Brown Skua and Snow Petrel.

 As our time on South Georgia was coming to an end, it was time to ponder what had been such a magical experience.

As well as the enormous numbers of King Penguins, we had also had several lovely encounters with the Gentoo Penguins. A species we would be seeing many more of as we went around parts of Antarctica. We had a lovely moment watching a mating pair of Gentoo at Godthul. Unlike most birds, that just mate in a very quick hop on, hop off kind of thing, the penguins took their time, and during mating, lots of neck pecking went on. A lovely gentle moment for them, and also us just watching them.

Mating Gentoo Penguins.

During most landings we saw plenty of Brown Skua. These are very similar to the Great Skua, or Bonxie, as they are often known, from around Britain and most of the northern hemisphere. Here, the Brown Skua was quite approachable, and at times extremely tolerant of humans.

A Pair of Brown Skua.

The Brown Skua.

Another bird that we had seen very large numbers of, was the Giant Petrel. These birds are massive, and feed on any dead animal that they come across. With their 'straw bill' they are able to detect any decaying animal from many miles away.

Giant Petrel.

As we left South Georgia, we headed well into the Drygalski Fjord. This is an eight mile cruise along the Fjord with amazing scenery, and spectacular glaciers, some of which were thawing during our visit, sending large lumps of ice thundering into the sea below. This was also a superb area for the gorgeous Snow Petrels. We had already seen several Snow Petrels over the past few days, but in the Fjord, the Petrels are known to nest, so we had several groups of them flying quite near the ship, which gave us our best photographic opportunities. We also had a close fly-by of a South Georgia Shag.

South Georgia Shag.

The stunning Snow Petrel in the Drygalski Fjord, with it's blue water from the melting glaciers and floating ice as a wonderful backdrop to the birds.

Next stop, Elephant Island in Antarctica.

South Georgia Mammals.

 On all our landings on South Georgia we saw plenty of mammals. However, all mammals on the islands are marine animals. The most obvious were the Southern Elephant Seals. The dominant males were setting up territory, and the biggest of these were battling for the right to mate with the females that were also already on the beaches, having recently given birth to their pups. Younger males were practising these fights, getting ready for the day when they would be giving it their all for the right to mate.

Some of the fights were pretty gruesome. Although we only saw one full bodied battle, we did see the result on one poor old boy, with his extended proboscis, the reason they are called 'elephant seals', badly damaged after an obviously viscous battle.

Male Southern Elephant Seal, with battle scars.

 (There were no volunteers to stitch him up).

Scars all over him.

This guy had perhaps had one battle too many!!

Often on the visits we heard the bellow of the dominant males, or 'beachmaster' as they announced that they owned that part of the beach, and all the females on it.

Male Southern Elephant Seal bellowing.

A nearly fully grown male. The proboscis extends as they reach sexual maturity.

A fully grown male, complete with battle scars.

Two young males practising.

The pups of the Southern Elephant Seals are gorgeous.

Those big eyes!!

A very large male Southern Elephant Seal.

One of my favourite photos from the trip of a female with her pup.

The females will feed their pups for just a few weeks before the pups can fend for themselves. The females then mate again, and will give birth the following season.

As well as the Elephant Seals there were also plenty of the Antarctic Fur Seal. These have now recovered their numbers well, from the time that they were hunted for their fur. The youngsters were quite boisterous with mock fights, with the slightly older males being a bit more protective of their territories.

A dominant male Antarctic Fur Seal.

Some were very inquisitive.

Mock fight between two juveniles.

Antarctic Fur Seals.

We also had a couple of sightings of Orca's, or Killer Whale. The only one we managed to get decent photos of was of a female with her calf. The calf was following close behind the mum, but unfortunately I missed the shot with both of them showing.

Female Orca complete with Giant Petrels and Cape Petrel.

Two South Georgia Endemics.

 As we approached South Georgia, Matt sent me a text saying that I should make sure I see both the South Georgia Pintail, and the South Georgia Pipit.

As these birds are both only found on South Georgia, and I was unlikely to ever get back there it was a gentle reminder that these birds were quite important to see. Although neither Lisa or I are bird listers, we do still like to see any unusual birds and other wildlife. There were also several other people on the trip who also wanted to see these birds, and most of them were listers, so they were even more keen!!

As it happened, the South Georgia Pintail was extremely easy to see, and also very approachable, and we had many opportunities to see and photograph this pretty duck.

South Georgia Pintail.

South Georgia Pintail.

Not only were these ducks easy to see, they were also easy to hear. They were regularly calling which was a loud whistle that sounded very much like a referees whistle in a football match!

As we were early in the season, the Pipit was much harder for us to see, and many birders were getting a little frustrated. Really reliable sites were tried by the guides, but it wasn't until we landed at Godthul that we had some really good encounters with them as we climbed the steep hill behind the beach. This is the most southern songbird in the World, so as soon as we heard a bird flying high above us singing loudly, we knew we had found some. Each time they came down to land they landed in the large grassy tussocks, making it hard to get really clear photos of them. However, they were approachable, and they often moved into view to carry on calling.

South Georgia Pipit.

Following Godthul, we went on to St. Andrews Bay, where two scientists were staying in a small hut while they did research on the penguins. One of our guides mentioned the lack of Pipits and the scientists mentioned that they had found a cave with large numbers of Pipits over-wintering. Presumably the birds were finding insects in the cave that helped them through the severe winters.

Meeting The King.

 Of all the wonderful wildlife on South Georgia, the most well known has to be the King Penguin. The largest colonies on the planet of this splendid penguin are on South Georgia, with the largest of all being on St. Andrews Bay.

South Georgia has around half of all the King Penguins in the World with an estimated 450.000 pairs, of which St. Andrews Bay has around 150.000 pairs, as well as lots of chicks!!

We were lucky to get 6 actual landings on South Georgia, as well as 3 zodiac cruises, so we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the King Penguins, and the other wildlife on the islands.

There was a little disappointment when we arrived at Salisbury Plain as the swell on the sea was too much to land on the zodiacs, but this was soon forgotten as we landed nearby at Fortuna Bay.

Salisbury Plain from the ship. King Penguins can be seen all along the shore and on the slopes.

King Penguin at Fortuna Bay.

These Penguins are great characters, walking around in small groups.

This pair looked both ways several times before walking along the shore.

One of the many chicks.

Lisa looking down on the colony.

Five King Penguin Chicks hoping dinner is on the way!!

Other landings we had on South Georgia were at Stromness, Grytviken, Godthul, St. Andrews Bay and Gold Harbour. Once again, the King Penguins stole the show, although there were many other delights that will be on another post.

Looking Smart.

This youngster had a proper hair style!!

Some of the very large colony at St. Andrews Bay.

Looking down on this massive colony was so special. We came away feeling extremely privileged that we were able to enjoy this spectacle.