Polar Bear - Svarlbard

Our no 1 target, along with everybody else on the trip was polar bear. After 4 days I had had a very brief distant glimpse. Julia didn't even see that. I was beginning to worry it wasn't going to happen.

Whenever we went ashore, guides would go out first to check the area to make sure there were no polar bears in sight. Once happy they would set up a perimeter of look outs all armed with flares and rifles. They were taking safety very seriously.  

We were just about to board our rib to go to shore to get up close to walruses when we were told that the ground already out on land we being evacuated as a polar bear had approached and somehow got inside the cordon. A flare was fired but the bear didn't seen worried by that, so everyone hurriedly had to get back in the ribs and back to the boat. 

We headed to the top deck and had great scope views as the bear ambled along the shore. The walruses didn't seem too worried by it and the bear didn't seem particularly interested in them. 

As the bear seemed settled and happy it was decided we could take a rib out and get close up views from the sea. We watched the bear on and off from the boat for around an hour as it slowly headed away along the shore. What an experience!

Svarlbard Arctic 30/06 - 10/07/24

 Our latest adventure to us about as  far north as you can go, into the land of the midnight sun. We flew to Tromso, in northern Norway, via Helsinki, where we stayed overnight before boarding the SH Diana (Swan Hellenic). 

The boat had a maximum guest capacity of 192 and our trip had 150. We were placed into groups in so trips off boat could be scheduled/rota'd. We were in the blue humpbacks. 

It was 2 days cruising north until we reached Svarlbard. On route we had white beaked dolphins and a few distant whales, most probably minke. Birds included fulmar, kittiwake, puffin, brunnich's guillemot, black guillemot and pomarine skua.

#hardlife

Woodchat Shrike, Rainham Marshes RSPB (May 24)

Everybody loves a shrike, and I had never seen a Woodchat in London. This one showed very well and really nice to see locally. 

Little Crake, Linford Lakes, Bucks (Nov 23)

Another long awaited tick, Little Crake, again not too far away. The bird had been giving people the run around, only viewable from a small hide, which as packed with twitchers. On positive news I picked up TB (@Cowboybirder) and we were on site early afternoon. Being November, it would only be light until 4pm.  It was freezing cold and after 2.5 hours there had been no sign, but we'd agreed to stay until dark. 

There was an old fella sitting next to us, he said he'd been there 5 hours, not see it and decided to leave. Literally 5 minutes after he left, there it was right in front of the hide! We watched it for 5 minutes or so until it disappeared into the reeds. Another successful mega twitch! 

  

Solitary Sandpiper - Stodmarsh RSPB , Kent (Oct 23)

A much wanted bird and less than 1.5 hours away. Got it at the 2nd attempt, with Steve Bacon, after missing it by 5 minutes the previous day.  

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