A Toy Ringed Seal, a Gyr Falcon and Arctic Wolves!
A Toy Ringed Seal, a Gyr Falcon and Arctic Wolves!
By Blog.Admin
(August 10, 2010, 20:30) - Quttinirpaaq National Park Headquarters, Tanquary Fiord - Hamish Fothergill reporting - First activity of the day, a helicopter flight, was postponed by the weather. So in its place, a tundra walk was arranged.
From the beach, we marched towards the nearest hill and the beacon it held. The hill was steeper than anticipated and my brother (Editor's note - Will Fothergill is Hamish's younger brother.) required some chocolate motivation in order to reach the summit. It was from there we spied the distant nest of a Gyr Falcon, a pure white bolt of energy.
From there, my brother made good progress, only stopping to photograph his KK seal - a toy-ringed seal - against the scenic mountain backdrop. He has been photographing his toy seal in a number of different locations on our trip.
The day's highlight was the sighting of a pack of wolves, eagerly raiding the Wardens' camp in search of food. Among this pack we counted at least four adults and one small cub. They lingered for about an hour before slowly retreating into the tundra. This was a very special sighting of a rare and elusive animal.
Our first afternoon activity, a trip to the beach via Zodiac, had to keep away from the camp due to the risk of the Zodiacs scaring the wolves away. Instead, however, we did spot several wild birds each fleetingly encircling us further down the fiord. These encounters, dispersed by about a minute, included a Long-tailed Skua, and a red knot avidly being pursued by a Semi-palmated Sandpiper.
After returning from the beach expedition, we had an hour or so of rest before we were called for a flight on the helicopter. Our pilot took us up into the clouds where we could admire the mighty peaks of the mountains and the beautful skyline. The flight gave us an opportunity to see the mountains from a new perspective, that of the birds - an opportunity to see what was inaccessible by land or sea - the realm of the sky. A wonderful end to an amazing day.
- Blog.Admin's blog
- Login or register to post comments