ANTARCTIC PENINSULA:  9-23 JANUARY 2006

Trip Report by Tour Leaders Tony Marr & David Rosair

Summary

Our annual expedition cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula on the luxury liner Marco Polo was well attended this year, with 29 participants and the two leaders. Thirteen were members of the Rare Bird Club from Birdlife International, who we were delighted to welcome for the first time on a WildWings tour. We  experienced unusually wet and humid weather in Buenos Aires, but reasonably good crossings of the notorious Drake Passage, and in the South Shetlands and Antarctica itself we had an exceptional number of sunny, still and quite warm days. Even Ushuaia, the start and finishing point for the expedition, was remarkably dry, sunny and calm. All flights were on time; the Sheraton Libertador Hotel in Buenos Aires was conveniently situated and very comfortable; and the Marco Polo was well up to its remarkably high standards of comfort, cuisine, customer service and friendliness from the staff and Expedition Team.

The unique wildlife of Argentina, the Southern Ocean and Antarctica was our main interest, and we enjoyed a wealth of birds and marine mammals on our exciting journey. The wet weather on our arrival in Buenos Aires was in fact a benefit, as after two months without rain, wetland birds were returning in good numbers to the reserves we visited. We watched numerous albatrosses, petrels, storm-petrels and prions on our crossings of the Drake Passage, where windier conditions than on the two preceding Marco Polo trips produced many more seabirds taking advantage of the better flying conditions. We reached the South Shetlands and Antarctic Peninsula in glorious sunny clear weather and light winds, and only on a couple of days did we experience, relatively briefly, the more typical dull, damp and windy conditions which can sometimes prevail for days on end there, even in midsummer.

Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins were having a successful breeding season, most having two well-grown chicks; Humpback and Antarctic Minke Whales were much in evidence in the channels and straits through which we passed; and among the many highlights were six Orcas passing close to the ship in the aptly-named Paradise Bay and 49 beautiful Snow Petrels in just two hours on the same day on our return journey through the legendary Gerlache Strait. Every trip to Antarctica is different, even in successive weeks, but this one enjoyed an exceptional combination of very good weather and trouble-free travel, allowing us to experience stunning scenery and extraordinary wildlife on a ship which is well equipped for polar travel.

Buenos Aires – 10-13 January

After our overnight flight from London we reached our city-centre hotel on a very humid and damp day. After lunch many of the group went on the city tour provided by Orient Lines while the rest took taxis down to Costanera Sur, the famous wetland reserve beside the River Plate, in advance of tomorrow’s coach trip for the whole group. The newly-falling rain was beginning to flood the dried-up lagoons, and already flocks of waders were appearing – Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and Pectoral and White-rumped Sandpipers. Three Rufescent Tiger Herons and four Cocoi Herons were found among the feeding Great and Snowy Egrets, and although wildfowl numbers were low, two Coscoroba Swans, Red Shoveler, Silver Teal and Rosy-billed Pochard (inter alia) brightened up the surroundings. Wattled Jacanas and  Southern Lapwings, Picazuro Pigeons and Eared Doves, Monk Parakeets and Green-barred Woodpeckers were conspicuous. The trees and bushes held a great variety of small birds, and we found Rufous Horneros (Argentinia’s national bird), Cattle Tyrants, Fork-tailed Flycatchers, Great Kiskadees, Chalk-browed Mockingbirds, Rufous-bellied Thrushes, Bay-winged Cowbirds, Yellow-billed Cardinals and Double-collared Seedeaters. At one extreme we saw Eurasian Starlings, and at the other, the rare and elusive Curve-billed Reedhaunter. Eventually rain stopped play for most of us and we returned to the hotel.

