More Penguins Again

My first look at a Chinstrap penguin.

He or she was excited to see me too!

We boated to Torgersen Island to service the penguin cam we set up a few weeks ago. The penguins at that time were pairing off. Now they are nesting on eggs. On the left side, you can see an egg.

They build nests with small rocks.

This Adelie penguin walked right up to us as he must have been curious about what we were doing.

The surge was too large to anchor so the marine tech stayed in the boat. 

The Skua birds to the left, scavengers of the Southern Ocean, were trying to get the eggs.

The penguins were very defensive.

There were several nesting areas. sometimes one of the penguins would try and steal a prized pebble from the neighboring nest. This was usually met with two angry penguins.

Two very large seals.

This Gentoo penguin seemed very tame.

He then stood and stretched. 

 

Penguins Invading Palmer Station

 

It's always an adventure to hike in Antarctica. This windy with snow going sideways day was a bit tedious but fun. 

The glacier radio sled was getting plastered.

Palmer Station being "invaded" by gentoo penguins.

An Adelie penguin on the station. They are smaller than the gentoos.

With the summer melt, the road to my office is getting messy.

Penguins on the pier want to go back in the water. The one on the right is looking at a very long jump to the water. They all eventually turned around an walked down the boat ramp.

Penguins and Sastrugi

I never grow tired of penguins. This pair walked right up to me!

I guess they got bored and walked away.

Until they saw one of my ski poles and gloves.

A selfie with my new friends.

They then decided to take a break as I left.

I call this the "playground" iceberg. It looks like it would be fun to explore inside and out.

My dorm room view. The sun sets after 9:30 pm now.

Palmer Station directly to the right of my head.

Digging out the glacier radio sled by myself. It took a few hours.

Sastrugi is windblown ice art found in the polar regions. I call this the spaceship sastrugi.

Name that animal track. It's a penguin scooting on its belly. The penguin's wings (flippers) make the marks on the outside of the belly track.

A nacreous cloud marking an ozone hole in the earth's upper atmosphere.

A slowly crumbling glacier. Global warming.