January 30: Steve Howell & Luke Seitz report from their recent Antarctica and Cape Horn cruise.
This trip never ceases to inspire wonder at the sheer magnitude of the Great White South, impossible to capture with photos—although we all tried!
But there’s a lot more to the trip than that, including summer in Uruguay—with Giant Wood Rail feeding giant young…
As a handsome Gray Monjitawatches on.
Huge flocks of Great Shearwaters held both the sought-after Spectacled Petrel and little-known Cape Verde Shearwater (look carefully!)
Black-browed Albatross is pretty nice for the ‘common daily albatross’
But the giants such as this Snowy Wandering Albatross…
And this eye-level Antipodes Wandering Albatross are the real Southern Ocean icons
Our visit to the Falklands, here the Port Stanley waterfront, was blessed by sunny weather
Perfect for appreciating the sights and sounds (and smells!) of the amazing King Penguin colony.
While Dolphin Gulls on the waterfront needed to be watched carefully!
Back at sea, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses marked our transition into cold Antarctic waters
And then it was three days of snow, ice, and penguins, some ‘flying’ through the water—like these Gentoos in their true element
Others ‘porpoising’ like these Chinstraps
And others just hanging out
Scenery…
And more scenery—oh, those blue icebergs!
Was interrupted at times by Killer Whales, here hunting an unfortunate Gentoo Penguin
Before crossing back across the Drake to see trees again, along with the majestic Magellanic Woodpecker
And then it was over to the Pacific Ocean with different oceanic birds, such as this handsome Chatham Albatross
Plus new mammals, like some very obliging Sperm Whales, before return to land and the so-called ‘real world’
And what a wonderful group of people to share the trip with!
Posted: January 30, 2024