Antarctica, The Falklands & South Georgia

November/December 2005

Derek Scott

A trip to the Southern Oceans and Antarctica is always a wonderful experience, whatever the weather, but this year we were extremely fortunate, with unusually calm conditions almost throughout. The Professor Multanovskiy, with her ice-breaking capability and superb Russian crew, was the ideal ship for our journey, and the extremely competent Quark Expeditions leader and his enthusiastic team made every effort to ensure that we saw as many of the splendours and as much of the wildlife as was possible in our 18 days on board. Thanks to the fine weather and enthusiasm of our expedition leader, we were able to make a total of eighteen landings and two zodiac cruises, while our friendly Captain was always ready to make a detour to bring us close to feeding whales, circle an iceberg, or catch a sunset. We made our landing on the Antarctic continent at Neko Harbour, and because of the low ice conditions, were able to penetrate south through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island at over 65 degrees South. The only landings that we had to abandon were in the South Orkneys (surrounded by pack ice) and at Elephant Island and Penguin Island in the South Shetlands, during our one period of bad weather. For many of us, ‘sea-watching’ from the Multanovskiy was one of the main highlights of the trip. The long hours spent on the upper deck and bridge were rewarded with great views of several scarce petrels and many sightings of whales, not to mention countless amazing icebergs. Our four landings in the Falklands produced all the special birds of these islands, while a landing on Prion Island in South Georgia yielded the South Georgia Pipit – a must for any serious birder visiting these parts. But for many of us, it was surely the many close encounters with penguins and albatrosses at their breeding colonies that provided us with our most enduring memories.

For those of us who began our journey in London, the birding started with a brief visit to the Costanera Sur wetland reserve in Buenos Aires, as we waited for our connecting flight to Ushuaia. It was a Sunday morning and extremely hot; there were hundreds of Buenos Aireans out taking the air, and yet the birding was fantastic. Within the space of a couple of hours, we had seen over 60 species including a wide assortment of herons, ducks and waders. Highlights included Whistling Heron, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-necked and Coscoroba Swans, Red Shoveler, Rosy-billed Pochard and about 60 Black-headed Ducks, as well as a couple of Stilt Sandpipers and at least 100 Wilson’s Phalaropes. The flight down to Ushuaia was uneventful, and we arrived at our hotel in time for dinner and a good night’s rest.

Quark Expeditions had arranged a visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park the next morning, and so after a leisurely breakfast, we boarded a coach with our fellow travellers and drove the few kilometres west to the park. Despite the large size of the group and the shortage of time, we managed to pick up a good selection of birds including Great Grebe, Black-faced Ibis, Ashy-headed Goose, Flying and Flightless Steamer-Ducks, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Austral Parakeet, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Fire-eyed Diucon, Austral Negrito, Patagonian Sierra-Finch and Austral Blackbird. An Andean Condor gave us tantalising views as it drifted away towards a distant peak. Later, after an excellent ‘asado’ lunch at a restaurant just west of the town, we managed to get in another hour’s birding by the bay and found more Ashy-headed Geese, both Black and Magellanic Oystercatchers, a Baird’s Sandpiper along with a few White-rumped Sandpipers, and a Bar-winged Cinclodes. After a last minute shop in town, we finally boarded the Professor Multanovskiy at 4 p.m. and by 6.30 p.m. we were off, cruising east down the Beagle Channel. The sea-watching was excellent, and despite having to break off for the obligatory life-boat drill and dinner, our evening’s tally included 250 Magellanic Penguins, 500 Black-browed Albatrosses, 40 Common Giant-Petrels, 30 Magellanic Diving-Petrels and about 30 Chilean Skuas.

