In some ways these birds are the penguins of the north. They seek bare rock on which to lay their eggs and they look rather like penguins too. Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic can be reached by land-based predators which is why little auks have kept the ability to fly. They use scree slopes to protect their eggs, burrowing up to a metre beneath the rocks. At the height of summer the sun never sets but just skims the horizon before rising again. Migrants return to the Arctic from far and wide. They've come to make the most of the brief flush of food and to produce their young. Sandhill cranes have travelled all the way from New Mexico.


从某种意义上说，这种鸟是北极的企鹅，它们也在裸露的岩石上下蛋，而且它们的外形很像企鹅，和南极不同的是陆地食肉动物可以到达北极，所以 侏海雀没有失去，飞翔的本领，它们利用碎石坡来保护它们的蛋，把窝建在一米深的岩石下面。仲夏时节，太阳不会落下，它掠过地平线以后又重新升起，迁徙动物从四面八方远道而来，它们将充分利用这段食物丰富的短暂时光，并且繁育后代，沙丘鹤从远方的美洲赶来。