Getting ready to board The Plancius
Leaving Longyearben behind.
Getting used to the ship.
Distant Glaucous Gull on ice.
Fulmar
Most individuals this far north
are of the blue morph.
Arctic Tern
We boarded the ship at around 4pm on 3rd June. Got unpacked, & starting exploring our new surroundings & had the mandatory safety briefings. First impressions, very good, our cabin was nice & the observation lounge was superb. Had a brief sea-watch on deck, noting just the commoner species & then we had an early night as a full day on the morrow.
Unfortunately the blue skies quickly disappeared!
Dawn was a little grey, with no sun.
We anchored in Ny Alesund (London) on the morning of 4th June. Our GPS position was 78 57, 5N; 012 87, 0 E. This is a scientific base, but our landing was across the bay on the island of Blomstrandhalvoya. This was Camp Mansfield, an unsuccessful attempt to mine the local resources.
Our first zodiac landing.
Marion, John, myself & unknown lady.
Looking back into the bay.
Having a breather before the off!
We hiked across here to the nearby camp.
This Ivory Gull took me by surprise as we were
landing on the beach.
Lots of snow still around made for tricky hiking.
Setting off for a walk in the snow.
Our ship looks pretty small amid the scenery.
Camp Mansfield.
Like many ventures into the high arctic it failed!
The main hut of the camp.
Arctic Tern
Displaying to each other.
Just arrived back after their immense migration.
Super birds!
Long tailed Skua
Photographing the Skuas.
These birds had been ringed.
Great to finally see them on their breeding grounds.
Brilliant close views.
One half frozen, the other half
just beginning to melt.
Spring is coming!
Waiting for the zodiac to return to the ship.
Bird cliffs at 14th Julibukta
There were quite a few bits of ice
floating around in the bay.
Our method of transport.
An unusual combination!
I still can't get my head around Barnacle Geese
nesting on cliffs!
Brunnich's Guillemot
The commonest Auk species here by far.
Great to see them close up.
Puffin
These birds are much larger both in body & bill size
than those found further south.
The bird cliffs from the zodiac.
Glacier behind.
Delana taking photos.
The glacier was very scenic.
A pity about the low cloud & overcast conditions.
We landed at the base of the seabird cliffs,
glacier in the background.
Hundreds of Kittiwakes nesting, but so far away!
Lots of Barnacle Geese on the lower slopes
& some already breeding high up on the cliffs.
Arctic Fox.
This animal was in transitional coat.
It was looking for any eggs or chicks which might
have fallen from the sea bird cliffs.
Birds:
Red throated Diver 1, Northern Fulmar 170+, Pink footed Goose 7, Barnacle Goose 38, Common Eider 48, Long tailed Duck 2, Ptarmigan 2, Purple Sandpiper 6, Arctic Skua 1, Long tailed Skua 4, Great Skua 1, Glaucous Gull 9, Kittiake 5,000+, Ivory Gull 3, Arctic Tern 41, Brunnich's Guillemot 700+, Black Guillemot 16, Little Auk 40, Puffin 55, Snow Bunting 6.
Mammals:
Ringed Seal 2, Arctic Fox 1, Svalbad Reindeer 8.
We enjoyed a lovely evening on the ship with a lecture about where we had been today followed by a nice meal. Early to bed, as heading for the pack ice in the morning! Exciting times!
Great pics and story!
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