Late in two ways - Svalbard in the Spring

[pomkiwi]

Day 6 - To the Pack Ice

 

I try to travel on wildlife trips without any set objectives or firm ideas of what I might see. I will confess however that I had a secret ambition that this trip might include our ship tight against the ice watching a bear who could have walked there across the north pole. It was therefore disappointing when early on the prospect of not going north had been raised (I guess because of the ice conditions and the forecast poor weather) and we were all relieved when the decision was made to head north. I woke early in the morning after a quiet night, a little like a kid does on Xmas morning! A slight sense of impatience at still seeing Svalbard was tempered by the beauty of the view:

 

A little later the view ahead became almost mystical with a layer of bright mist above a brighter line that must have been the ice edge:

 

 

 

It was at this point when after being out on slippery decks for an hour I decided to head back inside. A couple of metres from the door my feet suddenly went from under me and I fell heavily. I landed on my ribs and they are still sore a month later, I remember thinking at that moment how fortunate i was not to have slipped overboard, hit my head or damaged my camera (in that order) but I did have a fairly quiet hour or so over breakfast.

By the time we finished eating we had arrived at the edge of a chaos of broken ice:

 

 

We spent the next few hours cruising close to it without ever seeing the huge unbroken expanse I had hoped for. This was due mainly to the mobility of the pack ice and the fact that large areas were rapidly coming from both the north west and north east and the captain did not want to risk being caught in the middle. The ice provided a backdrop for the increasing numbers of fulmars, glaucous gulls, kittiwakes and little auks that seemed to be coming and going:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most exciting however was the fact that I spotted not one but two ivory gulls - a real treat:

 

 

 

Eventually we turned back to the south west as it was clear that we would not be able to get further east and we had to think about heading south. The compass on my phone gave our position shortly before we turned around (not sure why it suggested we were in a submarine):

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by pomkiwi

[Kitsafari]

wow ivory gulls - and excellent BIF shots too!

your shots of the icebergs and glaciers are so other-worldly, in a good way. love them. 

[Galana]

Brilliant Ivory Gulls and Fox.

[kittykat23uk]

I have been enjoying reading your report as I wait to board my flight home from Longyearbyen. Its interesting that we all made very different journeys to Svalbard and that each trip had its challenges and rewards. Your "little auks" on the lower bird cliffs are brunnich's guillemots, the little auks prefer the tops of the cliffs. 

 

Lovely fox photos, the ones i saw were already in their summer clothes. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by kittykat23uk

[pomkiwi]

9 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

I have been enjoying reading your report as I wait to board my flight home from Longyearbyen. Its interesting that we all made very different journeys to Svalbard and that each trip had its challenges and rewards. Your "little auks" on the lower bird cliffs are brunnich's guillemots, the little auks prefer the tops of the cliffs. 

 

Lovely fox photos, the ones i saw were already in their summer clothes. 

Thanks for the correction. I hope you had a good trip and look forward to the report 

[pomkiwi]

Day 6 - Walrus, walri or walruses?

 

We debated the plural term for more than walrus over drinks one evening. The correct answer is walruses as the word is dutch in origin and not Latin.  As we cruised along the pack ice we saw several walruses including a mother and youngster:

 

 

As well as a very large male who was very relaxed as the Sjoveien approached:

 

 

We headed south from the pack-ice to Smeerenburgfjorden and the channel between Amsterdamoya and Danskoya (Danskegattet).

There we spent an enjoyable couple of hours on the Zodiacs and spent some time with a small group of walruses: 

 

 

Generally they were very relaxed but occasionally there would be a brief burst of activity as the hierarchy for dozing positions was discussed:

 

 

 

Later on we found a group of 3 in a huddle on land and decided to leave the zodiacs and approach carefully across the snow. We got to about 15 metres away and they seemed unbothered by us. Once again there was a dispute about something with more noise than action:

 

 

However one of the participants decided that he'd had enough and moved surprisingly quickly across the snow and into the water:

 

 

 

There was a brief moment of concern that he might head for the unoccupied zodiacs and Henrick dashed back to check - he was unable however to say what he would have done had the walrus come to investigate!

Fortunately the walrus had other tings to do and headed away.

[TonyQ]

Wonderful photos of the wildlife and the landscapes. Your fox was beautiful 

The ice is fascinating 

I really like the Walruses!

[Zim Girl]

Fabulous pictures of the fox and walruses.  Lovely variety of birdlife and the scenery is stunning!

