I thought I would write a Blog about my visits to the UK's Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands but when I looked at the number of images I had from the somewhat draughty(!) location, I realised that there were too many for just one Blog.
So here is part one. Others will follow in a few days time.
.Rockhoppers are the smallest of the penguins found regularly in the Falkland Islands. In the photos to the left and right, I lay down by their regular route from the top of the cliffs to their nesting colony and they took very little notice of me. That is one of the joys of photographing in the Falklands, much of the wildlife is very approachable.
The above four images show that penguins do develop a brood patch (left), one taking a freshwater 'shower' to wash the salt from its feathers before taking over incubation or brooding duties (right), one about to feed a recently hatched chick (centre top) and three older chicks huddled together to keep warm during heavy rain (centre bottom). I guess this is when I should warn any impending visitors to the Falklands about the normal weather conditions there! During my four visits, it became obvious that the wind was strong, cool to cold and there was only one day that I can remember being anything like calm. Layers of clothing are best with perhaps a full set of waterproofs to keep the cold wind out! How some of the smaller bird species survive there is quite beyond me.
.When they return from a feeding trip, on most occasions, large gatherings will assemble on the sea at 400 or more yards offshore and then suddenly 20 or so birds will risk the run to shore. Predators like sealions, elephant seals or even orcas may be lying in the shallows where they have the greatest chance of catching a penguin of any species as a meal. Consequently this becomes a mad dash for the penguins who porpoise as quickly as they can and they leap out of the water at high speed. It is therefore in the interests of the penguins that photographers etc should not stand too close to their landing or departure point as the penguins, approachable as they usually are, may become a little nervous, get delayed for a moment and be captured when they would not normally be.
Sometimes it is worth being late for an evening meal to get a sunset picture of something like this Magellanic penguin surrounded by beautiful orange and yellow-lit clouds (above). To the right is a Magellanic penguin calling. They sound very much like a braying donkey.
Magellanics are the only Falkland penguins to breed in burrows. Small chicks will stay hidden under ground but when they grow much larger, they can be seen next to the burrow waiting to be fed. Quite often when the young reach this stage, a parent bird will be on watch to warn the inexperienced youngster of danger.
Above is one of the very first images I took in the Falklands. Because of ice and snow on the runway at RAF Brize Norton, we took off three days late and shortly after we touched down at Mount Pleasant, we were whisked away on a Falkland Islands Government Air Services (FIGAS) flight to Sealion Island and the World's most southerly wildlife watching accommodation. After a welcome evening meal we all retired to get some sleep. Fortunately I had prepared my photographic gear in the evening because early the next morning and very bleary-eyed, I opened the curtains a little and saw this scene. Within five minutes I was outside near the Gentoo colony clicking away at the beautiful scene.
The first five of the above six images all show Gentoo penguins coming ashore to then walk up on to Bleaker Island (where I took groups on three tours). In the first two pictures birds are once again porpoising towards a beautiful sandy beach. The third image shows a penguin dashing along in a small wave which is about to break onto the beach. At the last moment the bird then turns towards the land and leaps. Unfortunately they don't always land on their feet.The final picture showa a bird about to head back into the sea on a typically windy day with something akin to a sand storm blowing by. This is not unusual weather!
Volunteer Point is one of the World's most accessible King penguin colonys where it is possible to see a wide range of activities and plumage variations. The youngster (left) is close to a year old and during the southern winter it will receive occasional feeding visits from its parents. The picture above shows a part of the colony while the image (right) shows a pair bonding display. Males it seems, are larger than females.
I saw this group of three King penguins walking along the shore and I was thinking 'we three kings - Christmas card' but then they all turned to face the cold sea and for a brief moment they were together like the image to the right. To me they seem to be saying 'look, if we all hold hands, we can run into the sea together! No backing out now.'
Here are 5 of the wader OR shorebirds you can see in the Falklands. Clockwise from the left we have Magellanic snipe, Two-banded plover, Magellanic oystercatcher, Rufous chested plover (AKA Rufous chested dotterel) and White-rumped sandpiper. The latter species breeds in North America and migrates south to spend the northern winter in places like the Falklands and parts of South America.
