Island Update: Winter

When walking around the island in winter, your boots can crunch along frozen dirt, small lakes freeze at the edges and snow drifts periodically cover the island.  Some of the plants are still in senescence and the wind has a bite that chills to the bone. There is a lot less wildlife on the island at present, with two of the four penguin species, three of the four albatross and many of the burrowing petrels migrating. However, while the numbers might not be tipped in favour of wildlife, the weight certainly is. August marks the return of the large male elephant seals (also known as “beachmasters”), which come ashore to fight to control haerems and mate with females.

The first pups are born in September and from then until November the beaches will get mighty busy and noisy. The king penguin chicks and wandering albatross chicks are getting much larger now, with thick down coats keeping out the cold. Giant petrels patrol the king colonies looking to isolate a chick and have a hearty winter feast. Gentoo penguins are nest building and next month the royal penguin colonies will transform from bare earth to a mass of hundreds of thousands of birds within just a few days. The wintering expeditioners have been on the island for nearly three months now. The days are getting longer and and spring is nearly here! The island transformation is about to occur!