Little auks fly past an iceberg at Spitsbergen, Norway

Little auks fly past an iceberg at Spitsbergen, Norway

For little auks, the icy waters and cold, rocky beaches of Spitsbergen, Norway are the ideal summer breeding ground. These starling-sized birds nest in huge colonies on the coastal cliffs of Spitsbergen. The safety-in-numbers approach to nesting ensures that enough little auks will be around next year to return to their breeding areas, though they do have to look out for hungry gulls and Arctic foxes, who may raid a nest for an egg.