South Georgia and Falkland Islands 31 October to 16 November 2015
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SOUTH GEORG IA A ND FA LKLA ND I SLA NDS C HEESEMANS’ E C OLOGY S AFARIS E XPEDITION L OG 2015 EXPE DITION LOG CHEESEMANS’ ECOLOGY SAFARIS South Georgia and Falkland Islands 31 October to 16 November 2015 Designed by Teresa Floberg Edited by Gina Barton and Teresa Floberg Written by Gina Barton, Pauline Carr, Joe Kaplan, Artie Morris, Rosie Seton, Dave Shoch, Janet Wiener and Jon Wiener Images by Passengers and Sta as credited i Cover Photo King Penguin By Glenn Bartley Back Cover Photo Southern Elephant Seals By Tashi Tenzing Title Page Photo Male Southern Elephant Seal By Ty Smedes This Page Photo Landscape with South Georgia Shags By Pat Lillich Next Page Photo King Penguins By Muriel McClellan COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright ©2015 Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris Photographers hold the copyright to their work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Salisbury Plain and Prion Island 10 November 22-23 Flight to Falklands and Embarkation 31 October 3 At Sea en Route to the Falklands 11 November 24-25 At Sea to South Georgia 1 November 4 At Sea en Route to the Falklands 12 November 26 At Sea to South Georgia 2 November 5 At Sea and Stanley Disembarkation 13 November 27 South Georgia Island 6-7 At Sea O shore of Falklands 14 November 28 Undine Harbour 3 November 8-9 At Sea and Ushuaia Disembarkation 15-16 November 29 King Haakon Bay and Elsehul 4 November 10-11 Expedition Sta 31 Grytviken 5 November 12-13 Species List by Date 32-33 Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord 6 November 14-15 The Many Faces of Nature 34-35 Gold Harbour and Godthul 7 November 16-17 Photo Montage 36-37 Fortuna Bay and Stromness 8 November 18-19 Friends of South Georgia Island 38 St. Andrews Bay 9 November 20-21 1 I NTRODUCTION By Ted Cheeseman, Expedition Leader very remoteness and inaccessibility tions are allowing South Georgia Pipit scale of beauty, and I can think of no heightening the treasure we found on populations to explode and vegetation better group to have shared the expe- A FANTASTIC VOYAGE its coasts. to recover. At sea, we believe whale pop- rience with. I want to extend a special Welcome friends! Wander through the ulations are rebounding, even while cli- thanks and dedication of this voyage log Now is a special time for South Geor- pages ahead and let yourself remember mate and ocean chemistry is changing. to all of our fantastic expedition sta gia, on land and at sea rebounding to a the glory and intensity of our South who made such an ambitious itinerary wildness not enjoyed for centuries; we ank you for joining us; these images Georgia voyage. ere is no place like possible. saw how the rat and reindeer eradica- speak volumes but only hint at the full South Georgia on our blue planet, its Zodiac Cruising Lynne Bergbreiter 2 Day 1 Flight to Falklands and Embarkation 31 October 2015 By Gina Barton check-in on board the Ortelius, briey settle into our cabins (our new home!) FLIGHT TO STANLEY in time to have a safety brieng and We awoke early to enjoy our breakfast emergency test run. Aer our briengs before checking into our ight to Mount we were introduced to our Captain and Pleasant, Falkland Islands. All but those Expedition Sta and enjoyed a toast already in Punta Arenas or the Falk- from our Captain. We bid farewell to lands shared the ight together, so there the protected harbor at Stanley as we was talking and excitement despite the entered the choppy seas and began the early hour. During our ight we expe- rocky voyage to South Georgia. Our rienced beautiful views of the glaciers, rst dinner on board was quiet as folks valleys, and lakes of the Andes Moun- unaccustomed to the motion of the ship tains plus an interesting menu of snack retreated to their cabins. But for those choices for our meal service. During that remained, we could feel the excite- our quick stop in Punta Arenas to go ment of our journey to South Georgia through Chile customs, we got some and what it would bring. looks at Upland Geese running at the runway edge. Despite the winds whip- The Ortelius Approaching a Rainbow Clemens Vanderwerf ping across the plane making it wobble side to side, the pilot made an impres- sively smooth landing in the Falklands, which welcomed us with windy, cloudy, and drizzly weather. e tiny Mount Pleasant Airport was a little chaotic with lines to get through customs weav- ing alongside the one luggage carousel. BOARDING THE ORTELIUS During our hour-long bus drive to Stan- ley to board the Ortelius, we got brief glimpses of wildlife along the rolling hills dotted with rocks. Upon arrival we learned that a storm was headed in so the Captain wanted to depart earli- er than planned, so we had to quickly Janet Cole Ready to Set Sail Teresa Blase Chief Ocer Sven Haindl on the Bridge