We arrived in Stanley after a slightly long delay in Punta Arenas that caused us to miss our first inter-island flight. It turned out to be a very tiresome travel day and I was extremely happy that there was “room at the Inn” for me and my group when we finally arrived in Stanley; it’s good to have connections on the island just in case something like this happens. Things picked up from there as the rest of our inter- island flights were not affected.
Our first stop was Pebble Island. I had never been to Pebble. I put it on the tour for one of my clients/ friends -Alan Lillich who really wanted to do a return trip there. I was pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few different penguin colonies. Each were spread out and very clean (as colonies go). We spent two days exploring the island in 4x4’s. The accommodation was clean and spacious. The food was incredibly good, but the lunch sandwiches were exceptional.
Magellanic penguin in the gorse.
We left Pebble and flew to Carcass. The island was in a “transitional state” (one of the owners had passed away and the new management was just taking over) with limited staff and no cook. The meals were edible and the two people who were there trying to hold down the fort were friendly. Since we had huge winds forecasted, we took a walk to one of the far beaches. The wind hit the surf just as the waves were breaking and we photographed Magellanic and Gentoo penguins plunging in and out of the water. It was great fun! During our time on Carcass, we also photographed songbirds and penguins in and around the golden yellow gorse that lined our pathway to the shore.
Leopard beach with extremely high winds!
My group and I took a boat over to West Point Island to photograph Black-browed albatross on the cliffs. It turned out to be a windy day. The albatross continually flew overhead and banked around us before landing. This made for some great flight photography. I imagine trying to maneuver those large wings in the wind must be a challenge.
Elephant seal abstract with sand blowing over the top of the seal.
A weaner with sand blowing over tit as it tries to rest.
Slow shutter speed used to soften the waves.
Our visit to Sea Lion Island was (as always) memorable. Between the seals and bird life, there is always something to photograph. We saw the orcas in the “orca pool” and out at sea. They caught a weaner (young elephant seal) in the pool, it was hard to see the orca going into the pool as it put its fin down on its the side so it wouldn’t be spotted.
During our time on Sea Lion, we photographed so much. At the rockhopper colony we watched as massive waves slammed the tiny penguins into the cliff walls. It was amazing to see how buoyant they were. We called this place the washing machine!
On Bleaker Island we spent our time between the beautiful sandy beach and the rocky cliffs. This year was a treat as some of the Imperial cormorants were nesting with the rockhoppers, I haven’t seen that in years and it felt like old times having the two species together again.
leucistic Ruddy- headed goose
On one of our afternoons, we spent some time with a *leucistic Ruddy- headed goose. Apparently, it was a rare sighting so everyone, including me wanted to see this bird. I have to say it was beautiful. It had a tiger striped pattern on its breast feathers and a yellowish colored bill.
Macaroni penguin
We also saw a Macaroni penguin sitting on a day-old chick. The macaroni mated with one of the rockhoppers in the colony. Our host said he would keep us posted on how the chick makes out and what it ends up looking like. Some of the hybrids are a bit bigger than regular rockhopper penguins, with deeper yellow plumes and a thicker bill. Last year, this macaroni and rockhopper pair lost their egg and never did produce another.
I’ve heard two names for these hybrids —(rock-a-roni) and (mac- hopper), I personally prefer rock-a-roni.
Imperial cormorant resting.
We also visited Saunders Island and stayed at the Neck. Here we photographed Black-browned albatross putting the finishing touches on their nests while waiting for their eggs to hatch. We spent time at the gentoo, rockhopper and cormorant colonies on Saunders as well as photographing the thirty king penguins that call the Neck their home. Some of the kings were on eggs. Our last morning there was special, we had a beautiful pink sky sunrise with penguins in the surf.
Early morning , Saunders.
Landing Imperial cormorant
Imperial cormorant with nesting material.
Gentoo abstract
Gentoo and Magellanic penguin squabble.
Sunrise, Sanders.
Foam bath in the early hours at Saunders.
Our last visit was to Volunteer Point to photograph the vast colony of king penguins. Many of the kings were on the beach and lined up for us at the surfs edge for the classic shot. At Volunteer Point there is gannet mixed in with the sand creating swirls of reddish patterns in the sand, I couldn’t help but take a few snapshots! I haven’t gotten around to looking at those files yet….
King penguins in the surf at Volunteer Point.
This was the windiest visit I have ever had to the Falklands. I know that the islands are known to be windy but the high winds on this trip actually added to the photography. We had slamming waves with large sprays that added to our image backgrounds. The blowing sand added additional interest to our shots. Wind gusts meant that flying birds were slower to land and wound up in unique poses.
I hope you enjoy the images in this post as much as I enjoyed capturing them.
*Leucistic refers an abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals (such as birds, mammals, and reptiles) that is marked by overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring and is caused by a genetic mutation which inhibits melanin and other pigments from being deposited in feathers, hair, or skin. (wikipedia)