Out Boating - Finally some nice weather

In the last two months we have had 2-3 times the 10 year average for precipitation. It also has been exceptionally windy so we haven't really been able to get out boating much lately. Last Sunday I was finally able to go explore another part of an island I've only ever seen covered in snow. It's the largest island in the boating area and is known for it's elephant seals. 

This is a huge male, the biggest I've ever seen here, he even has the funny big nose.

This one was sleeping with it's tongue out.

Finally some sun!

A very good comparison of adult and juvenile Kelp Gulls. 

This island is fairly close to the glacier and allows for safe up close viewing of the glacier face.

There is even a long term glacier time lapse camera positioned here. 

Gap between the island and the glacier. 

Cool rocks. 

An impressive glacier face over in Wylie Bay, beyond the normal boating area.

A bit of moss on a nice ledge. 

Antarctic Hair Grass and moss cohabitating. 

Up close with a different kind of moss. 

More types of moss! There are over 111 types of moss in Antarctica. I can identify maybe 5 or 6. 

This white giant petrel was wandering around and was extremely photogenic.  

Pretending to be a swan. 

The sun came out again and it was getting low in the sky, only a few hours from sunset. It made for stunning light. The baby giant petrels are getting much bigger. 

The white Giant Petrel from earlier walked by again, this time just above a shadowed gulley, with perfect sunlight and with much luck on the timing I captured what might be the best Giant Petrel photo I have ever taken! 

The sun lighting up Dayne Peak, 10 miles to the east of station made for the perfect end to a great day out visiting the local islands. 

 

Glacier

The photo above is from the end of January 2020. The photo below is from the end of January 2021. 
 

Beach Clean Up - Island 76

We went out to a new island in the Joubins to put an emergency cache out, in case anyone was forced to hunker down on this end of the the island ground. There was a four foot fishing buoy trapped on the beach in the cove. We always pull any trash we find back to station to be disposed of. We also found a huge piece of drift wood! I wonder where it came from and how long it has been here, it was fairly high up on the island too, it must have been quite the storm to wash it up that high. 

Here is the beach in the cove that serves as a nice protected landing for this island. The cove seems to funnel floating trash to this beach. 

Back in in the early 1900's whalers and fur seal traders used this group of islands as a stopping place. on a few of the island you can still find evidence of their presence here, either through dimensional lumber used in their camps and left behind or whale bones. 

Neat rock.

A bunch of debris and detritus I found on the beach. 

The view from the top. 

Another neat rock.

More trash and debris that we pulled off the island. The banding and rope is probably from fishing boats, the wood could be from anywhere, and the water bottles are probably from cruise ships. 

 

After doing the other work we went to the Joubins to do, we found this barrel, 1/3 full of something, floating out in the ocean about 8 miles from station on our way home. It didn't come from us! Very good trash haul today. 

Awkward Adelies and Other Birds

I enjoy taking photos of how silly looking the adelies can be. 

At least this one isn't covered in poop.

There is a whole gang of skuas that hang out in the fresh water pond behind my office. They bath and preen and socialize all day.  

These birds didn't have a nest this year, or their nests have failed so they aren't off feeding and protecting a chick. 

Skuas could live about 50 or 60 years, there are several in the area that have been tracked for over 30 years. 

Majestic murder birds. 

 

Whale Watching (from land)

Last week a mother and calf pair of humpback whales came into the harbor. With a my telephoto lens was I was able to get a few good photos from land!

The baby humpback whale came within 30 feet of where I was standing! It gets deep pretty quickly out on the point. 

A Skua was interested in what I was doing and kept an eye on me. 

Lunge feeding. 

The days are starting to get shorter and we have been getting sunsets again!