Author Archives: Joy Window

Walruses suck!

Posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2019

They really do! Let me explain. I’d only seen walruses (Odobenus rosmarus, ‘odobenus’ from the Greek meaning ‘tooth-walker’; they sometimes haul themselves out of the water using their tusks) in TV documentaries, a la David Attenborough. I think Taronga Zoo … Continue reading →

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Polar paws

Posted on Sunday, 13 January 2019

There are two types of polar paws on Svalbard: those of the arctic fox and the polar bear. I find bears interesting, possibly because we don’t have any in Australia (no, a koala is not a bear),  so I can’t … Continue reading →

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Koala aloha

Posted on Thursday, 8 November 2018

The local male koala has been creating quite a din over the last few nights, and we finally got a shot of him at twilight, high up a gum tree. You can hear a recording of the call here. It’s … Continue reading →

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More Arctic avians

Posted on Thursday, 11 October 2018

I met fellow-Aussies Bruce and Linda on the Arctic trip, and Bruce has kindly allowed me to post some of his great shots. He has a camera with a big lens (allowing for nice close-ups) and the knowledge to use … Continue reading →

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Arctic sea angels

Posted on Monday, 1 October 2018

One thing I didn’t expect to see in the Arctic was marine invertebrates, but of course in the Arctic summer there is a huge upwelling of plankton via the deep ocean currents, providing literally tonnes of food for fish and … Continue reading →

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Arctic avians

Posted on Sunday, 9 September 2018

I used to be more of an avian adventurer, but I don’t generally do the birding thing much anymore. Despite this, the Arctic trip added a dozen or so birds to my life list (if I were to have such … Continue reading →

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Walruses, seals and a polar bear, oh my!

Posted on Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Walruses rule! At lunchtime in the Arctic one day (oh, how I like that phrase!), I decided the trip couldn’t get any better – I’d just seen a colony of walruses and was musing on their amazingness. Little did I … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments