Gjesvær is a small fishing village on the west side of Magerøya, and the bird islands just off its harbour hold one of the largest seabird colonies in Northern Europe. Filmed in June 2026 on a bird safari from Nordkapp.
We drove up to Gjesvær (also written Gjesvaer) in June 2026. It is roughly a 30–40 minutes drive from Honningsvåg depending how often you stop. Along a side road off the E69 that almost everyone skips on their way to the North Cape. That's exactly why it's worth the detour!
From the harbour we went out with BirdSafari to the Gjesværstappan Nature Reserve, 15 km west of the Nordkapp cliff.
The trip takes about two hours, you reach the bird cliffs some ten minutes after leaving the pier, and arctic suits are handed out on board if needed. We were very lucky since it was amazing weather, even though we still wore our wintercoats.
Setting foot on the islands isn't permitted during nesting season, so every bird shot here was handheld from the deck of a moving boat at 400mm. For tickets please visit: → https://birdsafari.no
If you're wondering whether the bird safari at Nordkapp is worth it: it was the best thing we did in on the north cape of Norway!
The reserve has been protected since 1983 and consists of three main islands: Storstappen, Kjerkestappen and Bukkstappen. Nesting season runs from roughly April to September, so June is close to peak. What kind of birds and other wildlife we saw on this trip:
- Thousands of Atlantic puffins (lunde / papegaaiduiker) nesting in burrows in the grassy slopes, and in the water.
- Northern gannets (havsule / jan-van-gent) circling high and chilling on the rocks above the island
- White-tailed eagles (havørn / zeearend) hunting along the cliffs
- Seals, in the shallow water near the island aswell
This video was shot with the following gear:
Canon EOS R5 + 100–400mm f/5.6. no filters, handheld from the boat
DJI Air 3 no filters, flown over the village and the surrounding coast, well away from the nesting cliffs
We drove up to Gjesvær (also written Gjesvaer) in June 2026. It is roughly a 30–40 minutes drive from Honningsvåg depending how often you stop. Along a side road off the E69 that almost everyone skips on their way to the North Cape. That's exactly why it's worth the detour!
From the harbour we went out with BirdSafari to the Gjesværstappan Nature Reserve, 15 km west of the Nordkapp cliff.
The trip takes about two hours, you reach the bird cliffs some ten minutes after leaving the pier, and arctic suits are handed out on board if needed. We were very lucky since it was amazing weather, even though we still wore our wintercoats.
Setting foot on the islands isn't permitted during nesting season, so every bird shot here was handheld from the deck of a moving boat at 400mm. For tickets please visit: → https://birdsafari.no
If you're wondering whether the bird safari at Nordkapp is worth it: it was the best thing we did in on the north cape of Norway!
The reserve has been protected since 1983 and consists of three main islands: Storstappen, Kjerkestappen and Bukkstappen. Nesting season runs from roughly April to September, so June is close to peak. What kind of birds and other wildlife we saw on this trip:
- Thousands of Atlantic puffins (lunde / papegaaiduiker) nesting in burrows in the grassy slopes, and in the water.
- Northern gannets (havsule / jan-van-gent) circling high and chilling on the rocks above the island
- White-tailed eagles (havørn / zeearend) hunting along the cliffs
- Seals, in the shallow water near the island aswell
This video was shot with the following gear:
Canon EOS R5 + 100–400mm f/5.6. no filters, handheld from the boat
DJI Air 3 no filters, flown over the village and the surrounding coast, well away from the nesting cliffs
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