After our dash down the west of Svalbard with a strong following wind and lumpy sea, our final full day started with a calm sea offering fulmars racing their reflections.
The plan was a landing at the location of a high cliff being used by breeding kittiwakes and guillemots.
The birds seek the safety of the cliffs to give protection against marauding Arctic foxes but the risk of breeding on cliffs is that things fall off. Eggs can fall from the ledges and foxes patrol the area below for any victims of mishap. Kittiwakes raise their chicks until they are able to fly from the cliff but guillemot chicks need to leave the safety of their ledge before being capable of flight. The strategy is for the male to encourage the hungry chick to leave the ledge and glide out to land in the sea and begin to learn how to forage. The higher the ledge, the further the chick can glide but a significant number don’t reach the water and have to run a terrestrial gauntlet of danger to reach the sea. This is an opportunity the foxes rely on so our aim was to search the area below the cliff for Arctic foxes.
The peaty tundra below the cliffs was a lovely place to walk and explore. Small tarns and creeks with herbs and flowers were appreciated by Svalbard reindeer too so we had some opportunities for photography and close encounters.
We had a lovely warm sunny morning to explore the location and after days on board ship it was a nice change to feel solid land beneath our feet and be able to walk and explore. As always we needed our armed guides keeping watch for possible Polar bear and so had to remain in a relatively close group.
It was lovely see the Svalbard reindeer up close. They are surprisingly small and were moving about apparently undisturbed by our proximity
The reindeer were easy to find but the foxes not so much. I will share the rest of this visit in my next post.
Photos with iPhone 14 Pro, Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S or Nikon Z8 and Nikkor Z 14-30mm f4