On 11^th we were back there by 0800 for a morning with a local bird guide, which proved to be very profitable although somewhat wet. Most people were amazed at the variety of birds, and progress was slow but very satisfying. Many of the previous day’s species were present, plus three species of Coot, lovely Scarlet Ibises, an unusual Black-headed Duck, a Long-winged Harrier passing over, Yellow Saffron Finch, Red-crested Cardinals, Black-capped and Black-and-Rufous Warbling Finches, and single Hooded Siskin, Rusty-collared Seedeater and (stunning!) male Spectacled Tyrant.

After a very early start on 12^th, we spent most of the day at the Otamendi Nature Reserve, a superb wetland an hour’s drive to the west of the city in a river delta area. The weather was not in our favour, and in uncomfortably humid conditions with regular thunderstorms and tropical downpours, we were in and out of our two minibuses whenever conditions allowed. The bird list seemed to be endless, with a great showing of raptors – White-tailed and Snail Kites, Black Vultures, Harris’ Hawk, Chimango and Southern Crested Caracaras, an American Kestrel, Roadside Hawks and handsome Long-winged Harriers. A Whistling Heron and three Southern Screamers were unusual, whilst five Limpkins and four impressive Giant Wood Rails put on a good show close to the road. Hummingbirds emerged in the afternoon when it began to dry out, and we had good views of both Glittering-bellied Emeralds and Gilded Sapphires. Passerines were varied and numerous, from Straight-billed and Curve-billed Reedhaunters to Narrow-billed Woodcreeper and Spix’s Spinetail; Freckle-breasted Thornbird to Streaked Flycatcher; White-crested Tyrannulet to Small-billed Elaenia; Long-tailed Reedfinch to Great Pampa Finch; and Brown-and-Yellow Marshbird to Sayaca and Diademed Tanagers. Space does not permit mention of all we recorded, but it was a remarkable selection in such difficult watching conditions.

Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel – 13 January

On Friday 13^th we were up early again for our journey southwards to Ushuaia to join the Marco Polo. The three-hour charter flight in a comfortable B747 took us over the flat and barren pampas and empty lowlands of southern Argentina and Patagonia before we swung round over the Beagle Channel and the tip of the majestic Andes to land, rather bumpily, on the windswept runway at Ushuaia. The ‘southernmost city in the world’ looked suitably wild and rugged against its magnificent backdrop of snow-capped mountains. The air was cold and clear and the sun shone brightly as we emerged from the airport terminal into the waiting coaches to take us to the ship. Our great journey to ‘El Fin del Mundo’, the end of the world, was now really under way…

The next few hours were rather a blur, with settling into one’s cabin, finding the way around the ship, unpacking, attending the mandatory safety and lifeboat drill, and even taking a short walk into town before we sailed, two hours earlier than expected – the Captain announced that this was because rough weather was expected in the Drake Passage. Out came the seasickness remedies as the anchor was raised, and at 1800 Marco Polo cleared the pier and headed eastwards into the Beagle Channel at the start of our long-awaited expedition cruise.

Amidst spectacular snowy mountains and evergreen Southern Beech forests lining the route, we passed through flocks of Black-browed Albatrosses, Imperial Shags, South American Terns and Chilean Skuas. The occasional diving petrel (perhaps Magellanic, but not close enough to be identified) and Sooty Shearwater flew ahead of the ship, and small groups of Magellanic Penguins dived as we approached. We dragged ourselves away from all this for a cocktail reception provided by Orient Lines, where we toasted the success of our expedition. Before long we were called outside as we passed the Magellanic Penguin colony at Harberton, with a competing interest on the other side of the ship where large numbers of Imperial Shags were breeding on some small islets. Soon it was time to go below to the Seven Seas Restaurant for the first of many memorable dinners at our group of tables by the windows. As darkness fell, we were nearing the end of the Beagle. We would soon be in the open ocean and heading south off Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America. ‘What will the weather be like?’ was the question on everyone’s lips as, perhaps rather apprehensively, we retired to our cabins for our first night aboard.

