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About This GigapanToggle
- Taken by
- Ella Derbyshire
- Explore score
- 0.06 Gigapixels
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2008
- Date taken
- Jul 28, 2008
This is Rubini Rock, which is situated within sight of Sedova Station on Hooker Island in Franz Josef Land.
This rock is a very special place for nesting seabirds. There are countless columns of basalt arranged at various angles that provide places for the birds to set down safely above most arctic predators. Overhanging rock edges provide protection from the elements for their eggs and young offspring.
This was a rainy morning in late July, and there were birds everywhere. The sky seemed to be full of them. We saw gulls and awks. We saw guillemots and kittiwakes and gulls...all nesting on ledges made by the columns. They tended to nest among their own kind, and it seemed that birds not of a feather were not welcome near the nests.
The rocks are tinted various colors by lichens. On the flat top there are patches of snow, and notably few birds. Hooker Island is seen in the background.
The 12 images of this panorama were captured with a Nikon D80 and stitched with AutoPano Pro. Some gaps in the sky and in the water were corrected with GIMP 2.