Danzenbaker Tour Journal: En Route to the South Orkneys

January 12: Whale extravaganza

We were pleasantly surprised this morning when we awoke to find that the bounding main had a little less bound. Unexpectedly mellow seas combined with our westward course, which put the light at our backs, created ideal whale watching conditions.  We couldn't have envisioned the magical day we were about to experience. By lunch time we had already seen 32 Fin Whales, just before dinner our tally hit 61, and by day's end we had encountered 97 of these leviathans! In all, with the addition of three Cuvier’s (pronounced "coo-vee-ays") Beaked Whales, two Southern Right Whales, and five Humpback Whales, we saw 112 whales on the day. 

Nothing draws a crowd like whales feeding close to the boat under perfect viewing conditions. The bow of the Polar Star was a popular place to be on this day.

Perhaps even more amazing was the show put on by Kerguelan Petrels. Our previous high for this two-day passage had been seven, but today we saw no fewer than 58! I suspect that the more modest numbers of Kerguelans seen during previous trips were en route to traditional feeding grounds further south. However, this year's massive krill blooms were farther north and right in our path. It was apparent that the extraordinary numbers of Fin Whales and Kerguelan Petrels were taking advantage of this bounty.

Since we were unaccustomed to seeing feeding Kerguelans, some of the behaviors we were witnessing were new to veteran staffers. We were surprised to see many of the petrels flying high. Neither the Plancks (Rod and Marlene) nor I had witnessed such behavior previously. Additionally, this was my first experience with a Kerguelan actually sitting on the water and actively feeding. Lots of Blue Petrels and Antarctic Prions were also in the area. I observed one prion land, then dive and return to the surface with beak full of krill.
 
Since we would be making landings the next day, bio-security procedures were once again part of our daily regimen. Duplicating our routine in South Georgia, we took every precaution in order to safeguard against introducing alien species to the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkneys. Staffers once again gathered for a briefing to ensure that we were prepared for landings and zodiac cruising around Shingle Cove in the South Orkneys. A beautiful sunset illuminated distant icebergs and reminded us that the next day's activities would be enhanced by an Antarctic backdrop.
 
All photos by Jim Danzenbaker