The gentle Gentoo

Continuing the penguin video party, here are some videos of Gentoo penguins.

First, adult Gentoos climb up to a breeding colony - clean white bellies should be full after a trip to sea feeding. Now they are probably on their way to feed chicks:



Here, two chicks chase an adult, hoping for a meal.



And now one chick succeeds, getting fed by the adult - although another adult apparently wants them to have some privacy!

More Adelie Penguins!

I am not well-versed in video editing or posting. Since I'm having trouble uploading video elsewhere, I'm going to post some of my penguin videos here instead. For starters, more Adelie penguins!

A look into a colony - it's late in the breeding season, and the rocks are pink with penguin guano. Molting chicks stretch their wings while a parent checks me out. You can tell the chicks from their down-like feathers, which they're molting out of, and their white chins.


Adelie parents are very busy once their chicks hatch, going to sea to feed on krill and bring food back to their young. Since they lay two eggs, successful Adelie pairs are busy trying to raise two chicks. Here is a parent feeding a chick - the chick is already molting into its adult feathers - see the sleek white & black swimming feathrs, compared to the patches of fluffy down-like chick feathers?


MMM Krill! Hope you enjoyed the Adelies - I'll be posting more video in the next week.

Rocks

Brush-tailed penguins (the Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguin) love rocks. They collect rocks, they steal rocks, they Obsess ... over rocks. Because for these penguins, rocks are safety and security. Rocks are the currency of these penguin colonies. (I won't get into the varying stories of what may or may not be exchanged for rocks .... wouldn't want to pass on hearsay). Rocks are the building blocks of the penguins' nests. They help keep the precious eggs safe and dry as the snowmelt streams trickle down the slopes of penguin colonies in the Antarctic summer.



Here is an Adelie Penguin with a rock. It's got a small pile of rocks collected - it's building a nest. Never mind those molting penguin chicks in the background, which should serve as reminders to this chap that the summer season is coming to an end, and it's no time to be trying to gather rocks and start a nest. Still, many (inexperienced?) penguins are still collecting rocks, stealing them from neighboring nests, lovingly hauling them from whatever source they've found for themselves.

belated pictures

Here are some pictures ....


Everything is rock and ice...

and wildlife.

I mostly saw Gentoo penguins (left), but the
Adelie penguins (above) were probably my favorite.

Left to Right:
I also saw Chinstrap penguins, Snowy Sheathbills, and So. Elephant Seals