Nov 4, 2019, We are in our field camp at Cape Royds and the new season has started.

Oct 18, 2018, We have arrived at McMurdo research station to begin a new year of adventures with penguins

An iceberg has come by Cape Royds. We don't see them very often and certainly not as beautiful as this one. These big chunks of ice break off the Ross Iceshelf or other glaciers that come off the land onto the ocean. This is fresh water and made from 1000's of years of snowfall. 80% of it underneath the water, similar to an ice cube floating in your glass of water.

Orca off the ice edge. We did a flight over the ice edge to find whales and there they were. Wahoo! These great creatures of the ocean are looking for the large fish that live near the bottom, Antarctica Toothfish. This one decided to see what all the noise was about. (We are in a helicopter)

Skuas are everywhere now and (a) eating as many penguin eggs as they can get. They have also built their nests nearby (See Dec 2, 2018 below) Yesterday we had a short storm and (b) snow built up around this Skua's nest. Today I saw a hole in the snow drift (c) and when I investigated, (d) it turned out to be the Skuas nest. They have abandoned it, and already one egg is gone. In (c) look carefully for the outline of the Skua's body, the head is pointed towards top right, tail feathers towards bottom left.

This brave bird has built a strong nest near a large rock. They have 2 lovely eggs. The bad news is there are no other penguin nests around him to help fend off the Skuas. Make a predicition. Will this nest still be here in 1 week (Dec 7), or two weeks (Dec 14)? I pass by here everyday and will check on him, so watch for the Dec 7 and Dec 14 pictures.

Empty Tent. It is time for us to leave Cape Royds. We have packed up all the food, equipment, computers, cameras, radios, clothes and trash. The helicopter is arriving in 20 min and it is time to say good bye.

Skua Attack. Skuas don’t just go after penguins. Here you see one coming after me!  I got too close to its chick (see the fluff ball behind the skuas wing). The chicks hide in the rocks and I did not see it until too late.

Coast Guard Ice Breaker. The Polar Star is breaking a channel (about 14 miles) from the ice edge to McMurdo Research Station.  Two large ships deliver supplies for the entire next year.  A container ship will bring food, machine parts, science equipment and other materials.  A tanker will bring fuel for heat, airplanes and vehicles.

Can’t Leave. Usually there are only a few hungry penguins waiting to leave Cape Royds for open water and food. Today a very large crowd was hanging near the edge but would not go in.  Then I saw why. The large leopard seal was hanging just underneath them waiting for the first bird to jump in. They will have to stay hungry for a while

Can’t Go Home. All these penguins have bellies full of food for their chicks who are waiting in the colony and hungry. It is just a few short yards from this ice floe to shore, but no one would make the trip. Then I saw why. That large leopard seal was patrolling the edge and waiting for someone to jump in. Today the penguins are not moving, chicks will just have to wait.

What a Difference a Month Makes. Compare this picture with the one to the right. They are taken one month apart. Here you see one bird on each nest sitting quietly on their eggs, no other penguins around. How many nests are there?

Picture taken Dec 1, 2017

Here you see lots of chicks, high energy movement of birds and many extra penguins who are not raising chicks but just being there. Click on the picture to get a larger one and count the nests and the penguins. Much easier in the picture to the left.

Picture taken Jan 2, 2018

Penguin Acrobat. Can you do this? Adelie penguins use their feet to scratch their head.  Who says these birds aren’t cleaver

Lost Chick, Sad Ending. This chick stepped out of the nest and was not able to find its way back. I do not know which nest it came from, but the other penguins pecked at it because it was in their territory. The Skuas will collect this body soon and it will become food for their chicks.

Beautiful Feet. Notice this Adelie penguin’s strong feet and long nails. Although they are webbed, penguins do not paddle like ducks.  Their feet are used to steer in the water and climb over ice and rock. 

Penguin Tracks. Merry Christmas 

Orca at the Ice Edge. Part of our job is to record the presence of whales in the area. We fly in a helicopter along the ice edge where the whales like to hunt. These orca eat the large Antarctic toothfish near the bottom of the ocean and do not bother the penguins. On this trip we counted about 20 whales. Notice the small calf swimming near its mother.

