In my opinion, Albatrosses are some of the most masterful fliers Unlike raptors which often rely on thermals to give them effortless flight, albatrosses use the up draught of wind rising over the waves of the Southern oceans. The picture to the left shows a bird that has just landed beside its nesting mate. To the right is a small part of the colony on Saunders Island. Below left to right shows a closeup of a breeding bird, A bird landing on the sea and diving for food is next then we have a view with the nearest nesting bird looking like it went to the Pisa school of architecture when it designed its nest!
Giant petrels are also good fliers that rely on wind currents for lift and also like the albatrosses, they can travel may, many miles without a single flap of their long, narrow wings. The three pictures below shows a nesting colony on Sealion Island but please don't venture too close as these birds can be somewhat nervous compared to other Falkland species. If they leave their nest due to human disturbance, they may well desert their eggs or young. A closer approach is sometimes possible by photographing from within a vehicle as was the case with the middle image below. It was taken on a different island. The plumage of the giant petrels vary quite considerably as can be seen in the two flying birds (left and below). This just might be due to age; perhaps older birds are paler just like peoples' hair in old age!
The two types of grebe that I have seen on the Falklands are Silvery grebe and White tufted grebe. They can be found on larger ponds on some of the islands. Look at the bright red eye of the Silvery grebe; really quite extraordinary. The White-tufted grebe (right) shows an adult feeding a small youngster which is riding among the feathers on its parent's back where it is trying to stay warm and dry until the other parent arrives with more food.
There are three species of geese to be seen in the Falkland Islands and these are Ruddy-headed Goose, Upland Goose and Kelp Goose. Each of these are shown below starting with the latter which shows the largest difference between the all-white male and the dark female. The top row of Kelp Geese images shows a pair feeding on kelp which, I presume, is how they got their name; a female taking her brood of four goslings to a freshwater trickle to drink and a pair with a clear blue sky beyond them. Below that on the left is a battle between two males where one had ventured into the territory of a pair with goslings and on the right is the victory display when the intruder had been driven away.
The broad image Next we see pictures of Upland geese. Again thee is a huge difference between the sexes with the male showing lots of white while the female looks superficially like a Ruddy-headed goose. The left hand image shows a female being protective of her five young (count the legs!). the central picture has a feeding pair and to the right of that is the portrait of a male. The image below that shows a group of Upland geese walking into the sea just as a small wave crashed on to the shore. The final row of geese images shows Ruddy-headed geese. The sexes are somewhat similar but the male's plumage is a little brighter than the females and the barring on their sides is considerably finer than that on the sides of a female Upland goose and the goslings of these two species are very different.
