12/14/2022 Land Ho!                                       The South Shetland Islands







The penguin rookeries own this island.


The Gentoo Penguins






The Chinstrap Penguins


howling a warning



Dejected or asleep?


Nasty Skua kidnapped a baby penguin 
and slammed it on the ground until it died.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
12/18/2022 Whalers Bay, Half Moon Island, Deception Island, Neptunes Window, and the Polar Plunge  Neptune's Window from the ship. Neptune's Window from our landing. (We are the dots showing in red.)   Old machinery was used to extract whale oil  from the dead animals.   Remnants of some serious fixer-uppers where whalers lived. Partial whale spine (above)  and the scapula shoulder blade (below). Our march to the polar plunge entrance. Brrr...Approximate water temperature 32F. Air/wind temperature is approximately -22 F. Vicki's facial expression says it all. I had "nipples erectus," or as my sister, Mary would say,  "The girls had their party hats on."
Read more
Image
12/19/2022  The Drake Passage Redux          Drake Lake or Drake Shake?   Our Illustrious Expedition Crew Much to our dismay, we had to adjust the program for our return due to the rough seas, courtesy of the Drake Passage storm.   However, once Claudia explained the radar information and the decision to be on our way with the projections below, we were literally and metaphorically onboard and grateful immediately. (Above and below) The purple and dark blue areas represent  46-69 MPH wind speeds, respectively. We are just entering the Passage in the lower right corner. A massive, more dangerous storm is approaching  our starboard side. To avoid horrific seas, the expedition team and the captain adjusted the program,  told us to batten down the hatches,  and insert the long rods to prevent our drawers  from sliding inside our cabins. Then we had to hightail it, entering the Passage,  hoping for the best....
Read more
Image
12/16/2022  Argentine and Yalour Islands A Banner Day for Wildlife Sightings  I was in the morning's first zodiac to the Argentine and Yalour Islands and feeling a little disappointed with my photography up to this point. Suddenly Duane, the expedition team member guiding the zodiac behind us, radioed that a leopard seal was showing off close by. I was ecstatic when I downloaded this photo! Not only one kind of seal, but our first sighting of the Weddell Seal napping on the ice shelf above a new species of penguins - the Adelies. Taking a leap. Back on board the ship for lunch we learned whales were following our ship. The previous photos of the Humpback Whale were taken from the deck.
Read more