Ivory Gulls (Pagophila eburnea), Izvesti Tsik Islands, Troynoy, North of Taymyr, Russia
The ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) is a high arctic species that frequents ice-filled waters throughout the year. Scattered colonies occur in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, on islands in the Kara Sea and on Severnaya Zemlya. At sea, the ivory gull is a surface-feeder, foraging primarily on small fish, such as polar cod, and macro-zooplankton, such as amphipods and euphausiids. Ivory gulls are also scavengers of marine mammals killed by polar bears or other predators. The Izvesti Tsik Islands is an high Arctic archipelago located in the Kara Sea, about 150 km from the coast of Taymyr. Most of the year the archipelago is surrounded by sea-ice. Its the largest island is Troynoy, which in July 1993, at the inauguration of the Great Arctic Reserve, was visited by an international WWF-delegation. The island group is part of the Great Arctic Reserve. Troynoy has a whether station and is home for an ivory gull colony, other high Arctic birds, and is frequently visited by polar bears.
Year: 2013
From album: Great Arctic Reserve, Taymyrski Zapovednik and German-Russian Expeditions 1989-1991 to Taymyr
Photographer: Peter Prokosch