Our full day at sea en route to the Falkland Islands was the first of many great sea-watching days, with always at least a few of us out on deck from dawn to dusk – barring, of course, meal-times. (The food was excellent, but so also were the appetites of the hardy sea-watchers, and thus one did not skip a meal unless absolutely necessary!). The day began within sight of Staten Island and huge numbers of Sooty Shearwaters. There were plenty of Black-browed Albatrosses and Common Giant-Petrels in the wake, and we quickly became acquainted with Southern Fulmar, Pintado Petrel, White-chinned Petrel and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel – species that were to accompany us for much of the cruise. Slender-billed Prions were common, and our first great albatrosses appeared: four Southern Royal, a Northern Royal and a lone Wandering. And this day also produced our first whales – a Sei Whale that allowed close approach and two less obliging Fin Whales.
Our first landing came early the next morning at New Island in West Falkland. Here, a short walk through the grassland brought us to a mixed colony of Black-browed Albatrosses, Rockhopper Penguins and Imperial Shags. Brown Skuas were patrolling over the colony in search of easy pickings, and nearby we found our first pair of Ruddy-headed Geese amongst the many Upland Geese, as well as several very tame Striated Caracaras. The limited selection of passerines included Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant, Austral Thrush, Correndera Pipit and Long-tailed Meadowlark. Down by the shore, there was as a lone Gentoo Penguin and our first of many Falkland Steamer-Ducks. Later that morning, as we cruised north towards West Point Island, we encountered our first Common Diving-Petrels. Our landing at West Point gave us another opportunity to study nesting Rockhopper Penguins and Black-browed Albatrosses at close quarters, and also produced a couple of Variable Hawks, many more Striated Caracaras, a couple of Grass Wrens and several small parties of Black-chinned Siskins. The owners of the island had laid on a sumptuous tea at their farmhouse, and this was much appreciated. It was here that we had our best views of dolphins: three elegant Peale’s Dolphins playing around the zodiacs as we came in to land, and two striking, black and white Commerson’s Dolphins playing with us as we left. Our third landing of the day was at nearby Carcass Island – a rat-free island with excellent stands of tussock grass and home to two of the Falklands’ special birds, Blackish Cinclodes (Tussockbird) and Cobb’s Wren. It was a beautiful sunny evening as we approached the landing site in Dyke’s Cove, and even before we had stepped out of the zodiacs, we could see the cinclodes running about on the beach. Several Cobb’s Wrens were soon spotted in the tide wrack, and in nearby grassy areas, we found several pretty little White-bridled Finches. All the birds were extraordinarily tame – even the Magellanic Oystercatchers – and in the fine evening light, photo opportunities were outstanding. An overnight sailing found us off East Falkland at dawn. The early risers were rewarded with a single Great Shearwater amongst the hundreds of Sooties, then soon after breakfast, we berthed in Port Stanley. We had arranged for a bus to meet us at the pier and were soon heading off in search of waders. Our first stop at Surf Bay produced a couple of Two-banded Plovers and, a little farther on, we found two pairs of smart Rufous-chested Dotterels and several South American Snipe, as well as a Silver Teal with some Speckled Teal. We ended our brief excursion with a visit to Gypsy Cover, where there were nesting Magellanic Penguins and a flock of Brown-hooded Gulls, and then returned to Stanley for a stroll around town and a pub lunch at The Globe. Returning to the ship after lunch, we set sail in mid-afternoon, and by evening were heading south-east into the open ocean towards South Georgia. The day ended with some great sea-watching from the deck: our first Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses and Hall’s Giant Petrel, an Atlantic Petrel, five Grey-backed Storm-Petrels, all three great albatrosses, two more Sei Whales, two distant Humpbacks and our first Hourglass Dolphins.

Our next two days at sea provided some of the best sea-watching of the trip. Albatrosses were almost permanent companions, and included our first Grey-headed, along with good numbers of Southern Royal and Wandering. In the warmer waters north of the Antarctic Convergence, we recorded no less than 35 Soft-plumaged Petrels and six more Atlantic Petrels, while on our second day, south of the Convergence, Antarctic Prions appeared in abundance, and we found our first elegant Snow Petrels and smart Blue Petrels. Black-bellied Storm-Petrels appeared quite commonly amongst the ubiquitous Wilson’s, and we spotted more Common Diving-Petrels. The whale-watching was also superb: a huge school of Long-finned Pilot Whales and a lone Southern Right Whale gave prolonged views at very close range; Hourglass Dolphins rode the bow wave on several occasions; a pod of four Killer Whales dashed by; and a small group of elusive Gray’s Beaked Whales surfaced just ahead of us. And then, as we came to the South Georgia ridge, the Captain took us on a short detour around Shag Rocks which were literally covered in South Georgia Shags.

