BF's Most Northerly Thread? (1 Viewer)

StuartReeves · May 16, 2012

Thanks to the wonderful world of work, I am currently in Longyearbyen, on the island of Spitsbergen. I had this afternoon free to wander around the toown and see what I could see. The commonest bird around town, and indeed the only passerine present at this time of year, was Snow Bunting, with birds singing from rooftops, or feeding hyperactively at holes in the snow. The odd Glaucous Gull cruised by overhead, and a few Pink-footed Geese shuttled between the steep cliffs that tower over the town and feeding areas nearer the shoreline. Higher up those cliffs, flocks of Little Auks swirled like starlings, their calls faintly audible from the town. A couple of Svalbard Reindeer, smaller and shorter-legged than their mainland cousins, mooched around in the snow. Along the beach, flocks of Common Eider were joined by smaller numbers of King Eider, the colours of the males looking absurdly bright in the clear Arctic sunlight. A few Black Guillemots and Purple Sandpipers and a hybrid Glaucous-Herring Gull (aka “Viking Gull”) completed the daylist.

At 78 degrees North, Spitsbergen is the most easily accessible point in the high Arctic. The main eco-tourism season is in mid-summer once the ice has receded sufficiently to allow access to the archipelago’s northern waters, and the associated charismatic megafauna. In comparison, Longyearbyen is almost urban, but even “off-season” it is still a fascinating place, with an avifauna characteristic of its high latitudes. Also there can’t be many places this far north with ready internet access, so although there is an element of bragging to the thread title, I suspect it may be true…

Andrew Whitehouse · May 16, 2012

I suppose this is also still 'casual Euro lisiting'. Have always wanted to go to Svalbard, so will be interested to hear how you get on. Will you have opportunities for travelling around a bit?

StuartReeves · May 16, 2012

I hope to see a bit more of the island over the next couple of days, but the chances of seeing you-know-what are pretty slim. I have some photos which I'll endeavour to post once I get home & can download them from the camera.

TWM · May 17, 2012

I was there last year but in June, the only Ivory Gull we saw was at sea. The Purple Sandpipers look fabulous in summer plumage.
Don't get eaten by a Polar Bear!!!

StuartReeves · May 17, 2012

Well, I survived the only possibility I had of encountering Polar Bear. I took a snowmobile tour to the east coast of the island, which offers the most realistic chance of PB at this time of year. We got within 20km of the coast when a combination of dodgy snow conditions and poor weather on the glacier meant that it was too risky to continue. As a result I dipped on the possibility of dipping Polar Bear. Nonetheless, the trip was fantastic and I can thoroughly reccomend whizzing through sunlit Arctic wilderness on good snow as a fun way to spend a day. Not many birds of course; most numerous were Pink-footed Geese, mostly looking well out of place in the snow-covered valleys. A few dark phase Fulmars arced across the valleys and the fjord, and a stop on the glacier in poor visibility was briefly enlivened by a raucous flock of Kittiwakes emerging briefly from the cloud. The only new bird of the day was a Ptarmigan that was found only because of an enforced stop resulting from a snowmboile accident. Thankfully the only damge done was to the snowmobile.

TWM · May 17, 2012

You haven't mentioned Brunnich's yet----?

JTweedie · May 17, 2012

Sounds fantastic, and getting to go with work is even better. A work colleague of mine spent a week there earlier this year and was out snowmobiling, with quite close encounters with polar bears.

I'd love to visit there someday! I hope you manage to see an ivory gull - for me this is one of the few birds that really shouts out Arctic.

Is it too light to see the aurora now?

StuartReeves · May 17, 2012

TWM said:
You haven't mentioned Brunnich's yet----?

Our Norwegian hosts laid-on a boat trip earleirin the week. We sailed pretty close to some cliffs holding thousands of Brünnich’s.

JTweedie said:
Sounds fantastic, and getting to go with work is even better. A work colleague of mine spent a week there earlier this year and was out snowmobiling, with quite close encounters with polar bears.

I'd love to visit there someday! I hope you manage to see an ivory gull - for me this is one of the few birds that really shouts out Arctic.