Double Teaming Predation. Skuas hunt in pairs and this pair have their eye on a large penguin chick. Just the Skuas presence causes the penguin parent to be agitated. One Skua will poke at the penguin and when they see their chance, the other Skua will dive in and take the chick.

At Home.  Penguins are happiest when they are floating around on the ice. This is what the ocean at Cape Royds looks like today. Masses of brash ice have floated in with the tide, currents and winds. The penguins rest on the ice, their food is underneath it.  Do their feet get cold? No penguins are adapted to living on the ice and do not get cold.

Leopard Seal. These large seals are the main predator of Adelie penguins. Notice how large their head and mouth is.  They are about 8ft long and this one is a big one.  It is hard for us to see these animals take the penguins as food, but that is the food chain here in Antarctica.

Skua In A Snow Storm. This skua is on eggs and last night we had a large snow storm. She needs to keep her eggs warm and let the snow pile up around her during the night. I did not see her as I walked past until she called out to her mate for help. He came quickly and I backed away. These birds are protected just like the penguins.

Perfect Penguin. This picture show how perfect the Adelie penguin is. Smooth feathers, clean and white on the front, black on the back. Strong legs, feet and beak, lovely white eye ring, and perfectly shaped wings. Notice these wings do not fold like other birds, instead remain straight for maximum power in the water.

Survivor. Adelie Penguins are sturdy animals and they are survivors. This bird not only recovered from the loss of a foot, but made it back to Cape Royds, which is a long journey from his normal feeding grounds. It makes me smile to see that this disability is not a disability for him.

Poop Squirt. Yep! This is how penguins poop. They do not want to leave the nest and they do not want to soil THEIR nest so they lift their tail and shoot the poop as far as they can. It usually hits another penguin close by, but no one seems to care, it is just life in a penguin colony.

Skua Eyes. Skuas are both scavengers and predators. You can tell from this picture that these birds have sharp eyes. They need to see fish in the ocean, spot penguins sitting on eggs, find morsels of food in the rocks, all from the air. Notice also the sharp beak for tearing their food into bits.

Quiet Time. It is very quiet in the colony today. Although we expect to see chicks any day, this morning there are only birds laying on eggs. A snow storm has just passed through so penguins are protecting the eggs from both the cold and the snow. They will not stand up until the storm passes.

Lucky Shot. Sometimes it is fun to sit and just watch the penguins go in and out of the water.  We never know where or when it will happen, but on this day I was lucky to get this shot of a penguin ‘flying’ out of the ocean onto the ice. The tide was out so it was about a 3ft (1m) leap. No they don’t always make it, sometimes they miss-calculate the height, fall back and try again.  

Skua Game. Skuas can be relentless. This penguin selected a well protected nest site near a large rock, but there are no other birds to help fend off the attacks. Skuas hunt in pairs and this pair is waiting for the right time to grab the egg from this bird. It is only a matter of time, and the Skuas will win.

Nest Spacing. Penguins build their nests about 1 meter apart, the distance is not an accident. Any closer and they will be able to reach the neighbor and bite them. Any further and Skuas could land in between them and grab the eggs or small chicks.The spacing you see here helps keeps peace in the colony and provides protection.

Lonely Nest.   Some penguins build their nests away from the others. What causes them to do this? Penguins normally nest in groups because they can help each other fend off the Skuas. Later when they are too big for the nest, chicks can gather in groups called crèches to stay warm and reduce predation. This nest is vulnerable, they have no help with the Skuas and a lone chick will have trouble when both parents are gone. Today this nest has an egg, I will check in a few days.

Pink Feet. This penguin has just returned from the ocean. I can tell because he is very clean and his feathers are still wet. When penguins are sitting on their eggs, or wandering around the colony usually their feet are white. Why do you think this bird’s feet are pink? What causes them to be pink?

Penguin Postcard. We get hundreds of student made penguin postcards every year from students all over the world, this is one of them. I send them back with the true Antarctic postmark on it. It’s a great way to combine Art, Geography, and Science. If you would like your class to take part in our postcard project go HERE.

