My experience as a Kittiwalker

By Megan Starr, travel blogger and kittiwake lover.

Kittiwalking in Tromsø, June 2025.

After years of following the kittiwakes around Northern Norway, I finally had the chance to come to Tromsø and learn more about the local colony and what obstacles stood in its way of coexisting with the local community (turns out... there are far too many).

I reached out to Rissa Citizen Science's director Delphin Ruché, and he informed me that I was welcome to join a citizen science program, and survey the kittiwake hotels and nests around the city. I packed my binoculars and camera and hit the road to make my way from Rovaniemi to Tromsø.

I arrived in Tromsø on a Friday night and was already hitting the ground running with my first kittiwalk on Saturday morning. My partner (who just so happens to love kittiwakes as much as I do!) had joined for the trip and we downloaded the Rissa app, which we found impressively easy to use.

Saturday morning Kittiwalkers in action, June 2025.

We joined a small group of Kittiwalkers at our first kittiwake hotel of the day. Seeing locals, students, and visitors coming together for the same cause is something that is remarkable, not to mention a good way to meet new people. Our group was very inquisitive and excited to learn more about the black-legged kittiwakes.

The kittiwalk was a blast and I was stoked to head out in the days that followed to monitor the nests in the city, all while keeping my fingers crossed that I'd get to see a chick before leaving Tromsø.

Kittiwalkers joining the workshop with Megan Starr in June 2025.

The walk went smoothly, but I was quite disappointed to see that a building housing a business I had previously recommended on my travel platforms was now covered with anti-kittiwake deterrents. I was in Tromsø during March and April 2024 and was completely captivated by the kittiwakes nesting on the Full Steam building. Returning this time, I was disheartened to see that the roof has now been fenced off with what seems to be electric fences.

It was also sad noticing that two kittiwake hotels which hosted at least a hundred pairs of kittiwakes last year had been demolished last winter. I remember seeing them on top of a building near Strandveien, just south of Framsenteret. As a result, many kittiwakes are now nesting on nearby buildings that had no kittiwakes before. This is further proof that putting bird deterrents or destroying a colony on a building only moves the kittiwakes to the neighbors, and by doing so, spreads conflicts.

Apparently not all bird deterrents are effective against kittiwakes!

My first time as a Kittiwalker highlighted the issues the bird faces in Tromsø and gave me an idea of what to look out for on my kittiwalks in the week that followed. I saw everything from spikes that injure and kill kittiwakes, to kittiwake hotels teeming with birds. It was eye-opening.

And finally, on my last days of kittiwalking, I saw my first chick at one of the hotels! It was the perfect end to my week and made me realize how the work of Rissa Citizen Science and the Kittiwalkers comes full circle for the future of this endangered, part-time resident of Tromsø city.

First chick seen in Tromsø on June 16, 2025. On one of the kittiwake hotels