Since we enjoyed favorable weather both ways through the Drake Passage, we arrived a bit early to Antarctica and were allowed to linger a bit later on the way out. So, we had a bit of extra time to enjoy the scenery and wildlife that this harsh environment had to offer. Our time in Antarctica, which I'm defining as the continental shelf waters which begin near the South Shetland Islands, spanned from Dec 3-8.
Temperatures predictably dropped as we progressed further south, and our approach to the South Shetlands was met with fierce snow and wind. Our inbound island stop was Deception Island, which appears to be a normal rocky island from a distance, but in reality is a flooded active volcanic caldera. The caldera's center is sheltered from the high seas, which made it an ideal destination on a day like today. We were able to deploy the zodiacs and make our first landing! This seemed an appropriate way to be greeted by Antarctica, what with the horizonal snow and all. Even the penguins were happy to wait it out.
 |
| a snowed-in Gentoo Penguin |
 |
| Chinstrap Penguin |
 |
| one is not happy with the other |
 |
| abandoned structures on Deception Island |
The waters around the South Shetlands held several of the same Drake Passage tubenoses, but we started to come across penguins again. Here three species are common: ADELIE, CHINSTRAP, and GENTOO. The Chinstraps preferred the South Shetlands, the Adelies dominated the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Gentoos were evenly distributed throughout.
 |
| Adelie (right) with Chinstrap |
 |
| Chinstrap Penguin |
 |
| Gentoo Penguins |
From the South Shetlands we steamed eastward, rounded the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, and turned south into the Weddell Sea. The forecast called for lots of ice, and that's exactly what we encountered. We spent the better part of four days working the Weddell ice floes in an attempt to creep as far south as we could without trapping ourselves. The Ortelius is capable of pushing some ice but cannot break through the thick stuff. We never did get ourselves close enough to the Emperor Penguin colony to take the choppers there, but we did enjoy a couple scenic flights for our troubles.
 |
| an informative lecture series covered subjects such as ice, birds, mammals, history, conservation, and daily progress updates |
This was my first time in a helicopter. Our team of Chilean pilots really knew how to have fun. Safety was paramount of course, but they took us impressively close to some massive icebergs. It was a bit of a thrill! As a bonus we spied a couple pods of Orcas from our birds-eye view.
 |
| the crew got to have some fun too! |
 |
| Orcas swimming in the waters below us |
Seeing pods of these Killer Whales from the sky was cool, but this was nothing compared to the show they put on for us the morning of December 7th. The Orcas that reside here are Type B2, AKA Small Type 2. They primarily predate upon penguins, especially Gentoos. They are not starkly black-and-white. Rather, they are gray-bodied with off-white to yellowish patches, a coloration that is caused by diatoms on their skin.
We awoke to multiple small pods of these animals actively hunting (and catching!) Gentoo Penguins. The video below shows one of the hunts basically from start to finish. Perhaps not for the squeamish! Even those who had difficulty stomaching the drama were aware of how lucky we were to witness this behavior, and at such close range.
 |
| Orcas in pursuit of an unlucky Gentoo Penguin |
In Antarctica, bird diversity is, as you'd expect, quite low. But the quality is fantastic, and those species that do thrive in that environment can be quite abundant. No species seems more at home on the ice of the Weddell Sea than Adelie Penguins. They were everywhere in numbers. By the end of the trip they had become my favorite penguin species of the expedition primarily due to their playful and inquisitive nature. Anywhere we went we were met by an Adelie welcoming committee.
 |
| Adelie Penguins |
Of course our voyage specifically targeted the most difficult penguin of them all, the EMPEROR. Since we were unable to reach the breeding colony, we had to work for them. On the evening of the 4th, while scoping distant ice floes from the top deck, I spotted one on ice next to a few Adelies. The size difference was quite striking; way more significant than I had imagined. These things are huge! Unfortunately the bird soon slipped into the water and was not seen by more than a few of us, and poorly at that.