[pomkiwi]

Day 6 - Seals and Scenery

 

The landscape and the light in Danskegattet was absolutely breathtaking. It was completely still and the cloudy sky added to the atmosphere:

 

 

We passed by one of the huts used by hunters - as remote a habitation as I'll ever see:

 

The sunlight broke through occasionally and lit up sections of the landscape:

 

My main memories however are of the times when we turned the motors of the zodiacs off and drifted through the silence;

 

 

After the scenic portion of the cruise we visited the world's most northen colony of harbour seals. They were balancing on rocks (an effective way of avoiding polar bears) with much flapping of flippers when an interloper came by in an attempt to force its way on:

 

 

 

As the tide was coming in some of the perches were becoming submerged although the occupants seemed not to mind:

 

 

 

We went back to the Sjoveien after a couple of hours in the zodiacs and shortly afterwards had an early dinner before our long trip back to Isfjorden. We were warned that it would be rough with 40 kt headwinds and large seas as a result (40 kts is the threshold where gale becomes severe gale). Just as a couple of nights earlier the crew tidied away and secured everything that could move.  As we started south the light was again beautiful:

 

 

Within 30 minutes however the sea became very rough and certainly not safe to be outside. A little later the dining chairs started to fall over - as all sensible folk do the last of us left the bar once the furniture started to be thrown around and retired to our bunks for what was to be a very restless night.

[kittykat23uk]

Ahh we saw those seals too. Although we have them in Norfolk too 😂

[pomkiwi]

Day 7 - After the Storm

 

It was a long and very rough night. At one point we had to slow down to 4 kts as the waves got so high and choppy. I think most people felt fairly unsteady at times and one of our number was very sick all night. As a result breakfast was served late as we passed mountains at the entrance to Isfjorden:

 

 

We pulled into the first fjord on the north side of Isfjord where there are some impressive cliffs that would be home to thousands of birds later in the spring, at the moment they were ice-bound and quiet. 

Around 10 am we climbed into the zodiacs and cruised around the ice at the end of the fjord. Very little wildlife to see but some more stunning scenery:

 

 

We did see our first Arctic Skua of the trip:

 

 

We pulled into a beach close to the Sjoveien and went for another hike. To be honest I'm not sure I was feeling that enthusiastic about embarking on another uphill scramble through knee deep snow as previous hikes had not yielded a lot other than an elevated perspective. I think that others may have shared this view as only half of us continued upwards after about 20 minutes. Those that did were rewarded with a glimpse of a purple sandpiper (moving quickly) and a grey-legged phalantrope (stationary but not in a great spot to photograph)  EDIT: @Galanahas pointed out that this is almost certainly a plover - having looked up a couple of references I agree it is most likley a golden plover that migrates along the west coast of Spitsbergen.

 

 

Then Magnus got a radio call from Henrick who was with the group below that an arctic fox was headed our way. Seconds later an almost totally white fox trotted past about 70m away:

 

It then took off (actually):

 

 

It ran up a slope towards some rock outcrops that Magnus then told us was a site of at least one fox den. We scrambled up to the outcrops and I climbed on to one to try and get a view behind where the fox had disappeared. Two of my companions scrambled up another part of the outcrop and a few minutes beckoned me to join them quietly. As I reached them I saw why:

 

A different fox was sitting about 10m away from them completely unconcerned by having us for company. It moved:

 

Posed:

 

Yawned and gave us a close view of some very effective teeth:

 

Before wandering to the cliff edge hoping to find some birds or eggs:

 

 

Still too early in the spring for that we then saw him heading back uphill on the same route of the earlier fox:

 

 

Exhilarated, I returned to the Sjoveien much happier than I had been an hour earlier. The afternoon however was rather frustrating. We had only had one close polar bear sighting which now felt a long time ago. We were in the area where we had seen the bears on Day 2 and also where@janzin and @vikramghanekarhad their fabulous close up sightings. The only problem was that there had been no sightings in the area for at least 48 hours which was disappointing given the number of boats that come and go through the area. We cruised slowly along enjoying the views and the opportunities to photograph more fulmars:

 

 

 

 

We went into every small fjord and moved slowly along the ice. I've not seen any guides search as hard over several hours for wildlife as Marcus and Henrick but this was as close as we got:

 

 

Eventually we admitted defeat and anchored amidst spellbinding scenery in glorious sunlight. The crew prepared a barbeque dinner and a few hardy souls took a polar plunge (I was not one of them). Deckchairs were produced and we took the expedition out of expedition cruising drinking beers in the evening sun .

 

No bears appeared and after one more photo of the midnight sun it was bedtime:

 

 

The following morning was windy again with steady rain and a temperature above freezing. We headed back to Longyearbyen and after an hour or so in town took the bus to the airport and our homeward flights.

