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Svalbard part 8 |
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26 June 2003: This afternoon we went to the airport for bird watching. The weather wasn't very nice. It was very cloudy and the wind was very cold. On our way to the airport we stopped at the harbor. We saw our first baby Eiders of the year. The three young ones were swimming right behind their mother.  Ringed Plover At the airport we walked over a shore of stones. Suddenly a Ringed Plover noticed that we were apparently to close to her nest. She tried to get us away by pretending she was injured. She walked with one wing behind her over the ground. She tried to make it look like she would be easy prey so that any predators will follow her and won't go to the nest. We left so we wouldn't disturb her again.  Eggs of the Arctic Tern (2 Colors!) A few hundred meters ahead we discovered that more birds have strategies to keep predators away from their nests. We were attacked by a pair of Arctic Terns. They swooped down around our heads but lucky for us they didn't touch us. They just screamed real loud as they came close to our heads. When we looked down on the ground, we saw 2 eggs. After taking some pictures we found a place to sit not too far away.  Arctic Terns (First one sitting on the nest) The Arctic Terns flew back to their eggs to sit on them again. One of the terns was sitting and the other was watching out for danger. On our way back we saw beautiful Grey Phalaropes again. All in all, a very good day for bird watching again!  Grey Phalarope (male) |
27 June 2003: This morning when we went to our research fields in Adventalen, we saw a Great Skua resting on the road. After a couple of minutes it took off and flew above a group of Glaucous Gulls, which made them jump up and fly off too. The Great Skua is probably the strongest bird of Svalbard.  Great Skua Around 8 o'clock the cloudy weather we've had for almost a week finally disappeared. The sun began to shine and the sky became blue. We decided to go to the Little Auks colony on the top of the hill. On the last picture you can see the difference between the sunny south part of the hill, and the northern part which lies in the shadow.  Little Auk After climbing for half an hour we arrived at the colony. The Auks were sitting everywhere. They made a beautiful sound together. The sun was still shining bright so we were able to take our jackets off and sit down for a while and just watch the Auks.  Little Auk We discovered that above our house were several breeding pairs of Black Guillemots. It's a beautiful sight when one of them flies to the other in a greeting display. At that moment you can see the red coloring inside their beaks. Their legs are also a nice red color.  South part of the hill vs North part |
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