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Bird attack | 15 June 2026 |
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| This evening, I go together with Fieke Rader to map nests of barnacle geese on the island Prins Heinrichøya, close to town. Everything goes wel and calm. Sometimes is there an old goose, which has seen me before and is trying to impress me. Even those attacks don't bring the goose or me in danger. | |
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| We stay away of the nests of common eider , search for barnacle goose nests, read the rings, count the eggs, quantify the nest defense and take a GPS-position from the nest. | |
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A brave female does not want to leave the nest
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A poor goose bitten by nest fleas with blood marks on her eggs
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The last nest...but then it happens. After a steep climb, I walk to a barnacle nest. There is also a nest of a glaucous gull close and I see a 3 day old chick hiding itself. The glaucous gull parents alrm and make dives to me, to scare me off. I have never been hit by this species....... 
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| The glaucous gull hits me on my head. I am surprised. It does not hurt much, but there starts a tremendous blood flow running over my had and clothes. | |
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After a bit cleaning, we go back to town. The local nurse Ellen cleans and desinfects my head. After a shower, washing my clothes, I promise to wear a hat next time. What an adventure.
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| Pictures by Fieke Rader, scientific advisor of the Sverdrup station of the Norwegian Polar Institute | |
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| A warm welcome | bird attack |
This page has been given the following keywords: [barnacle goose] [glaucous gull] [nest checking] [safety] You can click on each keyword to get an overview about related pages. |