Thursday 25 August 2005
Visiting the penguins
After nearly two weeks of delays due to bad weather, yesterday we finally managed to get down to visit the penguins. Five of us set off in one of the base sno-cats for the 14km drive to Windy Bay, a sheltered cove which is home to a large emperor penguin colony.
After an hour's drive we arrived at the coast and put on our climbing gear. Our base is sitting on an ice shelf while the penguins nest on the sea ice, which means that we had to abseil around 30 metres down the side of the ice cliff. The penguins were gathered near to where we abseiled from, giving a great view of the colony from the top of the ice shelf. They are very curious so while we were setting up the abseil point at the top of the cliff a small welcoming committee broke away from the main bunch to greet us. I suppose that after being surrounded by nothing but ice for many months the noisy, brightly coloured things would be of great interest to them. It tends to be the young adolescents that take the most interest, since they don't have eggs or chicks to look after.
A welcoming committee comes out to meet us.
The temperature was hovering just below -30C (-22F) so we didn't hang around on the ice too long, just long enough to get plenty of photos. At the moment the eggs (which they have been nurturing all winter) are just starting to hatch so there were a few chicks to see. They sit on their parents feet, under a flap of skin which keeps them warm so you only usually get a glimpse of their heads when they come out asking for food.
A penguin chick with its parent. The adult on the left also had a chick but it is hidden away in this picture.
To get to see an emperor penguin colony at this time of year is a pretty unique experience. It's amazing to know that they have been sitting outside all winter while we have been tucked up inside our base through the gales and low temperatures. To get through the worst months the penguins have to huddle tightly together for warmth, with each penguin taking it's turn sitting on the outside before returning to the middle of the group to warm up. In this photo you can still see a few small groups huddled together, backs to the wind:
Penguins huddled together in groups.
Here's a full-sized version (750kB) of the above picture which makes an interesting, if slightly manic desktop background. Extra credit goes to the person who counts them all.
After an hour or so it was time to head home, but first we had to get back up onto the ice shelf. To scale the vertical cliff we use devices called jumars, which are bits of climbing gear which attach to a rope and only slide one way. By shifting your weight from one to the other then sliding them up the rope you can shuffle your way to the top.
Frances jumaring back up the ice cliff.
After a quick cup of tea in the caboose while we waited for the sno-cat to warm up it was time to return to base. Although I've been down to visit the penguins a few times before it's still a great day out and one of the highlights of my time down here. It's especially good to see them so soon after the winter while they are still packed together so closely.
A small group that came up to me while I was sitting on the ice.
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