• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2000 baseline)
Vega is an archipelago of several thousand small islands and islets. Some of the largest islands are partly cultivated and inhabited. The landscape is a mosaic of peatbogs and rocky areas, with scattered brackish tarns between Viksås and Holand, and near Valen, as well as some freshwater ponds. Intertidal areas are extensive, with seaweed beds, nutrient-rich mud, and rock, sand and gravel; the most important mudflats for birds are on the northern side of the main island.

Key biodiversity
Haliaeetus albicilla is common all year-round. Anser brachyrhynchus is numerous on passage in spring. A wide variety of waders often breed, and large numbers stage on the island shores in early autumn. Seaduck are the most common wintering waterbirds in the shallow areas west and north of the main island, and include Somateria spectabilis (c.500).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Vega archipelago (Norway). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/vega-archipelago-iba-norway on 23/11/2024.