Kríuvarp: The nesting grounds of the Arctic Tern

By Gunnar Birgisson

Who is the toughest of all the beings that make a home in Iceland?  

I’ll tell you my answer. These black-capped, fierce entities never back down from a fight,

Photo Credit: AWeith, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

don’t take nonsense from anybody, regularly undertake the hardest tasks, and never seem to take a moment to relax. And each one weighs about 100 grams or 3.5 ounces.

I am of course referring to the magnificent Arctic Tern. 

Every year this migratory bird flies more than 25,000 miles up and down the globe.  When it is winter in the north, they are found near Antarctica.  When the Antarctic summer starts fading, they start their epic journey back to the North, and when the Arctic summer comes to an end they fly back south.  

Their nesting grounds, which we call a Kríuvarp, are in Iceland and other far northern regions. In Iceland, hundreds of Arctic Terns will nest on the ground in an area. These colonies are often near human settlements, such as near the pond in downtown Reykjavik and in the fields at the tip of the Reykjavík peninsula where people stroll to view the Grótta lighthouse. Some experts believe the Arctic Terns may prefer to nest near human habitats, where fewer foxes and minks are praying on their eggs. 

A Kríuvarp can be spotted from quite some distance, as the birds are constantly flying around and are very noisy. Icelanders always respect nesting sites, but during nesting season you might stumble into a Kríuvarp while on a walk. The Arctic Terns react very differently from most other birds, who either flee or try to lure you away from a hidden nest by pretending to be hobbled and expecting to be chased. The Arctic Tern not only refuses to flee but will attack you, dive-bombing from above, and even pecking your head and drawing blood. These encounters lead most people to frantically run away while waving their arms above their heads. 

While we try not to disturb these fierce creatures, sometimes it is unavoidable, as a nesting ground might, for example, straddle a road. I´ve driven slowly across a gravel road in a Toyota Landcruiser while furious Arctic Terns swarmed all around, doubtless cursing me out in their screechy calls, and one even pecked violently at the hood of the car. Its adversary´s 5,000-pound weight advantage did not intimate that Arctic Tern. Needless to say, we stayed in the car till the colony was out of sight.