One week ago … or was it a month? … we made our first Antarctic landing on Aitcho Island in the South Shetlands. Snow and ice; penguins, skuas and petrels … it was all so new and exciting. It felt like we had reached the end of the earth. Today we revisited the South Shetlands following our dash south to the Antarctic Circle (where a brave contingent "enjoyed" a swimming excursion … really!) and the South Shetland Islands felt almost balmy. We even found examples of the entire vascular plant flora of Antarctica … both species! We added another penguin species to our list - the macaroni, with golden plumes over the eyes.
Today's photo: it's tough being a penguin chick! With its body growing in mass faster than in coordination, fueled by meals of krill provided by the two parents, this young chinstrap penguin found getting about on the rocks a daunting challenge. Soon it will have to engage in the food chase, pursuing its returning, food-laden parents madly about the colony in order to receive a meal. With luck, time, and diligent parents this struggling chick will be one of the fortunate ones to survive and someday return as a breeder, quite likely to this very colony. Life goes on in the South Shetland Islands.
