The captain came over the loudspeaker at 7 am this morning: “In ten minutes we will be passing a globe which you will see on an island on our port side”. As promised we saw the globe and passed north of the Arctic Circle. Given the warmth of the Gulf Stream, the temperature hovers around 32F. However, when on shore, if one leaves the water behind and climbs to any elevation, the temperature drops quickly.

This region along the Norwegian Coast is starkly beautiful. The mountains come right down to the ocean, and the land is severe. Birds have been few and far between. We are entering an area where white tailed eagles are supposed to be numerous. I will keep my eyes on the cliffs, but today’s bird is another male Common Eider which I spied in the Bodo, Norway Harbor.

Norwegian Arctic Circle Sunrise

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Common Eider in the harbor of Bodo, Norway

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The Polaris, our sister Hurtigruten ship steamed alongside us after sunset last night!

What do you do when the power crumps in the middle of the Norwegian mountains? The answer, wait! While taking the train from Oslo to Bergen the mountains experienced a power outage, and we ended up stopped in a small town … waiting for buses to come and rescue us! Actually, all was fine as our Hurtigruten ship was not due to leave till late that night. Once all the buses arrived at our train, we convoyed with two snow plows leading the way through the passes. It ended up being a fun, scenic and beautiful experience. Hurtigruten knew of our problems, and met us when and where our bus arrived in Bergen. Sometimes the unexpected roads in life are the most fun.

We have now been on the ship for a little over 24 hours. The Norwegian Coast in the winter is gorgeous, and during a three hour stop today in Alesund I even had the opportunity to bird the local harbor. Much to my surprise I actually recognized a bird I had never seen in my life. Two winters ago a female Common Eider appeared on Lake Superior in the Duluth area. While I had never seen a male, given the amorous attentions being paid to the drab female, I knew what I was seeing! Very cool. The other bird I think is some kind of petrel. Without a European field guide book, I am stumped as to an identification. Help anyone?

My thanks to Simon Rix, the Oslo Birder, who commented my unknown feathered friend was a Common Guillemot/Common Murre!

Stranded in Haugastol

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Bergen … onboard our Hurtigruten ship

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The Norwegian Coast north of Bergen

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Common Eiders in the Alesund Harbor

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Unknown bird … a petrel?? Nope! A Common Guillemot/Common Murre. Thanks to Simon Rix!