When Six Became Eight: Antarctic Penguin Fest!

Penguins are fantastic and I've been a big fan since I was a kid, when I delivered an assembly on the family to my bored-looking fellow primary school pupils. Despite the early obsession, my 40+ years of birding had delivered me only three species out of a possible 18 (Galapagos, Humboldt and African). So, the prospect of seeing at least six new species was one of the reasons I was desperate to head to the Southern Ocean and Antartica. And I wasn't to be disappointed.

Here are the penguins in the order that we saw them:

1. Magellanic Penguin

Our first encounter was from the ship as we headed east out of the Beagle Channel. These little fellas were busily feeding in the calm waters particularly in the vicinity of at least one large colony we past. Later, we saw small numbers on New Island, Falklands, where they nested in burrows in a flat grassland. Recent news that several new colonies have been discovered in Chile give optimism to offset documented declines in this species.

 

2. Southern Rockhopper Penguin

A dream bird to see, Rockhoppers were every bit as charismatic as I'd hoped, bouncing up and down the rocky cliffs of New Island to feed fuzz-ball chicks waiting patiently at the top. The Rockhoppers nested amid giant Black-browed Albatrosses and Falklands Shags and they all seemed to be good neighbours. 

3. Gentoo Penguin

Often overlooked amid the more charismatic cousins, Gentoos are lovely birds, with gentle expressions, nesting in large open colonies on grassy plateaus. We saw a number of colonies on New Island, with other birds on South Georgia in among King and Chinstraps. Watching them literally fly out of the surf on to a white sand beach was fantastic.

 

 4. King Penguin

One of the best wildlife experiences of my life was standing amid 100,000 pairs of King Penguins at St Andrew's Bay, South Georgia. They are the most gorgeous of birds: inquisitive, charismatic and noisy, yet at times wistful and mystical.

5. Macaroni Penguin

We saw one lonely Mac among the Southern Rockhopper colony at New Island, but our best encounter was with colonies at South Georgia, including Hercules Bay and Gold Harbour. Macs havbe heavier, redder bills than the similar Rockhoppers, and finer, deeper-yellow crests. 

 

 

 

6. Chinstrap Penguin

I hadn't realised I'd see Chinnies on South Georgia, so this was a real bonus. Absolutely cracking penguins, and with a real affinity to ice! Our best encounters were at Gold Harbour, SG, and then on Penguin Island, South Shetlands. They feed their chicks on balls of krill, much of which ends up down their fronts or in a growing pink puddle on the colony floor! It is amazing how pristine they look on the way back to the colony and then how filthy they look as they head back to the ocean. 

 

7. Adelie Penguin

And if six species wasn't enough, we were then treated to the two Antarctic specialities. I hoped Adelie would be a possibility around the peninsula, but by no means guaranteed. However, good fortune - or perhaps a fantastic expedition leader - was on our side and we headed down the east side into the Weddell Sea, where Adelie Penguins were abundant. And I mean abundant! Tens of thousands fed on krill in vast rafts, with others peppering every decent sized iceflow. This didn't really prepare us for the collossal colony of 250,000 pairs at the finale of our trip on an island in the northern Weddell Sea. Absolutely incredible. 

8. Emperor Penguin

We always knew that if we got into the Weddell Sea there was a remote, but real chance of finding a wandering Emperor Penguin. From dawn at just before 4am, we were out on deck in subzero temperatures, checking every iceberg and iceflow we could see for large penguins. It took a while but late morning, Philip ran over to my side of the deck and asked me to check a large penguin which he was sure was an Emperor, but after hours of searching he wanted to be sure. And it was! A fantastic immature Emperor, standing forlornly on a large ice flow. The nearest colony is to the south on Snow Island (original name!) and most adults stay in the vicinity, but non-breeding youngsters wander about in the Weddell. The ship looped round and pulled up so our fellow passengers could put down their lattes and come out for a quick selfie with the world's largest penguin. This was amazing, a species I had never thought I'd ever see. To top it off, Becca then found another doing its best to hide among a gang of Adelies. Two Emperors! Unbelievable!

