Antarctic Expedition. Part 5. Our first penguin colonies.

After being at sea for a few days everyone on board was excited by the prospect of our first zodiac outings - and our first penguin colonies in the South Shetlands. We'd seen both Chinstrap & Gentoo Penguins on icebergs as we got closer to the South Shetlands.

Above: Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins on icebergs

Chilean O'Higgins Antarctic base.

Plancius.

The first zodiac outing was to get close to the impressive basalt columns of  Edinburgh Hill at the end of the McFarlane Straight followed by an afternoon visit to the Chinstrap Penguin colony on Half Moon Island.

The rules are very strict for visitors to Antarctica. You've got to stay at least 5 metres from any wildlife and do nothing to disturb them.  Penguin rookeries aren't for the faint hearted. Their diet is mainly Krill which gives their poo a pink colour. They aren't fussy where they poo and the presence of a rookery can be determined from satellites by the presence of a 'pink carpet'. The smell hits you first followed closely by the noise as youngsters call for their parents and adults argue among themselves. Biosecurity is taken very seriously and we had to wash our boots and outer layers before leaving the colonies and then use Virkon disinfectant baths when we arrived back on board the Plancius. We weren't allowed to kneel or sit and our bags had to be kept off the ground at all times. Unfortunately bird -flu has arrived in Antartica and all that can be done is slow the spread. I'm used to these protocols through ringing with SCAN in the UK but many people were surprised at the lengths they had to go to disinfect their boots and outer layers. We had a 'bio - security' session on board where all our kit had to be checked and cleaned of any organic matter - including zips, velcro and rucksack webbings. Only when everything had been cleaned and checked were you signed off to go ashore.

One of the Chinstraps had a sat tag on it fitted by Chilean researchers to determine how long the adults are away from the nest and how far and where they were going to fish.

Chinstrap with sat tag.

To add to the atmosphere of the location it started snowing! 

Next up were the Gentoo Penguins that seem to be everywhere. In fact we were told that the Gentoo is the only penguin species  that seems to be increasing its range.

Penguins use 'highways' to get backwards and forwards to the sea from their nest sites. These highways are easily seen due to the presence of the 'pink carpet' staining the rocks. We were very careful not to stand in the penguins way when they were using the highways and people were asked to move if it was felt they hadn't realised they were blocking off. We also had our first good views of Snowy Sheathbill at Half Moon Island. Not the prettiest of birds with their scaly bill sheathes but they play an important part in the Antarctic eco-system being scavengers and 'cleaner- uppers' of penguin colonies.

A great experience and we all got back board the Plancius buzzing with what we'd experienced and in need of a hot chocolate and a freshly baked cake! 

Antarctic Expedition. Part 4. Aboard the mv Plancius and a change of plan!

After being dropped off at the port entrnce by Marcelo I made my way through immigration to the quayside and down towards the Plancius which was to be my home for the next few weeks. My luggage had already been taken from the drop off point to my cabin and I joined an excited group of 90 passengers waiting to be checked in and embark on our voyage. All the Oceanwide Expedition guides were waiting to greet us as we came up the gangway. It was my first meeting with Regis Perdriat, a French birder and seabird expert,  who, on spotting me with camera and binoculars slung around my neck, asked whether I was a birder! 

After being shown to my cabin I unpacked before going into the lounge area where we were introduced ot the guides and crew who undertook compulsory lifeboat drill with us followed by a briefing as to our proposed voyage. Expedition leader, Eduardo, said he'd been discussing the weather forecast with the captain, Ernesto, and it was pretty shocking. As a result plan B was already in operation and instead of taking a clockwise voyage visiting The Falklands and then South Georgia first we were doing the journey in reverse and heading straight down to the Antarctic Peninsula! So began our introduction to Edu's plans A,B & C.........

A quick dinner on board in the superb restaurant and I was up on the bridge deck wildlife spotting as we sailed down the Beagle Channel as darkness fell. Within a very short space of time I'd seen Magellanic Penguin & Diving Petrel, Black-browed Albatross and Fin Whale! 

Over the next few days I spent most of my time on the bridge. I was surprisingly the only 'serious' birder on board and was generally on my own. I took to getting up around 5 am and skipping breakfast to spend more time looking for new birds. A list was pinned up in the lounge where the daily sightings were recorded and after the first couple of days Regis told me to put my own sightings up as he trusted my sightings. Anything I wasn't sure of I tried to photograph and get his confirmation.

Black-browed Albatross

As we sailed further south we started seeing more icebergs and different species of birds. Cape petrels and Giant petrels were with us most of the journey as were the Antarctic Prions, Blue Petrels and Wilsons Petrels but I also picked out our first Light-mantled, Southern Royal, Grey-headed and Wandering Albatross during the three day trip down to our first point of call -  the South Shetland Islands

Blue Petrel

Blue Petrel

Blue Petrel

Cape Petrel

Northern Giant Petrels

Southern Royal Albatross

We also started seeing more icebergs as we sailed south and some were a spectacular blue. Apparently this indicated old ice that has been very compressed and is so dense it only allows light from the blue end of the spectrum to pass through

Cape Petrels around an iceberg

Above & below - Light - mantled Albatross

Above & below - Wandering Albatross

White-chinned petrel

Wilsons Petrel

Above & below: Antarctic Prions

Black-bellied Storm Petrel

As we forged our way further south we started seeing more whales. The majority were Humpbacks but we did see Fin & Sei Whales on this part of the journey. A message from the bridge that whales had been spotted usually resulted in a mass exodus of passengers from the lounge on to the outer decks. I was really surprised at how few people spent time on deck looking for wildlife and then how surprised they were at what I'd seen. The captain opened the bridge at 08.00 every morning but I'd become a permanent fixture  on  the bridge wings and he'd let me come up as soon as I was up and dressed.  The only time the bridge was closed was if there was a pilot on board or the officers were trying to navigate a tricky piece of sea.

More icebergs meant I got the oppurtunity to see a real Antarctic specialist and a species I'd always wanted to see. Snow Petrel! I was lucky enough to see a good number of these amazing birds. Strangely I only saw one Antarctic Petrel and that was through my cabin window early one morning.

Above & below : Snow Petrel

Excitement was building on board as, after not seeing land for several days we were within striking distance of our first landfall and zodiac landings on South Shetland where we'd also encounter our first penguin colonies.