Danzenbaker Tour Journal: Reaching the Antarctic Peninsula

January 15: The Adelies of Paulet Island
 
There was collective relief among staffers and passengers alike when we looked out over serenely calm surroundings this morning. No wind, no swell, no whitecaps! No worries. The scenery was fantastic with snow-capped mountains, sculpted icebergs, and penguins in the water. Our anticipation of a fine day was palpable.

After breakfast, we landed on Paulet Island, home to some 125,000 pairs of Adelie Penguins. The view from the beach brought tears to my eyes. Hundreds of Adelie Penguins came and went
returning to waiting mates and hungry chicks or just loafing after a feeding run. Adelies are the quintessential penguin. Their black and white tuxedoed plumage, extended flippers, and
gregarious nature combine to make them utterly endearing.

Adelie Penguins on an ice floe near the large colony at Paulet.

After the initial euphoria of being in the company of thousands of these charming creatures, it became apparent that something about the colony wasn't quite right. Many nests had neither young nor
eggs. At first I feared that some unknown event had caused widespread reproductive failure among these lovely penguins this season. However, further exploration of the colony revealed that the lack of chicks or eggs was pervasive in some sections of the colony while pairs in other parts of this massive rookery were tending to normal numbers of offspring. 

In stark contrast to the rather pristine image above, life at an Adelie colony is decidedly more messy. A stew of guano, mud, and regurgitated krill coats the ground, nests, and the otherwise adorable chicks!

We could only speculate about what might have led to the nest failures we found in some sections of the colony. Perhaps strong winds or  a freezing rain event, or some combination of the two was the cause. Neither of these weather factors is necessarily disastrous to a colony under most circumstances. However, if severe weather hits when eggs are hatching or when young are newly-hatched and at their most vulnerable stage, the outcome can be devastating.

It was interesting to see so many mated penguins going through the motions of incubating an egg when there was no egg in the nest.  The drive to reproduce and raise young is strong!

In addition to the empty nests in the Adelie colony, reproductive failure within the colony Antarctic Shags was nearly 100 percent! We found only two active nests on the promontory rock and none on the slope, which typically hosts over 100 breeding pairs.
 
Following our explorations of the penguin and shag colonies, I laid down a flagged trail along the beach and up to the remains of the Nordenskold hut, where I would give a bird behavior talk a bit later. Other lectures included Craig Poore’s history talk and a drawing class led by Edward Rooke. In the afternoon I took folks zodiac cruising. Fantastic icicles, blue icebergs, and Adelies on ice floes in beautiful light thrilled my passengers.  
 
After our last zodiac run, the Polar Star departed for a leisurely evening cruise north to visit another Adelie colony on Joinville Island. We were transfixed as we sailed through some of the most memorable scenery on the planet.

All photos by Jim Danzenbaker