Magdalenefjord & The High Seas
The morning found us rolling into the dramatic Magdalenefjord on the northwest side of Spitsbergen. A solitary walrus on an ice flow greeted us at the mouth of the fjord and welcomed us into this little Arctic wonderland tucked around the bend. The wind was calm, the skies were clear, and the water was as smooth as glass, so we hopped into our Zodiacs for a pleasant morning of Zodiac cruises. Highlights of the area included bearded seals lolling about on their ice flows, a few thunderous calving events from the glacier, numerous ringed seals swimming around the shores, some reindeer poking around the grasses of the fjord slopes, and of course... the Dovekie nests.
From a distance, the mountainside on the northern shore of the fjord looked pretty dull and ordinary. However, as we approached closer, the talus seemed to come alive as we could detect movement all across the slopes. Upon parking the Zodiacs right at their base, the view became incredible. Literally hundreds of thousands of Little Auks, also known as Dovekies, inhabit these slopes. The hordes and swarms of these little characters swooped all over the place. An incredible cacophony of chirps and Dovekie jibber jabber emitted from the mountain side, and turning off the Zodiac's engine brought the music into full stereo. Sitting at the base, we could see predatory Glaucous gulls flying over the nests, hunting for a hapless victim. Just the sight of these giant gulls passing above them would cause entire multitudes to spring from their roosts and swoop out over our heads above the water in a giant swarm. The tiny black wings flapping over their white bellies made the Dovekies seem to glitter as their throngs arced and swooped and spun and spiraled overhead before returning safely at last to their perches amongst the scree. Watching these throngs brought quite a sense of wonder, to marvel at this remote Arctic mountainside moving and swooping in a complete, perpetual expression of life.
At last we heaved anchor and moved out onto the high seas. Our furthest point north was tagged at 79° 48' N before we headed west to look for whales. A few hours of sailing off the Svalbard coast brought us to a shelf where the water suddenly becomes terrifically deep. The cold currents from these depths bring many nutrients up to the surface along this shelf edge. This becomes a prime spotting ground for whales that come to feast on the vast food sources coming together at the edge. It didn't take long to hunt. Fin whales! As they started popping up, a mother and her calf came especially close to our ship! The playful calf kept passing in front of our bow, literally surfing the waves and rolling around so close that we could see very fine details of this young one. It was a terrific sighting to wrap up the week's adventures and to leave in our hearts warm vibes of the precious life in this Arctic world.
The morning found us rolling into the dramatic Magdalenefjord on the northwest side of Spitsbergen. A solitary walrus on an ice flow greeted us at the mouth of the fjord and welcomed us into this little Arctic wonderland tucked around the bend. The wind was calm, the skies were clear, and the water was as smooth as glass, so we hopped into our Zodiacs for a pleasant morning of Zodiac cruises. Highlights of the area included bearded seals lolling about on their ice flows, a few thunderous calving events from the glacier, numerous ringed seals swimming around the shores, some reindeer poking around the grasses of the fjord slopes, and of course... the Dovekie nests.
From a distance, the mountainside on the northern shore of the fjord looked pretty dull and ordinary. However, as we approached closer, the talus seemed to come alive as we could detect movement all across the slopes. Upon parking the Zodiacs right at their base, the view became incredible. Literally hundreds of thousands of Little Auks, also known as Dovekies, inhabit these slopes. The hordes and swarms of these little characters swooped all over the place. An incredible cacophony of chirps and Dovekie jibber jabber emitted from the mountain side, and turning off the Zodiac's engine brought the music into full stereo. Sitting at the base, we could see predatory Glaucous gulls flying over the nests, hunting for a hapless victim. Just the sight of these giant gulls passing above them would cause entire multitudes to spring from their roosts and swoop out over our heads above the water in a giant swarm. The tiny black wings flapping over their white bellies made the Dovekies seem to glitter as their throngs arced and swooped and spun and spiraled overhead before returning safely at last to their perches amongst the scree. Watching these throngs brought quite a sense of wonder, to marvel at this remote Arctic mountainside moving and swooping in a complete, perpetual expression of life.
At last we heaved anchor and moved out onto the high seas. Our furthest point north was tagged at 79° 48' N before we headed west to look for whales. A few hours of sailing off the Svalbard coast brought us to a shelf where the water suddenly becomes terrifically deep. The cold currents from these depths bring many nutrients up to the surface along this shelf edge. This becomes a prime spotting ground for whales that come to feast on the vast food sources coming together at the edge. It didn't take long to hunt. Fin whales! As they started popping up, a mother and her calf came especially close to our ship! The playful calf kept passing in front of our bow, literally surfing the waves and rolling around so close that we could see very fine details of this young one. It was a terrific sighting to wrap up the week's adventures and to leave in our hearts warm vibes of the precious life in this Arctic world.
