Return of the Macs

While the Gentoo Penguins have been around all winter, although in much larger numbers recently, the Macaronis have been out at sea since April.

I've been out preparing for their return - painting and measuring transect lines within the colony that we'll use to estimate numbers and setting up the gateway that weighs them as they return to feed young.

The return date of the Macs is pretty consistent year to year so I knew that when I was out doing some measuring there was a good chance I'd see the first one back. And so I did. There it was, standing half way up the colony looking nice and clean with big impressive eyebrows.

Numbers seemed to double each day for the next week until the colony was swarming and bustling with birds. These will be the males, returning first to establish sites and build nests. The females are out at sea still, feeding up so they've got the energy reserves to lay their eggs. They'll be back in the next fortnight though.

It's been pretty rough the last few days with some big swell and waves smashing over the rocks. That hasn't stopped the tough little Macs though. Neither has the Leopard Seal patrolling at the bottom of Big Mac. You have to admire their resilience as they ride the waves up the rocks, struggling to get a foothold before it ebbs back and drags them down past the kelp and into the danger zone.

Once up on the rocks they have a shake and a preen. Check their feathers are still in order and they're looking good and then start walking up the narrow route onto the wider 'motorway' up through the colony and back to their nest site where they can start shifting rocks around and arguing with the neighbours.

Shock at seeing the first Mac while out measuring the transect (Hannah's photo).

A late evening at Little Mac with the first 60 males back.

Looking over at the big waves crashing against Big Mac.

A group of Macs charging back home.

Getting washed up the rocks.

Spot the penguin struggling not to slide back down.

Made it!

Another group make the run.

Penguins crashing against each other in the maelstrom.

Once ashore meeting friends and preening,

Heading up to the colony.

One at a time in some places.

Trekking up into Big Mac.

Getting comfortable on it's nest site.

Little Mac with several hundred penguins back, but with many more still to come.

Jerry.

Puppies and eggs – a sunny day in October.

Craig had set off early to carry out some repair work on the little hut at the Seal Study Beach. Just as I was about to head out he called us on the radio with news that there was an Elephant Seal pup born on Landing Beach, so we all excitedly headed over there.

Huge numbers of Elephant Seals give birth and breed all over the beaches of South Georgia, but up on Bird Island we generally only get smaller, younger ones hauling out and only a few occasionally pupping. There's been a couple of big females on the beaches the last week or so though and we had our fingers crossed for a pup.

It was looking pretty healthy and calling to the mother, who was responding which is always a good sign, although it took it a long time to suckle.

The skuas have been looking pretty desperate for food recently, picking up scraps of old bone and feather and taking risks they wouldn't normally. There was a pair hanging round the pup, taking their chances to grab a bit of afterbirth or try and rip off a bit of umbilical cord. Understandably this was causing a little upset, and the mother was furiously shouting at the pesky birds.

Further up the beach the Gentoo Penguins are well underway with their nest building. Some have huge piles of stones with a nice little well in the centre to form a big bowl shape, some just have piles of stones, some have piles of bones and some just have a shallow scrape in the ground.

I headed off up the hill to check on the Giant Petrels. The Northerns have mostly all laid now but there was a few more nests to mark and a quick check on those already sat there. The Southerns haven't started laying yet but are on with mating, nest building and a bit of fighting.

Pair of Southern Geeps scrapping over nesting space...

... before splitting up and declaring themselves masters of their own space. They then moved a short distance apart and settled back down on their own nests.

The sun burnt off a lot of the mist by early afternoon so I sat and had a bite of lunch while watching the returned Grey-headed Albatrosses. Steph has been checking on the colonies daily and found the first egg a few days ago.

The Black-browed Albatrosses are back as well now, as are the Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses who are circling in pairs as part of their courtship.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses almost colliding.

A gloriously sunny day, looking over towards the South Georgia mainland and down to Jordan Cove with the base tucked in below La Roche.

With it now warm and sunny I dropped down to check on another penguin colony but despite some more impressive nests and a bit of copulation there were no eggs.

Not-so-happy neighbours.

Nest-building.

An hour or so later though Hannah walked past the same area on the Leopard Seal round and radioed back to let me know that there was a penguin that had done an egg, our first one for the year.

So a good day with loads happening.

Jerry.