Antartic Birding – Graham Clarke

From a birding perspective the first thing to know about the Antartic is that if you are looking to add many ticks to your world list then this is not the place to go. However where you lose on quantity you more than make up for with quality. This is a place of iconic birds not to mention wildlife, scenery and history.

My journey began from Cork airport one cold, damp and drizzly Wednesday in early January 2007. The cab driver bringing me to Cork airport was stuck for words when I told what my holiday destintation was.

After one evening in London I took a second flight to Madrid and just about made my connection to Buenos Aires. I decided that I’d spend one day in the Argentine capital before heading further south. Not to take in the sites of this massive city but to do some birding. I had contacted a guide through birdingpal.org who suggested initially we spend a few hours at the Costanera Sur wetlands near downtown Buenos Aires. However I reached Buenos Aires at 7am so with time on our hands we headed 200kms north-west to the Argentine Pampas. My guide kept me to a busy schedule. We birded flat-out until 10pm that evening, I struggled with terrible jet lag but at the end of the day 99 lifers was worth it all. Highlights of the day included Greater Rhea, Spotted Tinamou, Burrowing Owl, Black-billed Cuckoo, Nacunda Nighthawk, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Guilded Sapphire and good numbers of ‘Yankee’ waders (Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, Wilson’s Phalarope, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs). Early the next morning I boarded yet another flight, this time to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. This most southerly of cities is where I would board the ship heading to the Antartic continent itself. I had one night in Ushauia and was able to find some time here to bird, picking up Imperial Shag, Northern Giant Petrel, Dolphin Gull and South American Tern, all from the quayside.

The following day I boarded our ship the MV Lyubov Orlova. Chartered by US company Quark expeditions who were organising our trip to the Antartic. I took the option to share a cabin with 2 others. This I’d recommend as it keeps the trip cost down and lets face it, I wasn’t planning to spend much time in my bunk.

We moved slowly away from Ushuaia down along the Beagle Channel in wonderful conditions. We were escorted for sometime by 4 Commerson’s Dolphin’s and I also enjoyed close views of my first Albatross species, Black-Browed Albatross. Rafts of these birds bobbed on the flat-calm water. In addition small groups of Magellanic Penguins were fishing in the Beagle channel itself. After dinner I did some seawatching and could see low numbers of Sooty Shearwaters and occassional Northern Giant Petrel’s off the side of the boat.

The next day saw us out in the waters of the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Much to everyone else’s delight the conditions remained calm and foggy. I say ‘everyone else’s delight’ because in foggy conditions seabirds don’t see boats and therefore don’t follow them so there was little to be seen from the deck. But patience is a virtue and after several hours I got my reward as an adult Wandering Albatross appeared behind the boat. It’s hard to appreciate the size of the bird without a reference point so once it passed close by the ever-present Cape Petrels (Pintado) one could really see the immense wingspan this bird has. Northern and later Southern Giant Petrels were seen frequently and then we were joined briefly by the third Albatross species for this trip, Grey-Headed Albatross. Soon we crossed over the Antartic convergence. This is the point where the warmer waters of the Southern Atlantic Ocean meet the colder waters of the Antartic and it is an area rich in marine life. Beyond it though the opportunities for seawatching seemed to lessen. However within a day we would reach the South Shetland archipelago and our first encounter with the penguin rookeries.

Ahead of schedule on day 3 we took our first shore landing. Zodiac vessels ferried us in groups of ten from the boat to the shore of Aitcho Island. We were greeted by bemused groups of Gentoo Penguins (probably their first human encounter) and wandered amongst the penguin rookeries for a few hours taking in the sights, sounds (and smells). Found amongst the penguin rookeries are Snowy Sheathbills, looking like pure white pigeons they feed on pink penguin guano which is rich in partially digested krill. A real example of nature making use of every available food source. Although their taxonomy is unclear it is widely held that they link the waders with gulls and skuas. Adult penguins on the nest are ever vigilant of Brown Skuas (very similar to the Great Skua or Bonxie). We noted several of these birds combining to distract one nesting Gentoo while another whipped the chick off the nest before devouring it. The fine line between survival and death did seem very obvious in this part of the world.

We were fortunate that evening while anchored in Admiralty Bay, off King George Island, to enjoy spectacular views of breaching Hump-Backed Whales. Truly one of nature’s spectacles!

