Photographing Longyearbyen at summer

Travel

Jul 23

You don’t have to travel around Svalbard to experience great wildlife. There are basically three places to encounter wildlife if your are only stying in Longyearbyen. Adventdalen located in the southeast corner from Longyearbyen is a great spot to watch and photograph birds. You can easily do this from the road. Adventdalen is more or less a massive river delta area. The second place is called Bjørndalen and is located in the south west corner, or nearby the airport. It’s a bumpy road but you should definitely go all the way to the end where you will end up at the little auk mountain. There are several thousands of little auks nesting in the rock cliffs, and it is here you’ll have the best chance to see the Arctic Fox. A world of causing tho. Do not climb up the rock face because of falling rocks which happens from time to time. Lastly don’t forget Longyearbyen it self. Here you can spot Arctic Fox, Snow Bunting, Rain deer and Rock Ptarmigan. Don’t forget to watch the ocean as well. If you are lucky you might spot dolphins and whales in July-September.

Here are some of the picture from my summer trip to Longyearbyen.

1. Purple sandpiper 2. Female Rock ptarmigan 3. Moss campion 4. Parasitic jaeger 5. Purple sandpiper 6. Arctic cottongrass 7. Ruddy shelduck 8. Red-throated loon 9. Red phalarope 10. Red-throated loon