Svalbard part 17

Svalbard part 17

11 July 2003:
During our breakfast everybody was still talking about the polar bear we saw yesterday. In the mean time our boat had reached a magnificent location called Kongsfjorden. At 9 o'clock the zodiac was put in the water for another day of fieldwork

Blomstrandhalvoya

The exact location was Blomstrandhalvoya. Halvoya means half-island in Norwegian(in English this would be a peninsula). A long time ago it was a real peninsula because it was connected to the mainland by a large glacier. The glacier has retreated recently so at present there is no connection with the mainland. It is a genuine island for now!

Dryas octopetela

At many places Dryas octopetela was flowering. This is a plant that grows in dry locactions and produces magnificent white flowers. Dryas octopetela is one of the most common flowers on Svalbard. You can find it nearly everywhere.

Blomstrandhalvoya

The landscape was totally different compared to yesterday. Much more vegetation with less snow and ice. You could clearly see that we had moved to the south again. During the fieldwork we saw 3 different skua species: the Long-tailed, Artic and Great Skua. It was wonderful to have the chance to see birds that are rare in Holland.

Blomstrandhalvoya

Above is a picture of the glacier on the other side of the fjord.

"The birdcliffs"

After finishing our fieldwork we decided to go for a hike before returning to the boat for dinner. We walked around the tip of the island towards the birdcliffs. The birdcliffs were really impressive rocks. When you stood under them you felt really small. The residents of the birdcliffs were mainly kittiwakes and Brunnish's Guillemots. During our hike we were attacked by 2 Arctic Skua's that had a nest nearby. We also saw some reindeer.

Ivory gull

Once we were back on the boat we heard that we would have a real barbecue for dinner so the boat moved towards a little beach where we could set it up. It was really great that they organized all of this for us! Everybody had to bring some driftwood for the fire and soon we were ready to start. Nice pieces of meat, potatos and salad, all very excellent food. Then, to complete the party, an Ivory Gull came towards us to beg for food.

Ivory gull

The gull wasn't shy at all! He took the meat out of the hand of our guide. Great to see such a magnificent gull so close up. After the barbecue we returned to the ship on the zodiak.