Danzenbaker Tour Journal: Antarctic Peninsula -- Day 5

January 19: Port Lockroy, Lemaire Channel, Petermann Island, Booth Island
 
Many of us woke early to view the scenic snow-capped peaks and glaciers that feed into the Neumayer Channel, which is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful passages on the Antarctic Peninsula.  Unfortunately, the cloud deck was low so it obscured most of the scenery. However, one could get a taste of what it looked like.

We passed two northbound ships during the 90-minute southbound cruise through the channel as we made our way to the next landing site, Port Lockroy. This British base is among the most visited sites on the Antarctic peninsula. A representative came aboard and spoke to us about the history of the base and what it was like to live there. In addition to an easily accessible Gentoo Penguin colony, this area also is home to a massive reconstructed whale skeleton displayed on a beach at the far side of the colony. The sheer size of this skeleton is impressive – especially the skull and jawbones.

Two landings were on this morning's schedule. The first was at Jougla Point, home of the Gentoos and whale skeleton, and the second featured a small museum and gift shop. The fickle finger of the weather once again turned unpleasant and the winds picked up as if to remind us of where we were. After all, nobody comes Antarctica to be warm or to get out of the wind! Back on board, a hot bowl of soup was the perfect lunch on this day. We continued south.
 
Rivaling the Neumayer Channel, the Lemaire Channel is equally striking in its beauty, thus our anticipation was high as we entered a stretch that many consider to be the most scenic on the peninsula. It was a relief to see streaks of blue overhead and buoyed our hopes that such conditions  would accompany us over the next several days. The clouds rose and cleared enough for us to fully enjoy most of what the Lemaire had to offer. This seven-mile passage is only one mile wide and is bordered on both sides by dramatic sheer mountain faces and glaciers which regularly calve icebergs into the channel. These ice floes held several resting Crabeater Seals and one Leopard Seal. We also glimpsed one Minke Whale en route.

An Antarctic Shag takes a break from nest duties. The Shag colony at Petermann Island is healthy every year although it never seems to grow. This year, each of the ten nests held two large chicks.

Once through the Lemaire Channel, we continued south for another five miles before reaching Petermann Island. This would be our southernmost destination on this trip and home to a beautiful Adelie and Gentoo penguin colony. After landing, I quickly visited one of the outer neighborhoods of the colony to search for nesting Antarctic Shags. Though this species nests in very low numbers here, a small colony of breeders continues to reliably occupy one particular corner of the island. I was not surprised to find about 10 pairs of Shags, but the size of the young was surprising. One nest had two youngsters, which were nearly ready to fledge, indicating that the Shags had probably started their breeding season even earlier than average. Such shifts offer even more evidence of the now constant weather changes in this part of the world.

It was interesting to compare the different feeding styles between penguins and shags. The penguins regurgitate the food to their young after forcing the food up the throat and out of the bill into the waiting bill of the chick. Conversely, the shags are not able to bring the food up the throat as far so the chicks have jam their heads down the throat of the adult to get fed. Since the shag’s neck is long, it almost looks like the adult is swallowing the chick since it has to reach in so far to get the food.

Alongside the Shags, Adelies and Gentoos tended to nest duties and the raising of their own healthy chicks. The Adelie chicks were already old enough to be left alone whereas the Gentoo chicks were still being brooded. I left the colony with Gail Cheeseman and about 10 passengers who wanted to photograph colony life. I was charmed as I watched penguins tobogganing downslope from their lofty neighborhood nests to their eventual launch into the sea.

A quick walk to the far side of the island was serene. Penguins were traversing well-worn highways, while non-breeding skuas enjoyed a quick dip in an ice melt pond. Snow and ice aplenty contrasted subtly with the cold gray granite outcroppings. The view from the far side of the island was stunning as grounded tabular icebergs dotted the landscape. A hasty retreat to the landing ended our visit to Petermann, which is one of my most favored sites.

A skua club is made up mostly of non-breeding South Polar Skuas. Penguins regularly wander through the club grounds making a strange reversal of roles as they force the skuas to step aside to let them through.

Following a quick repositioning of the ship and dinner, we were off to our third destination of the day. Booth Island forms the western bank of the Lemaire Channel. A visit to the eastern edge of Booth Island is one of the highlights of this tour. The island is one of few locations on the peninsula where all three brush tail penguins—Gentoo, Adelie and Chinstrap—breed. We only saw two Chinstrap Penguins and perhaps 15 pairs of Adelies mixed in with the hundreds of breeding Gentoos pairs. On the other side of the island, grounded ice floes were peppered with resting Leopard Seals and a few Weddell Seals.

The highlight of the evening came when we learned that  staff historian Craig Poore had proposed to his girlfriend Lauren amid the grandeur of the berg-filled landscape and the charm of rocks covered in guano. How could Lauren refuse? Congratulations to both of you! In the wake of experiencing some of the finest nature has to offer, glowing recollections of the day's activities diverted our attentions from the chill in the air as we made the the six-mile zodiac ride back to the ship.