Anti-kittiwake spikes on Strandveien 8, in May 2026.

Despite the kittiwake’s alarming conservation status in Norway, the destruction of nests has continued this year in Tromsø. Since the previous breeding season, out of the 178 kittiwake nests mapped in 2025 by the Kittiwalkers in Tromsø city center, 93 have been destroyed or made inaccessible (52% loss).

At the same time, new kittiwake hotels have been deployed across the city to support this endangered species. The question remains whether these efforts can offset the ongoing push to keep kittiwakes away from buildings.

A net covers former kittiwake nests on Nestranda shopping center (May 2026)

66% in 2025, 52% in 2026

Last year at about the same time, the Kittiwalkers reported that 211 nests had been destroyed or made inaccessible, out of the 320 nests mapped the year before (2024). That was a 66% loss, only in the city center. In addition, a few kilometers north of the city center, in Skattøra, a cliff used by 128 breeding pairs of kittiwakes had been covered with a net during the winter 2024-2025.

The 52% loss documented this year confirms the relentless effort to get rid of kittiwakes on buildings in Tromsø.

When a deterrent replaces another one at Sjøgata 39 (top 2025, down 2026).

A significant loss

The Kittiwalkers refer to locations with one or more nests in the city center as “stations. Last year, 55 stations were recorded throughout the city.

Students learning how to monitor kittiwake nests in Tromsø, May 2026.

Of these 55 stations, 21 were covered with deterrents during the winter 2025-2026 or at the start of the ongoing breeding season (which is illegal and was reported to the Police).

Among these 21 stations, 15 had been successful breeding nests in 2025, with 93 nests by the end of July, just as chicks were beginning to fledge.

Because nest numbers are generally lower at the end than at the start of the incubating period, this figure is likely a conservative estimate of the actual loss. Even so, the disappearance of 93 nests out of a total of 178 represents a substantial reduction.

At least 7 nests are lost this year above Solid, in Storgata (top 2025, down 2026).

Deterrents are not the solution

Effective deterrents force kittiwakes to relocate to neighbouring buildings. As a result, deterrents tend to spread both the nuisance and the resulting conflicts, ultimately working against long-term coexistence.

Spikes on the DNB sign in Tromsø (top 2025, down 2026).

Even more concerning, spikes reappeared this year and were installed at four stations, despite our previous efforts to have them removed. This comes despite the clear position stated by the Miljødirektoratet:

Spikes do little to prevent kittiwakes from attempting to build nests. They also pose a serious risk to both adults and chicks.

During their monitoring rounds in previous years, Kittiwalkers have discovered adults covered in blood, and chicks impaled on spikes. Some died from their injuries while others had to be euthanised. We are currently contacting all the buidling owners who deployed spikes to deter kittiwakes.

Kittiwake chick impaled on spikes on one of Pellerin AS buildings (July 2024).

Still many adults but fewer nests

While number of adult kittiwakes in the city is higher than last year at the same period, so far the number of nests is lower (Figure below). This may reflect the effect of the widespread use of effective deterrents. The coming weeks will show whether this trend continues, or if the dislodged kittiwakes relocate somewhere else.

Figure 1: Number of kittiwake adults and their apparently occupied nests in Tromsø city center from 2023 to 2026 as recorded by the Kittiwalkers. The sudden rise in adult numbers in 2025 was in part due to the demolition of the Mack building (about 150 breeding pairs), which had not been included in the monitoring in 2024 and 2023.

Element removed to keep kittiwakes from nesting on Strandveien 8 (top 2025, down 2026).

Skattøra remains a stronghold, but for how long?

Now that the Mack building has been demolished in 2025 and Pellerin AS is renovating Søndre Tollbodgate 3, the two largest kittiwake colonies in Tromsø city center are gone.

The four remaining large colonies are in Skattøra, an industrial zone filled with warehouses, car dealerships, tall metal buildings, and heavy machinery. One of the colonies is on a floating dock (about 150 pairs in 2025), and the three others are located on cliffs:

• Cliff 1 had 128 pairs in 2024, but after a net was deployed against the cliff, only 12 pairs were reported in 2025. This year, so far only a few pairs are attempting to breed there.

