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.

At the surface

When at sea in Antarctic waters, this is about as good a photo of a whale I can hope for. It's good enough to identify the subject, but beyond that, there's not much going on. This first picture is of two killer whales, or Orcas. You can tell from the pattern of black and white that Not Only are there killer whales, but they are "type A". There are 3 types of killer whales in the world (A, B, C) and "A" includes Shamu and most of what we hear about in the US. I'll keep looking for a good picture of a "type B" which occur frequently around the Antarctic Peninsula, and "type C" around the Ross Sea. The killer whales are breathtaking, and one of few species of whale I feel confident identifying from a distance. Their dorsal fins are much taller than most things their size, and are the defining feature most of the time. Of course those white eye patches and markings help too if you get closer.

The most common whale around the Antarctic Peninsula, particularly this time of year, is the Humpback Whale. The humpbacks are always fun, and fairly easy to follow and spot. They are probably the only whale I ever have a chance of getting reasonable pictures of, and even then, I've never gotten a picture of their fascinating faces. I like this picture, though, because you can see the white of the belly through the water.

For the photographic record, I think these were taken with the SLR. I tend to lose track though, as I use both it and the point-and-shoot regularly. Of course, I've missed many fantastic shots during my travels, but am always glad simply to have experienced these incredible animals.

Bus to Antarctica

How would you like to take the bus from Washington DC to Antarctica? Well, Andrew Evans did just that on assignment with National Geographic, and is blogging and twittering his experiences. Here he is taking in the sights of the Southern Ocean.


check it out, and think about where Your next bus might take you.

Antarctic Jeopardy

Category: Another Morning in Antarctica
Answer: There are over 3000 at Damoy Point.
Can you guess the winning question?

And, as usual, penguin picture below. This chick may not be the cutest, but it sure was brave!

antarctic rhythms

A windy, gusty day, snow coming at you horizontally. After this past week I am amazed - I could be describing Antarctica or an eastern US town equally well. Well, here instead of steel and glass and brick, I am surrounded by sheer cliffs of rock and ice. Looking out from the cliffs on a clear day, tabular icebergs stretch toward the horizon. Gloomy gray skies reflect back on the waves. Crabeater seals lounge on chunks of sea ice. I swing my backpack onto my shoulders, check the volume on my radio, and hike uphill. Through snow, over lichen-decorated rock, to the penguins. Rocks coated in guano, some days I scarcely notice the smell. The chicks are adorable, or ugly, sitting in the penguin colony, chasing parents with food, slurping down their krill lunch, picking at their molting feathers, getting in trouble with the neighbors. Adults scamper to and from the water in search of food for their chicks, tobogganing up or down the snowy slope, watching me with curiosity, fear, disinterest. Each has its own opinion of my motives. They build their rock nests, even now as they prepare to take to the water and abandon them to the winter. Pick up a rock, add it to the nest. Over and over. A chick mimics, but can't get a good grasp on the pebble. One penguin stretches it neck, waving its wings and calling out in its ecstatic display. Others join in and soon there's a cacophony. On another day a skua flies low overhead, triggering calls of alarm that race through the colony. The skua divebombs me, perhaps its own chicks are nearby. Each day is different - blue skies, gray skies, waters open at one moment may become choked in bits of ice with a change in wind. Penguins porpoising in the water, milling at the edge of the water, squabbling in the colony.

Photo: An Adelie Penguin Colony with adults and chicks; two adults perform ecstatic displays

Lies, All Lies!

I have a new camera. (This is not a lie.) It's fairly nice, for a point and shoot (digital), but it doesn't have a viewfinder. I knew this was going to bother me,but it was a deal otherwise, and very few of the cameras available where I was had viewfinders anyway, so I went for it. My current trip will be a real test.

Also on the downside, its lens doesn't fit into my binoculars - with my old camera, I would use binoculars to up my zoom. This camera does have a better zoom ... but I did like the binocs trick. (Plus, its a great conversation-starter. Still, people with serious cameras & lenses probably thought I was hopeless. I haven't done a lot of testing and am still curious to see how new zoomed & cropped pictures compare to old binoc-zoomed pictures.)

Taking pictures today, I realized the lie to which my title refers. It wasn't intentional. But some people surely think that all my trip pictures have come from this older camera, which was on its last legs about a year ago. And that's a lie. Truth is, access to a digital research camera with much better features allowed me to take some of those great shots on previous trips. So I have to apologize to all of you who thought that my little p&s did all that heavy lifting. Cause I am not that good a photographer.

