Bjørnøya: aka Bear Island

Tuesday, 5 July
Latitude at Wake Up: 74°10’57” N
temperature at wake up: 38.5F (3.6C)

We found overcast conditions again when we raised the blackout shades at 6:00a. The scenery from our window didn’t look much different from yesterday — with one exception: there were a lot more birds flying around … Northern Fulmars in particular. Eleven minutes later — by latitude measure, that is — the ship was dropping anchor off the southern tip of Bjørnøya, a small island that is part of the Svalbard Archipelago.

Bjørnøya is halfway between mainland Norway and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago.
[maps from Wikipedia]

Though this rarely-visited island was more than likely known to the Vikings who roamed these waters, it’s documented history doesn’t begin until 1596. It was then that Dutch explorers Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk sighted the island. Seeing a polar bear swimming nearby, the expedition named it Bjørnøya (Bear Island). Ironically, there are no bears on the island, and likely there never were. Considering that the island’s steep, jagged cliffs are home to over a million nesting birds, a more appropriate name would have been “Fugløya” (Bird Island)!

Land ahoy!

Zodiac Group 3 was scheduled to go out at 10:30a, so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast in The Restaurant and enjoy free time on deck. The skies were filled with thousands of black dots flying high above us. So high, in fact, that it was impossible to identify them.

As we watched the birdlife and enjoyed the quiet scenery along the southern end of the island, the fog rolled in and out, softening the jagged outlines of the steep cliffs, which changed color as the sun added a warm glow from behind the thick clouds overhead. Then, just as quickly, the overcast thickened and the cliffs once again looked cold and foreboding.

The jagged cliffs are softened by the mist.

Roaming about the outside decks, we watched as the first zodiac was lowered. One by one, the expedition team went down the pilot’s ladder and boarded the boat. Then, with the sound of the revved up engine rending the quiet morning, the zodiac zipped away to deliver the drivers to their assigned boats so that the day’s adventure could begin.

The black dots in the sky above the zodiac are not from a dirty lens; they're birds.

Each Zodiac aboard the ship is named for an explorer.

Despite the chill in the air, we were comfortably bundled up to enjoy the action about us. The zodiacs one by one filled up with passengers excited to see something other than the endless ocean. Watching them speed off, we patiently waited our turn — hoping all the while that the fog would not thicken so much as to cause our zodiac cruise to be cancelled for safety reasons.

The zodiacs provide good size-perspective for those cliffs.

“Two to Travel” poses for a “we’re at Bjørnøya” photo op.
(check out my homemade camera raincape; thanks mui!)

Not to worry, we did get our chance to go out and explore the cliffs from a mobile platform. I have plenty of photographs to share from our zodiac cruise, so I’ll leave that portion of the day for a separate post and skip ahead to the rest of the day.

Returning to the ship shortly after noon, we washed up and headed to The Restaurant for lunch. From our table alongside the windows lining the stern of the ship, we enjoyed another good meal — this time with a view.

Join me for lunch, won’t you?

Lunch with an Arctic view.

By the time we were done with lunch, the ship was on the move — destination: the southernmost fjord in Spitsbergen … weather and ice conditions permitting. Bundling up once again, we headed to the outside decks to enjoy the blue skies and sunshine that had replaced the overcast. That the coast was hidden behind a thick layer of fog was of no concern since the entertainment was close by — hundreds upon hundreds of birds following the ship.

I’m thankful that I brought my long lens on this trip, but can’t help but wish that the 100-400L was faster (talking f-stops/shutter speeds here). A long prime lens would have been ideal for an afternoon of birds-in-flight photography, but that’s not in the cards (nor in the budget) anytime soon. So, as always, I made do with what I have. (I shouldn’t complain since I seem to be the only passenger aboard that has any kind of a long lens.) Hefting and moving that big lens to track fast-flying birds was a challenge, and my arms were aching by the time I called it quits — but it sure was worth it!

who are those red-jacketed people photographing the birds?

Northern Fulmar (left) and Glaucous Gull

The Northern Fulmar is a tubenose related to the albatross. It’s name is believed to come from Old Norse — full, meaning foul; and mar, meaning gull. The “Foul Gull” is in reference to its stomach oil, which the bird not only ejects as a defense against predators, but also uses as an energy-rich food source for chicks and adults during their long flights.

