Hi all,
Back in June/July I was lucky enough to form part of a team undertaking a marine mammal survey of the Norwegian coast and the west coast of Spitsbergen on a Saga cruise ship. Before I left, I searched and searched for any accounts, info or trip reports from ‘normal’ cruises visiting the region to give an idea of whether the area’s specials are difficult to see outside of wildlife tours, but turned up absolutely zero useful information. There’s a wealth of information from wildlife-specific tour companies, obviously, but extremely little on what may and may not be seen from one of the many other cruises that visit the west coast of this Arctic wonderland. So, I’ve produced this report to hopefully give others some idea of what can be achieved on one of the many ‘other’ cruises to Svalbard, and to give an idea of where to be most vigilant if you do choose to grab yourself one of the many bargain voyages on offer.
So, with a firm list of targets in hand, and a heavy dose of reality ensuring there’d be no disappointment if we didn’t jam in on the key beasts, I set off on what was to be one of the best trips of my life thus far.
I don’t have a lot of free time right now, so I don’t think I’m going to do a typical BirdForum trip report and lay it out in posts, as much as I’d like to, but I’ll just give a link to my report as a PDF so you can browse and keep if you want. It’s fairly long (c.34 pages) with lots of photos so may load slowly.
http://lislegwynn.com/trip-reports/norway-spitsbergen-2013/
In summary though, we did unbelievably well, and the numbers speak for themselves:
- Cetaceans: 473 individuals, of 13 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
- Pinnipeds: 50 individuals, of 7 species, including 5 ‘lifers’
- Polar Bear: 1 sighting, of 1 individual. Obviously, a ‘lifer’
- Terrestrial mammal: 4 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
- Bird: 105 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
The highlights were many, but enigmatic beasts like Polar Bear, Atlantic Walrus, Hooded Seal, Harp Seal, Bearded Seal, Blue Whale, Beluga, Orca, Ivory Gull, drake King Eider, and of course breeding plumage Grey Phalarope really set the standard high. The supporting cast was hardly shabby, with breaching Sperm Whale, 40+ Humpback Whales (!!!), 6 Sei Whale, Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, European Elk (a birthday tick, I might add), Brunnich’s Guillemot, and of course the dozens of adult Long-tailed Skuas. A very brief Fea’s-type Petrel off of Stavanger, Norway, was also exciting; as was a very dark and interesting Fulmar off of Spitsbergen.
The sight of 20+ Blue Whales drifting past the ship over the course of an hour and a few miles, and hearing them breathe deeply in the mist will live with me for a long time; a real life highlight. I never really expected to get Walrus or Polar Bear – we weren’t going close to any big Walrus haul outs, nor were we going to the pack ice for bears, so getting both was a thrilling surprise. Both were just a combination of luck and hard work over long hours I guess, either way it was ample reward for 18 hours on deck each day.
So, if you can find a bargain last-minute cruise north (some were going for c.£700 in July!), it may give great rewards. From what I can tell, I suspect the wildlife-specific tours go inside of Prins Karls Forland, though I may be wrong. This could explain why few tours seem to encounter the incredible number and diversity of cetaceans we witnessed just west of this island. Else, it could be the higher vantage point afforded by the larger ship. If the former is the case, a cheap(er) last-minute bargain cruise to Spitsbergen from Southampton or Dover could be an excellent way to experience what has to be some of the best cetacean watching on the planet.
Any questions, queries or further info wanted, feel free to drop me a PM or email, otherwise enjoy and I hope it’s of use to some.
Cheers,
Lisle
Back in June/July I was lucky enough to form part of a team undertaking a marine mammal survey of the Norwegian coast and the west coast of Spitsbergen on a Saga cruise ship. Before I left, I searched and searched for any accounts, info or trip reports from ‘normal’ cruises visiting the region to give an idea of whether the area’s specials are difficult to see outside of wildlife tours, but turned up absolutely zero useful information. There’s a wealth of information from wildlife-specific tour companies, obviously, but extremely little on what may and may not be seen from one of the many other cruises that visit the west coast of this Arctic wonderland. So, I’ve produced this report to hopefully give others some idea of what can be achieved on one of the many ‘other’ cruises to Svalbard, and to give an idea of where to be most vigilant if you do choose to grab yourself one of the many bargain voyages on offer.
So, with a firm list of targets in hand, and a heavy dose of reality ensuring there’d be no disappointment if we didn’t jam in on the key beasts, I set off on what was to be one of the best trips of my life thus far.
I don’t have a lot of free time right now, so I don’t think I’m going to do a typical BirdForum trip report and lay it out in posts, as much as I’d like to, but I’ll just give a link to my report as a PDF so you can browse and keep if you want. It’s fairly long (c.34 pages) with lots of photos so may load slowly.
http://lislegwynn.com/trip-reports/norway-spitsbergen-2013/
In summary though, we did unbelievably well, and the numbers speak for themselves:
- Cetaceans: 473 individuals, of 13 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
- Pinnipeds: 50 individuals, of 7 species, including 5 ‘lifers’
- Polar Bear: 1 sighting, of 1 individual. Obviously, a ‘lifer’
- Terrestrial mammal: 4 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
- Bird: 105 species, including 3 ‘lifers’
The highlights were many, but enigmatic beasts like Polar Bear, Atlantic Walrus, Hooded Seal, Harp Seal, Bearded Seal, Blue Whale, Beluga, Orca, Ivory Gull, drake King Eider, and of course breeding plumage Grey Phalarope really set the standard high. The supporting cast was hardly shabby, with breaching Sperm Whale, 40+ Humpback Whales (!!!), 6 Sei Whale, Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, European Elk (a birthday tick, I might add), Brunnich’s Guillemot, and of course the dozens of adult Long-tailed Skuas. A very brief Fea’s-type Petrel off of Stavanger, Norway, was also exciting; as was a very dark and interesting Fulmar off of Spitsbergen.
The sight of 20+ Blue Whales drifting past the ship over the course of an hour and a few miles, and hearing them breathe deeply in the mist will live with me for a long time; a real life highlight. I never really expected to get Walrus or Polar Bear – we weren’t going close to any big Walrus haul outs, nor were we going to the pack ice for bears, so getting both was a thrilling surprise. Both were just a combination of luck and hard work over long hours I guess, either way it was ample reward for 18 hours on deck each day.
So, if you can find a bargain last-minute cruise north (some were going for c.£700 in July!), it may give great rewards. From what I can tell, I suspect the wildlife-specific tours go inside of Prins Karls Forland, though I may be wrong. This could explain why few tours seem to encounter the incredible number and diversity of cetaceans we witnessed just west of this island. Else, it could be the higher vantage point afforded by the larger ship. If the former is the case, a cheap(er) last-minute bargain cruise to Spitsbergen from Southampton or Dover could be an excellent way to experience what has to be some of the best cetacean watching on the planet.
Any questions, queries or further info wanted, feel free to drop me a PM or email, otherwise enjoy and I hope it’s of use to some.
Cheers,
Lisle
