Fortuna Bay Area, South Georgia Island, January 4, 2013

Awoke a little after 6 am. Somewhat disappointed that we were not woken up at 5:30 am to see the Macaroni Penguin colony.  We were told that this might be one of our last chances to see the Macaroni Penguins (like the Rock Hoppers but with yellow feather bonnets). However, like many on the cruise I seem to have come down with the "crud." Being on the ship is like being on a giant petri dish, people from all around the globe bringing their germs together to share with one another!  I am not feeling 100% and so was, in the end, glad to not get up that early.

Some of the other passengers are more talkative.  I have spent time with many of them discussing their livelihoods, etc.  One of them, Susan Eaton, has parlayed a geophysical background combined with a journalism degree into an adjunct career as a science blogger, educator, etc.  She also had several organizations pay for her to go on this expedition (her third to Antarctica).  There are others with similar occupations including David Edwards, from Scotland. He gives talks at "philosophical societies."  

An iceberg, probably formed in Ross Sea,
transported by currents to South Georgia Island

A similar iceberg to that above.

During our cruise in we passed flat icebergs. These flat bergs were probably formed in the sea ice and calved off the Ross Ice Shelf according to Ted Cheeseman.  They are very beautiful.

This morning we anchored in Fortuna Bay to see a colony of roosting King Penguins.  Getting ashore was a bit of an issue, as we had to traverse a minefield of Fur Seals.  They are ubiquitous.  Hard to believe that they were nearly hunted to extinction here.  The seals are somewhat aggressive and have to be shooed away from the landing zone.  There are hundreds of seals including females with pups and not quite mature males.  The mature males have mostly left the beach having done their "duty" to reproduce. There are many dead pups on the beach.  I estimate that mortality to be about 1/5.  According to Pauline Carr, who lived on South Georgia for 14 years, the cause of death is starvation.  The mother does not make it back to nurse them (often being gone for up to two weeks) and they die on the beach.  The pups are a bit pissy and often hiss at us as we pass by, baring their teeth.  It’s actually kind of funny because they are so small (about 2 feet long). 

Fur Seals on Beach. That's a nursing mother in the left foreground

The King Penguin rookery is quite amazing.  The Kings are the tallest penguins (exclusive of the Emperors) at nearly a meter in height. There are an estimated 70,000+ penguins in the area.  The juveniles look like brown puffballs.  They are nearly as tall as the adults (at this stage) but are covered in a brown, down.  Those that are nearly adult are very sad looking as they are partially in the brown down and partially in their adult plumage.  They look like ragamuffins.

A small portion of the King Penguin colony. The brown "puffballs" are fledglings.

Close-up of a fledgling King Penguin.

Many people elected to take the “Shackleton Hike”.  It was to be a short (3.5 km) hike over a pass with about 1,200 feet of elevation gain.  However, as it was drizzly and cold and I was still feeling sick I elected to return to the ship and rest.  This hike replicates the last portion of Shackleton's epic journey to obtain rescue for his crew stranded on Elephant Island. He and his two crewmen were the first to cross South Georgia Island on foot. 

Our ship cruised around to Stromness Bay to meet those who were hiking.  The history of this island is one of whaling for nearly a century.  It is possible that they pulled hundreds of thousands of whales and fur seals out of these waters during that time.  The whaling station at Stromness is off limits due to concerns about asbestos and the decrepit condition of the structures themselves (high winds tend to blow things about quite a bit).

I went outside on the bridge yesterday at sunset.  It was eerie to hear the calls of the seabirds and seals echoing off of the cliffs.  It reminded me a bit of coyotes with the same mournful tone.