The Drake Passage – 14 January

The Marco Polo is faster than most of the other ships visiting the Antarctic Peninsula, and is equipped with large stabiliser fins, so if seasickness strikes it is over more quickly. It was with this thought in mind that many of the group were up on deck early on this rather windy morning, to find that already there were several Wandering Albatrosses around the vessel. Soon we were into the subtleties of albatross identification, picking out Northern Royal and Southern Royal by the combination of all-white tail and upper and under wing patterns. These birds come all the way from New Zealand, having ridden the winds of the Southern Ocean half way round the world. Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses now looked relatively small against the three metre wingspan and massive jumbo-jet-like body of the great albatrosses.

Several of these birds followed the ship for hours on end, slowly slipping back as we headed south into colder waters towards the Antarctic Convergence, where the temperate waters of the Drake Passage merge with the colder seas of Antarctica. Other seabirds were following us or passing by, with Southern and Northern Giant Petrels on view most of the time and our first Cape Petrels, Slender-billed Prions and White-chinned Petrels (white chin not usually visible, but with a whitish bill). Blue Petrels were much in evidence, passing  regularly and showing the characteristic dark head and conspicuous white band across the tip of the tail. A few tiny Wilson’s Storm-petrels fluttered across our wake, with two Black-bellied appearing late in the day, and a couple of Common Diving Petrels completed the seabird set. The weather had been slowly improving through the day, and most of us were present at dinner in the evening. It was the first formal evening, and most of the group had changed plumage for the occasion.

Deception Island & Cuverville Island – 15 January

The Captain had advised us that Marco Polo would be approaching Deception Island in the South Shetlands at about 0400, and our Tour Leaders had suggested being on deck soon after that time to see some spectacular scenery – if the weather were fine. Consequently many of the group were up on deck very early to see the ship pass between the snow-covered peaks of Smith Island and the long low shape of Snow Island. They were not disappointed. Often shrouded in cloud, fortuitously this morning the islands were  bathed in pink light from the early sunshine as we passed between them, avoiding several large tabular icebergs in the area. Soon the first whale blow was spotted, and in the next couple of hours we saw some 15 Humpbacks as we approached Deception Island. There were a few Black-bellied Storm-petrels and our first Antarctic Fulmars following the ship. Cape Petrels (also known affectionately as Pintado or ‘Painted’ Petrels) increased in numbers as we approached their breeding cliffs at the entrance to the flooded caldera through the graphically-named Neptune’s Bellows. A single distant Light-mantled Sooty Albatross was seen by a lucky few – sadly it was to be the only one of the trip.

The wind increased as we neared the narrow entrance to the caldera. Huge colonies of Chinstrap Penguins could be seen behind Baily Head to the north, with two small colonies on our port side as we entered Port Foster with the remains of the whaling station on our starboard side. We dropped off a scientist who was to work at one of the bases, completed our circuit of the seven-mile wide interior of the volcano, and passed back through Neptune’s Bellows into the Bransfield Strait. As we did so, we noted that a long sandy beach just inside the island held a couple of Weddell Seals and several Southern Giant Petrels, including two handsome white-morph birds. It was so clear that we could see the impressive snow-covered South Shetland Islands stretching away to the north, and to the south the majestic peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula, some 75 miles away. We headed southwards and within a few hours were entering the Gerlache Strait, renowned for whales. Humpbacks were blowing all round us, some very close, with a total of a further 19, plus three Antarctic Minke Whales, by the time we reached Cuverville. The keener birders had been scanning every iceberg and icefloe, and were soon rewarded with three lovely Snow Petrels lifting off and circling round. Hundreds of Antarctic Fulmars were on the water or in flight, and dozens of Wilson’s Storm-petrels were feeding with their feet down and wings up, fluttering like butterflies low over the surface. To complete the scene, against towering snow-covered mountains and vistas that seemed to go on for ever, were Brown Skuas and Antarctic Terns and the first small numbers of Gentoo Penguins.

