This post is for all my fellow bird nerds. One of the great aspects of my job is all the travel I get to do and all the birds I get to see in the process.
Antarctica: From October 2009-February 2010 I was living at Palmer Station Antarctica and this past year Novemeber 2010 to January 2011, I was on a two month cruise along the west coast of Antarctica.
Adelie Penguins: Most of these pictures were taken at the Adelie Penguin colony at Torgerson Island.
Chinstrap Penguins
Quite the treat! We found an Emperor penguin down by Charcot Island. Typically Emperor's are not seen that far North.
Gentoo Penguins. Last pic is a mom and two chicks at Port Lockroy Antarctica.
Antarctic Sheathbill adult and a rare sighting of a chick!
Antarctic Tern
Shag
Giant Petrol
Skua, these guys are pretty intense. There are superb hunters and often prey on penguin eggs and newborn penguin chicks. They are also quite aggressive towards humans.
Chile: At the end of my first season in Antarctica our cruise ended in Punta Arenas, Chile where I was able to go to a Magellanic Penguin colony. It was absolutely amazing to see penguins wandering around in a field with rabbits hopping about. Not quite what comes to mind when you think of penguins.
I also saw a Southern Caracara, not the best pictures through the dirty bus windows.
New Zealand: This year after Antarctica at the end of January I had the pleasure of spending some time on the South Island of New Zealand. I rented a camper van and spent 10 days driving all over and tried to document all the birds I saw. The first was a Quail family while I was hiking in Abel Tasman.
Weka aka the island chicken and her chick.
Black Swans
Oystercatchers
Yellow-Eyed Penguin. This was very cool towards the end of my trip I found out about a lighthouse on the coast that had setup a small bird blind. The Yellow-Eyed Penguin is considered the worlds rarest penguin and spends most of it time at sea feeding. Your best chances of trying to see them are around dusk when they return home.