The following day saw us landing on the second island in the South Shetland archipelago, Half-Moon Island. The weather conditions weren’t as kind as they had been the previous day with driving snow all morning. Nonetheless we were fortunate to pick up a single Macaroni Penguin in the Chinstrap Penguin rookery. Several Kelp Gulls were foraging around the penguin rookeries. On the far side of the island a moulting Elephant seal was stretched out on the beach. Later that day we stopped on Deception Island. Deception Island is a volcanic caldeira and an abandoned whaling station sits within it at Whalers Bay. I strolled around the remains of the whaling station narrowly avoiding a brown skua which took exception to me getting too near to its chick and dive-bombed my head. A leopard seal louged on the beach digesting its latest meal of krill and penguin. Some of us decided to take the opportunity to strip down to our swimming trunks and swim from the beach. While the water is warmed nicely by thermal springs close to the shore it did get pretty nippy the further out you went.

The following morning was an early start but worth it as it was at this point that we made our first landing on the Antartic continent itself. We spent several hours in the zodiacs cruising amongst the brash ice in Paradise Bay. This afforded us with the opportunity to observe nesting Cape Petrels (or ‘Pintado’) and Blue-eyed Shags on the rocky outcrops. A Hump-Backed Whale and calf decided to investigate our zodiac and swam to within 10 yards of us. A later zodiac group was treated to a similar close-up of a young Minke Whale.

In the afternoon we visited the Antartic musuem, post office and shop (yes, I bought a t-shirt) at Port Lockroy and Jougla Point. As well as nesting Gentoo Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags there were also Antartic terns and Artic terns (in winter plumage of course).

The following morning, having sailed down the Lemaire Channel we stopped off for a tour of the Ukrainian Vernadsky base. This was formerly the British Faraday base from where the hole in the atmosphere’s ozone layer was first noted and was our most southerly point (65o 15’ S / 063o 57’W). In the afternoon we visited Petermann Island and I was able to tick off my first and only Adelie Penguin. Along with the Emperor Penguin this is the only other truly Antartic Penguin, breeding further south than any other penguin.

A zodiac cruise that evening around the icebergs afforded most people with great photo opportunities and for me a truly memorable bird, the Snow Petrel. This pure white bird, set against a backdrop of a clear blue sky, flying around an iceberg appeared almost supernatural. Groups of crab-eater seals had pulled themselves up onto some of the bergs and eyed our passing zodiacs with mild interest.

We made a second continent landing the following day at Danco Island. As well as the ubiqutious Brown Skua were several South Polar Skuas. Similar to the Brown Skua but a slimmer build with contrasting brown upperparts and pale brown to pinkish underparts. Also here were Gentoo rookeries high up on a rocky outcrop. Continuous hikes back and forth from the shore to the top of this outcrop had created in the snow what are known as penguin highways. Groups of Gentoo Penguins heading to shore passed those returning to the nest along these routes, sometimes pausing briefly as they met (to exchange greetings and discuss the latest krill news no doubt). A moulting Weddell Seal was stretched out on the beach. From Danco Island we took a final zodiac cruise around Wilhemina Bay where we were mobbed by nesting Antartic terns. Later the boat sailed between Anvers Island and Brabant Island and back out towards the Drake Passage of the Southern Ocean.

I hoped for weather conditions more conducive to some birding and I wasn’t to be disappointed. Clearer conditions brought Blue Petrels and Antartic Prions in the wake of the boat. What at first seemed like one or two Wilson’s Petrels became on close examination about 40 to 50 birds at various distances behind the boat. Not surprising though as they are possibly the most numerous seabird in the world. As the swells continued to increase I jammed myself against the railings of the deck to keep a steady hand and although the cold was making it difficult to stay out for too long my perserverance was rewarded when an adult Light-mantled Sooty Albatross joined the boat for 20 to 30 minutes. This is a truly beautiful bird, the creamy white mantle and lower back contrast with the chocolate brown wings and dark head. The white partial eye-ring gives the bird’s face a very endearing expression. That night weather conditions took a turn for the worst as we hit a Beaufort scale 8 gale from WNW. The next morning although pretty sea-sick I birded on and had nice views of White-Chinned Petrel and Black-Bellied Storm Petrel. Hard earned ticks those ones. I think watching some of these birds gliding between the swells of the Southern Ocean against the distant backdrop of Cape Horn some 12 miles away is a birding experience that will stay with me for a very long time. That said I was glad when the wind dropped and we reached the calmer waters of the Beagle Channel once again.

We spent one final night on board before disembarking at Ushuaia and beginning the marathon haul home. A truly memorable trip with 139 (check) lifers, unforgettable seawatching, stunning scenery and great craic! But next year I think I’ll find a warmer sea to swim in.