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Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands Field Report

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Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands Field Report Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands January 24 - February 14, 2019 ARGENTINA West Point Island Elsehul Bay Salisbury Plain Stromness Bay Grytviken Tierra Stanley del Fuego FALKLAND SOUTH Gold Harbour ISLANDS GEORGIA Drygalski Fjord SCOTIA SEA Ushuaia Elephant Island DRAKE Spightly Island PASSAGE Port Lockroy/ Cuverville Island LEMAIRE CHANNEL Wilhelmina Bay ANTARCTIC PENINSULA Saturday, January 26, 2019 Ushuaia, Argentina / Embark Island Sky Having arrived at the Arakur Hotel & Resort in Ushuaia the day before, and caught up on at least some sleep overnight, we set out this morning to explore Tierra del Fuego National Park. Guided by our ornithologist, Jim Wilson, our birders were first out, keen to find their target species, the Magellanic woodpecker. In this they were more than successful, spotting five, both males and females. Meanwhile, the rest of us boarded a catamaran and sailed the Beagle Channel towards the national park. En route we visited several small rocky islands, home to South American sea lions, imperial and rock cormorants (or shags), and South American terns. Disembarking in the national park at Lapataia Bay, we enjoyed lunch and walking trails through the southern beech forest with views of the Beagle Channel and Lago Roca before heading back to Ushuaia by bus. Awaiting us there was our home for the next few weeks, the Island Sky. Once settled in our cabins, we went out on deck to watch the lines being cast off and we sailed out into the Beagle Channel. Our Antarctic adventure had begun! Sunday, January 27 At Sea Our day at sea began with Jim introducing us to the birds of the Falkland Islands, and preparing us for our upcoming wildlife encounters. In fact, some of these birds, like the black-browed albatross, had already been seen off the stern of our ship this morning. Continuing our lecture program, Stanford faculty member Liz Hadly gave us some geological background to Antarctica as a bridge to the southern continents, a result of it having been the keystone of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. After lunch, our Expedition Leader Dan Olsen briefed us on our Zodiac operations and how we safely get ashore in the remote places we will be visiting. Our afternoon closed with marine biologist Madalena Patacho and her presentation on the whales of the Southern Ocean, which we hope to see. Soon it was time to bring out our gladrags and dress for the captain’s welcome reception and dinner, hosted by Captain Ulf-Peter Lindstrom. Monday, January 28 West Point Island, Falkland Islands / Grave Cove This morning we awoke with the hilly islands of the Falklands around us and soon we were anchored off West Point Island. We were welcomed by Allan and Jackie who live here and then set off for the bird colony on the other side of the island. Some took lifts in Allan’s Land Rover, while many of us walked, some taking a longer route via the summit of Mount Ararat, an 800-foot hill on the west side of the island. We were treated to wonderfully close views of black-browed albatross and rockhopper penguins, both species with large chicks, nesting within the tall mounds of tussock grass. After lunch back on board and a short repositioning of the Island Sky, we disembarked this afternoon at Grave Cove, a small white sand bay on the far northwest tip of West Falkland, one of the two main islands of the archipelago. This part of West Falkland is a farm the size of Paris, with 4,500 sheep and a human population of just two. We were met by the owners who accompanied us on a short walk across an isthmus to the site of a large colony of gentoo penguins. The beach was a busy place, with much penguiny coming and going, the clear sea giving us great views of the agility of the penguins under water. Dolphin gulls and striated caracaras harassed the returning gentoo adults as they tried to feed their chicks, hoping for a spilled meal of regurgitated krill. Our first expedition day had been a great success; not only with some wonderful wildlife viewing but also the warm, sunny weather which had many (but not all!) of us reaching for the sunblock. Tuesday, January 29 Stanley The good weather continued today as we sailed into Stanley Harbor in the morning and set out early on our various walks and tours. First to leave were our nature trekkers who, with our naturalists and local guides, hiked a trail on the east side of the harbor around Engineer Point to Gypsy Cove. We saw a number of the local birds, including Magellanic oystercatcher, snipe, and penguin, as well as crested duck, turkey vulture, and two-banded plover in addition to some of the local flora