We woke this morning to some wind, and the Windy app (that tracks winds, cloud cover, and multiple other useful information) said it was going to get windier. We spent a little extra time with breakfast, enjoying our pancakes and berries. When we left camp (carrying extra layers), we stopped along the way to get some good pictures of the seals that hang out, being careful to not get so close that we scared them down into their holes. You can see why they're called ringed seals on the one facing the camera. He has little rings around his neck.
I loved the way this guy wagged his tail!
We stopped by the floe edge, but there wasn't much happening there. We did see a few birds, but for the most part, it was kind of a bust.
So, we loaded back up and headed to the edge of the bird sanctuary on Bylot Island. Going onto Bylot Island requires a permit and a Park Service guide, which we didn't have, but the area where the kittiwakes and murres nest is against the cliffs that overlook the mouth of Eclipse Sound as it empties into Baffin Bay. The area is, of course, still frozen over. It also has a huge snow pack!
We followed along this crack in the ice until Lee (our lead Inuit guide and the driver of my komatik) found a safe place to cross it.
This iceberg stood at the head of the crack.
He found a spot where we crossed a few cracks.
Once everybody else made it across, we headed on to the bird nesting sanctuary.
Into and over some very large "bump farms", snow and ice that were far from smooth! We hit enough of these, that I think my spine compressed, and I might be a couple of inches shorter! (JK)
These guys are definitely experts at driving these Skidoos!
Trying to walk around, I dropped into the snow, up to my hips at one point, the snow was so soft. When I was finished walking around and appeared to be on my way to the "hangout point", Lee saw me struggling and drove his Skidoo up to me to pick me up. I rode about 20 feet on the back seat of the Skidoo. I guess that was easier than walking out and pulling me out of the snow drifts I kept sinking into!
The only birds we saw nesting were the black-legged kittiwakes. The thick-billed murres are usually there, but apparently, they were running late. I'm not sure where they'll fit once they get here!
I loved the different colored seams in the cliff sides.
There were natural tunnels
and natural caves.
Significant amounts of predation had been going on here. Lee says the larger gulls (such as the glaucous gull) will feed on the kittiwakes and their eggs.
We saw some tracks that may have been the kittiwake, may have been the predating gull. Since both have webbed feet (the kittiwake being a member of the gull family), it is difficult to tell.
Of course, gulls aren't the only ones who prey on kittiwake eggs! Along with foxes and other mammals, the Innuit also gather eggs and bring them back to the community for food. They are said to be very tasty! The ropes for climbing are left on the cliffs for easier access. It's hard to see, but the climbing rope is there.
Elisha (our cook) never arrived with the lunch komatik, and after giving him additional time, we all loaded back up and headed to camp, hoping he was still there for some reason. He wasn't. So a search and rescue mission was undertaken. Thankfully, one of our group was a park ranger, certified in search and rescue, so she loaded up on the back of a Skidoo with one of the guides. They found him. It was a communication breakdown. He thought we were going to a different spot by the floe ice and then followed the wrong tracks when we weren't there. Thankfully, he was safe. We snacked on some peanut butter and other things that just remained in the dining tent while waiting and worrying.
After everybody happy that Elisha returned safely and eating a little creamy ramen, the wind died down. The Windy app said we should have a few hours of calm winds, and most of us decided to go back out to see what might be at the floe edge, hoping the wind hadn't blown a lot of brash ice in. The Skidoos and komatiks stopped because while driving, Lee saw a narwhal. I didn't realize we had one right away, and I started putting my tripod up and set it out. Before I could get out myself, I realized the whales were there! So, standing in the komatik, I leaned over the edge to take pictures and videos. These pix were no worse than the others and in some cases, they were better. I also took video. The guides laughed at the rapid-fire continuous shooting and said they had never seen anybody take pictures that way!
You can see the windshield of the Skidoo in the video as the narwhal kept moving along.
Once this guy went out of view, I climbed out of the komatik and set up like a normal person. Not long after that, we had a dark juvenile come by, and it swam right toward us before diving under! This would have been the ideal time to get a tusk in the shots, but it was too young and didn't have one, but watching it come directly toward us was amazing. You can see the dorsal ridge when he's above water.
After this one dove, several of us decided to walk over to the next cove because that's where Ken thought it would come back up. He was right. It came up almost right by our feet! Scared the crap out of us!
While in that cove, another juvenile came in. This one was lighter and seemed to have a playful side. This one just bobbed along for a little while. I can't tell for sure what the parts you can see are, between not knowing narwhal anatomy and the camera shake, thanks to my tremor. But, I think the dorsal ridge comes up once and that one of the pectoral fins is also visible at times. I'm not sure, though.
After bobbing for a while, this child decided to just turn some flips in the water. It was so fun to watch!
It was an amazing evening, and I was so glad I came back to the ice. I was so tired and sore that I considered staying back in camp with some of the others. After the narwhals left, a few king eider ducks in the distance, and we headed back to camp.
On the way back to camp, it was clear that the ice and snow were beginning to melt.
The wind kicked back up when we got back and was so strong people were being buffeted by the walls of the bathroom tent! The guides pulled the komatiks around to try to make a wind break. We had a veggie stew with split peas for dinner in the driving winds. When I went to bed, I had to ask Ken (our tour leader) to come fix my tent because one of the pegs had come out in the wind. Having little to no camping experience, I had no clue how to fix that problem, but I knew it had to be fixed! I brought my boots into the tent with me this time, just in case, climbed in, and slept fitfully, listening to the wind blow and watching the walls of my tent puff in and out.
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