I am trying to learn some of the advanced features on my new camera, though to be honest I don't yet understand what an "f-stop" value really means. Some of the ways I can adjust settings are different - I already miss my old white-balance controls - but I am sure that if I take the time to learn this camera, it will be a great improvement. I might try sticking to new-camera pictures for awhile on here.

For those of you not interested in picture-taking details - sorry. Especially since I am not even posting a picture with it!! I hope to have more to report on, and a picture or 2 to share, soon!

PS - The sad news I must report is limited hot cocoa availability ... I will have to pick some up myself when I get the chance .. but I did bring chocolatey snacks, and have lots of good food & drink available, so have no fear.

perspectives

Each research trip, each research experience, for me has been unique. This trip is no different, with new things to discover and new perspectives to consider. I mentioned before that I would be helping others out with their work for the second part of my trip, and it's been enlightening to see them in action more closely and to better understand (and appreciate!) what it is they do all day. It also allows me to see the trip through their eyes, and gain a little of their perspective.

Recently we had a farewell party for all those who are headed home soon, like me. Of course it's fun to talk with everyone over good food, drinks and dancing, even if it's not my playlist in the background. It's also fun to see what everyone is like in that environment, which is so different from our day-to-day. While many people are just what you'd expect from them at a party, others can really surprise you. I just think it's neat how different situations bring out such different sides of our personalities.

It's also fun to consider the perspectives of the animals seen down here. Their life histories are so far removed from our own, that it is hard to appreciate why those penguins leap into those heavy waves, or how the wandering albatross (see photo on right) is constantly at sea. We talk about what it would be like to be them, and each pick which life we'd want to experience ourselves. I was recently reminded that these species have typically spent as much time, or more, than we have, adapting to their environment and niche, which they specialize at so well. One cannot look down on them, but just look across, and try to appreciate something so foreign.

So, as I bid farewell to penguins, and start my return trip North, I will be thinking about the new perspectives I've gained on this trip, and what I can learn from them. I hope the trip back to Argentina and on to the States is a calm one. Whatever the weather, I will also be enjoying some simple, yummy brownies I recently acquired. :)

weather

Antarctica has weather. If you ever plan to go, expect at least one day with hurricane-force winds. On each of my trips, I've had at least one day with winds above 100 mph. Naturally, we don't go out in these conditions. We hunker down and take the chance to sort through photos, get some computer work or reading done, recharge batteries (internal & electronic), swap stories, watch from windows, and whatever else you want. It's very interesting to have these days where you are generally either on stand-by or break-mode - you have some freedom to do whatever you want within set confines, though what you generally do want to be doing is unavailable. And we wait for the weather to change.

It does change, of course. I've seen what's described as four seasons in a day. Though often it's all in an afternoon. From sun to clouds to rain to snow and back to sun. Winds picking up and dying down. We've had great days and crummy days, and we do our best with whatever comes. Schedules are reworked and plans are altered. This can be a barren, windswept land - and you know it. It's awe inspiring to be and to work, even for a short time, in such a place.

One can't help but wonder at the seabirds soaring above the southern ocean. For them, these winds are home, and they may even prefer to be swept over the sea by strong gales than to float on the breeze. It's a stark contrast to our own experience with wind and weather, we who came from such tropical climes.

P.S. - I had some yummy cookies today. No brownies, but I'll take it!

antarctic photography

Photography becomes a significant part of being somewhere like Antarctica. Whether documenting the experience or capturing beauty in nature, I like to take pictures. This wonderful world of ice only brings that to the surface. I sometimes feel limited by my equipment, but for the most part, what I have works. My pictures may not be ready for a magazine cover, but those close to me seem to enjoy them anyway. However, what I do miss this trip is video. On this trip, I am unable to record any 'moving pictures', and I miss very much. Because while still images can convey some of the beauty of this area, it is hard to capture the personality in still frames. (Mainly, it's the personalities of wildlife that I wish to cling to.)

For me, here, photographs risk becoming more document than art. This is where I was, this is what I saw. I am often too busy working to have the time, or even patience, to find those shots - pictures that capture amazing perspectives, personalities, or balance. Video fills some of that gap - it is a way to capture personality and experience to take home. Too bad I can't capture these in my way-too-plentiful-to-call-limited supply of pictures - the animals can truly fascinate and delight.