Why The Nest. A pile of rocks does not seem like a soft cozy nest for penguin eggs or chicks, but they are important because they keep the eggs out of melt water that trickles through the colony. Nest depressions fill up with very cold water and if the rock pile does not raise the egg above the water, it will not survive. These pictures show two nests that will not keep eggs dry, and two that will. Can you tell which one is which?

Tide’s Out.  The penguin have as easy hike to the colony this year, but the difference in height between the sea ice and the fast ice (ice connected to the land) is too high for them to climb or leap. This group of penguins will sit here, only 20 meters to their nests, until the tide comes in.

Tide’s In.  The sea ice moves up and down with the tide, the fast ice does not. Here the height between the sea ice and the fast ice is an easy step for the sturdy penguins, even the seals. The penguins have left the sea ice and continued their journey to the breeding groups. Did you know? There is only one tide a day in McMurdo Sound.

The Penguins Arrive.  The open ocean is only a couple kilometers away, so it have been and easy walk to Cape Royds this year.  Now the problem is the wall of ice that faces the birds before they can get to their nests.  If the ice they are standing on was water they could leap out onto the ice, but in the last few days it have frozen over giving them a new challenge.

Cape Royds Comes to Life.  Our first day at camp. The tent is cozy and warm, our food is packed in ice chests between the blue box and the yellow tent and we are ready for the season. The carpenter have built us a new outhouse. It is much larger and more weather proof than the old one.

The Penthouse Breeding Colony. This breeding group at Cape Royds is the largest and the highest.  Today the light was perfect for a lovely picture. When we arrived Oct 23 it was open water, but the last several days have been so cold, the ocean has frozen over again.

Finally our turn. It is time to board the Air Force C-17 and fly to Antarctica. This is a no frill flight. No food service, no in-light movie, it’s cold, loud and uncomfortable.  Most people read or sleep, some work on their computers.  Five hours long, we fly over the ocean for 2.5 hours before we begin to see ice.

Shackleton's Hut from his Nimrod expedition, 1907-09. This is a World Heritage site at Cape Royds and represents a great story of early Antarctic exploration, brave and bold men, hardship and honor. If you would like to learn more go HERE

Mt Erebus, the southern most active volcano on this Earth. Today the plume is particularly large and visible. There is a lava lake in the crater of this volcano that spits out lave almost twice a day.

Picture # 2 and #3

Today we spotted a crack in the ice about 2 miles from Cape Royds. If the crack is big enough for the penguins to feed in, that will save them the100 mi round trip to the open ocean. Here is a picture, it is big enough! Looks like some of it has frozen over in this cold weather. Notice the breathing holes

This Emperor family is together for a brief time on the frozen sea ice. You can see the chick is almost as big as the adults. The chicks can stay warm in the coat of feathers they have, but cannot stay dry in the water.  We hope the sea ice does not melt before these chicks are ready to swim.

Many of our males have been in the colony for over 3 weeks and have been without food or water for the entire time. The females have 50 miles to walk for food and 50 miles back before they can relieve the males. Some of the males have left their nest and eggs to the Skuas.

We take a Thanksgiving Holiday from Cape Royds to visit the rest of our team and the Adelie penguin colony at Cape Crozier. In addition to Adelies, the Emperor penguins breed here. These birds never come onto land, instead they incubate the single egg on their feet during the Antarctic winter. They are protected by winds in the crevasses of the ice shelf. Here you see their colony out on the sea ice near the shelf.

The Emperor chicks hatch in Aug-Sept so by Nov. are large enough to be left alone. The chicks have plenty of feathers to keep them warm and are too big to be bothered by the Skuas. Both parents are out in the ocean finding food to feed this hungry chick.

The brood patch. These penguins lay and nest only two eggs. The reason is the brood patch which you see here which is only big enough for two eggs. The feathers are not warm, it is the penguin’s body that is warm so this patch of feather-free skin is where the eggs sit to incubate. There is only room for two.