The Arctic fulmar a beautiful companion at sea
In August our Operation Manager, Henrik Törnberg, was guiding an expedition cruise with M/S Sjøveien. We asked Henrik to write a short travel blog from his trip. Instead of writing about encounters with polar bears, walruses and whales, he featured one of his absolute favourite birds – the Arctic fulmar!
Of all the birds on Svalbard, the Arctic Fulmar is my absolut favourite, says Henrik. It flies so beautifully and its a great companion at sea. They are also very fun to photograph, but it's almost as fun to photograph or film someone trying to capture an Arctic Fulmar!
These birds have the ability to appear somewhat unexpectedly and often pass quite quickly. Just when you have your camera ready, they make another stylish turn. The tip of their wing almost touches the surface of the water when they turn. They are so incredibly graceful in the air and seem to fly very relaxed. It looks like they really enjoying their flight!
The Arctic Fulmar is a bird that you are guaranteed to meet when you travel to Svalbard. There are so many of them. They often fly alone, or possible in a small group, but you will never see a large group of Arctic Fulmars fly together. This bird can actually get really old, up to 60 years! Don't forget to stop and enjoy these amazing master pilots when you travel to Svalbard!
Related trips
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Svalbard Adventure 2024
M/S Sjøveien 12 passengers9 days 7 nights on ship USD 8 590LanguagesDepartures: May / June 2024 -
Expedition Svalbard 2024
M/S Sjøveien 12 passengers12 days 10 nights on ship USD 10 890LanguagesDepartures: June / July / August 2024
Destinations
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Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 50 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.