In the mid-afternoon Cuverville Island came into view, on a perfect warm, sunny, still afternoon. WildWings had drawn the long straw and were first off the ship for the one-hour Zodiac cruise. Wrapped up in our cold weather Antarctic clothing, we felt distinctly overdressed as we were taken slowly across to the shore of the island, passing a fearsome-looking Leopard Seal on an icefloe and nearby a Crabeater Seal on another. We were able to move in quietly and take photographs from a suitable distance as they lay asleep for most of the time. The Leopard Seal looked up and yawned, showing its impressive set of dentures, and on the Crabeater (which in fact means krill eater) we could see scars on its back, which were probably from an encounter with a Leopard Seal. Soon we were alongside the shore, watching the nesting Blue-eyed (Antarctic) Shags, Kelp Gulls and hundreds of pairs of Gentoo Penguins with young (most with twins). On the water’s edge we were fortunate to see a lone Chinstrap Penguin and a pale coffee-coloured Gentoo which is often seen here. The latter is a ‘leucistic’ bird, a condition caused by a lack of pigment in the egg. Brown Skuas were nesting on the mountain top above the penguin colony, which acts as their local takeaway into which they were dropping from time to time. This glorious afternoon excursion ended with a photo-opportunity among the grounded icebergs round the island, before reluctantly we were returned to the ship to make way for the remaining 467 passengers to have their turn over the next few hours while we relaxed and later wined and dined at the end of a long, tiring but fantastic day.

Lemaire Channel & Port Lockroy – 16 January

Earth has nothing to show more fair than Lemaire Channel on a clear, sunny morning.  And so it was for us as we approached from the north to traverse this spectacular seven-mile long fjord between high cliffs   which is regarded by many visitors as the Peninsula’s jewel in the crown. Few birds were to be seen – just a few small colonies of Gentoos surprisingly high on the mountainsides and a few Wilson’s Storm-petrels, Brown Skuas and Antarctic Terns. But for marine mammals it was just great - no fewer than ten Minkes and a Humpback, a close Leopard Seal below us on an icefloe, two Weddell Seals resting on the snow-covered shore, and a total of at least 50 Crabeater Seals sunbathing and sleeping on the numerous icefloes. Most were in Pleneau Bay at the southern end of Lemaire, where we turned round to make our way back north again at the southernmost point of our expedition. The return journey is nowhere as spectacular, but we were interested to learn that this was Marco Polo’s first successful run through the channel, previously blocked by ice. Yet another lucky experience for our group…

It’s just a few miles from Lemaire Channel across to Port Lockroy, site of a British World War II base which has been subsequently refurbished and now serves as a museum and post office. Marco Polo has too many passengers for them to handle, so was to land us on the adjacent island inhabited by Blue-eyed Shags and Gentoo Penguins. WildWings were on a later landing today, and were just in time to enjoy sunny, warm conditions again before rain, sleet and snow came in later. We enjoyed watching the antics of the Gentoos, especially their stone-stealing tricks, although it was disturbing to see Brown Skuas pulling apart and eating a dead young penguin. We found a lovely pale morph adult South Polar Skua engaged in the same activity up on a ridge overlooking the penguin colony, with an all-dark bird which may have also been a South Polar and was perhaps its mate. Last year we saw a pair of light morph birds in the same place. We missed an Adelie Penguin which the ship’s Expedition Staff had seen on their arrival walking through the Gentoos and which was not seen again. Three Snowy Sheathbills, Antarctica’s dustmen, were running and flying among the penguins, cleaning up guano and spilled krill.

After a morning of perfect weather, with the Seven Sisters peaks above Port Lockroy sparkling in the sunshine, the spell was broken when cloud and mist clamped down in mid-afternoon and all views disappeared. When we sailed away in the evening we entered a gloomy world of drizzle and fog which prevailed until we turned in for the night. It was more typical Antarctic weather at the end of another exciting day.