  
  

• Cliff 2 hosted 84 breeding pairs in 2024, but during the 2025 breeding season the entire colony was suddenly and mysteriously abandoned overnight. This year, their numbers on this cliff are so low that the colony is likely to be deserted before the end of the summer.

  
  

• Cliff 3 had 52 nests in 2025. Towards the end of the breeding season on 16 August 2025, a man was photographed spraying the cliff with a high-pressure water hose while chicks were still present in their nests. A net was deployed on the cliff shortly afterwards. The mesh of the net proved wide enough to trap birds, and several gulls were found entangled there in spring 2026. Kittiwalkers monitor these cliffs daily and have already contacted the fire brigade five times to rescue trapped birds. The case was reported by Nordlys and is under investogation by the local police.

Luckily for the kittiwakes, not all of Cliff 3 has been covered by the net, and the site is now one of the largest kittiwake colonies on Tromsøya.

A kittiwake nest on Cliff 3, June 2025.

And now some good news!

The kittiwake hotels bring some reason for optimism.

The hotels that remained in place over the winter show similar, or even slightly higher adult bird numbers than last year.

On Hotels 6 and 7, about 20 adults were observed by the Kittiwalkers around 15 May. This year around the same date, there were over 70 adults using these hotels. Fencing off the hotels to keep pedestrians at a safe distance surely helped.

Hotels 6 and 7 on 27 May 2026.

Hotel 4 was relocated from Muséparken to Fylkeshuset — a distance of roughly 200 metres — and the move initially led to the near abandonment of the structure. However, as kittiwakes have now begun building nests and Fylkeshuset has been fitted with a new generation of deterrents, the number of birds using Hotel 4 has increased noticeably in recent days.

Hotels 8 and 9, also situated at Fylkeshuset on either side of Hotel 4, currently host more nests than they did last year. Hotel 5 has likewise seen an increase in nest numbers, while Hotel 3 remains the most successful hotel in Tromsø.

Hotel 4 being moved in March 2026, and Hotels 9 and 5 in 2025.

For all of these hotels, we will provide updated occupancy figures during the incubation period, once breeding pairs have fully settled.

Finally, new kittiwake hotels have been installed south of the Fram Centre, where two hotels previously used by around 100 breeding pairs were removed after the 2024 breeding season.

Kittiwakes generally take time to adopt new nesting sites, but the first birds already appear to have settled on the new structures. We will provide further updates on their occupancy later in the season.

Hotels 11 and 12 soon after their installation in March 2026.

Some facts about kittiwakes:

• Kittiwakes don’t eat our food

Kittiwakes hunt small live prey in the ocean. They also don’t dive-bomb people who come too close to their nests or chicks. On the contrary, when threatened around their nests, kittiwakes become quiet and fly in circle.

• The kittiwake is legally protected

"During the breeding season, unnecessary harm and suffering to the birds and their nests is prohibited, as is unnecessary hunting and other disturbance". (Miljødirektoratet, 2026). It is not legal to disturb kittiwakes now: disturbances and destructions will be reported to the Police.

• The "snake deterrents"

A new type of deterrent is currently being tested at Fylkeshuset. One of the Kittiwalkers, who monitors the surrounding nests every morning, coined the nickname for the system after noticing the hissing sound produced as air is forced through the hoses under pressure. If these deterrents prove effective, nearby Hotels 4, 8 and 9 at least provide alternative breeding sites for displaced birds.

• Kittiwakes are refugees

Kittiwakes naturally nest in colonies on steep cliffs. Their move into cities is a response to their traditional breeding grounds having become increasingly unsuitable. Living close to humans may be a strategy to reduce predation, as many of the kittiwakes’ natural predators tend to avoid areas with regular human activity.

• Tromsø Kittiwake advocates

The Kittiwalkers are volunteers who monitor kittiwake breeding activity in Tromsø and contribute in various ways to the species’ conservation. They are part of a broader network of people working to develop solutions for coexisting with this endangered species. Collaboration between these different groups and individuals has proven to be one of the most effective ways to support kittiwake conservation in Tromsø.

A Kittiwalker blending into her natural environment.

In 2026, the Hurtigruten Foundation is supporting Rissa Citizen Science’s work with kittiwakes in Tromsø. Rissa Citizen Science is able to lend binoculars to the Kittiwalkers thanks to a generous support from Focus Nordic.