks.

A staggering 11,000 dead Kittiwakes have already been removed from colonies around the Vadsø municipality in Finnmark, which may amount to more than half of the local population.

In 2015, the entire Norwegian population of Kittiwake was estimated at 87,000 breeding pairs, but significant declines since then meant that there are likely no more than 50,000 pairs left. Therefore, the massive losses reported from Vadsø will have a major impact on the national population.

Dead and dying Kittiwakes in Finnmark (Brett K Sandercock via Twitter).

Bird flu has been observed along the entire Norwegian coast this summer, but it has been particularly bad in Finnmark. Local officials admit that the scale of the outbreak has taken them by surprise and that there is currently no sign of the rate of spread slowing.

Brett K Sandercock, Senior Research Scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, tweeted that dead and dying birds were collecting at freshwater streams and on rooftops.

Kittiwake has been the worst-affected species, but Arctic Terns have also fallen victim to the virus.

The disease was also confirmed from Svalbard in late July, with four dead birds testing positive. Svalbard hosts huge populations of breeding seabirds, including Arctic Terns, skuas and various auk species.