Today the guests aboard National Geographic Explorer will fall asleep to the gentle rocking that a ship at sea provides. We awoke to much the same tune, and will spend a full two days steaming towards South Georgia on a straight trajectory from Elephant Island. One of the most infallible and interesting forms of wildlife which present to a ship at sea are seabirds. These birds live for and with the sea, in a beautiful symbiosis between wildlife and habitat.
Albatross are some of the most graceful and revered seabirds. There are many species in four genera, including the wandering albatross, which has the greatest wingspan of any extant bird (roughly 11.5 ft). They are extremely efficient in the air, in fact the most energetically expensive portion of travel or hunting for the albatross is takeoff, landing, or swooping down to the water where they will take their lunch. These great seabirds feed on a variety of water dwelling species, including fish, krill, and often squid. They sometimes feed by scavenging, but are also capable of hunting live prey, and even diving into the water to make a kill. Pair bonds form between males and females and will last for many years, even building a ritualized dance which is special between the two individuals.
Several of those who braved the early morning up on the bridge were lucky enough to spot a rare albatross species. The light-mantled sooty albatross is an uncommon and spectacular sight. They have a dark head and paler grey plumage from the nape of the neck into the base of the tail. These are a large albatross – they exhibit a wingspan of up to about 7 feet. These birds are not seen in the Drake Passage through which we traveled to reach the Antarctic Peninsula, but are spotted in South Georgia and in the nearby waters of the Southern Ocean. Unless this animal is breeding, its habitat is entirely marine.
As the ship heads towards South Georgia and new adventures, it is important to remember where we have been and what we have done since embarkation. The guests of National Geographic Explorer have seen incredible wildlife and beautiful scenery, a trend that will continue not only during the landings of the following days, but also even aboard the vessel as we steam full-on towards our next destination.
