Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain, South Georgia
South Georgia is a place on a grand scale. Hard to sum up in words, harder to capture on camera. Where the widest angle lens cannot do justice to the splendour of the land and seascapes, the best telephoto cannot bring the wildlife any closer because it is already up close and personal. We have been here but one day and already are beginning to feel the sensory overload that the wildlife and scenery in South Georgia delivers.
And perhaps no single species exemplifies this better than the King penguin. It is not the most common seabird in South Georgia, that title belongs to the super-abundant Antarctic prion with a population estimated at a staggering 22 million pairs. Nor is it the commonest penguin, a title claimed by the Macaroni penguin. But it is undoubtedly one of the stars of the show here; abundant, beautiful and charismatic. It is hard not to be charmed by these birds and harder not to anthropomorphise their behaviours, which kept us entertained onshore for hours while at Right Whale Bay this morning and later at the huge colony at Salisbury Plain. A great start to our time exploring South Georgia, and a great day for ‘firsts’, whether your's was your first time in South Georgia, your first king penguin colony or, as for at least one person on shore this morning, your first ever snow.
South Georgia is a place on a grand scale. Hard to sum up in words, harder to capture on camera. Where the widest angle lens cannot do justice to the splendour of the land and seascapes, the best telephoto cannot bring the wildlife any closer because it is already up close and personal. We have been here but one day and already are beginning to feel the sensory overload that the wildlife and scenery in South Georgia delivers.
And perhaps no single species exemplifies this better than the King penguin. It is not the most common seabird in South Georgia, that title belongs to the super-abundant Antarctic prion with a population estimated at a staggering 22 million pairs. Nor is it the commonest penguin, a title claimed by the Macaroni penguin. But it is undoubtedly one of the stars of the show here; abundant, beautiful and charismatic. It is hard not to be charmed by these birds and harder not to anthropomorphise their behaviours, which kept us entertained onshore for hours while at Right Whale Bay this morning and later at the huge colony at Salisbury Plain. A great start to our time exploring South Georgia, and a great day for ‘firsts’, whether your's was your first time in South Georgia, your first king penguin colony or, as for at least one person on shore this morning, your first ever snow.