This is a white-morph Northern Fulmar, easily identified by the tube-like nostrils attached to the upper bill (hence the tubenose designation).

Of the several gull species that can be found in the Arctic, one is the Glaucous Gull. It is a large gull, and an active predator at seabird colonies, raiding eggs and chicks that are left unprotected in nests. It’s not above scavenging fish and carrion, or even human refuse. In other words, it’s not your average, love-able bird.

Juvenile Glaucous Gull — as indicated by the black-tipped pink bill and juvenal plumage.

Another gull that was following the ship was the Herring Gull. It is part of a complex of large, white-headed gulls. It regularly drinks freshwater if available. If not, it will drink seawater and excrete the salt through special glands. It will capture prey while walking or swimming, and will dip food from surface water as well as steal from other birds. It drops large, hard food items on rock or sand to break them open.

One of the identifying features of the Herring Gull are its bright yellow eyes.

At 2:30p, we attended the first of two lectures scheduled for our afternoon at sea. The first one was presented by Christian Walter — or Rapa Nui as his team members call him. (Born in Switzerland and raised in Germany, and a resident of Easter Island … hence the nickname.) One of two historians aboard, he talked to us about Svalbard and Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago. I’m going to keep my notes from this lecture for a later post after we arrive in the main part of the archipelago. Suffice to say that with over 60% of the landmass of Svalbard covered by glaciation, there’s no doubt that I’ll be seeing what I came here to see — ice, ice, and more ice.

After a break for afternoon tea in the Panorama Lounge, we gathered again in the Theater at 5:00p to listen to Juan Carlos Restrepo’s lecture entitled Geology Rocks! That Juan loves his subject was apparent as he took us through the basic terminology and concepts needed to understand the geological features of the places we will be exploring on this voyage. I won’t get into the details, but I will say that most of the rocks in Svalbard date back to the Paleozoic Era — which began 542 million years ago (MYA) and lasted until 251 MYA. That’s a long time ago by anyone’s standards!

(You can click the photo to the left to learn more about the various eras of time.)

Following the lecture, we stayed in the Theater, chatting with fellow passengers and sipping beverages of our choice. (Drinks — alcoholic and non-alcoholic — are all inclusive on Silver Explorer, and they flow freely. In fact, the waiters seem almost insulted if you turn down a drink offer around here.) By 6:45p, the Theater was again filled and Robin was leading the daily recap — which included Kara’s overview about sperm whales (sighted yesterday); and Hans Peter’s overview about the plant species on Bjørnøya (54 species, including scurvy grass, which is rich in vitamin C).

Next, Robin discussed plans for tomorrow. We’re supposed to go to Hornsund, the southernmost fjord of Spitsbergen, but the current charts indicate that ice might be blocking the entrance. Conditions may change in the time it takes us to get there, but in the meantime, Captain Stahlberg has put on speed in case we need to skip Hornsund and travel further north to another fjord instead.

(The ice chart to the right is the same one Robin shared with us; I downloaded it from the Polar View website after we returned to the US. From what I understand, we can't get into areas shown in dark grey, red or orange, and green and yellow [drift ice] can be problematic under the right [wrong may be a more accurate word] conditions.)

Tonight we continued the tradition of a multi-national dinner with a German couple living in Switzerland and an Australian couple. Although we had a good time again, I have to admit that following “Sir Jim’s” conversation was at times a challenge due to his heavy Australian accent. We’d better start taking lessons in “Aussie” if we hope to get along when we visit our seventh and last continent someday.

The menu offered an excellent variety of options. I enjoyed my spaghetti Alfredo starter and the Atlantic Pollock over risotto main course very much. Mui had the same fish dish as his main course, and opted for an orange-raspberry garnished salad as his starter. Dessert for me was ice cream (again) — vanilla with a light drizzle of chocolate sauce. For Mui, the meal’s sweet ending was an excellent raspberry cheesecake.

For once, we left the dining room early — if you can call 10:00p early. No surprises when we returned to the cabin tonight, but we still have our balloons and our towel bunny from last night to enjoy. Alas, the swans did not survive the heavier chop we’ve been experiencing since rounding the tip of the island on our way further north. As a precaution, we broke out the Scopolamine patches, but hope to remove them if conditions improve when we reach Spitsbergen tomorrow. For now, goodnight from our cradle at sea.