Antarctica - Danco Island and Gentoo Penguins

Danny Catt — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:13:03 -0700

On Danco Island, Antarctica

We awoke to calm seas in the protected waters of the Antarctic Peninsula. The expedition ornithologist had presented a lecture on board (during our crossing of the Drake Passage) so we had an idea of what species of birds to expect. In fact the expedition staff present a range of lectures on natural history (from marine mammal biology, to ornithology, to geology and glaciology) when time permits. Today was to be my first opportunity to visit a penguin colony in Antarctica and I was excited about the opportunity!

Zodiac Landing on Danco Island, Antarctica

It felt great to finally put my feet on solid land again and what a place to do it – Danco Island! It was cold (just below freezing) but refreshing. To get us to shore the zodiac drivers maneuvered their way from the ship to shore around chunks of sea ice and small icebergs. Once on shore we made our way across the ice and snow making sure we didn’t disturb the hundreds of Gentoo Penguins going about their business on the island.

Adult Gentoo Penguin Heading to Shore to Feed the Chicks

The penguins making their way from the ocean and onto shore were adults returning from food gathering (foraging) and were on their way back to the colony to feed their chicks. The chicks though were not waiting right along the shore but instead were at the nest site located fairly high up on a nearby hill, a few hundred metres or so away from the shore. We watched the adults waddle their way up the hill to find their chick. Once found the chicks would peck at their throats and beaks and encouraging the parent to regurgitate the food directly into the penguin chick’s mouth. Yumm!

Adult Gentoo Penguins, Danco Island, Antarctica

What are the penguins eating (and feeding their young)? The vast majority of what they eat is krill. Krill is like a small shrimp and is a critical part of the food chain in polar waters (both in the Arctic and in Antarctica). There are many different species of krill but the long and short of it is that it is the major food item for a high percentage of Arctic and Antarctic wildlife species. In Antarctica, penguins, seals, whales and many birds have krill as the major food item in their diet.

It was certainly obvious that these Gentoo Penguins were feasting on krill as their pink coloured droppings (krill is pink in colour) were everywhere (including my boots and my jacket)!

Juvenile Gentoo Penguin (Waiting to be Fed)

It was simply amazing to walk alongside the penguins on their march to and from the sea to the nest. You are not permitted to get too close to the penguins (you have to give them the right of way), but if they decide they want to get closer to you that is their decision. And that certainly happened.

Adult Gentoo Penguin Feeding Chick (A Large Chick)

After feeding their chicks the adults simply head back down the hill (or hop), jump back in the sea and head off in search of more food. Although krill can be found in Antarctic waters in massive quantities (they say that the total weight of krill in the world’s oceans weighs more than the whole human population on Earth) but its distribution is patchy and the penguins (and other animals that feast on it) may have to travel great distances to find the food patch.

Penguins Penguins Everywhere!

Danny Catt — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:02:40 -0800

Magellanic Penguins on the Southern Coast of Chile

When we disembarked the MS Prinsendam in Punta Arenas, Chile the winds were howling at speeds close to 100 km/hour! The ocean was a sea of whitecaps and the seabirds were being blown around at the will of the gusts. This is undoubtedly the windy part of the continent! A new guest lecturer was boarding the Prinsendam for the sector down to Ushuaia, Argentina (in Tierra del Fuego) and on to Antarctica so my friend Trish and I arranged to do an overland jaunt across the Patagonian region of Chile and then up to Iguazu Falls, on the border between Argentina and Brazil.

About an hour’s drive from the town of Punta Arenas, Chile at Otway Sound, is a readily accessible penguin colony which we wanted to visit… so we booked transport and away we went. What a fabulous opportunity!

There are seventeen species of penguin in the world, and they live exclusively in the southern hemisphere. The one species that is a slight exception to this rule is the Galapagos Penguin which nests just north of the equator on one of the islands of the Galapagos Islands archipelago (off the coast of Ecuador). The Emperor Penguin, the species that was made famous by the fabulous film, “The March of the Penguins”, is the species that nests closest to the South Pole (and the Emperor is also the largest and heaviest penguin) while most species breed at more agreeable latitudes.

Magellanic Penguin

Through my travels I have had the good fortune to see penguins in other parts of the southern hemisphere including New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, but apart from the Galapagos Penguins (which I saw last year in the Galapagos Islands) these Magellanic Penguins were my first South American tuxedo birds.

A Preaning Penguin

It was such a treat to watch the adults body surf their way to shore, ride the waves, manoeuvre their bodies and slide into shore (sometimes tumbling and crashing into shore). Once safely on land the first thing they would do is preen (clean) their feathers (penguins spend a lot of their time taking care of their feathers). Then they make their way across the beach, and finally march one by one across the grass to find their burrows and to feed their young.

Magellanic Penguins Crossing Open Ground

The Magellanic Penguin is a common summer resident in Patagonia. Their breeding grounds are scattered along the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Chile and Argentina. They also have important breeding colonies in the Falkand Islands (Islas Malvinas). This Otway Sound colony has an estimated population of about 4000 birds.

Penguin Parents Preaning Their Chick

The penguins are here to breed. The cycle begins in September and lasts until March. Being late January now, the chicks are getting bigger and they need a lot of food. To satisfy their hearty appetites the adults must go out to sea frequently to forage. There key food items include squid, prawns and a range of small schooling fish (jack mackerel, anchovies & sardines). These are the very same species that are presently being harvested in huge quantities off the coasts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador to feed the needs of the fish farming industry. These small pelagic fish are processed into fish meal, which is then used to feed the salmon and trout being raised in fish farms in different parts of the world including British Columbia. If you want to read more about the relationship between penguins, pelagic fish and fish farms, read my previous Blog post.

Catt-Trax 2 - Penguins

Antarctica - Danco Island and Gentoo Penguins

Penguins Penguins Everywhere!