tiabunna's photos with the keyword: penguin

Snares Penguins on the rock slope of the Snares Islands, close to sea level where we were floating by in zodiacs. Snares Penguins are unique to the Snares Islands. They have quite a climb from here to their rookeries at the top of the slope (see other image, also in inset). This image finalises my sub-Antarctic series. Try this on black. Explored.

The "Penguin Slope" seems to be famous among penguin enthusiasts and New Zealanders, but I feel it deserves wider awareness. The main rookeries of the Snares Penguins are in the shrubbery at the top of these steep rock slopes.

Following the interest in my previous shot (link in note) of the pair of South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki , here's a wider shot to give more context. Although it's easy to dislike skuas because they predate on penguin chicks and eggs, they also fill a very useful role as scavengers, keeping the area clean: natural decay in Antarctica is very slow indeed.

A pair of South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki which have just laid claim to a spot in an Adelie penguin colony, screeching defiance to other skuas circling overhead. With neighbours like these, you have to feel sorry for the penguin in the background! I later showed this to a French biologist, who told me he had banded the nearer skua several years previously and appreciated the information on its location.

Plant life is remarkably resilient. It can be found growing even in the permanent cold of Antarctica in the form of lichens and mosses, such as this. On the right is a section of Adelie penguin egg shell. Contact with moss, such as this, probably explains the green stain on the penguin seen in the note.

The Marina Svetaeva "parked" in fast sea ice, East Antarctica, with a tabular iceberg behind and an Adelie penguin looking on. Thinking of the people caught for New Year on the Akademik Shokalskiy in pressure ice, not far from where this was taken.

From an old slide. Some icebergs had trapped broken sea ice in East Bay, adjacent to Mawson station. Here a Weddel seal has hauled up with an Adelie and Emperor penguin.

From an old slide. After our return from the interior, while awaiting the arrival of the relief ship "Nella Dan" (caught for some time in sea ice) it was a pleasure to see various wildlife visiting the station area.

From an old 1966 slide. At about Midwinter, an Emperor penguin paid an unexpected visit. After a stroll around the harbour it wandered away again.

From an old slide. Macquarie Island was found by sealers in 1810. They promptly exterminated the resident fur seals for their pelts, then began on the elephant seals for their blubber to extract oil. By the late 1800s, there were too few elephant seals for that to be viable, so they began on the penguins. These rusty boilers were "penguin digesters", used to cook countless thousands of King and Royal penguins for their oil. The trade was halted after the Australian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-13 raised public consciousness of what was being done. The explorer Sir Douglas Mawson began a campaign to have the island declared a sanctuary, though even in 1919 there were efforts (which were opposed) to revive the industry. To quote the photographer Frank Hurley (who had wintered in Antarctica with Mawson and Shackleton) writing in the Sydney Morning Herald of 17 August 1919: "I can only term the destruction there as grim tragedy, the remembrance of which makes me shudder still.... The penguins are mustered like sheep and ...." ... (I shall spare you the details) "....it is one of the most pitiful sights I have ever witnessed..... This wanton butchery takes a toll of some 150,000 birds annually..." These digesters are at a point known as The Nuggets, others are at Lusitania Bay on the east coast. These remains of the "bad old days" were still there in 2005, but they are in areas where tourists are not allowed to land. Maybe appropriately, best viewed on black (press Z).

From an old slide. Gentoo penguins are found right around the sub-Antarctic and right around the beaches of Macquarie Island. This one, with its two eggs, was not far from the station.

From an old slide. This group of Rockhopper penguins, with their almost mature chicks, was fairly close to the station. Best viewed on black.

From an old slide. Rockhopper penguins are distributed around the sub-Antarctic. Usually found in small groups on rocky outcrops where they really do hop up and down the rocks. Also featured in the movie "Happy Feet". Best viewed on black.

From an old slide taken with a Minolta SR1 and 55/1.4 lens. For several years, an Erect-crested penguin (on the right) had been nesting on the island with a slightly-related Royal penguin (their eggs were sterile). But unlike the Royal, the Erect-crested penguin is not a native of Macquarie Island: they come from the islands to the south of New Zealand, something like 1000 km distant.

From an old slide. Royals are the most common penguins on the island, forming very large colonies. Did you notice the ring-in in this shot?

Copied from an old slide. Dating from the early 1950s, the Lusitania Bay hut was a recycled aircraft engine packing crate! But it did provide overnight (if basic) accommodation. When I returned in 2005 for a visit, it was noticeable how the King Penguin colony had expanded to completely surround this hut.

From an old slide. King penguins at Lusitania Bay, with chicks from previous season.