The essence of arctic birding for me is the mighty gyr falcon (Falco rusticolus)- huge, powerful and very elusive! I have seen distant birds on several previous visits to Greenland but this had not prepared me for a close encounter that I experienced a couple of days ago, when two of these magnificent falcons came over a ridge and flew over me at 50 metres! The light was against me and the speed of the birds made it difficult to focus but I'm well happy with these shots!
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| Gyr falcon |
I spent 3 hours walking around the island of Upernavik enjoying some lovely scenery and great birds including raven, Canada goose, snow bunting, Iceland and glaucous gulls.
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| Atlantic Birch ii in Upernavik |
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| coastal scenery |
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| view inland to the east |
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| typical Greenlandic dwellings- Upernavik |
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| snow bunting |
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| raven |
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| Canada goose |
After joining my ship we had a lovely moon rise as we headed out to sea.
