Of birds, not bees

One of the reasons for coming to these parts of the world is the wildlife that you get to see here. The marine biologists get to study krill and plankton that they collect with our underwater drone, the photographers get shots of harbour seals vibing on ice floes, the ornithologists search the skies with their binoculars for rare species of arctic birds, and basically everyone has been trying to spot bears left, right and centre.

I saw my first bear out in the open on this trip, spotted my first whale breach, saw orcas, fur seals and sea otters, and from the scientist’s lectures, I have learned more about all these marvelous creatures than I ever realised there was to know (and have ended up wanting to know more!).

The class of animals I knew least about (and yet have most to learn about), though, are definitely birds. What amazing beings they are! One thing I have learned about them is that they have the funniest names, and that the German translations of their names tend to bear no resemblance whatsoever to their English common names. I am going to spend a large chunk of my life learning strange bird names by heart.

I knew so little, I was not even aware of the fact that pelagic birds literally live on the ocean and don’t return to shore every night – as I used to imagine. They feed from the water and sleep on the waves, never seeing land for the largest part of their lives, and only go ashore to nest. Seeing so many birds around the ship when we’re out in the middle of nowhere in the Bering Sea has been a huge surprise. Some of these birds nest on steep cliffs, where they are protected from predators, in large colonies such as the ones we saw in Unga Island, a fascinating sight that I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed.

This morning, when I first stepped on deck, I spotted two black-footed kittiwakes, who – after a quick argument over who gets to sit in the best spot – somehow managed to come to an agreement and remained peacefully perched side-by-side on one of our life boats, basking in the morning sun, and filling my hearts with joy. Because they are adorable, of course, but also because I realised I can identify and name in both languages at least one species of bird. (Die Dreizehenmöwe). Yay! Only a couple of hundred of species of birds to go.