It’s no secret that murres are my favorite birds. I fell in love with the thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) while in Svalbard in 2017, and they’re the birds that sort of got me into birding. Since then I’ve gotten to know the common murres (Uria aalge) a lot better as well, which are more common on mainland Norway.

This year I visited them several times at Hornøya, where around a third of the common murres are of the bridled variation (in Norwegian sometimes called ringvi instead of lomvi), which have a white ring and band resembling glasses around the eyes.

Group of common murres at Hornøya.

Murres are very social auks, that breed as tight as 20 pairs (40 individuals) per square meter. Being so close together offers better protection to the eggs and chicks, since neighbors can assist in fighting off predators.

Being this tight to your neighbor is guaranteed to to cause some commotion, and we observed many murres both cozing up to their neighbors, and getting into friendly arguments with them.

Bridled common murre portrait, taken at Hornøya (in Finnmark, Norway). In Norwegian this variation of murre is often called a "ringvi", merging the words "ring" and "lomvi" (murre).

The birds at Hornøya are not shy, and often running over the path and between people at Hornøya, actively checking out what the humans are up to. This one was standing a few meters away from me, overlooking the ocean.

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Common murre overlooking the sea.

Common murre at Hornøya.

Common murre at Hornøya (northern Norway). Here around 100,000 seabirds breed each summer season, and the murres are the most numerous species on the island, with over 15,000 breeding pairs.

This individual was hanging out with the shags, and taking a peek from behind a rock right next to the shoreline.

Common murres creating a new generation while their friends and family watch. Murres nest very close to eachother, which offers protection from predators, and it's often family that they nest next to. No privacy at all.

Common murre photographed at Hornøya, an island in the northernmost and easternmost part of Norway.

Murres spend the majority of their life at sea, and only come on land to breed, which happens on steep seaside cliffs like these. This picture was taken at the start of April, when the seabirds had just returned to their nesting grounds.

This is the bridled version, in Norwegian also called "ringvi" (ring-lomvi), which has a white circle around the eyes that makes them look as if they're wearing glasses.

I thought this one individual looked particularly cute, checking me out from behind a rock. They're curious and very lively and social birds, it's so fun to observe.

When birds of prey fly past, all the auks instantly abandon their cliff, leading to a lot of chaotic sights like this one.

While I was on the island, the birds on the cliff flew off like this several times. And while it looked and sounded very chaotic (I mean, it's literally thousands of seabirds shouting and flying away in the sme direction, of course it's chaotic), they did seem quite synchronized and disciplined, and collisions are rare.

Common murre photographed at Hornøya, April 2024.

I was taking a picture of this family of common murres/common guillemots (Uria aalge) posing while more auks flew by at Hornøya, when a European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) crashlanded in the snow right in front of me, creating this dramatic portrait.

Picture taken at Hornøya, by Vardø in the north of Norway.

Two common murres preening eachother at Hornøya, a bird cliff in northern Norway. These are the bridled variation (also called "ringvi" in Norwegian), which have a white stripe around the eyes resembling glasses.

Bridled common murres are the same species (Uria aalge). The glasses are just a genetic variation, and are more common in northern regions.

Two common murres returning to the cliff from an afternoon of fishing at sea.

It's quite incredible that they don't have constant collisions, because as soon as predators are observed thousands of seabirds synchronously abandon the cliff.

When birds of prey are observed around the bird cliff at Hornøya, most of the auks promptly abandon their nesting grounds, flying out to the open sea and counting on the safety of being in a larger flock.

But not this one bridled common murre. While all of the neighbors fled the white-tailed eagle, this individual decided to proudly fly back to the cliff with a meal in the beak. Maybe supplying their partner on the nest with an emergency snack?