14 Jul 2013

Whale Bone Alley

Our morning excursion brought us to 'Whale Bone Alley', a 14th century site on Yttygran Island. Here, we wandered in amongst several whale skulls and jaw bones arranged in what was most likely a ceremonial formation. A short walk up the hillside awarded us gorgeous sweeping views of the mainland and azure waters below. Many of us simply found a quiet spot to sit and soak up the natural beauty, while others snapped photos of ground squirrels, pikas and a colorful array of tundra flowers.

The second half of the day was dedicated to assisting onboard conservationists from BirdLife International and Birds Russia in surveying Gytgykuim Lagoon for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, a highly threatened species of wader. We were split into six groups, each with a leader, to comb through our assigned area. While we were not successful in finding any 'Spoonies' here, we logged hundreds of other interesting birds including Emperor Geese, Common and King Eiders, and several shorebirds. In the distance, we saw a large lone reindeer, grazing peacefully on the vast yellow tundra.