Lovénøyane: Midtholmen

Panorama of a little island in a bird sanctuary in Kongsfjord

The small island Midtholmen is one of Lovénøyane in Kongsfjord.

The small island of Midtholmen is situated within the little group of islands of Lovénøyane in Kongsfjord. All of Lovénøyane are protected as bird sanctuary, which means that landings are not allowed during the breeding season, defined as 15 May – 15 August. Boat traffic within 300 metres from the neares shore or offshore rock (as per low tide) is also included in the ban.

It is good that the islands are protected from visitors during the breeding period, because there is a high density of ground breeders including common eider ducks and arctic terns.

But they leave when they have finished their breeding business, and they islands can be visited legally from 16 August. Lovénøyane, which also include Juttaholmen, Sigridholmen and several other islets, may appear to be unspectacular when seen from the distance, and “spectacular” may not be the right word anyway. But for anyone interested in that part of the beauty of the arctic that is hidden in smaller details including ground structures, colourful lichens and that kind of things, Midtholmen is a treasure box, a pearl of nature. You can sense that birds have been breeding there for thousands of years. And there is, of course, the panoramic view of the stunning mountain and glacier scenery of inner Kongsfjord, and that is indeed spectacular.

Panorama: Midtholmen

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Midtholmen itself is a small island with a maximum extent of under 600 metres. This 360 degree panorama was taken on a golden “autumn” (early winter, in that case) day in late September 2023 on the highest elevation of the island, 22 metres high 🙂