Tay Head, Joinville Island
BINGO!
Some Antarctic days are almost routinely spectacular, while others simply go beyond descriptive adjectives. Today was one of the latter — a potpourri of unexpected, thrilling moments that were wonderfully exciting for everyone on Endeavour. Also, the day produced considerable, rewarding data and information for Oceanites’ Antarctic Site Inventory project, which is working with Lindblad Expeditions.
In the morning we reached Camp Hill, a totally new landing site in Prince Gustav Channel and the eighth new location added to the Antarctic Site Inventory database during this fabulous Antarctic season. We enjoyed vigorous hiking, spectacular vistas, and at least five species of lichens that have colonized Camp Hill’s rocks and shale. It was our first chance to catalogue this site’s features and to craft some orientation maps and pointers so that potential environmental changes may be detected in future years.
The Antarctic Site Inventory is the only research project collecting Peninsula-wide data sets regarding a number of biological and physical variables. This database helps to ensure that decisions under the Antarctic Environmental Protocol are based on the best available scientific information. We are grateful for Lindblad Expeditions’ support because we share the goal of conserving Antarctica for future generations.
Endeavour then traveled to Paulet Island where we observed the remains of the historic hut from the famed Swedish National Antarctic Expedition, led by Otto Nordenskjöld at the turn of the 20th century. To our great surprise, we found Paulet’s beaches, flats, and upper reaches covered by swarms of young male Antarctic fur seals, estimated at greater than 2,000 in number. This was an unprecedented count, much higher than any of us had seen here, clearly resulting from the huge population expansion of this species to the north, at South Georgia.
But we were not finished. As we neared Tay Head on the southern coast of Joinville Island, the rain increased and soon turned to heavy, blinding snow. Visibility closed. We tromped ashore and safely passed around and through another, undulating, snarling swath of up to 1,500 fur seals. More than 300 southern giant petrels were interspersed among the seals and, above, skuas, Antarctic terns, kelp gulls announced our presence.
And . . . bingo! Word came from our advance scout that a special treat awaited us, and we intrepidly marched the long mile-and-a-half to reach the glacier that abuts the primary landing beach. Finally, there it was, in all supreme glory — an almost fully molted, young adult emperor penguin basking in the falling snow. Indeed, this is the hardest-to-find of all Antarctic penguins and a wonderful capstone to our Antarctic Peninsula adventures.
BINGO!
Some Antarctic days are almost routinely spectacular, while others simply go beyond descriptive adjectives. Today was one of the latter — a potpourri of unexpected, thrilling moments that were wonderfully exciting for everyone on Endeavour. Also, the day produced considerable, rewarding data and information for Oceanites’ Antarctic Site Inventory project, which is working with Lindblad Expeditions.
In the morning we reached Camp Hill, a totally new landing site in Prince Gustav Channel and the eighth new location added to the Antarctic Site Inventory database during this fabulous Antarctic season. We enjoyed vigorous hiking, spectacular vistas, and at least five species of lichens that have colonized Camp Hill’s rocks and shale. It was our first chance to catalogue this site’s features and to craft some orientation maps and pointers so that potential environmental changes may be detected in future years.
The Antarctic Site Inventory is the only research project collecting Peninsula-wide data sets regarding a number of biological and physical variables. This database helps to ensure that decisions under the Antarctic Environmental Protocol are based on the best available scientific information. We are grateful for Lindblad Expeditions’ support because we share the goal of conserving Antarctica for future generations.
Endeavour then traveled to Paulet Island where we observed the remains of the historic hut from the famed Swedish National Antarctic Expedition, led by Otto Nordenskjöld at the turn of the 20th century. To our great surprise, we found Paulet’s beaches, flats, and upper reaches covered by swarms of young male Antarctic fur seals, estimated at greater than 2,000 in number. This was an unprecedented count, much higher than any of us had seen here, clearly resulting from the huge population expansion of this species to the north, at South Georgia.
But we were not finished. As we neared Tay Head on the southern coast of Joinville Island, the rain increased and soon turned to heavy, blinding snow. Visibility closed. We tromped ashore and safely passed around and through another, undulating, snarling swath of up to 1,500 fur seals. More than 300 southern giant petrels were interspersed among the seals and, above, skuas, Antarctic terns, kelp gulls announced our presence.
And . . . bingo! Word came from our advance scout that a special treat awaited us, and we intrepidly marched the long mile-and-a-half to reach the glacier that abuts the primary landing beach. Finally, there it was, in all supreme glory — an almost fully molted, young adult emperor penguin basking in the falling snow. Indeed, this is the hardest-to-find of all Antarctic penguins and a wonderful capstone to our Antarctic Peninsula adventures.