such as diddle-dee, sea cabbage, and the endemic Falklands woolly daisy. We finished at the beautiful curving white-sand beach at Yorke Bay, sadly out of bounds due to Argentine landmines, a legacy of the 1982 invasion. Meanwhile, some of us toured the highlights of Stanley, taking in the cathedral, the memorial to the 1982 conflict, and Government House before visiting the excellent museum. We returned to the Island Sky and set sail over lunch for our two-day passage to South Georgia. In the afternoon, we spent time on deck scanning for wildlife with our naturalists. Our afternoon was brought to a close by a presentation from our historian, Caroline Barrie-Smith, recounting the background to, and the events of, the 1982 Falkland conflict between Britain and Argentina. Wednesday, January 30 At Sea Now well out into the Scotia Sea this morning en route to South Georgia, we enjoyed some fine views of some of the great seabirds of the Southern Ocean as giant and other petrels and wandering albatross soared above the waves in the wake of our ship. Our program of talks began with Mike Stewart’s fascinating explanation of the navigational techniques of the early polar explorers, some still in use today. Next up was our geologist Tom Sharpe who introduced us to the formation of the Scotia Sea and the geology of South Georgia. The start of Tom’s talk was delayed by a great sighting of a southern right whale and its distinctive V-shaped blow. Following lunch, Dan explained the regulations and guidelines agreed by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators for our visit to the white continent, after which we checked out and cleaned our backpacks and clothing ahead of our landings in South Georgia. The afternoon ended with Madalena’s presentation on seals and sea lions and their adaptations to the cold. Thursday, January 31 At Sea Continuing towards South Georgia, overnight we had crossed the major oceanographic boundary of the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Convergence, where cold Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the Atlantic, so today the air was noticeably cooler. Off our stern were petrels, wandering albatross, and southern royal albatross, and we also had sightings of humpback whales. Our lecture program began today with Liz’s presentation, Life on the Coldest Continent, where she described the severe constraints on the organisms which live in this region. Later this morning, Jim spoke to us on the lives of the birds we are likely to see on South Georgia, highlighting the nesting wandering albatross and the large numbers of king penguins, as well as the endemic South Georgia pintail and pipit, the most southerly songbird in the world. Our first sighting of land came at lunchtime when Shag Rocks, a group of jagged islands, came into view. Stained white with the guano of the shags which nest on the rocks, these pinnacles are part of a large submerged block of continental rocks along the North Scotia Ridge. As we circled Shag Rocks, numerous whale blows caught our attention and so we went to take look. We were excited, not only to have wonderful views of fin whales, but also of two blue whales, perhaps a mother and calf, the largest animals on the planet. This afternoon, Dan took us through the stringent biosecurity measures required by the South Georgia Government for us to be allowed to land. Great efforts are being made to eliminate the risk of further invasive plant species reaching South Georgia, so we vacuumed and washed all of our gear in preparation for our first landing tomorrow morning. Friday, February 1 Elsehul, South Georgia / Prion Island / Salisbury Plain Arriving at South Georgia early this morning, we climbed into our Zodiacs for a cruise in the sheltered bay of Elsehul. Amongst the tussock grass on the steep slopes here is a colony of macaroni penguins. From our boats we were amused to see them clamber up and down the rocks to and from the sea. Also around the bay are nesting black-browed, gray-headed, and light-mantled sooty albatross. Sailing farther down the coast of South Georgia, we made a landing on little Prion Island where we ascended a boardwalk trail to a viewing platform where we could appreciate the huge size of the nesting wandering albatross, which we had previously seen only from the stern of the ship. Across from Prion, we went ashore at Salisbury Plain, a wide flat outwash plain in front of several glaciers, to visit a large colony of at least 80,000 pairs of king penguins, a remarkable increase from the 350 pairs recorded here by the American ornithologist Robert Cushman Murphy a hundred years ago. Saturday, February 2 Fortuna Bay / Stromness / Grytviken Having anchored overnight in the shelter of Fortuna Bay, we awoke to a fine day with the morning sun catching the icy mountains around us.
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