 

 

 

Top Emperor 1, bottom Emperor 2 with his cute Adelie friends

 We were somewhat happy to see the Emperors!

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So our hoped-for six species became eight and my life list of penguins rose to 13. Only five more to go...

 

 

 

Searching for Goshawks

It is Goshawk season, and I have spent the last couple of weekends leading Goshawk tours for Yorkshire Coast Nature in search of these fantastic raptors. I am proud to be able to take folk up here on behalf of YCN, who make donations each year to the RSPB Investigations Team, who work tirelessly to stamp out illegal persecution of Goshawks and other species. Hopefully these tours help people understand a bit about these birds and the dreadful impact of the illegal activities that are so rife in some parts of North Yorkshire, robbing many people of a wondeful encounter with one of these special birds.

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It has been great being back in the forest, with every day providing a unique experience with the king of raptors. The tours this year have got off to a great, start; good weather has helped - apart from a foggy start to my first tour - and we have connected with several Goshawks on each trip. 

 

Always wary, we have had good scope views of perched and displaying birds as they sparred with last year's young and the local Buzzards, over the picturesque Yorkshire forest. It is good to see some old familiar birds still holding territory and using their regular perches, where they keep watch over the valley. Having watched this area for several years, we know many of the usual hang outs; nevertheless, we always keep our distance ensuring we do not disturb the birds- hence my poor photos!

Lots of Siskins and Crossbills around too, and Chiffchaffs have started to arrive too. Willow Tits have shown up on most tours, as they seem to be hanging on up in the forest. We always see lots of other wildlife too, including Roe Deer and on one afternoon, a gorgeous Red Fox.

 

Black-browed Beauties

I was lucky enough to see the Yorkshire Black-browed Albatross several times over a few years, as it graced the Bempton Cliffs Gannet colony, and it remains the best rarity I have seen in the UK. To get the opportunity to see this species in the mighty Southern Ocean was a dream come true, and despite the other fantastic birds we saw, this species was never demoted to 'just another Black-brow'. They are truly superb birds, with a gentle, almost mystical quality, conveyed by the simplest of eye make-up: a black brow line. Masterful fliers, they rode the wind with ease, disappearing to unbelievably low levels in the troughs between swells, before arcing up majestically, with scarcely a flap of their two-and-a-half metre wingspan. 

 

Our first encounter was slightly surreal, being from the shore at Ushuaia, as these birds cruised in off the South Atlantic into the Beagle Channel. From the moment we departed the quay in Ushuaia port, they were our constant companions as we made our way towards one of their major breeding areas - the Falkland Islands. Here we visited a large colony at New Island where we were able to immerse ourselves in its sights and sounds. 

 

Large, fluffy grey chicks perched precariously atop mud chimney nests, eagerly awaiting the return of a parent, with a regurgitated squid breakfast.

The returning adults usually engaged in some rather gorgeous pair-bonding, a courtship display involving bill rubbing and pointing, fanning of their short grey tails, interspersed with lots of high-stepping and rather drunk-like swaying. Sometimes the excitement would be too much and birds would then strut around with beak agape, trumpeting joyously. 

 

 

 

Away from the large colonies on the Falklands, Black-brows tailed us across the open ocean to South Georgia, and then down to the South Shetlands, where we found large numbers feeding in the melee of seabirds and cetaceans on vast krill swarms. Black-brows are one of the commonest albatrosses, with a circumpolar breeding distribution of about 600,000 pairs, of which two thirds nest on the Falklands. The population is decreasing and is classified as Endangered, due to the usual issues of long-line fisheries, predation of eggs and young at breeding colonies by introduced non-native mammals and starvation caused by plastic ingestion. Hopefully, with all these issues being addressed, Black-brow numbers may gradually recover.