Page 39 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

THE FAR NORTH

POOLS
From autumn until May or early June the pools
of the tundra are frozen and covered with snow.
Waders, ducks, and geese that breed up here are
still in their wintering areas until May; slightly
south, larger lakes on the tundra fringe see birds
in early spring. Once the short summer is under
way, the pools are alive with insects and their larvae.
Long-tailed Ducks and Red-necked Phalaropes
gorge themselves on the thick rime of insect life
found on some northern lakes. Downy chicks of
waders and ducks can feed themselves within hours STELLER’S EIDER
of hatching and find life easy with so much food; In spring and summer. a few hundred spectacular Steller’s Eiders form dense
but they also face a barrage of hungry predators. flocks offshore in food-rich seas off the extreme north of Norway.

ADAPTATIONS The thick, strong bill of the Long-
Thickly feathered legs like those of the tailed Skua is also hard and hooked
Rough-legged Buzzard provide invaluable at the tip.This allows it to catch
added warmth for life in northern areas. small rodents and
some small birds
feathered legs more easily as it only
uses its bill, not its
feet, when hunting.
ROUGH-LEGGED
BUZZARD WHERE TO WATCH
1 ICELAND 2VARANGER FJORD,
NORWAY
Harlequin Ducks and Barrow’s Goldeneyes
White plumage helps vulnerable are not found anywhere else in Europe, The area around Varanger in Norway is
birds such as Willow Grouse stay hidden, while Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes, exceptionally rich in birds during spring and
but also allows predators such as the Brunnich’s Guillemots, Glaucous Gulls, summer. Offshore migrants include Long-
Snowy Owl to get close to them unseen. Little Auks, Puffins, White-tailed Eagles, tailed and Pomarine Skuas and White-billed
and Gyr Falcons are also specialities of
Divers, while Steller’s and King Eiders are
Iceland. Thousands of pairs of Pink-Footed regular visitors. A large range of exciting
Geese and Whooper Swans, Black-tailed breeding birds includes Red-necked
Godwits, Long-tailed Ducks, and Common Phalaropes and Black-throated Divers.
Scoters breed in the area, and Iceland
Gulls are regular visitors to the region
during the winter months.

BLACK-THROATED DIVER

SNOWY OWL WHOOPER SWANS

1 2

Tundra areas

37