12-20-2022 Penguins

There are several types of penguins in Antarctica, but we only saw 3 of them, The Gentoo (the most common), the Adelie, and the Chinstrap.  On the ship there are felted examples of each kind.

Chinstrap penguin

Macaroni penguin

 There is also a felted albatross, actual size, hanging on the ceiling of the lobby of the Aula (the theater and lecture hall).  Notice that there is also a coffee machine, one of many scattered throughout the ship.

 There is also a felted albatross, actual size, hanging on the ceiling of the lobby of the Aula (the theater and lecture hall).  Notice that there is also a coffee machine, one of several scattered throughout the ship. 

The felted version seen from below

The felted Albatross and coffee machine.

The first penguins we saw were the Gentoo, on our first landing.  The rookery was at the top of the trail, so I did not get pictures of it.  The trip through the deep snow was just too much for me, even using trekking poles.  However, there were plenty of Gentoo penguins near the shore, going in and out of the water and marching up the hill on the "Penguin Highway."

The next time we saw penguins, there were a lot more of them, and they were nesting on the rocky beach.  The Gentoo penguins were nearest to where we landed.  Some of the females were sitting on nests.  We could see tiny babies peeking out from under some of the females, but they were really small, seemingly about  8 inches long, but it was hard to tell.

These may be last year's hatch.

There are 2 chicks under her.

Feeding one of the chicks

Farther along the beach we came to the beginning of the Adelie penguin area.  There were thousands of these smaller penguins, with nests stretching almost a quarter of a mile up the hillside.

Gentoos in front, Adelies in back.

Adelie penguin, about 28" tall

Penguin nests go as far as you see the light color.

This fellow has plenty of insulation.

It is interesting to learn how the various types of penguins got their names.  The Emperor and King were named for their size.  The Magellanic was named after the explorer, Magellan.  The Adelie honors the wife of the nobleman who sponsored the expedition when they were first seen.  The Macaroni got its name from the old American drinking song, Yankee Doodle.