New Island, the Falklands
The final day of this extraordinary voyage brought us to two small islands, New and Carcass, towards the western end of the Falkland Archipelago. Along with kelp geese, turkey vultures and striated caracaras, Ian Strange and Tony and Kim Chater welcomed us to New Island.
It was a blustery, blue sky morning (with a few squalls interspersed) as we crossed the island from east to west, the windward side. Here, due in part to the steady, predictable winds blowing up the cliff face, there is a fabulous congregation of nesting sea birds hundreds of feet above the south Atlantic. Rockhopper penguins, king shags and black-browed albatrosses all use this site with a view to rear their young. They are attended by brown skuas, dolphin gulls and striated caracaras all hoping to collect a meal for themselves or their chicks. The same squid fishery that creates substantial wealth for human Falklanders provides much of the food for the feathered and finned Falklanders.
This adult black-browed albatross returned to the colony with a stomach full of squid for its chick. It waddled clumsily through the maze of cormorant and albatross nest mounds, its huge feet audibly slapping the bare ground with each step. Numerous chicks begged briefly for a meal, though the parent was obviously on a mission to reach its own youngster. It almost walked on a few of our feet in the process.
Upon reaching its nest, which the large chick was overflowing, there was a rush of excitement. The chick begged for a meal both verbally and by using its beak to tap that of its parent. But the adult had other ideas. First there needed to be some preening. Mom/Dad (it is almost impossible to tell them apart) groomed the squirming youngster around the head and neck until, apparently satisfied, it accepted the feeding demands of the two-month-old and regurgitated a meal of squid.
The final day of this extraordinary voyage brought us to two small islands, New and Carcass, towards the western end of the Falkland Archipelago. Along with kelp geese, turkey vultures and striated caracaras, Ian Strange and Tony and Kim Chater welcomed us to New Island.
It was a blustery, blue sky morning (with a few squalls interspersed) as we crossed the island from east to west, the windward side. Here, due in part to the steady, predictable winds blowing up the cliff face, there is a fabulous congregation of nesting sea birds hundreds of feet above the south Atlantic. Rockhopper penguins, king shags and black-browed albatrosses all use this site with a view to rear their young. They are attended by brown skuas, dolphin gulls and striated caracaras all hoping to collect a meal for themselves or their chicks. The same squid fishery that creates substantial wealth for human Falklanders provides much of the food for the feathered and finned Falklanders.
This adult black-browed albatross returned to the colony with a stomach full of squid for its chick. It waddled clumsily through the maze of cormorant and albatross nest mounds, its huge feet audibly slapping the bare ground with each step. Numerous chicks begged briefly for a meal, though the parent was obviously on a mission to reach its own youngster. It almost walked on a few of our feet in the process.
Upon reaching its nest, which the large chick was overflowing, there was a rush of excitement. The chick begged for a meal both verbally and by using its beak to tap that of its parent. But the adult had other ideas. First there needed to be some preening. Mom/Dad (it is almost impossible to tell them apart) groomed the squirming youngster around the head and neck until, apparently satisfied, it accepted the feeding demands of the two-month-old and regurgitated a meal of squid.
