Longyearbyen to Woodfjorden and Monaco Glacier- Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard Archipelago
We are on our way northward along the western coast of Spitsbergen in Svalbard after a long journey from our respective homes via Oslo, Norway. The glaucous gulls, Arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars are accompanying us as we sail away from Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard. We started at 78 degrees thirteen minutes north last night, and we are headed for 80 degrees latitude north tonight! Sunset is not going to happen on this summer evening, or on any other night soon, as we are a mere 600 miles from the North Pole! Who would have thought we would see so much on the first day of our Lindblad Photo Expedition.
I’m not sure where to begin – maybe with the amazing geology of the glacially-carved fjords and the stark vastness of the landscape. Or possibly with the massive, jagged sheer mountains rising up and through the endless space and time of the glaciers. Perhaps I should mention the birds once more, for they are forever on the wing, following our ship, MS Endeavour, searching for food stirred up from our wake as we ply the polar waters in search of fauna, fowl and furry white bears.
And suddenly one is spotted. Ursus maritimus. An isbjørn, or “ice bear” as they are called up here. A big, fluffy, potato-chip colored polar bear as most of us call it, cruising along the shoreline. If they are on land, they are probably hungry, for “ice bears” are truly predators that usually hunt seals on the pack ice. This year there is not a great deal of ice in Woodfjorden, however, so this bear is most likely scavenging for leftover carcasses of animals that died during the winter. Another bear is spotted, and then another. And yet one more up on the hill, sleeping away the day as we anchor at the end of Liefdefjorden.
Our photo today was taken from the upper deck as Captain Skog maneuvered Endeavour up to the glacial front where suddenly the water was alive with thousands of kittiwakes, all vying for position to feed in the nutrient-rich upwellings which force food up from below the surface of the water. Those birds feeding closer to the glacier were forced away by the outflowing current, as the waiting masses flew ahead of the drifting pack, each kittiwake jostling for position to feed at the front of the line. All hands were called out on deck to witness this phenomenon, and a few hundred rolls of film (or several million gigabits of digital whatever it is called) were shot as the sea and sky were filled with a feeding frenzy seldom seen anywhere on earth. I call that a good start to our journey.
We are on our way northward along the western coast of Spitsbergen in Svalbard after a long journey from our respective homes via Oslo, Norway. The glaucous gulls, Arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars are accompanying us as we sail away from Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard. We started at 78 degrees thirteen minutes north last night, and we are headed for 80 degrees latitude north tonight! Sunset is not going to happen on this summer evening, or on any other night soon, as we are a mere 600 miles from the North Pole! Who would have thought we would see so much on the first day of our Lindblad Photo Expedition.
I’m not sure where to begin – maybe with the amazing geology of the glacially-carved fjords and the stark vastness of the landscape. Or possibly with the massive, jagged sheer mountains rising up and through the endless space and time of the glaciers. Perhaps I should mention the birds once more, for they are forever on the wing, following our ship, MS Endeavour, searching for food stirred up from our wake as we ply the polar waters in search of fauna, fowl and furry white bears.
And suddenly one is spotted. Ursus maritimus. An isbjørn, or “ice bear” as they are called up here. A big, fluffy, potato-chip colored polar bear as most of us call it, cruising along the shoreline. If they are on land, they are probably hungry, for “ice bears” are truly predators that usually hunt seals on the pack ice. This year there is not a great deal of ice in Woodfjorden, however, so this bear is most likely scavenging for leftover carcasses of animals that died during the winter. Another bear is spotted, and then another. And yet one more up on the hill, sleeping away the day as we anchor at the end of Liefdefjorden.
Our photo today was taken from the upper deck as Captain Skog maneuvered Endeavour up to the glacial front where suddenly the water was alive with thousands of kittiwakes, all vying for position to feed in the nutrient-rich upwellings which force food up from below the surface of the water. Those birds feeding closer to the glacier were forced away by the outflowing current, as the waiting masses flew ahead of the drifting pack, each kittiwake jostling for position to feed at the front of the line. All hands were called out on deck to witness this phenomenon, and a few hundred rolls of film (or several million gigabits of digital whatever it is called) were shot as the sea and sky were filled with a feeding frenzy seldom seen anywhere on earth. I call that a good start to our journey.
