HAGRG members Fabrice Genevois and Mark Maftei met up for some late season scouting in some of the most inaccessible areas in the Canadian High Arctic last month aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov on an exploratory cruise run by Quark Expeditions. After a spectacular summer, winter came in like a lion in 2016, and by September 1st, many areas were covered in snow and sheltered waters were beginning to freeze. Travelling through the High Arctic this late in the season is a rare treat enjoyed by few. Highlights of the voyage included what we presume is a newly discovered colony of black-legged kittiwakes at Cape Dudley Digges in western Greenland, and observations of large flocks of ivory gulls in Norwegian Bay, the latter adding support to the notion that this region supports significant as-of-yet undiscovered colonies of this extremely poorly known species. Brief aerial surveys certainly confirmed large areas of suitable habitat amongst the spectacular nunataks rising out of the Steacie Icefield on Axel Heiberg Island.