Paradise Bay & Gerlache Strait – 17 January

We arrived early in the morning  in dull conditions at Waterboat Point at the entrance to Paradise Bay. We were one of the later landing groups today, so spent our time up on deck watching the wildlife while the other passengers were ferried back and forth to the shore. At breakfast time we spotted a pod of six Orcas moving down the channel near the ship, and called up other passengers. Some of us raced to the bow, where we were rewarded with close-up views of these charismatic animals surfacing and blowing right below us before they moved on down the channel. They had the distinctive grey and cream colour of Antarctic Orcas, quite unlike the black-and-white ones in the Northern Hemisphere. From the ship we also saw two Chinstrap Penguins nesting on the highest ridge, each with two chicks in a location where they breed every year. Once on shore we enjoyed this only landing on the Peninsula proper (the other two landings are on islands) and as the tide had by then gone out, we could walk across the muddy isthmus which links the base to the mainland. With typical WildWings luck and timing, the weather cleared to a lovely still afternoon with sunny periods. The Gentoos again provided great entertainment, as did a pair of Sheathbills (two of at least 40 present) trying to build a nest out of discarded penguin stiff tail feathers. A young Elephant Seal was trying to hide under a Zodiac belonging to the Chileans at the base, and one South Polar Skua was found among the Browns present.

We sailed that afternoon for Half Moon Island in the South Shetlands on a route which took us back through the Gerlache Strait. We encouraged people to be on deck as much as possible, to try to repeat our good fortune with the whales on the way down. We managed to see 18 Humpbacks and four Minkes, but it was the birds which stole the show this time. All through the strait were flocks of hundreds of Antarctic Fulmars, Brown Skuas and Wilson’s Storm-petrels, and we spotted a lone Adelie Penguin on an icefloe, our only one of the trip. The undoubted highlight was a total of 49 exquisite Snow Petrels in a two-hour period when we were passing through a lot of ice – including 21 on or around one iceberg. After that it quietened down as we reached the open waters of the Bransfield Strait and headed north towards the South Shetlands on a rather dull evening.

Half Moon Island  & Drake Passage (again…) - 18 January

Half Moon Island was scarcely visible through the rain when we arrived early in the morning, but again our luck held, and our mid-morning landing was accompanied by sunshine and light winds. Everyone enjoyed the noisy Chinstrap Penguins and a fluffy young Brown Skua chick trying to hide away in some rocks. Antarctic Terns had chicks too, and would mob any Brown Skua which crossed their territory. There was a colony of Blue-eyed Shags at one end of the island, too far away to visit, but the Beachmaster directed one Zodiac to get as close as possible to a single bird sitting on a low cliff so that we could photograph it. There were three Weddell Seals on the beaches, one close one showing the blotched coat, large body and small head which are distinctive.

We set sail in mid-afternoon back into the Bransfield Strait, where there were some 10 Humpbacks, before turning into Nelson Strait and out into the dreaded Drake Passage in fairly windy and cold conditions. We encountered literally thousands of Chinstraps at sea a few miles offshore, presumably on feeding trips. There was a flock of 80 Pintado Petrels following the ship, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses again, Black-bellied Storm-petrels, White-chinned and Blue Petrels, a Slender-billed and three Antarctic Prions, the last-named our first sightings. A winter-plumaged Arctic Tern was seen among the Antarctic Terns, at the other end of the world from its breeding areas. The day passed into night as we continued on our northward return journey in roughening seas.

Drake Passage (again…) - 19 January

Some misguided birders (and one Tour Leader) were up on deck by 0500, hoping to see a lot of seabirds. After three hours, with just 15 birds (individual birds, not species!) seen, it was time for a breakfast break. The day never really sprang into life, and there was a slight and steady trickle of birds all through the day – Wandering, Southern Royal, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses, Southern Giant and one Northern Giant Petrel, 1,000 plus Blue Petrels and 30 Sooty Shearwaters as we neared Cape Horn.  We were unable to get close to Cabo Horno as the Chileans decided today to enforce their 12-mile territorial limit, so we passed well to the south and headed on into the Beagle Channel by dusk en route for a pre-dawn arrival in Ushuaia.

Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia - 20 January

Our local bird guide Marcelo de Cruz met us with a coach at the ship at 0800 for what is always a great day’s birding. Despite gloomy forecasts of rain all day, it stayed dry and gradually became warmer and sunnier by mid-afternoon. We soon found some of the very special birds of this beautiful rugged national park, with Austral Pygmy Owl and Andean Condor under the belt by midday’s coffee break. Others followed quickly – Great Grebe, Black-faced Ibis, Spectacled Duck, Black-chested Buzzard-eagle, Austral Parakeet, Ashy-headed Goose, Flightless and Flying Steamer Ducks, South American Snipe, and Magellanic and Blackish Oystercatchers. Smaller birds with exotic names included Bar-winged Cinclodes, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Fire-eyed Diucon, Austral Negrito, Tufted Tit Tyrant, White-crested Eleania and Patagonian Sierra-finch. In addition, Austral Thrushes, Austral Blackbirds, many Chilean Swallows, Black-chinned Siskins and European Rabbits, and an American Beaver dam and lodge completed a superb day. Well not quite – as we drove back into town, Marcelo spotted a White-throated Caracara flying past the bus, which several people were just able to see before it disappeared behind some buildings. So it was back to the ship for our last evening aboard. Already Antarctica seemed a long way away.

Ushuaia Rubbish Tip and Abattoir - 21 January

After the incredible beauty of Antarctica, it was something of an anti-climax to be visiting such insalubrious places on our last morning at El Fin del Mundo. However it was a lovely still, sunny, warm morning in Ushuaia and we made the most of it with a minibus excursion for 18 of us. The rubbish tip (or ‘basural’ in Spanish) ‘ the’ site in Ushuaia to look for the White-throated Caracara, a scarce local speciality. We found no fewer than 15, along with 15 Chimangos, the extraordinary total of 36 Southern Crested Caracaras, three Black-chested Buzzard-eagles, and 10 Turkey Vultures. A stop at a coastal picnic side added Grass Wren to the trip list, and we ended at the Abattoir with a lovely collection of geese (including 10 Kelps), ducks (including 50 Crested, 20 Flightless Steamers and three Yellow-billed Pintail), Chilean Skuas and kelp gulls. A Long-tailed Meadowlark had flown over us at the Tip, and a Grey Fox was seen at the picnic site.

It was back into town for coffee, off to the airport, and a mid-afternoon flight back to Buenos Aires. It all went remarkably smoothly, and by evening we were once more in the comfortable Sheraton Libertador hotel. Many chose to have an early night to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s long flight home.

Buenos Aires - 22 January

Two of our real enthusiasts fitted in an early morning return visit to Costanera Sur, and added four new species to the trip list – Lake Duck, Burrowing Parrot, Blue-black Grassquit, and Blue-and-White Swallow. There was just time to fit in the final reading of the checklist before the airport coach arrived, and then it was goodbye to four of the group who were staying on in Argentina, and to Tony who was flying back down to Ushuaia on Monday to join another ship to Antarctica. Suddenly it was all over……

Conclusion

Many people say that a visit to Antarctica changed their lives for ever. They say it may not be felt immediately. Sometimes re-entry to the real world, with its seemingly endless problems and challenges, makes one yearn for that magic land down at the bottom of the world, its pristine and stark beauty, its unique wildlife. It really is another world, far beyond the physical and psychological barrier of the Drake Passage. We are aliens there, entirely irrelevant and out of our usual comfort zones. But once you have been there and experienced how achingly beautiful and just how different it is – you will be ambassadors for Antarctica for ever.