Back from 80 degrees North

creative commons: Mysid

I'm back from an amazing adventure in Svalbard.  22 days on a small sailboat exploring the fjords, glaciers, islands and ice floes that make this archipelago famous.  We were a crew of 6: Our fearless skipper Heinrich from Longyearbyen, the eternally sunny Pauline from Hong Kong (now living in Longyearbyen), the effervescent Meg from Australia, impish Steve from Seattle and the glue who held us all together, Paul also from Seattle.

We began in Longyearbyen, the largest of 4 settlements in the archipelago and sailed north, stopping at 79°N to visit former coal-town-turned-research-settlement, Ny-Ålesund.  From there we continued North along the coast until we eventually reached the northern pack ice.

The lack of trees and shrubs makes the landscape seem barren at first, nothing more than volcanic rock and shale, scoured clean by repeated glaciations from the tertiary times to present.  On closer inspection one begins to see life.  The landscape is dotted with tiny wildflowers, moss and lichen.  The sea is rich with crustaceans, mollusks and crabs.  All of which supports an incredible diverse group of birds, marine mammals and even some terrestrial mammals.

 

What's Meant To Be There

 

I love to photograph along the California coast.  There is nothing so relaxing as sitting and watching the waves break over the rocks and dance across the sand.  I can spend hours scouring the tide line and various tide pools looking for goodies like a pretty shell, a bit of seaweed or a nicely shaped bit of drift wood.  All too often I find trash which just doesn't belong. 

Beach clean up doesn't have to be limited to one day a year: California Coastal Clean Up Day
Individuals like Justin Rudd are organizing 30 minute beach clean ups once a month!  Organizations like Surfrider are getting involved as well.  Even more important to remember is you don't have to wait for an 'official' clean up day.  I try to be certain to have a bag with me every time I head out and I've noticed that people tend to pick up after themselves more often when they see someone actively cleaning the beach. 

Love our coast! Pick up some trash so we can enjoy what is meant to be there!

Endangered Species Day

These animals are all listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Redlist (http://www.iucnredlist.org/).  Celebrate Endangered Species Day: Google a creature to see how YOU can make a difference in saving an endangered species!

Mountain Nyala, Sea Otter, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Green Turtle, Hector's Dolphin, Laysan Duck, Black-footed Albatross, Giant Mole-rat, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Tasmanian Devil, Black-browed Albatross, Ethiopian Wolf

Weekend at the Ranch

California Quail peeking through the grasses

 Just back from a lovely weekend at my friends ranch in Monterey County where we hosted the category winners of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory 2010 Click Off Photo Contest.  We had wonderful weather, tasty food and wine and lots of cooperative birds.  There were also a few not so cooperative - do titmice ever sit still?

Spotted Towhee

We are looking forward to opening this year's photo contest for entries on June 1!  Start getting your California bird photos together if you'd like to join us at the ranch next year!

Scrub Jay