A Quarter Million Penguins
November 17, 2008
A group of five communications guys helicoptered out to Cape Crozier this morning, while sun poked through freezing fog, and set up satellite wireless internet at our hut on the ice. At the end of the earth, we have high-speed internet access. Technology, these days – face it and embrace it!
Meanwhile, I got my first real taste of the Crozier Adelie Penguin colony. To reach the colony, it’s a 45-minute march down the sloping face of a glacier from our hut. This requires crampons (pointed metal spikes on the bottom of your boot) to grip the sheet of solid ice underfoot.
At the lower end of the austere glacier, over a ridge crest, as suddenly as unexpectedly, more than three hundred thousand Adelie Penguins are spread in a broad valley by the ocean’s edge. They flap their flippers, croak, stare, squirt green projectiles of defecation, sleep, nip each other, mate, and defend their nests in a broad conglomerate of life. Mats, lines, and piles of penguins extend to the horizon. In one of the harshest environments imaginable, this must be one of the great bird spectacles on earth.
I was glad for the hike, since it got the blood flowing. Temperatures today were around 13 degrees F (-11C), actually relatively warm. Add some sunshine and quiet winds, and it was a nice afternoon. I spent the time learning my assigned study area and reading numbers of tagged birds (metal bands on the left flipper help track individual birds).
After training me on resighting bands, Michelle hiked out to work on another project, while Kirsten helped the comms guys back at the hut, leaving me essentially alone in the valley of penguins. If far removed from human civilization, I was in a metropolis, but a giant among its 3-foot-tall inhabitants. The penguins have no fear of humans, just curiosity. One deliberately waddled up and tugged on my pant leg, as if to ask a question. I can only wonder what it was wondering.
The Valley Of Penguins
Penguins On Their Nests
Adelie Penguin Carefully Incubating An Egg
5 Responses to 'A Quarter Million Penguins'
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Just found your blog, thanks to a fellow birder. What a wonderful opportunity for you – and US, all of your readers who will be hanging on your every mood. Great shots, great story. Z.H. in Portland, OR
ZH
18 Nov 08 at 1:51 pm
Love your blog. Just found out about it. Great pictures. Can we see a picture of the hut and tents where you are living? Keep it up.
Diane
18 Nov 08 at 3:14 pm
He is asking, “Would you like some fresh guacamole senor?”
fluffy cloud
18 Nov 08 at 3:35 pm
Hi, what a fascinating blog. I am so glad I found it. I am looking forward to reading about your adventures!
Deb
19 Nov 08 at 12:56 pm
Fantastic website! I would give anything to see 250,000 penguins! Good luck with your research.
Paula Hansley
21 Nov 08 at 3:27 pm