We spent the next four days cruising the spectacular north coast of South Georgia, and making a succession of landings at some of the most impressive sea-bird colonies. We began at Elsehul, near the western tip of the main island, where there were large breeding colonies of Macaroni Penguins and Grey-headed Albatrosses, along with smaller numbers of Black-browed and Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses. Antarctic Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals crowded the beaches (as they did at virtually all of our landing sites in South Georgia), and we found our first Yellow-billed Pintails of the distinctive South Georgia race and our first inquisitive Pale-faced Sheathbills. At Right Whale Bay, we had our first close encounters with King Penguins at a relatively small breeding colony, and then at Salisbury Plain, the next morning, we were treated to the spectacle of some 25,000 King Penguins and their chocolate-coloured chicks at one of the larger colonies. On nearby Prion Island, our attention was divided between the huge Wandering Albatrosses at their nests and the diminutive South Georgia Pipits scurrying about in the tussock grass. Here also we found nesting Southern Giant-Petrels. That evening at Fortuna Bay, we found a large breeding colony of Antarctic Terns and saw our first herds of the introduced Reindeer.

Our third day in South Georgia began with a zodiac cruise in Hercules Bay, where we had great opportunities to photograph Macaroni Penguins on the rocks below their colony. Then, as we made our way from Hercules Bay to Grytviken, the Captain took us on a scenic cruise through Stromness Bay, passing close by to the old whaling stations at Leith Harbour, Stromness and Husvik. Our first port of call at Grytviken was, of course, Shackleton’s grave, and here we gathered to drink a toast to his memory and reflect on his epic achievement. We then had plenty of time to explore the remains of the old whaling station and visit the museum and post office before rounding off the day with a barbecue on deck.

We began our final day in South Georgia with a landing at St Andrew’s Bay, home to the largest King Penguin colony on the island. The sight of over 100,000 adult penguins and their chicks blanketing the beach and slopes behind was quite staggering, while the noise and the smell were something else! A lone Adelie Penguin provided an interesting diversion as it scampered along the beach, seemingly conscious of the fact that it was in the wrong place. From here it was a three-hour cruise to our final landing site in South Georgia, at Cooper Bay near the extreme south-eastern tip of the island. This was home to another colony of Macaroni Penguins, but here we were able to climb up through the tussock grass to the edge of the colony and admire the birds at really close quarters. As we bade farewell to South Georgia and rounded Cape Disappointment into the Scotia Sea, little parties of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins porpoised through the water alongside us, Wandering Albatrosses reappeared in our wake, Antarctic Prions and Blue Petrels appeared in abundance, and at least 50 South Georgia Diving-Petrels fluttered up from the water in front of us.

