They have appeared lifeless both in the sea, in the center and in the field lately. On land, they are helpless, and they are completely dependent on water to get on the wings.
Several times in recent years, the red-listed guillemot has been seen in Eastern Norway – in a dead state. Now it’s happening again.
– We have received a number of messages. They are everywhere now, says leader of the Ornithological Society, Håkan Billing, to Dagbladet.
Collapse: Full of confusion
Thousands of dead
He explains that it is food shortages that make the critically endangered bird species now appear in and around Oslo. Some years there have been thousands of dead individuals.
The species breeds on Helgoland. But in the areas around the two islands in the North Sea, according to Billing, there is too little food for guillemots, which are therefore looking for food in the direction of Norway and Oslo.
– The ones we find here are simply starving. It happens more and more often, says Billing, who has no exact figure on how many individuals have been found dead in recent weeks.
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Need help
Last year, Dagbladet reported on Erik Holm, who found a stray guillemot in central Oslo. He took care of the bird, and helped it back to the fjord where it was released.
– It was a guillemot that has entered Oslo with strong winds. They cannot fly until they have a long distance on water. There were probably several hundred birds of this species that had made an emergency landing in the city, Holm told Dagbladet.
FRESH: This is what the guillemot looks like when it is fresh and with good food access. Photo: Jarl Fr. Erichsen / NTB.
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– Give them help
Billing encourages people to do the same, if they discover guillemots in the city.
– The most important thing is to get them to the sea. In fresh water they have nothing to do. If there is enough food and they are not too hungry, then they manage in the sea, says the leader of the Ornithological Society.
According to Billing, catching guillemots is no challenge. As a rule, the birds are found on land.
– They are quite awkward and easy to pick up. So give them a helping hand and get them down to sea again, he says.
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