(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daily Bucket: Antarctica was my backyard in December! Part 1 - South Georgia Island [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-21 We spotted a pod of about 6 Orcas somewhere out there between South America and South Georgia Island. Both adults and juveniles. This is already highly zoomed since I have a pocket sized camera. About 150 miles west of South Georgia Island are Shag Rocks, a Cormorant nesting area. Shag Rocks, an apparition after days of open seas Cormorants It took us four days to get to South Georgia Island. It’s a good thing that I love being out to sea. Glacier as we approach Salisbury Plain, South Georgia Island Salisbury Plain, South Georgia Island Salisbury Plain The first stop is Salisbury Plain. The Fur Seals had newborn pups, some were born while we were there. Most of the videos have very poor sound due to the strong winds, so mute your speakers. There was so much activity here. Salisbury Plain lies on the southern shore of the Bay of Isles, 50 km (31 miles) from the western tip of South Georgia. It has the second largest king penguin colony on the island with an estimated 80,000 breeding pairs. This indicates an extraordinary population increase as only 350 breeding pairs were counted at this site in 1912. Adult King Penguins A King Penguin chick, almost done molting This chick hasn’t started molting yet. The penguin parents leave the chicks on their own once the chicks are fattened up. The chicks survive on stored fat for about a month while they molt, then they head out to sea on their own. Since no one is feeding them, they approach other penguins and sometimes us, begging for food. Hubby took this video with his cell phone. This video has good sound of penguin calls, so sound on for this video! The high pitched calls are the chicks. Seracs, a type of crevasse on a melting glacier. The scale here is hard to fathom. Grytviken Whaling Station The next stop is Grytviken Whaling Station. There is a small museum, a post office, and a small cemetery where Shackleton is buried. It was odd to see the seals relaxing amidst the ruins. Fur seals and old whaling equipment The ruins of Grytviken Whaling Station are surrounded by spectacular mountains. This whaling station was the hub of the Southern Ocean whaling industry for over 60 years. It was established by Captain Carl Larsen in 1904 and, in its heyday, housed over 300 men and processed more than 54,000 whales in total. In addition, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s grave is located in the nearby whalers’ cemetery. Today, neighboring King Edward Point is home to a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research station and the center of government administration on the island. Yellow-billed (South Georgia) Pintail The Fur Seals could be aggressive, so in this video when I swung my camera over, I was checking on the seal that was charging towards me. I believe the large bone near the seal is a whale bone. Everyone was instructed to keep their distance from all the wildlife. St Andrews Bay and Royal Bay King Penguin colony St. Andrews Bay lies 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Cumberland Bay on South Georgia’s North coast. It is home to the island’s largest king penguin colony. The population has increased drastically over the years as only 1,100 penguins were counted in 1925, which increased to more than 32,000 breeding pairs in the winter of 1985 and now over 170,000 breeding pairs. In addition to king penguins, St Andrews Bay is also home to thousands of southern elephant seal cows during the pupping season. Elephant seal yawning The Elephant Seals are much cuter when they’re young King Penguin forgetting that it can’t fly King Penguin feet, they looked like leather boots A reminder that not all survive Royal Bay was discovered and named by a British expedition under James Cook 1775. First charted by Brennecke, a surveyor on Wilhelm Filchner’s 1911 expedition, Royal Bay’s scenery is dominated by the Ross Glacier and its 30m high snout which floats in deep water at the head of the bay. The glacier leads to the Ross Pass, a narrow gap in the island’s mountain chain and meeting point of the Allardyce and Salvesen Ranges. At over 600m in altitude, the pass also connects the Ross Glacier to the Brögger Glacier which tumbles down into Undine South Harbour on the South Coast. Brisbane Point is the western entrance point to the fjord and site of a large king penguin colony. The bay also boasts elephant seals which breed along the 1km stretch of shingle beaches, as well as light mantled sooty albatrosses, southern giant petrels, gentoo penguins and pintails who nest on the tussac slopes above. Royal Bay will be our second attempt at seeing macaroni penguins. Macaroni Penguins Macaroni Penguins and beautiful clear water Gentoo Penguin I’m not sure what this Elephant Seal thinks of us. We also saw Leopard Seals. Skua, a predator of the penguins Hubby’s cell phone video of juvenile Elephant Seals. The sound is not bad on this recording. All the adult males had left the colony to forage at sea. The adult males can weigh up to 8000 pounds. There are a couple of Gentoo Penguins in the the background. Humpback Whales in Royal Bay (not my photo, but I could be in one of the Zodiacs) Last call back to the ship, seals to the right on the beach — they look like rocks. As we sailed southwest toward the Antarctic Peninsula, we started to see icebergs. The Scotia Sea “Iceberg Alley” is the major transport route for Antarctic icebergs. Trajectory studies indicate that 90% of all icebergs are entrained in the eastward-flowing Antarctic Coastal Current. They travel counter-clockwise around Antarctica, merge in the Weddell Sea and then travel north through into the Scotia Sea, where they are swept into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. www.researchgate.net/... Tabular Iceberg The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. There are huge changes in the south polar landscape due to climate change, ongoing and in the future. This is an open thread, please add your nature observations from your backyard or from travels. 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