We'd have to wait two days for our second and final sighting. Jess, one of the Oceanwide crew, spotted an adult Emperor. The captain brilliantly approached the ice and allowed us to drift quite close so that everyone on board, even those without optics, could appreciate the bird. After several minutes of watching, the Emperor dropped into the water and disappeared. Everyone onboard was thrilled, and I think the crew felt some relief that we did finally connect with our biggest animal target of the journey.
 |
| Emperor Penguin with the much smaller Adelie |
The flying birdlife of the eastern Peninsula and the Weddell Sea was pretty consistent from day to day. PINTADO PETRELS, WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS and SOUTHERN GIANT-PETRELS were the most common species and were always around in some capacity.
 |
| Pintado Petrels |
 |
| Southern Giant-Petrels of various flavors |
After a lifetime of associating Wilson's Stormies with summer heat, it was a bit disorienting to watch them so comfortably fly over vast stretches of ice, presumably commuting to and from nesting sites. What a hardy and versatile species. Of all the long-distance bird migrations in the world, I think they're among the most impressive.
 |
| Wilson's Storm-Petrels |
Staff noted that we were seeing an abnormally high number of Southern Giant-Petrels in the Weddell Sea. They hypothesized the reason for that was an apparent die-off of CRABEATER SEALS, likely the product of avian influenza. In fact, I only saw one live Crabeater the entire time. The rest were dead and being consumed by giant-petrels.
 |
| dead Crabeater Seal being scavenged by a Southern Giant-Petrel |
The WEDDELL SEALS, on the other hand, seemed to be alive and well!
 |
| Weddell Seals |
One of the iconic Antarctic seabirds is the SNOW PETREL. Their plumage is all white with contrasting black bill, eyes, and legs. To be honest, though not close relatives, they recall Ivory Gulls of the high arctic. They even have a similar dove-like vibe with their pot bellies and smallish heads. The beady black eyes and short, sturdy black legs are also quite similar to one another. They both live in icy polar environments and combine taking live prey with scavenging. Perhaps a bit of convergent evolution there?
The Snow Petrels were mostly scattered in ones and twos, often paired up. Though we did see a few small groups. They were easy to pick out against a gray sky or dark sea, but disappeared against the snow and icebergs. Camera autofocus had no clue what to do in the latter case.
 |
| can you see it?? |
 |
| Snow Petrel, in habitat |
Right up there with Emperor Penguin in the "don't go home without them" department was ANTARCTIC PETREL. I was lucky enough to see at least a half-dozen of these tubenoses that superficially resemble the Pintados. Compared to those, the pattern of dark-and-white on the upperside is different. And the dark coloration is more brown than black. Our views of these petrels were quite satisfying, as they seemed to be attracted to the ship. One pair even hung around, mostly flying back and forth overhead, for a solid half hour. This high-flying behavior was more gull or skua-like.
 |
| Antarctic Petrels |
Speaking of, the skua situation in Antarctica is infamously confusing. Both SOUTH POLAR and BROWN SKUAS breed there, with hybridization occurring, possibly at a high rate. To be honest, I found most skuas that were seen well rather straightforward to ID to species. If there were any hybrids (odds are there were several), I couldn't tell by looking at them. I was pretty happy to stick labels to about half. The final tally was 7 South Polar, 4 Brown, and 11 unidentified (many of those were too far to assess).
 |
| South Polar Skuas |
One species not so difficult to ID is the SNOWY SHEATHBILL. Another white bird of the snow and ice, this one is a true scavenger. They are also very curious and regularly land on ships, perhaps looking for handouts.
 |
| Snowy Sheathbill |
IMPERIAL CORMORANTS were present near land masses where they presumably nest.
 |
| Imperial Cormorant |
Gull and tern diversity was low, which made for easy identification! Just one species each. KELP GULL is a surprisingly widespread southern hemisphere species with lots of variation between populations. We had only one tern species around Antarctica proper, the well-named ANTARCTIC TERN. One bird in particular put on a bit of a show feeding right next to one of our Zodiacs.
 |
| Antarctic Tern |
After several days in the Weddell Sea, it was time to head back towards port in Ushuaia, a journey that would take a few days in itself. On our way out we made landfall at Half Moon Island in the South Shetlands to spend some quality time with CHINSTRAP PENGUINS. The mammal highlight here was a lone SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL.
 |
| Chinstrap Penguin |
 |
| Chinstrap Penguin |
 |
| Southern Elephant Seal |
Our final tally for the actual cruise itself was 37 bird species (16 lifers) and 11 mammals (8 lifers). So many highlights. The scenery was always captivating. I took more photos of ice than I ever thought was possible. I could watch Snow Petrels all day. We both feel extremely lucky and grateful to have been able to do this. I walked away with all of the classic Antarctic peninsula bird species. As far as "misses" go, a surprise Kerguelen or Soft-plumaged Petrel in the Drake would have been great, or the increasingly rare Beagle Channel Magellanic Diving-Petrel. But none of those are Antarctic specialties and would have taken some extra luck to see. I look forward to my next time in the Southern Ocean, and particularly would love to visit the Falklands and South Georgia someday. If that happens, I'll be sure to fit in a hike for White-bellied Seedsnipe on the mainland.
Until next time!
- Nick
Comments
Post a Comment