Edited June 30, 2022 by pomkiwi

[pomkiwi]

Final Thoughts

 

It was a great trip and I was relieved to finally get on board after two postponements. The Sjoveien was very comfortable and both the living arrangements and food exceeded my expectations. The weather was clearly colder this year than recent years and this posed some headaches for the guides and the captain in planning a route - the combination of two very windy nights and concerns about the rapidly moving pack ice added some challenges as well. We were lucky to be able to get into the zodiacs although at times I might question the value and fun of repeated landings - the last one very much excepted!

To be in an arctic environment was a unique experience for me and one I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to travel there.

I would recommend a similar trip to others although would always caution that nothing is guaranteed - its a huge environment and the wildlife very mobile (well maybe not the walruses) - however even on quiet days there is always that scenery 

 

[TonyQ]

Thank you for a great report with stunning photos.

Very engaging writing. It seems you had an excellent trip, and we were able to share it thanks to your report 

[Zim Girl]

Another lovely fox encounter at the end there!  

Really enjoyed this report, thank you.

[Galana]

Thanks for your final thoughts and taking us along with you.

Enjoyed the Foxes in their moult.

[Atdahl]

Really enjoyed this report.  The foxes were a great way to end the trip.  Thanks for sharing this with us.

[Athene]

I also enjoyed your trip report very much. Interesting information and lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing it @pomkiwi

[MPS]

Thank you so much for this detailed report, @pomkiwi, much appreciated. We will fly up to Longyearbyen this Sunday, if SAS pilots can finally be convinced not to go on strike. It appears the weather has gotten a lot warmer since you left, with record temperatures of 30°+ in North Norway. The sea ice is nearly completely gone now...

[pomkiwi]

12 hours ago, MPS said:

Thank you so much for this detailed report, @pomkiwi, much appreciated. We will fly up to Longyearbyen this Sunday, if SAS pilots can finally be convinced not to go on strike. It appears the weather has gotten a lot warmer since you left, with record temperatures of 30°+ in North Norway. The sea ice is nearly completely gone now...

Thanks- hope you get there and have a great trip

[Kitsafari]

@pomkiwi awesome shots of the moulting fox, amazing you guys were so close and the fox barely glanced at you. 

Thanks for taking us on the journey. It seems this year, quite a few arctic journeys have been disrupted to a certain extent, and I wonder if such perils are part and parcel of such trips every year or was it just confined to this year. 

 

 still, very pleased you saw your fair share of mammals and birdlife. nice shot of the fulmar!

[pomkiwi]

3 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

@pomkiwi awesome shots of the moulting fox, amazing you guys were so close and the fox barely glanced at you. 

Thanks for taking us on the journey. It seems this year, quite a few arctic journeys have been disrupted to a certain extent, and I wonder if such perils are part and parcel of such trips every year or was it just confined to this year. 

 

 still, very pleased you saw your fair share of mammals and birdlife. nice shot of the fulmar!

Thank-you. There are lots more fulmar photos if you want! Our trip wasn’t disrupted fortunately but early in the season the weather and ice conditions are more likely to be limiting factors. I would go early in the season again as there was something almost magical about being in that environment in the ice and snow. That being said I am going in July next year for a largely land based trip which will be quite different.

I would hope that the issues affecting @janzinand @vikramghanekarare unusual - particularly as these trips are not cheap.

[AKR1]

@pomkiwi

thank you for sharing this excellent trip report. Between yours and @janzintrip reports we got to see some stunning images of the polar environment and wildlife. Your detailed descriptions of the various sightings and of the daily expedition routine added to the exceptional photography. 
Don’t recall if I thanked Janet for her report but do so now, or again. 

[offshorebirder]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:25 PM, pomkiwi said:

We did see our first Arctic Skua of the trip:

 

 

 

@pomkiwi - this is an excellent trip report.   Thanks for posting it.

 

When most people I know say Arctic Skua, they mean Stercorarius parasiticus - also known as Parasitic Jaeger.   But I think the bird in your photo is a Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) - also known as Bonxie.   The massive bull-chested appearance, very thick neck, pale patch behind the eye, upperparts dark but dabbled with narrow white streaks,  very warm brown tones, and other field marks point towards Great Skua.  Which I would much rather see than any of the Jaegers, even Long-tailed Jaeger.

 

You have seen some wonderful wildlife - congrats on a nice arctic safari.

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by offshorebirder

[kittykat23uk]

Yep, its a bonxie. I had three skua species on my trip, Arctic was the most common, but also saw one bonxie and a pair of long-tailed skuas. 

[iphonewifeNikonhusband]

Thank you for a great trip report! We are going to Svalbard in a month !

Edited July 18, 2022 by iphonewifeNikonhusband
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