Svalbard: Arctic summer cliffs, walrus and terns
Brünnich's guillemot and little auk colonies, kittiwake, arctic tern, ivory gull, walrus haul-outs, Svalbard reindeer, arctic fox, polar bear (the reason for the rules). Svalbard (Longyearbyen, Isfjorden, Hinlopen), Norway.
Best time: 20 Jun – 31 Jul (June to July). Where: Longyearbyen – Adventdalen (arctic terns, reindeer, eiders), Bjørndalen / Fuglefjella (Isfjorden), Alkefjellet, Hinlopenstretet (Norway). Time of day: 24 h daylight.
- Partly on your own
- Paid trip only
- Binoculars essential
- Sound 5/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 20 Jun – 31 Jul. 20 June to end of July (colonies at full noise; sea ice permitting for the Hinlopen cliffs)
Active from 1 Jun to 31 Aug (June to August) in a typical year.
Time of day
24 h daylight; colonies are loudest around midnight and in the early morning, and the calmest air is usually 02:00–06:00. Expedition-ship zodiac times are set by the ship.
- Night and early morning peak: 23:00 → 06:00
What will you hear?
Little auk colonies — a shrill, laughing chorus from scree slopes by the hundred thousand; Brünnich's guillemot walls (Alkefjellet) with birds pouring off 100 m dolerite cliffs; arctic terns in a screaming defensive cloud in Adventdalen; walrus grunts and snorts on a haul-out; calving glaciers.
Binoculars?
Binoculars essential. Terns dive at your head in Adventdalen, but auk cliffs are viewed from zodiacs and walrus from 500 m; binoculars needed.
Where to go
- Longyearbyen – Adventdalen (arctic terns, reindeer, eiders) — Walkable from town within the 'polar bear safe' zone; tern colony by the road in July. Map
- Bjørndalen / Fuglefjella (Isfjorden) — Little auk and guillemot cliffs 10 km from Longyearbyen; rifle and guide required outside the settlement. Map
- Alkefjellet, Hinlopenstretet — Expedition-ship site; c. 60,000 pairs of Brünnich's guillemots on basalt columns; zodiac approach. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Inside Longyearbyen's polar-bear-safe zone you can walk to Adventdalen (terns, eiders, reindeer) on your own; beyond it you must carry a rifle or hire a guide who does — Bjørndalen's little auk slopes are a guided walk. Alkefjellet and the Hinlopen cliffs are expedition-ship territory (zodiacs). 2025 rules: 500 m from walrus by sea, 300 m from bears, no disturbing colonies, drones by permit.
Cost: Expedition cruises and guided walks (check current prices); Longyearbyen surroundings free.
Free or no-guide alternative: Adventdalen from Longyearbyen is free and walkable without a guide: the arctic tern colony by the road in July, eiders and reindeer, within the settlement's safe zone.
Field-recording notes
Svalbard's environmental regulations are strict and tightening (2025 rules cap ship passenger numbers, set 500 m distance from walrus haul-outs by sea and 300 m from polar bears, and forbid disturbing birds at colonies). Outside Longyearbyen you must carry a firearm (or hire a guide who does) for polar bears — this is not optional. Expedition ships are the realistic access to the Hinlopen cliffs; zodiacs at idle under the cliff give excellent guillemot walls. Little auk slopes near Longyearbyen are walk-in with a guide. No drones without permission. It is cold, windy and 24 h light: the best calm is often 02:00–06:00.
Sources
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