Kittiwake hotels in Tromsø: an update before the birds return.
- Delphin Ruché
- Mar 9
- 5 min read
Kittiwake hotels are alternative breeding sites used to lure kittiwakes away from buildings where they are unwelcome. What is the situation with the kittiwake hotels in Tromsø? Here is a short summary.
Hotel 3
In 2025, Hotel 3 was by far the most successful kittiwake hotel in Tromsø, producing more than 40 chicks. This success was documented by the Kittiwalkers, and Giulia Castellani reported on it in her article "What made the Tromsø kittiwake hotels attractive in 2025".
Hotel 3: the most attractive kittiwake hotel in Tromsø in 2025.
The 2-year permit allowing Hotel 3 to stand in Muséparken has now expired. But luckily for the kittiwakes, Hotel 3 will stay in Muséparken another year. Although this is a temporary solution, it is a very good news for the kittiwakes that will find their former nests.
Hotel 4
Hotels 3 and 4 shared the same temporary permit, and a solution had to be found for 2026. It was decided that Hotel 4 would be relocated to Fylkeshuset, and deployed near Hotels 8 and 9.
Kittiwake Hotel 4 in Tromsø in spring 2025.
Hotels 6 and 7
These two kittiwake hotels were installed in spring 2024 to compensate for the loss of about 150 nests that were on the Mack building before its demolition. Initially, the hotels were inside the construction site and protected by a two-meter-high fence. Many of the displaced kittiwakes adopted Hotels 6 and 7 at the beginning of the 2025 breeding season.
However, the situation changed when the fence was moved and the hotels ended up outside the construction area. This allowed people to walk very close to the structures, and sometimes directly under them (photo below). The resulting disturbance led to the complete abandonment of the hotels, and the Mack Øst colony went from 150 nests in 2024 to none in 2025. More generally, 2025 appears to have been a difficult year for kittiwakes, likely due to low food availability in the Norwegian Sea.
We told the full story in July 2025: What is happening with the Mack Øst kittiwakes?
Hotel 6 abandonned by the kittiwakes after the fence was moved to allow people to follow the waterline.
In March 2026, the construction work is still ongoing (photo below). Although kittiwakes don't mind the noise of the machines, they can be sensitive to the proximity with pedestrians, especially as Hotels 6 and 7 are relatively low.
The construction site on 26 January, with Hotels 6 and 7 on the foreground.
On 26 January, a fence was put up to protect Hotels 6 and 7. If kittiwakes return to Hotels 6 and 7, the two structures can hopefully fulfill their intended compensatory role.
The plan now is to move them further south towards a permanent location before kittiwakes start laying their eggs.
A fence is being put up around Hotels 6 and 7 to keep people from getting too close during the breeding season.
Hotel 5, year 2
Hotel 5 is the kittiwake hotel in Tromsø with the greatest capacity (460 ledges). In 2025, the upper ledges were quickly adopted by kittiwakes, and 5 nests produced chicks. It takes kittiwakes some time to establish a colony on a new site, and these 5 successful nests were a promising sign. Hopefully, more pairs will use this hotel in 2026.
We reported about last year's use of the kittiwake hotels in this article "What happened with kittiwakes in Tromsø in 2025?"
Kittiwake hotel 5 during the 2025 breeding season.
Hotels 8 and 9
These two hotels are located near Fylkeshuset's building and will remain there for the 2026 season. A new bird deterrent system has been installed on the building, and will be put to a test this year. If you pass by, you will hear it: it uses compressed air and small tubes designed to scare birds away, and keep them from breeding on the roof. The intention is to relocate these kittiwakes to the nearby Hotels 8 and 9.
Hotel 9 near Fylkeshuset in early 2025.
Part of Hotel 9 near Fylkeshuset in 2025.
Strandveien 8 hotels
In 2022/23, two kittiwake hotels were installed on the roof of Strandveien 8, where more than 100 pairs successfully bred.
In 2025, the municipality decided to remove these two successful hotels. As a result, many kittiwakes relocated to nearby buildings, further fueling an already tense conflict. We reported on this situation in our 9 July article, “Kittiwakes at Strandveien 8 Need a Long-Term Solution”.
In 2026, Tromsø Municipality reversed its decision and allowed several kittiwake hotels to be deployed on the roof of Strandveien 8.
Two kittiwake hotels on Strandvegen 8 in early March 2026.
Kittiwake hotels on Strandvegen 8 in early March 2026.
The Skattøra colonies
Skattøra is an industrial area on Tromsøya, filled with warehouses, car dealerships, large metal buildings, asphalt, concrete and fill ins. It is also home to several hundred breeding pairs of kittiwakes. At least, it was until 2024. After that, two cliffs used by kittiwakes were covered with netting, and the third cliff was abandoned during the 2025 breeding season following an undetermined disturbance.
We reported about Skattøra last year in these two articles "What future for the kittiwake colony in Skattøra?" and "Skattøra kittiwakes: overlooked and on the edge".
So far, despite repeated efforts and meetings with Tromsø kommune and building owners, no solution has been found to deploy kittiwake hotels in Skattøra, and the three kittiwake colonies remain more threatened than ever.
A net deployed over a kittiwake colony in Skattøra in 2024.
As Giulia Castellani explained in her article "What made the Tromsø kittiwake hotels attractive in 2025?", the following conditions can help guide the design of successful kittiwake hotels:
Relatively high to provide a feeling of safety,
Permanent, to let its attractiveness grow over time,
With a wide-open space in front of the nests, to facilitate the manoeuvres in flight and reduce predation (and the stress associated with the presence of crows and magpies perching nearby),
Facing the sea side, since that is where kittiwakes fly from and return about a billion times a day!
Enough distance to pedestrians, to minimise disturbance.
In 2025, Sparebankstiftelsen SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge and Birdlife Troms have supported Rissa Citizen Science’s efforts to survey kittiwakes breeding in Troms, and advocate coexistence with this endangered species. Rissa Citizen Science is able to lend binoculars to the Kittiwalkers thanks to a generous support from Focus Nordic. We are using the Kite Ursus 10x42 and are very happy with them.
In 2026, the Hurtigruten Foundation is supporting this long-term effort, and the Kittiwalkers are more motivated than ever to engage for the protection of the kittiwakes in Tromsø.
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