So, I will return to the theme of dirty chicks and give you two gentoos:



And if you want video, go check out that Gentoo escape from Orcas. If you haven't seen it, try http://failblog.org/2008/12/09/pengwin/ (If I were in that boat, I'd want to get the heck outta there, not hang around to see what the orcas did next!)

going for a swim

"Swimming" in Antarctica - it does happen, in a variety of ways. Although for me, the word swim would be quite an exaggeration. I was able to visit Deception Island, which is actually a volcano. It is one of a chain of islands formed by volcanic activity related to tectonic movements along a subduction zone, where the Pacific continental plate is overrun by the Antarctic Plate. The rim of the volcano forms the island, partially covered in glaciers, with a gap in one section. This gap is "Neptune's Bellows" - our entryway to the island, which has allowed seawater to flood the collapsed caldera of the volcano. The volcano was most recently active in the late 1960s and in 1970. Before then, it was once a large whaling station, a central part of Antarctic whaling. Two scientific stations are active on Deception in the summers. Also present are the remains of other stations, destroyed to various degrees by the eruptions.

Along the outside of the Deception Island rim, chinstrap penguins nest in huge numbers. However, no penguins breed on the interior shores of Deception Island. The water at the shoreline can be extremely hot, heated by the volcano. You can sometimes see the steam rising up from the shoreline, along the thin section where water is shallow and the heat isn't diluted by the cold ocean tides. The steam is most prevalent at low tide. At Pendulum Cove, we tried the water out and went for a dip. The shallow water was quite comfotable, though the water temperature dropped quickly around a depth of 16-18 inches, quite near the shore. In essence, I waded in the waters, and sat down in shallow water to let the waves wash up over me. And now, I have truly immersed myself in the Antarctic Waters. Considering it is Superbowl Sunday, I decided to show my allegiance from this distant part of the world.

The work has gone smoothly, and the wonders of Antarctica are all around. I'm having a wonderful trip, and hope everyone at home is doing well.

Penguins!

Meeting thousands of penguin chicks is such fun. They are adorable creatures, from the very young ones that are barely visible underneath the parents, to the now-molting juveniles wandering about the colony, soon to take to the sea. Each year, some penguin colonies do better than others. Some places, skuas seem to have eaten many penguin eggs. Other places, there are a lot of empty nests, or parents sitting on the eggs far later in the season than they'll be able to raise any resulting chicks. Yet there are always sites where there are plentiful chicks, who all seem fat & happy, congregating around the nest or with others in the colony. Sometimes their bellies are near white and they are easily distinguished. Other times, the chicks are coated in mud & guano, like the chinstrap penguin chick pictured to the right. No matter what, I can't get enough of their antics. Whether they are ganging up with a parent on intruders or running away from a nearby skua, they are truly a delight.

the start of an antarctic day

This morning, I thought about the routines and rituals down here that are so different from home. My room is completely dark when the lights are out, and so while I sleep like a rock, I sometimes have to really convince myself to roll out of bed in the morning. If I wake up early enough, I enjoy some cocoa before breakfast. Breakfast is buffet syle here ... and so far I've been very good about avoiding the bacon, which sometimes beckons me. I generally start my days down here with oatmeal with dried fruit, eggs (scrambled or omelet, whatever's available) and more and more often, yogurt. It's so much more breakfast than I have at home - but of course, the days down here are generally quite long and very active, and we spend so much time out in the cold. It's a great start to the day, and usually there's time to sit and chat with people before we head out to work.

I'm almost done with data collection for this trip, and then I'll get to enjoy a little break - although I expect to still be put to work wherever someone is needed. By now my room smells pretty obviously like guano, and I'm hoping to be able to clean out the gear and equipment, and freshen the place up a bit in the next few days! Much though we love the smell of Antarctic summer, it would be nice not to have the smell wafting down the hall for everyone to enjoy.


It's been a great trip so far, and if you ask me, we've gotten a lot of excellent work done. We've also seen a lot, and I hope to write more about it all in the next few days. I'll close by including this photo of an iceberg I saw the other day, in honor of the snow & ice I've heard is piling up at home. =) Hope you are staying warm!

back in antarctica

What an amazing place. I am doing really well, and keeping very busy! It seems like there is hardly time to keep up with everything going on here, let alone with things back home. I'm happy to report I'm doing my part to share chocolate with this corner of the world. But not with penguins ... it's probably not good for them. (Ooh, maybe we need to do a study.) The penguins continue to do well. This time of year means lots of penguin chicks running around! Well, some are running around; others are still staying pretty close to mom or dad. The photo is of a gentoo penguin and its chick. I have seen chicks ranging from about one day old to over a month old and molting into swimming feathers. This means lots of work for me. Along with the penguins, Antarctic Fur Seals & Leopard Seals abound.

