South Lagoon & Coastline

New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific, Sept/Oct 2024

Humpback whales visit the lagoon of New Caledonia for couple of months every season, when they normally are seen between July to September. The whale season has come to an end and the whales are about to leave their breeding grounds to start their long migration south towards their feeding areas in Antarctic waters.

In the great south lagoon of New Caledonia, we observe several humpack whales leaving the lagoon for deeper waters. During the whale observation our attention gets distracted by a white plunge-diving bird. It is a red-tailed tropicbird succefully catching a fish which takes the seabird quite some struggle and time to swallow...

 

 

When weather deterioates we seek shelter at the very southern tip of the New Caledonian main island. Here the coastline provides a great variation of steep red cliffs, mangroves and small, wild beaches.

When approaching the anchorage, the scent of wild flowers and sound of chanting birds is a lovely contrast after a good time on the salty sea. Later on, the coastline gets explored further by paddle and foot. 

This wild corner ruled by wind and tide, has for quite some time become one of our favorite getaways...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among Salt Spray, Lakes & Trolls

Orust, West Coast of Sweden, Scandinavia, September 2024

After months far out on the beloved Ocean, it is good to be back among trees, lakes and luscious landscapes.

The Swedish West Coast is famous for its bare cliffs, salt-sprinkled archipelago, and cute fishing villages, but there is also a lot of beautiful green and lush here. One of my absolute favourites, a peaceful place to be where the sea, forests, lakes and trolls never are far...

 

 

 

The Arctic Giant - The Bowhead Whale

Barents Sea, High Arctic, June-August 2024

During our recent marine mammal survey in the Arctic, where we spent time surveying in the off shore waters of the Barents Sea and around Svalbard, we spotted the elusive bowhead whales out in open waters south of Svalbard´s mountainous archipelago.

 

This whale species is the only full-time arctic resident among the baleen whales and is normally found near or in the sea ice.

 

 
From above water one doesn’t see much of this skim feeding giant when it swims at the surface with its mouth wide open. This Arctic baleen whale is a filter feeder, feeding mainly on zooplankton, including krill, copepods and other crustaceans.

 

 

 

Its raised nostrils and lack of dorsal fin are thought to be adaptations to living in ice. This Arctic giant is considered to be the longest-living mammal, reaching an age of well above 200 years.

Barents Sea

Barents Sea, High Arctic, June-August 2024

Out with The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research on a two months marine mammal survey in the Arctic.

This summer’s survey covers the offshore waters of the Barents Sea, Greenland Sea and around Svalbard.

 

From calm seas and clear skies to rainy and windy days or long lasting thick fog, from our watch towers we get a great variety of weather and views while patiently keeping a good lookout for signs of any potential marine mammal in the sea.

 

The northern fulmar keeps being our most frequent and very appreciated company during our watch hours. Such a great experience it would be to be a fulmar for a day effortlessly flying in the strong winds and above the stormy seas!

 

 

When winds are strong and the sea too big for the survey, the mountainous fjords of Svalbard provide us with good shelter.

 

This year, we sighted the elusive bowhead whales, more on this in the next blogpost.