Early 2020 saw the company I worked for close down and all the jobs I
had lined up disappear due to COVID-19. My bird-guiding also vanished
overnight so the only option left was to return to the good old days
and get back offshore for real....
The first trip I took as a freelance
surveyor
was a little on the early side to get much migration action as far
north as the Haltenbank area of the Norwegian sector. I spent an hour
on deck after shift every day - the weather was far from ideal for much
of the trip but calmed down towards the end of it. The job was mostly
pipeline inspection and we worked on various lines which took us close
to Heidrun, Åsgard A and B, Kristin and Aasta Hansteen to
name
some of them.
One of the most interesting / encouraging sightings were that
Kittiwakes were occupying nesting sites on Heidrun again - just like
last time I was there. It is amazing that these small gulls can not
only survive, but thrive under the conditions on Haltenbank at this
time of year. Gale force winds with accompanying heavy seas and lashing
rain / snow / hail did not seem to put them off. There was also some
indication that Kittiakes were attempting to breed on Åsgard
B with lots of birds congregating there and sitting around on the
platform. Interestingly there were also a couple of Cormorant using
Åsgard B - could it be that they too were evaluating breeding
there?
We were outside the safety zone during the time I was on deck so
pictures were taken at long range.
Note the amount
of plastic rope used in the nest building
Almost every
available ledge was in use
The Kittiwakes gathered
on the sea near the platform before heading up to their ledges
Kittiwakes on Åsgard B platform, Haltenbank, Norwegian
Sector, March 2020
Cormorants and Kittiwakes on Åsgard B, March 2020
Some of the netting around the platform is visible in this
image.
Here Kittiwakes can be seen occupying ledges along with netting around
the platform.
I do not know the purpose of the netting, though some thought it to be
in place to prevent the Kittiwakes nesting.
Seabirds also featured quite a bit this trip with a couple of sightings
of Blue Fulmar and several intermediate birds. Gannets and Great Skua
were also regular.
Fulmar diving for food,
Norwegian Sector, April 2020
It is often difficult to see what Fulmar actually feed on - they will
often sit around staring at the sea and picking up small prey items,
they also dive to catch things - often jellyfish. They are quite
protective of their little bit of water and hold their wings out to
defend it.
Gannet at
Åsgard, Norwegian Sector, March 2020
Kittiwake
at Åsgard, Norwegian Sector, March 2020
Kittiwakes
in snow storm, Åsgard B, Norwegian Sector, April 2020
This picture was taken on the same day as the snow storm images above
MiKeKristin platform,
Norwegian Sector, April 2020 
