A key arctic mammal that I had missed out on in Iceland last summer was the fox of the north, the Arctic Fox. I know that I would have good chances of seeing this species in Svalbard.

Another mammal that I was also hoping to see was the reindeer subspecies, the Svalbard Reindeer, which is the smallest subspecies or reindeer or caribou.

And on a landing to Russebukta, I had the chance to see both. On our landing I chose to join the medium hiking group that was led by our expedition leader Phillipp. It always pays to be near the leader because he has the knowledge of the land and the rifle (poplar bear protection).

We walked by some ponds that yielded some avian Arctic breeders: the stunning king eider, pink-footed geese, purple sandpiper, snow bunting, and red phalarope. I pointed out red phalarope and Phillipp told me that is now known as the gray phalarope, red in breeding season and grey in non-breeding. Of course this is what the phalarope is called in Europe (grey) but is called red in North America. There is is only one name we can agree on, it’s scientific name: Phalaropus fulicarius, which does not change, unlike there varied common name.

We crested a rise and on the tundra I saw my first Svalbard reindeer! After taking a few pictures we hiked on. At one stop, we were waiting for the camera horde to catch up, I spotted what I thought was a far off reindeer. But it was moving like a reindeer that had had one too many espressos. What I was looking at was not a reindeer, but an Arctic fox! Our guide noted that it was great to have a birder in the group because we are so good at spotting wildlife, even the mammalian variety.

The fox was not clearly visible to the naked eye so we turned back to shore and the Planicus. We were at the crest of a small rise near a line of rock. We were stopped again waiting for our photo stragglers. I looked off to my right and a fox appeared among the rocks, “Arctic Fox!” I exclaimed.

The fox’s body was white with a darker face and legs. It superficially looked like a wolf in sheep’s clothing!