The Auk Mountain
13 Oct 26
Alkefjellet - The Auk Moutain - Svalbard. Over a kilometre long and 100 meters high, the home of 120,000 birds
It literally rained poop. On the jacket, camera, the zodiac (rib) … the evidence of the incessant overhead activity was everywhere. In the air, on the vertical cliffs and in the ice-cold water … everywhere was teeming with the movement and loud noise of over 120,000 birds. Welcome to Alkefjellet (the Auk Mountain in Norwegian).
The breeding place for over 120,000 Brunnich’s Guillemots (thick-billed murres)
These 300 feet tall vertical cliffs on the north-eastern coast of Spitsbergen, Svalbard (79° 35′N), reach for a kilometre in length. They are volcanic basalt cliffs formed 100 million years ago. The nutrient rich waters of the strait facing the mountain supports the large population of seabirds.
On the way to sea to catch fish
This is the breeding place for an estimated 60,000 pairs of Brunnich’s Guillemots (Thick-billed Murre). It is a spectacular sight and one of the largest bird breeding places in the archipelago. The Guillemots arrive here every spring to breed. The small and narrow ledges and cracks in the vertical rockfaces provide a level of security against predators when laying eggs and raring chicks. But even then, the arctic foxes and even desperately hungry polar bears will try to help themselves. Glaucous gulls are also a predator circling looking for chicks or eggs.
A rather beautiful auk species
Eggs are pear-shaped to prevent them rolling off the cliff, and the chicks sit very still on the tiny ledge being fed until they are three weeks old. Then, guided by their father, they jump into the water far below before they can even fly. They are supported in the water until they can fend for themselves.
Father and chick - 3-weeks old the chick jumps from the high cliff before it can fly
The avian activity is impressive, with birds flying in all directions endlessly. There doesn’t seem to be any ‘air traffic control’ with a randomness about it all – but they never crash into each other. Quite remarkable.
Endless, noisy activity - in the water, in the air, on the cliff ledges
Drifting along these shear cliffs among the thousands of birds was unforgettable. The noise, the activity, the enormity of the numbers, the magnificent rocks, the icy green water … it is almost impossible to convey all this in photos. It is a remarkable place teeming with life in such a remote and barren part of the extreme north.
A quick rinse
From distance they look black and white, but they are rather more colourful
The guillemot chicks are a food source for the ever present Glaucous Gulls
This chick has just jumped from the cliff. It cannot yet fly. It is looked after by its father
Sunny at 10pm … the sun never settles in the high arctic during summer
Every ledge is used, tightly packed, protecting the eggs and the chicks