Teresa Blase 3 1 November 2015 At Sea to South Georgia Island Day 2 By Dave Shoch by Cape Petrels, Southern Fulmars, a lecture on landscape photography, DAY 2 AT NOON Northern and Southern giant-petrels, Hugh presented an orientation on the Location Scotia Sea SAILING EAST and Black-browed and Gray-headed operation of the Zodiacs and landing Latitude 52˚11’ 9 S e Ortelius shuddered and heaved albatrosses. ose fortunate few out on protocols … In the aernoon we began Longitude 53˚12’ 4 W through the night and into the morning, deck in the morning were also treated the slow, steady, sometimes tedious, generously redistributing loose items in to the appearance of a single Antarctic process of inspecting and cleaning and Total Sailed 180 miles our cabins. On the bridge, the gauges re- Petrel, a bird seldom seen away from re-cleaning our onshore gear in prepa- Wind 45 knots SW corded Force 10, at least 50-knot winds, the Antarctic continent and unexpected ration for our landings on South Geor- Air Temperature 4°C and swells averaging a healthy 6 meters. in these waters, perhaps brought north- gia. e South Georgia government re- Weather Overcast A few stalwarts stepped out in the early ward by the storm. Following the deck quires intensive biosecurity screening morning, amid bouts of snow and hail, closure, many gathered aer breakfast to prevent the introduction of non-na- before the captain made the call to close on the bridge, where we continued to tive organisms that, especially given the ON DECK the outside decks. e force of the sea observe the southern ocean spectacle rapidly changing climatic conditions in Aer the weather lessened some in the was on full display, with occasional 25- through the spray-soaked windows. the region, have the potential to severely aernoon, the outside decks were re- to 30-foot swells belying the 300-foot disrupt the unique natural communities opened and many of us re-emerged to length of the Ortelius. e intensity of LECTURES AND BIOSECURITY on the island. We would do our part to enjoy the seabird show. It is interest- the weather seemed to kindle the ight protect the integrity of the crown jewel Lectures carried us through much of the ing to imagine being plopped down to of the southern ocean birds to exhila- of the Antarctic. day: Dave reviewed the identication of some unknown stretch of ocean, with rating extremes. We were accompanied southern ocean birds at sea, Moe gave no bearings or sense of latitude or lon- gitude, and having to locate your gen- eral position by inference from the bird community around you. e fast-ying Atlantic Petrels arcing over the ocean swells and visible from the deck of the Ortelius in the aernoon indicated that we are somewhere in the south Atlan- tic and north of the Antarctic Conver- gence, as they are birds typical of the warmer waters of the Falklands current. We ended the day with an impressive count of great albatrosses, the masters of the southern ocean winds: 5-10 Wan- dering Albatross and 10-15 Southern Royal Albatross. Gray-headed Albatross Ted Cheeseman Southern Fulmar Ty Smedes 4 Day 3 At Sea to South Georgia Island 2 November 2015 DAY 3 AT NOON and Southern Ocean wildlife,” Pauline’s PREPARATION FOR SOUTH Biosecurity Requirements. e sound of Location Scotia Sea discussion of “Environmental Issues GEORGIA vacuums and a full compliment of twee- Latitude 52˚58’ 6 S Facing South Georgia”, and nally a vi- Between bird spotting and informative zers, headlamps, and watch-full eyes is sually-pleasing aer dinner lecture by our assurance that our visit to South Longitude 46˚31’ 8 W lectures we also commenced the nit- shipmate Clemens Vanderwerf “South ty-gritty task of denuding our clothing Georgia would leave only footprints and Total Sailed 252 miles Georgia: A perspective from a Wildlife and equipment of foreign biomass un- take only a terabyte or two of memory. Wind 32 knots NW Photographer”. der the well-regulated South Georgia Air Temperature 4°C Weather Overcast By Joe Kaplan BIRDS AT SEA With the sea-state continuing to im- prove so does our enthusiasm as we steam towards South Georgia in open ocean. is morning delivers our rst iceberg bits unexpectedly early into fo- cus along with a full complement of sea- birds and lectures. By mid-morning the Bridge opens the bow quickly followed with rst views of King Penguin, Brown Skua, Slender-billed Prion, Kerguelen Petrel, Light-mantled Albatross, and diving-petrel the “ying football.” Our lecture series complemented this rich assortment of seabirds; Ron pre- sented his popular “Animal Scapes” and “Shooting Video and SLR Cameras”, Pauline and Tim’s “Grytviken ‘Antarctic Outpost’”, followed by Moe’s “Creative Photography Techniques for Land- scapes,” Joe’s primer on “South Georgia Black-browed Albatross, Cape Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel Ted Cheeseman 5 SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND King Penguin Colony, St.