Earlier this week (what day is it?) we had some rain & snow showers. Today we have had just beautiful weather. I even left off my standard layer of fleece for this morning's work, and did just fine. I think I was starting to get dehydrated yesterday, since it's so easy to forget about in this kind of climate. Now I am paying a little more attention!

I am, of course, taking lots of great pictures. Well, lots of pictures at least. My big storage memory card for my camera seems to be having a few hiccups, so I am trying to be doubly sure that everything is backed up! I just came in from the cold and am warming up with cocoa. We'll be headed back out for another round in about an hour. I hope you are all keeping warm and snug!

crossing the drake

January 24
Reunited with my luggage at the last minute (that last post was not a hypothetical), all's going well down here. It's a beautifully calm day to continue South across the Drake Passage. The low winds also means few birds, which is alright with me. Much though I enjoy the birds (this morning I saw Wandering & Black-browed albatross, southern giant petrels, and for mammals, hourglass dolphins). I've felt the action of the open ocean a time or two, but mostly the day has been just fine. I'm looking forward to Antarctica. I brought some brownies with me for the trip down, but otherwise it's been other kinds of goodies - wine, cheese empanadas, and the like. Yum. It's fun to be back in this world, getting to know some more people who devote pieces of their lives to this crazy place. And now, it's time for a little reading.

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

North

Just as I've begun to feel I have my routine down pat, as I get a feel for what is really going on in penguin colonies, I know I must wrap up my first Antarctic adventure. I will be happy to come home, and resume my more usual routines. I've missed family and friends, and can't wait to share my stories. Even so, it is hard to leave such a wonderful place. I know I can't fully describe my time here. My last day in Antarctica (for this trip) was great, finishing up my share of field work, connecting with other researchers on my project and others, and getting a chance to simply take in the surroundings - as well as a few [dozen] photos. The rolling seas and 30+ knot winds of the Drake Passage, though allowing us safe and fairly smooth travels, have us looking forward to the more sheltered waters ahead. We know that from here on out we are merely headed home, and look forward to the end of the journey. Soon I will be back in South America and on my way. Hasta luego!

Gentoos

Saturday. Well, today was pretty busy and fairly routine. Surveys on a few different groups, a few different places. A fair amount of slogging through deep snow. Actually, it reminded me of how top-heavy my backpack is - well, the small zip pockets are all at the top - the rest is just one big space - so most of the stuff I want easy access to is up top. Don't think that'll change, but it does make me wonder ow I could improve it. Today had rapidly changing weather, from sun to snow and back to sun, the edge of the storm cloud slicing across the sky like the blade of a knife. (Now accepting better analogies. Similes? Sorry, my brain is tired.) Some really nice weather here and there, lighting up the white of the snow, the blue of the iceberg, the red of the gentoo's beak.

Today's penguin time was split between Adelies and Gentoos, so perhaps it's appropriate that I follow up on my last post and say a word about the gentoos. Like the adelies (and chinstraps), they are "brush-tailed" penguins. They are the northernmost of the brush-tailed penguins, and can be recognized by white markings above their eyes, and very red beaks. As the northernmost of the group, the gentoos are having basically the opposite response from the adelies to the changing climate - they are the ones benefitting from warmer winters and less pack ice. They seem to be popping up in new places, slowly spreading south, and doing pretty well in this part of the world. Watching them swim along the shore is always a fun pastime, when we get the rare chance to enjoy it. Still taking lots of pictures. Already have too many, really. But I've also already had to pick out my favorites so far. We had a traditional Patagonian dinner the other night, which was a lot of fun.

Sipping cocoa as usual (NOT my first cup today), and glancing out from time to time at the conditions. I never know what I'll see when I look out the window. I hope things are looking good out your windows tonight.

UPDATE - If you've been looking for DERs / Daily Expedition Reports in the link to the right, they are now being posted!

Getting started

On my last research trip, I "blogged" on a personal website, editing html and loading files by FTP when I had computer and internet available. I liked being able to keep in touch with friends, and let them know what I was up to. It worked well at the time, but my next trip's IT will not be as flexible, so I set up this blog with the hope that I'll be able to make quick updates.

This time, I am headed to Antarctica. It's summer there, so it'll be warm, right? (I realized today it will be my first trip south of the equator. I've crossed the Tropic of Cancer twice ... but I had to look at a few maps to verify that.) It will be a remarkable short trip, with longer trips expected sometime in the future. I leave in a week, I've gotten the new memory card for the camera ... so it's time to pack up the wool sweaters and long underwear, and try to memorize the markings to ID birds, whales, and other wildlife. I've added some links for Antarctic research and tourism on the right for those interested.