ARCTIC BIRDS
Most arctic seabirds spend their lives at sea, returning to land just once a year during breeding season. In Svalbard, and on Spitsbergen, there have been more than 100 species of birds identified, but only 30 species or so actively breed there. That can still mean up to 20 million individual birds competing for food and nesting space during the short spring breeding season. Many breed on narrow ledges on the sheer rock cliff faces that rise up from the water. Safe from land predators, hundreds of thousands of birds spend six to eight weeks in these nesting grounds before returning to the sea.
Cliff-side bird watching
Did you know? On Spitsbergen, house cats have been outlawed to help protect the bird population.
8 | QUARK EXPEDITIONS
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