05 Jul 2015
Spoonie Watching
The day spent at Meinypil’gyno yesterday provided one of the major highlights of this voyage so far, particularly for birders. We met up with the Spoon-billed Sandpiper task force which actively monitors and manages one of the last known breeding sites of this endangered species which is arguably the world’s rarest wader. There are probably less than 100 nesting pairs of Spoon-billed Sandpiper which breeds only in Chukotka and northern Kamchatka. Our party was divided into two groups and task force team members guided us to two known nest sites where we could see a bird. Even those who would not class themselves as keen birdwatchers could not help but be moved by the sight of this iconic bird with a crazy spoon shaped bill sitting on a nest in the middle of the vast Siberian tundra. Now we are off to look for walrus…
The lack of blogs recently is an indication that we have been extremely busy. For example, yesterday started with a wake up call at 0545 and finished…READ MORE
We enjoyed two encounters with Kamchatka Brown Bears during our evening stroll on the Govena Peninsula. This voyage is already ticking all the boxes …READ MORE
We have spent the last few days exploring the Commander Islands, named for Commander Vitus Bering, whose ship was wrecked there in 1741. Expeditioner…READ MORE