I have come to the conclusion that I am addicted to penguin watching. It is the curious (me and a few hundred other passengers) meeting the disinterested - the birds of the rookery. The penguins seem oblivious to all the people walking around in their orange jackets along the established pathways - taking thousands of photographs. The beauty of this disinterest is that the rookery seems to function in a fairly normal way - almost as if the ships passengers were not even there. The word colony and rookery are used interchangeably for penguin breeding and nesting areas. An interesting note - word for rookery in Russian translates to "bird bazaar".

The expedition team arrives at the landing site well before you get there. Flags & orange cones mark where the passengers can walk and there is a limit of only 100 people on land at one time. Expedition team members keep an eye out for over zealous photographers. These observation barriers are established to insure passengers have the least impact on the rookery.

Neko Harbour

The landing at Niko Harbour was complicated by floating sea ice and icebergs. Everything seemed to be moving with the wind and tide. The zodiacs had to weave there way through this maze of ice to get to the landing area.

Up on the hillsides I could see the brown patches. These were the different rookeries of Gentoo penguins. I could hear the penguins chattering and smell them even before I landed. Penguin faeces has a fairly strong aroma to it.

Such a specular setting for the Gentoo rookery - a sheltered bay with a massive glacier protecting them from the wind. The glacier proved to be a perfect backdrop for my first photos. I attended a photo lecture and the leader said for the best penguin pictures get down to their level.

A loud crack and a thunderous roar filled the bay. Everyone looked up, an avalanche was starting across the way. Fortunately I had my camera ready to capture the event. Very cool.

Penguin Passion

The breeding season brings out a certain swagger to the rookery. Check out the sequence of events below. Seem familiar ?

Krill from the ocean is the main source of food for penguins. To find the Krill they need to leave their rookery and walk (kind of waddle) to the waters edge. They have pathways already established, so you would think it would be a fairly quick trip. This is not the case as the photos below show.

The two penguins below (maybe a mating pair) started out, changed their minds, talked it over and finally got going back down the hill - on a different path. This hike to the water took at least twenty minutes,

The Gentoo Penguin, what an amazing bird to observe. Once they made it to the waters edge, they disappeared. I was left wondering, did they even know I was there - I hope not.