Norway Ramsar wetland
Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary
45 bird species recorded; the most in June.
Sphinx ( Sphinx 00:21, 12 August 2007 (UTC)) · Public domain
This month here
4 species in January.1 species in February.10 species in March.12 species in April.30 species in May.42 species in June.38 species in July.34 species in August.19 species in September.3 species in October.5 species in November.1 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
VU
NT
VU
NT
VUNTVUNT
NT
VU
VU
VU
NT
NTVUVUVU
NTVUNTVUVUNTNT
VUVUVUNTNTNTVUVUVUNT
NTVUVU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
45 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 45Speciesrecorded more than once
- 29Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 4ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 6,092Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 10Waders
- 21Gulls & seabirds
- 10Ducks & geese
- 1Storks & cranes
- 2Songbirds
- 1Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 45 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Waders10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Grey (Red) PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
- Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
- Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
Gulls & seabirds21 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- FulmarFulmarus glacialis
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
- Long-tailed SkuaStercorarius longicaudus
- Black GuillemotCepphus grylle
- Brünnich's GuillemotUria lomvia
- Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
- Little AukAlle alle
- Atlantic PuffinFratercula arcticaVU
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- Great skuaStercorarius skua
- Ivory GullPagophila eburneaNT
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- Pomarine SkuaStercorarius pomarinus
- Common MurreUria aalge
- Northern gannetMorus bassanus
- Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Common LoonGavia immer
Ducks & geese10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common EiderSomateria mollissimaNT
- Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsis
- Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus
- Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
- Brent GooseBranta bernicla
- King EiderSomateria spectabilis
- Common ScoterMelanitta nigra
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Steller's EiderPolysticta stelleriVU
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
Storks & cranes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common CraneGrus grus
Songbirds2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
Other birds1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- PtarmiganLagopus muta
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in June.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan-10°/-14°74 mm
- Feb-10°/-15°61 mm
- Mar-12°/-16°55 mm
- Apr-8°/-13°45 mm
- May-3°/-6°41 mm
- Jun1°/-1°41 mm
- Jul3°/2°57 mm
- Aug2°/1°66 mm
- Sep0°/-3°80 mm
- Oct-5°/-8°78 mm
- Nov-8°/-12°70 mm
- Dec-9°/-13°66 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary.
Bird sanctuary in Norway
Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Norway.
45 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 6,092 open records.
The most recorded are the Common Eider, the Barnacle Goose and the Black-legged kittiwake.
26 species come for the summer, 2 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
4 are threatened worldwide, including Black-legged kittiwake, Long-tailed duck and Atlantic Puffin.
The most species are recorded in June.
Get there and watch
- Nordpolhotelletplace to stay · 8.0 km · 1 within 10 km
- Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 103 km in a straight lineCar hire at ALF airport (Alta)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1places to stay within 10 kmNordpolhotellet
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas49 mountains within 25 kmZeppelinfjellet · 9.5 kmMoefjellet1,076 m · 22 kmKrullen809 m · 22 kmInneregga926 m · 23 kmNora907 m · 23 kmBaugen874 m · 24 kmTre Kroner1,226 m · 24 kmSvea849 m · 25 km
Coastya3 beaches within 10 kmPeirsonhamna · 5.7 kmThiisbukta · 7.3 kmSørvågen · 8.0 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary
Norway
- 50Birdyas Score
- 45Species
- 29Migrants
- 4Threatened
Blomstrandhamna Bird Sanctuary
Norway · 9 km
- 40Birdyas Score
- 29Species
- 22Migrants
- 3Threatened
Forlandsøyane Bird Sanctuary
Norway · 68 km
- 40Birdyas Score
- 25Species
- 13Migrants
- 3Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6429242) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 6,092 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Coastya |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit