Port Lockroy, Antarctica, 64°49’S, 63°30’W
This morning the Endeavour arrived at Port Lockroy shortly after breakfast for our last day in Antarctica. After days of clear, sunny weather we were greeted by overcast skies, light snow and a chill wind.
Our first call was at the seabird colony on Jougla Point; home to gentoo penguins and Antarctic shags. The two species could be observed side by side within the colony and provided an interesting comparison. Shags do not favour the ‘rock pile’ school of architecture currently in vogue with the gentoos, but instead prefer a slightly less elegant, but functional, ‘guano and rotting seaweed pile.’ While we watched the gentoos in their habitual theft of pebbles from their neighbours stash, shags (pictured) were frequently seen arriving with beaks full of fresh seaweed to add to the piles. For both species these activities are important in renewing the pair bond between birds throughout the breeding season.
After the landing at Jougla, a short Zodiac shuttle delivered us to Goudier Island, home to the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust museum at Port Lockroy. This former British Antarctic Survey base built in 1944 is now a museum and post office and is run by three British volunteers who spend the summer here. We explored the museum and took the opportunity to send postcards and purchase Antarctic souvenirs. Our friends from the Lockroy base joined us on board for lunch, and afterwards we returned them to their home for the season and headed north.
Winds strengthened during the afternoon, and plans for whale watching were curtailed by 50 knot gusts and white caps as far as we could see (about 1 kilometer in blizzard conditions). Reluctantly, the Endeavour departed the relatively sheltered waters of the Antarctic Peninsula and headed for the open seas of the Drake Passage.
This morning the Endeavour arrived at Port Lockroy shortly after breakfast for our last day in Antarctica. After days of clear, sunny weather we were greeted by overcast skies, light snow and a chill wind.
Our first call was at the seabird colony on Jougla Point; home to gentoo penguins and Antarctic shags. The two species could be observed side by side within the colony and provided an interesting comparison. Shags do not favour the ‘rock pile’ school of architecture currently in vogue with the gentoos, but instead prefer a slightly less elegant, but functional, ‘guano and rotting seaweed pile.’ While we watched the gentoos in their habitual theft of pebbles from their neighbours stash, shags (pictured) were frequently seen arriving with beaks full of fresh seaweed to add to the piles. For both species these activities are important in renewing the pair bond between birds throughout the breeding season.
After the landing at Jougla, a short Zodiac shuttle delivered us to Goudier Island, home to the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust museum at Port Lockroy. This former British Antarctic Survey base built in 1944 is now a museum and post office and is run by three British volunteers who spend the summer here. We explored the museum and took the opportunity to send postcards and purchase Antarctic souvenirs. Our friends from the Lockroy base joined us on board for lunch, and afterwards we returned them to their home for the season and headed north.
Winds strengthened during the afternoon, and plans for whale watching were curtailed by 50 knot gusts and white caps as far as we could see (about 1 kilometer in blizzard conditions). Reluctantly, the Endeavour departed the relatively sheltered waters of the Antarctic Peninsula and headed for the open seas of the Drake Passage.
