© Jessica Cook / Arctic Council Secretariat, Norwegian Polar Institute

New film series takes viewers behind the scenes of Arctic seabird research

July 30, 2026

What can seabirds tell us about the changing Arctic? The Arctic Council's new four-part film series follows researchers on Bjørnøya to find out.

On the remote Arctic island of Bjørnøya, researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute return every summer to monitor seabirds. For 40 years, their work has built a long-term dataset of the island's seabird populations, helping reveal how climate change and other pressures affect Arctic biodiversity and ecosystems. Their research feeds into Arctic Council work, building strong international collaboration and helping bridge science to action.

The new four-part film series, Unveiling the Mysteries of Arctic Seabirds, takes viewers to the impressive bird cliffs on Bjørnøya with scientists to see their work in action.

About the film series: Unveiling the Mysteries of Arctic Seabirds

The series gives a behind-the-scenes look at researchers capturing and ringing seabirds, deploying tracking devices, collecting samples and monitoring breeding colonies. These methods help reveal where the seabirds migrate, what they eat and how environmental pressures affect their populations.

Viewers will meet the scientists, get insights about Arctic seabirds and learn why seabird population declines aren’t just an Arctic issue. The videos showcase how seabirds can reveal broader changes across Arctic ecosystems.

While the research on Bjørnøya has revealed troubling trends, there are also signs of hope. The videos highlight why cooperation across borders is essential to conserving Arctic biodiversity.

Why Bjørnøya matters

Bjørnøya is an island that lies between mainland Norway and Spitsbergen. The island is uninhabited except for personnel working at a meteorological station located on the north end. It’s located in a zone called the Polar Front, where cold Arctic water meets warmer Atlantic water, providing nutrient-rich seas for seabirds.

Around one million breeding pairs of seabirds gather on Bjørnøya each summer, alongside roughly one million additional non-breeding birds. This makes Bjørnøya a globally important breeding site and a significant location for seabird monitoring in the Arctic.

The island is a meeting place where Arctic species have their southernmost breeding site, and southern species have their northernmost breeding site. This provides scientists a unique opportunity to study these interactions and impacts of a changing Arctic.

What seabird research reveals about the Arctic

Seabirds spend most of their lives at sea and feed high in the food chain, responding quickly to changes further down. By monitoring them, scientists can gain insights into changes taking place throughout our oceans.

Many Arctic seabird populations are declining at alarming rates due to climate change, shifting food webs, new diseases, contaminants, interactions with fisheries and other industries, among other pressures. As seabirds feed at sea but breed on land, they are important transporters of nutrients from marine to terrestrial ecosystems. Their population declines can therefore have wider ecological implications. And, as they migrate across cast distances, their declines have a global impact.

Why international collaboration matters

Many seabirds stay in the Arctic for two to three months a year, and cross oceans and national borders during their annual migrations.

Research conducted on Bjørnøya contributes to the work of the Arctic Council, including through the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna’s Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme’s contaminants work.

Working with Arctic and non-Arctic actors across migration routes – called flyways – is essential to improve understanding of seabird threats, ensure conservation actions are supported at every location and to support healthy populations. This film series is an example of how this research from the Norwegian Polar Institute feeds into Arctic Council projects to improve international monitoring efforts and cooperation to conserve seabirds.

Featuring dramatic seabird cliffs, encounters with seabirds, decades of scientific insights and personal anecdotes, Unveiling the Mysteries of Arctic Seabirds offers a rare glimpse into field work on Bjørnøya and explores what seabirds can tell us about the future of the Arctic.

Click here to watch the full film on YouTube

Or watch by chapter:

Part 1 - Why Bjørnøya is globally significant

Part 2 - Follow researchers in the field

Part 3 - A warning sign

Part 4 - From science to action

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Researchers on Bjørnøya:

Hallvard Strøm, Section Leader, Research Scientist, Norwegian Polar Institute

Elin Sjöholm, Marine Biologist, Norwegian Polar Institute

Nanette Verboven, Research Engineer, Norwegian Polar Institute

Nils Helge Lorentzen, Seasonal Field Worker, Norwegian Polar Institute

Filmed by:

Jessica Cook, Arctic Council Secretariat/Norwegian Polar Institute

Edited by: