Eirik Grønningsæter

Eirik is from Molde, Norway but is currently living at Røst in Northern Norway - a paradise for every bird lover. He was born (1977) by the sea on the west coast of Norway where he from early childhood picked up a love for nature. First through backcountry skiing some of the most dramatic mountains in Europe and numerous Ski jumping hills in the area. Soon also through a passion for wildlife with birds and whales in particular. Being an acknowledged birder, he was the first to do an official “Big Year” in Norway (2014) and is to this day one of very few that has managed to see more than 300 bird species within one year in Norway.

A Cand Scient degree in Zoology from the University of Oslo led him for the first time to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in 2001 to do a behavioral study on the Arctic bird Barnacle goose. Since then, he has been every year in Svalbard as a field biologist doing fieldwork for scientists on seabirds and cetaceans and since 2009 - also as a guide for tourists, photographers, and film crews. In the early 2000s, he was the leader of the Norwegian Zoological Society.

In 2007 he founded the company Feltbiologen Grønningsæter, which specializes in designing and running fieldwork for various research projects in polar destinations. One of his main contractors is amongst others the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Eirik has been a professional photographer since 2007 and his work focuses on journalistic wildlife documentaries as well as fine art prints. His photographic stories have been published widely in magazines, books, and newspapers worldwide (including BBC Wildlife Magazine, National Geographic, and A-Magasinet). His stories and pictures always reflect his passion for nature and usually carry a strong conservational message.

In 2016 he published the book Amazing Arctic – about the wildlife and birds in Svalbard. The book was highly recommended by institutions such as Ocean Geographic, the Norwegian Ornithological Society, and others.

His pictures have also been awarded in several of the most prestigious nature photography contests such as Birds Photographer of the Year, NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well as the Norwegian Press Photographer of the Year and others.

Being a cetacean and bird specialist - his knowledge about wildlife and birds is extensive, and if there is a bird or an animal that exists in Norway – Eirik knows where and when to find it. He is used as a scientific adviser for film production companies such as BBC and Nautilus Film.

He also loves to explore the underwater world and is an experienced snorkeller. Been guiding Orca snorkeling trips in Norway as well as Sardine-run trips in South Africa. Even if his main interest remains in polar destinations, his passion for birds has taken him around the world to both warmer tropical climates as well as to remote destinations such as West Siberia.

He visited Antarctica first time in 2008 doing a bird survey in the Norwegian sector of the Weddel Sea, and has since 2013 been in almost every year in Antarctica either as a guide or working on scientific projects. In 2019 he was part of an Antarctic scientific expedition looking into setting up one of the world’s largest marine protected areas.