Skua Eggs
November 23, 2008
Our internet has been down for the last three days (something to do with a broken charge controller at the repeater). Michelle spent the day on the radio with the comms guys at McMurdo Station, and finally got a shaky interim connection going.
Meanwhile, life is never dull at Cape Crozier! Penguins are engaged in an endless battle with South Polar Skuas, a predatory gull-like bird. Yesterday, I watched one swoop down on a nest while the penguin was distracted by a pesky neighbor. In mid-flight, the skua snapped up the penguin’s egg and flapped away with it. The penguin, in late realization, could only stand and stare, then it wandered from its nest, suddenly purposeless. Yesterday, we discovered the first skua egg of the season in a depression among the rocks, a dozen yards from the penguins. One egg is taken, and another is laid.
I am still waiting for a real storm to arrive. The weather has been uneventful, with temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees F and some light snow showers. The open water that appeared on the 21st has already refrozen solid enough for penguins to walk on it.
South Polar Skuas Eat An Adelie Penguin Egg