Paulet Island and Brown Bluff, Antarctic Continent
What an amazing day we had today! Early in the morning we found sunshine and warmth (OK it was only in the 30’s but it was clear and calm) beaming down on us at Paulet Island among the Adelie penguins followed by a continent landing at Brown Bluff – a virtual “Canyonlands” landscape with Gentoo and Adelie penguins!!! And we even found a snow petrel nest!
Paulet Island is known for having over 150,000 pairs of breeding Adelie penguins, but it is also known for where Captain Larson and 22 Swedish men spent several hard winter months in a makeshift rock hut after their ship, the Antartic was crushed and sank in the sea ice, and the Nordenskjold South Polar Expedition went awry in 1903. MS Endeavour anchored off of Paulet Island in the early morning, and we went ashore to watch the antics of the Adelie penguins (pictured here is an Adelie nesting on the remains of the rock hut). Chicks were hatching out of their eggs, tiny penguin chicks were being fed, parents were switching nesting duties, and pebble gathering and thievery were going on at a furious pace all surrounded by a cacophony of thousands and thousands and thousands of Adelies calling out to their mates and chicks.
Brown Bluff was our afternoon stop on the Antarctic Peninsula. This was a mainland continent landing (the 7th continent for many) at the recently discovered “Dukes/Banks” Adelie colony (population about 10,000 pairs), where there are also a few hundred Gentoos, as well as nesting kelp gulls, snow petrels, pintado petrels and Wilson’s storm petrels. We couldn’t help but laugh at the waddling and head-bobbing behavior of the little tuxedoed birds coming and going along the beach! Just out beyond the icebergs, a hungry leopard seal positioned itself offshore from our landing site, and was seen grabbing a few penguins and eating them right before our eyes! Feathers were flying everywhere, but, hey, I guess they need to eat too. And speaking of eating, I’m off for another fantastic dinner in the dining room. Maybe I’ll see another humpback whale out the window! What a day!
What an amazing day we had today! Early in the morning we found sunshine and warmth (OK it was only in the 30’s but it was clear and calm) beaming down on us at Paulet Island among the Adelie penguins followed by a continent landing at Brown Bluff – a virtual “Canyonlands” landscape with Gentoo and Adelie penguins!!! And we even found a snow petrel nest!
Paulet Island is known for having over 150,000 pairs of breeding Adelie penguins, but it is also known for where Captain Larson and 22 Swedish men spent several hard winter months in a makeshift rock hut after their ship, the Antartic was crushed and sank in the sea ice, and the Nordenskjold South Polar Expedition went awry in 1903. MS Endeavour anchored off of Paulet Island in the early morning, and we went ashore to watch the antics of the Adelie penguins (pictured here is an Adelie nesting on the remains of the rock hut). Chicks were hatching out of their eggs, tiny penguin chicks were being fed, parents were switching nesting duties, and pebble gathering and thievery were going on at a furious pace all surrounded by a cacophony of thousands and thousands and thousands of Adelies calling out to their mates and chicks.
Brown Bluff was our afternoon stop on the Antarctic Peninsula. This was a mainland continent landing (the 7th continent for many) at the recently discovered “Dukes/Banks” Adelie colony (population about 10,000 pairs), where there are also a few hundred Gentoos, as well as nesting kelp gulls, snow petrels, pintado petrels and Wilson’s storm petrels. We couldn’t help but laugh at the waddling and head-bobbing behavior of the little tuxedoed birds coming and going along the beach! Just out beyond the icebergs, a hungry leopard seal positioned itself offshore from our landing site, and was seen grabbing a few penguins and eating them right before our eyes! Feathers were flying everywhere, but, hey, I guess they need to eat too. And speaking of eating, I’m off for another fantastic dinner in the dining room. Maybe I’ll see another humpback whale out the window! What a day!