Is it too light to see the aurora now?

Sounds like the same snowmobile trip I did. There is supposed to be an Ivory Gull around but I haven't seen it yet. It's too light for everything right now, including sleep. I haven't witnessed darkness since I left Brussels.

TWM · May 18, 2012

I was told that Ivory Gulls sometimes hang around the Husky Kennel at the edge of town.

StuartReeves · May 18, 2012

TWM said:
I was told that Ivory Gulls sometimes hang around the Husky Kennel at the edge of town.

That is where the current one is supposed to be! Still haven't seen it though.

A lazy day spent around town today. The numbers of Pinkfeet loafing around town has increased, and they have now been joined by a few Barnacle Geese. There are still flocks of Little Auks flying high overhead as they return to their clifftop colony from feeding at sea. A small flock of Kittiwakes over the beach and a Brünnich’s Guillemot on the fjord were the first I have seen around town.

Edward · May 24, 2012

StuartReeves said:
At 78 degrees North, Spitsbergen is the most easily accessible point in the high Arctic. The main eco-tourism season is in mid-summer once the ice has receded sufficiently to allow access to the archipelago’s northern waters, and the associated charismatic megafauna. In comparison, Longyearbyen is almost urban, but even “off-season” it is still a fascinating place, with an avifauna characteristic of its high latitudes. Also there can’t be many places this far north with ready internet access, so although there is an element of bragging to the thread title, I suspect it may be true…

Interesting account, Stuart, of a place I'd dearly like to visit. I look forward to the photos. I've just got back from high Arctic Greenland myself. However, getting north of 78 degrees in Greenland is for scientists (or the extremely intrepid) only. Quite an overlap in the birds we saw, although I managed a whole five species of passerine!

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

To tidy up this thread, Saturday saw me snowshoeing up a local hill in near-white-out conditions. Great fun, but the conditions weren't conducive to seeing birds, the sum total for the trip was a single Snow Bunting. A bit of edge was added to the trip by the story that a polar bear had been reported on that very hill the previous day. A helicopter sent to check out the report found only reindeer tracks, so the report was probably stringy.

An early start was neccesary on the Sunday in order to get my flight back to the lands of darkness & vegetables. I opened the curtains of my hotel room to see an Arctic Fox just across the street. The only other wildlife interest of the day was afforded by the departure lounge at Longyearbyen airport, which has a view over the sea. A brief seawatch here produced numerous flocks of Little Auk, a scatter of Kittiwakes and a last new bird for the trip; an adult Iceland Gull.

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

Edward said:
Interesting account, Stuart, of a place I'd dearly like to visit. I look forward to the photos. I've just got back from high Arctic Greenland myself. However, getting north of 78 degrees in Greenland is for scientists (or the extremely intrepid) only. Quite an overlap in the birds we saw, although I managed a whole five species of passerine!

I may have been at higher lattitudes than you Edward, but I suspect your trip was more high Arctic than mine. Any Greenland Wheatears?

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

Common birds of Longyearbyen:

1, Token passerine
2, Glaucous Gull
3, Little Auks

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

More photographic evidence:

1, Fulmar,
2, Pink-footed Geese
3, Barnacle Geese
4, King & Queen

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

That mammal list in full:

1, Svalbard reindeer
2, The view from my hotel window on the last morning
3, As 2 in close-up.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 25, 2012

Interesting report Stuart - nice shots too. I like the urban fox.

StuartReeves · May 25, 2012

Andrew Whitehouse said:
Interesting report Stuart - nice shots too. I like the urban fox.

Thanks. I only had the compact camera to hand when I saw the fox, so the photo is a bit rubbish, but hopefully in an atmospheric way.

TWM · May 25, 2012

Arctic Fox was the one thing that we didn't see last June, got all the other suspects though.

Edward · May 25, 2012

StuartReeves said:
I may have been at higher lattitudes than you Edward, but I suspect your trip was more high Arctic than mine. Any Greenland Wheatears?

Only one Wheatear, they are just arriving, the country was still absolutely buried under snow.

Nice set of pictures, Stuart, especially the atmospheric urban fox and the King and Queen Eiders.

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