Rain. Cold. Miserable. Mist. Wet.
After several days of relatively clear weather and light winds that enabled us to make great baiting progress across 2 large areas of South Georgia, we are now enduring days of torrential rain and low cloud. (Just like the UK, I imagine!) Only down here it is now only just above freezing and the incessant deluge is a relentless drain on our high spirits. We huddle together like the penguins on beaches. We are slightly more protected in the relative warmth of the disused whaling station manager's villa, waiting for a break in the mist.
In this weather even the fur seals seem to spend more time in the sea than basking on the land.
Antarctic fur seals. They are social animals especially the puppies. Playing and cavorting in the water and very agile on the land, considering that they have flippers, in some spots we have even seen them over a mile from the beaches, 400-500 ft. up in the hills.
Another 'animal of the moment' for me here at Husvik camp is the Brown Skua. This is a bird about the size of a very large chicken but shaped like a sea gull (also with very ugly webbed feet) There is a very tame and fearless pair keeping station around our camp, they fly gracefully down then waddle right up to our feet, looking for morsels. These birds predate and scavenge like crows but have the most gorgeous plumage, reminiscent of golden eagles. Altogether an ugly yet beautiful creature, entirely in keeping with the bird
Finally (on a lighter note!) my other favourite, of which I have only seen a few, is the 'Sea Swallow' or Wilson's Storm Petrel. For all the world in size and look like a swallow or swift back home, they dart and hover, dancing across the waves. They all migrate to the North Atlantic in April away from the cold Antarctic winter.
Hopefully the rain will stop and we too will get our job done here in the next couple of months and we can then migrate North again!
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
No comments:
Post a Comment