Key site Vestland

Location and description

Lyngøy (60° 04′ 34″N, 05° 30′ 57″ E) is an island in the north of Tysnes municipality in Vestland. The 62-da island is in Bjørnafjorden about 2.5 kilometers from land. The site was established as a nature reserve for seabirds in 1987.

The surrounding islands – Fluøyane, Fluøyskjeret, Vesøyane and Terneskjæret – are also nature reserves. They are characterized by revegetation, and Lyngøy therefore has an important function as a breeding site for the seabirds in the area. In 1993, heather was burnt off in the middle of the island to improve the habitat to suit the gulls. This has probably contributed to stable population levels on the island. The numbers of seabirds, and especially gulls, have apparently been stable or increasing since the mid 1990s.

The vegetation on Lyngøy consists mainly of heather and grass species with tens of small pine trees. The bedrock consists of quartzite, and near the middle of the island there is a depression containing a moist marshy area. This is the core of the lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus that nest on the island.

Wildlife

In Lyngøy, bird life is dominated by herring Larus argentatus and lesser black-backed gulls. In the monitoring period 2009-2017, the breeding population of the former has varied between 320 and 380 pairs. For lesser black-backed gulls, here the southern subspecies L. f. intermedius, the population has varied between 80 and 120 pairs. Figures from 1979 show that large gulls also dominated the island, but that the lesser black-backed gulls were then in the majority with 110-130 pairs (the population of herring gulls was estimated to be 60-95 pairs). Of other bird species, we find great black-backed gulls L. marinus, common gulls L. canus, greylag geese Anser anser, eiders Somateria molissima, oystercatchers Hamentopus ostralegus and red-breasted mergansers Mergus serrator. Of passerines, the island has rock Anthus petrosus, and meadow pipits A. pratensis and hooded crows Corvus cornix.

The county governor of Vestland has chosen the Fluøyane Nature Reserve (which includes Lyngøy) as a focus area for the eradication of mink Neovison vison. In addition to traditional traps, the islands are searched using a specially trained dog at least every second winter to take out territorial individuals. Lyngøy was considered mink-free in 2015, but the distance to land is so short that reestablishment can be expected. Otters have not been observed on either Lyngøy or the islands around, but the population in Vestland is increasing and is found in areas not far from the site. It is probable that otters have already established themselves in the vicinity, which may be positive considering that the otter seems to outperform the mink.

Human activity

There is little human activity on Lyngøy. We have seen fishing nets within the 50-meter zone around the island, and this has been reported as a deviation to the local SNO representative. It is unclear how large the catch of wrasse is in the area, but we can assume that it takes place. Since seabird monitoring started on the island, there has been no grazing by livestock.