This morning we had a fantastic Zodiac cruse along a cliff called Alkafjellet or, in English, “Mount Guillemot”. Here, rising steeply out of the sea, are marble and limestone cliffs notched with shallow ledges. And along those ledges breed what are said to be 30,000 pair (I think there are more) of Brunnich’s Guillemot, each pair tending a single egg and chick. (Glaucous gulls nest here in much lesser numbers. It is one of the most fantastic sights I’ve ever seen.
These are typical Arctic seabirds, miniature versions of auks. They are fat with small wings, so taking off from the sea (they dive for fish) is a bit of a slog.
But it’s best to show them if I can get the bloody pictures to embed.
One is the loneliest number:
But there are many more! The ledges, on which each pair takes turn tending an egg and then a chick (it’s egg season now) runs for more than a mile along the sea:
But wait. . . there’s more!
And more. . .
etc.
Two can be as bad as one, but are essential to produce a chick. I’m told that when the chick hatches after the egg is incubated by alternating parents for a month, it’s fed regurgitated fish for another month and then, like my mallards, it jumps down to the sea. And (again I am told this), the father joins it and spends a month with it, teaching it to fly, dive, and fish.
I can’t verify all this as I have virtually no internet access, but look the species up. I’m just here to show you some pictures. .
Breathtaking
Regurgitated fish. Yum!
Awesome pics!
Amazing, beautiful photos. The massed birds almost look like they are part of the inorganic rock formations, like stalagmites in a solution cave, as if molten “bird stuff” has dripped down on to the rock columns from above and then solidified.
Thanks for sharing them with us. It sounds tedious with poor Internet and we appreciate your effort.
Wonderful photos!
Do please also describe sounds and smells of cruising beside the bird cliffs.
It stinks! I moved away from my Zodiac seat to kneel in the vessel to take a picture, and two seconds later a smelly glob of murre (guillemot) poop fell right where I was sitting. I was lucky. Several people in other Zodiacs weren’t so lucky.
Very cool! I just saw colonies of those same birds in the Kenai Fjords of Alaska. They are also called Thick-Billed Murres.
I’ve seen shows where some unlucky bastards have to climb rocks like that to get the eggs or the chickens or something… or starve. So imagine the first (and last?) time you regard those cliffs from below, sun in your eyes and probably not really dressed well for the weather.
Now CLIMB you idiot – or it is no dinner for you. And strangle those birds as you fight with OTHER birds to steal their eggs, while not falling hundreds of feet to a horrible doom. That’s your weekday.
We live in very lucky times in 2025!
D.A.
NYC
(had bacon and eggs today from the deli, 5 dollars)
Wonderful photos. Brunnich’s guillemots are in the auk family, Alcidae, referred to as alcids by birders. This species also breeds in the American arctic, and a few are seen each winter along the coast of Long Island, where I live. In America, the species is called Thick-billed Murre. Years ago, Frank Gill, a leading ornithologist (and friend), convened an international panel to create a list of recommended English names of all bird species (and opted for Thick-billed Murre for this one). As your post shows, this seems to have been a losing effort.
Incidentally, the u in Brunnich’s should have an umlaut, but neither your computer nor mine seems to have that option.
alt-129 should do it: ü!
It’s for times like these that I keep the ASCII code page from a 1980s DOS manual in my desk drawer.
Yes! +1!
Wow. Quite an adventure you are having. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Don’t know what kind of computer you have, but for u Umlaut, try holding down the Alt button, then typing 129 on the number pad. With any luck, you should have an ü!
On Macs you just hold down the vowel and all options come with a number: ü–or û, ù, ú, or ū.
That’s how it works on my little Android, as well.
That water is SO blue!!!
Glad you’re enjoying the sights.
A Wonder you shared!
Absolutely incredible! What a sight! Thank you for sharing your latest adventure.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Is that the island where Luke Skywalker was living?
Looks amazing.