7 August 2014

New Trip Reports: Arctic Bay (Baffin) and Georgia & Armenia

Hi and sorry for not being able to post reports for the past few weeks. I’m back home and starting to catch up now with a couple of reports. There are more to follow.

A great report from Cheryl Antonucci on her trip to Arctic Bay, Baffin Island, in June, 8 days & 8 species including Polar Bears, Belugas, Narwhals & Bowhead Whales. Some simply stunning images. If it wasn’t for the cost of the air ticket I’d be back up there next weekend I think having read this!

And Michal and Piotr Polanski visited Armenia and Georgia in fall 2013: 10 days & 9 species including Bezoar Goat and Syrian Brown Bear. This is the first report for either country on mammalwatching.com.

Hope everyone is having a good summer (or winter) wherever you are

cheers

Jon

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6 Comments

  • 7 August 2014
    John Fox

    Congrats, Cheryl! A great trip and report.

    So, where are you gonna try for those Lemmings, LOL.

  • 7 August 2014
    vdinets

    John: the question about lemmings is always not “where”, but “when”. I found it very difficult to obtain any information on lemming cycles for any particular place, but it looks like the next lemming year in northern Alaska should be 2015 or 2016.

  • 7 August 2014
    Jon Hall

    Strangely enough I got a message from a friend in Pond Inlet a few weeks ago saying there were lots of lemmings there this year, so this years seems to be a good year for them (at least in Pond)

  • 8 August 2014
    Cheryl Antonucci

    Thanks John F!. I think of all the time in Russia, Alaska and now Canada that I have put in looking for lemmings my time vs success ratio is pretty poor. On my three year plan I want to go to the Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge on Somerset Island in Canada where all the belugas go up into that inlet to molt. I am sure you have seen the pics or video where alot of them have large portions of their bodies out of the water scratching themselves, it looks pretty amazing. Plus you access the lodge from a flight through Yellowknife so I could go to the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary at the same time and tick off wood bison. They have lemmings there as well, so will give it a try. Not sure how much by yourself time you could have though on the island with the polar bears. Jon H. yes the people coming out of Pond Inlet the same time as I was coming out of Arctic Bay did see multiple lemmings. However, the time I was there the ice in Pond Inlet broke up and they were unable to camp on the floe ice, so missed 2-3 days at the edge looking at wildlife. They also saw no belugas or bowheads so I think viewing wise I got the better deal.

  • 14 September 2014
    brugiere domiique

    I was in Nunavut a week ago, even in Pond Inlet and didn’t see any lemmings. I found one place with a den, another with droppings and at a third place by removing a piece of wood saw their passages in the “”grass””.

  • 15 September 2014
    brugiere domiique

    Nice to read your trip report Michal and Piotr.
    A few years ago I saw a Wold and twice East Caucasian Turs
    near Kazbegi in the north of Georgia. Chamois are also present, but I didn’t see any during my stay.

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