One of the fabulous things about sailing here is the bird life. We have been hammering away with the newly acquired telephoto lenses to bring you a selection of the best of the bird life here...
Of course a favorite is the Atlantic puffins which often fly off the coast, especially close to Ny Allyson, and off the North coast. They fly up to the boat and often fly around us to work out what we are up to. One particularly excitable puffin did 7 laps of the boat at close range - it must have known we needed some photo practice!
Then there are the ones on icebergs.. The ones below are black-legged kittiwakes. We can only presume that these have tremendously warm feet, enabling them to stand on icebergs - however they have to move frequently to avoid sinking irreversibly into the ice.
Arctic birds are unimaginably more aggressive than in Britain - walk near a pigeon in the Capital and it will waddle away, possibly deigning to fly if your boot seems particularly close. Here, if you get within 50m of a tern it will start a piercing clacking screech. Even as you try to skirt around it, or retreat, it will take to the air above you and dive bomb passing close to your head - all the time screeching. It then gains height again, placing itself between you and the sun (so you can't quite see the screaming banshee) before diving again. The photo below is of a tern in action attacking Barny!
Living near to the town in Ny Allson are several hundred pairs of Barnacle geese, which walk fearlessly around the town of a couple of hundred people probably threatened only by the huge number of tourist ships which come to the town.
And finally some Brunnich's guillemots (with the white beak stripe which differentiates it from the common guillemot) not much to say, but we thought it was a nice photo.
Little Auk in the Isfjord
Of course a favorite is the Atlantic puffins which often fly off the coast, especially close to Ny Allyson, and off the North coast. They fly up to the boat and often fly around us to work out what we are up to. One particularly excitable puffin did 7 laps of the boat at close range - it must have known we needed some photo practice!
Puffin landing on the water near Ny Alesund
Puffin circles the boat off the North coast of Spitsbergen
Then there are the ones on icebergs.. The ones below are black-legged kittiwakes. We can only presume that these have tremendously warm feet, enabling them to stand on icebergs - however they have to move frequently to avoid sinking irreversibly into the ice.
Kittywakes in the Leidfjord
Arctic birds are unimaginably more aggressive than in Britain - walk near a pigeon in the Capital and it will waddle away, possibly deigning to fly if your boot seems particularly close. Here, if you get within 50m of a tern it will start a piercing clacking screech. Even as you try to skirt around it, or retreat, it will take to the air above you and dive bomb passing close to your head - all the time screeching. It then gains height again, placing itself between you and the sun (so you can't quite see the screaming banshee) before diving again. The photo below is of a tern in action attacking Barny!
Arctic Tern outside Ny Allson
Living near to the town in Ny Allson are several hundred pairs of Barnacle geese, which walk fearlessly around the town of a couple of hundred people probably threatened only by the huge number of tourist ships which come to the town.
And finally some Brunnich's guillemots (with the white beak stripe which differentiates it from the common guillemot) not much to say, but we thought it was a nice photo.
Location:Cooksund to Woodjfjord
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