Our next three days were spent at sea, as we cruised south-west across the Scotia Sea towards the South Orkneys and then the South Shetlands. Our plans to land in the South Orkneys were thwarted by the pack ice, which extended over 30 nautical miles north of the islands, but the weather was glorious and we had some great fun breaking through fingers of the pack ice as we sought a way west. Several smart Antarctic Petrels flew over from the pack ice to investigate the ship, and a pod of four Southern Bottlenose Whales surfaced close ahead. Our plans to land at Elephant Island the next day were also thwarted, but this time by rough seas as we ran into our only bad weather of the trip. It was still blowing a gale the next morning as we entered the Bransfield Strait, and breakfast was something of a hit or miss affair. Our planned landing at Penguin Island had to be abandoned, but fortunately the storm was short-lived, and by mid-morning, the seas had subsided, and after an early lunch, we were able to land at Half Moon Island, off the east coast of Livingston in the South Shetlands. Here we found breeding colonies of Chinstrap Penguins and Antarctic Shags, another three Adelie Penguins, some very obliging South Polar Skuas (along with Brown Skuas for comparison), and our first Weddell Seals. By evening, the wind had died down completely, and we had a calm passage through Neptune’s Bellows into the flooded caldera of Deception Island. We landed at Whaler’s Bay, and had a pleasant stroll amongst the ruins of the whaling station and along the beach to the caldera rim. Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were fluttering about over the boulder slopes, Pintado Petrels were nesting on the cliff ledges, and there were two Leopard Seals on the beach, but although it was a fine evening, no-one could be tempted to go for a swim in the icy waters! As we left Deception, the Captain took us on another detour, this time to circumnavigate a couple of icebergs covered in Chinstrap Penguins – an amazing sight! The surface of the sea was now almost like a mill pond; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and those of us who remained on the bridge to watch the sunset later that evening were rewarded with that elusive spectacle of the ‘green flash’, as the last sliver of the sun dipped below the horizon. By early next morning, we had entered the Gerlache Strait between Brabant Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. The scenery was spectacular, and as we cruised farther south through the narrow Errera Channel, it got better and better. Gentoo Penguins and Antarctic Shags were nesting on the snow-free slopes, South Polar Skuas harried the Antarctic Terns, Wilson’s Storm-Petrels skipped over the water, and Crabeater Seals loafed on ice flows. We finally set foot on the continent at Neko Harbour, where there was a small colony of Gentoo Penguins around a refuge hut. We enjoyed more splendid scenery that afternoon as we crossed the Gerlache Strait and cruised down the narrow Neumayer Channel to Port Lockroy, a British research base still unmanned at this season. The small museum, however, was open to visitors, and here we could learn something of the way of life of the early Antarctic researchers, surrounded by nesting Gentoo Penguins. From here, it was only a short cruise through the Peltier Channel to South Bay on the south side of Doumer Island where we took a short cruise in the zodiacs and anchored for the night.

Our final day in Antarctica was a calm, sunny day with crystal-clear air – a day of pure magic, as we slipped quietly through the Lemaire Channel and Penola Strait amidst some of the finest scenery in Antarctica. Our destination was Petermann Island where, at 65º10’06’’ South, we reached our southernmost limit. Here at last we came face to face with nesting Adelie Penguins – surely one of the most endearing of the penguins! We were warmly received by three research biologists, camped on the island for the summer, and told how global warming was forcing the krill-dependent Adelies to retreat southwards, while the more opportunistic Gentoos were extending their range. It was with some sadness that we turned away from Petermann in late morning and began our long journey home. But we still had one more landing in store – at Useful Island in the Gerlache Strait. Here we spent a happy hour amongst the penguins and the seals, the shags and the sheathbills, and the skuas and the terns, before turning our tags for the last time and heading north for the Drake Passage. We paused briefly off the Melchior Islands to ‘swap’ supplies with a sister ship, and then, as we entered the Drake Passage, we finally came across a close group of Antarctic Minke Whales – our ninth whale of the trip.

Our two days in the Drake Passage were something of a disappointment for those of us who would have liked to experience one of those violent storms for which this region is notorious, but the rest of us were happy enough to enjoy the almost balmy conditions. The sea-watching was excellent, with another five Antarctic Petrels south of the Convergence, a Shy Albatross in the north, and exceptional views of a group of resting Humpback Whales. We had approached to within 3.5 nautical miles of Cape Horn before the Chilean authorities politely reminded us that there was a 12-mile limit, and then, as we turned north-east towards the entrance to the Beagle Channel, we passed through some enormous concentrations of Sooty Shearwaters amongst which there was a single Little Shearwater. Because of the fine weather, we had made good time and were able to spend much of the night at anchor off Picton Island in the Beagle Channel.

We docked in Ushuaia during breakfast the next morning, and then, after saying our final farewells to the Professor Multanovskiy and her crew, we were suddenly back on land and in the hustle and bustle of the ‘civilised’ world. With a few hours to kill before our flight to Buenos Aires, some of us commandeered a small fleet of taxis and headed out to the municipal rubbish dump to look for White-throated Caracaras. This was a bit of a come-down from the Lemaire Channel, but the caracaras were easy to find, and we had an unexpected bonus in the form of a superb adult Andean Condor soaring low overhead: a very nice bird with which to round off the trip. As we headed our separate ways from Ushuaia and Buenos Aires, we could part cheerfully in the simple knowledge that this had been a truly great adventure ‘down south’.