Jim Schroder's Travel

Home
Trips

Select Page

Arctic

A quick glance from the rear female looking toward us.

Hingstsletta is a low-lying plain in the entrance area of Lomfjord on the west side of the fjord.

The whole area is part of Hinlopen Strait, it is on the west side of this huge waterway. A little river is flowing through the rocky landscape, partly forming little rapids and waterfalls.

Other fellow travelers in zodiacs pull up to where we are as we were fortunate to be the first zodiac to arrive and take photos of the two polar bears.

What a thrill to see these two magnificent animals so close to the shore.

The Black Guillemot are spotted in the water. We are arriving at the Hingstsletta in the distance where the Black Guillemot are found in the cliffs ahead of us.

Closeby is the Glaucous Gull

Masses of Glacous gulls closeby

Alkefjellet is a bird cliff facing towards Hinlopen Strait

We were very fortunate to arrive in the 4 days that the baby chick Black Guillemot are jumping off the cliffs and out of their nests.

When the Guilemot chick leaps in the air the hope to land in the water and the father hopefully follows the chick into the water after the chick.

In the water you hear the fathers calling for their own chick. Unfortunately many do not find the father and the father does not find his chick. Many are lost at sea.

Here a father has found is chick and another is following. The mother raises the chick.

Once the father locates his chick he takes over raising the chick until it is ready to go of on its own. The male bird will not return to the next until next year when again it mates with the same female.

It is absolutely amazing to sit in a zodiac and watch all this commotion. We were so lucky to see all this happen in just 4 days a year.

Here you see the males, females and the chicks on the narrow perches. Very narrow and thousands of them too.

It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the high arctic migrate southwards in winter. The bird can be seen in and around its breeding habitat of rocky shores, cliffs and islands in single or smalls groups of pairs.

[Show slideshow]

◄ 1 ... 7 8 9 ... 14 ►

© 2025 Jim Schroder