Leaving Palmer

Tomorrow I am leaving Palmer Station and Antarctica. Heading north, back to Punta Arenas, Chile and then on to Santiago, Dallas and finally Southern California. What an amazing time I have had. So many amazing experiences. Here are some final images from Station.

 The station cat. He likes cocoa puffs.

Icefish. These fish do not have hemoglobin, and thus their only source of oxygen is what is dissolved in their blood. Since they live in very cold waters, their blood is very cold and can carry much more dissolved oxygen than we can.

Early morning with the LM Gould (on the left) lighting up an iceberg and the NB Palmer (lights to the left of the iceberg) in Arthur Harbor after a visit to station.

The Last Month

WOW! A month has passed since my last post. What have I been doing? Keeping busy. Forgetting to post. Watching the days gets shorter, colder, windier and wetter. Also ...

A tall ship visited Station.

I helped with Giant Petrel chick research.

I finally polar plunged on St Patty's day.

 I helped the divers.

I got out for a zodiac cruise in between storms and had one of the most amazing few hours.

Blubber, Fur and Feathers

A Weddell seal enjoying the sunshine.

A fur seal taking a scratch break before heading back in the water to eat krill.

An adult Adelie penguin looking scruffy while molting.

Baby Birds

Penguin chicks aren't the only little birds we have around Palmer Station. We have ... 

sheathbill chicks - look how the face is just like mama's (or is it papa?)

The sheathbills are the only birds here without webbed feet. They feed on penguin poop, carcasses and what everelse is lying around. There are about 8 living on station, but only one couple hatched an egg and had a chick. Near station there are also ...

 

southern giant petrel chicks. This downy chick is on its own while the parents feed. Other birds will not go after the chick because if they get close the chick will spit out stomach oil that damages bird feathers. 

 

Southern giant petrel adults. 

Their wingspan can reach up to 7 feet.

Bad Hair Day

Remember those cute, little Adelie chicks from ....

2 months ago ...

one month ago ... well ...

they are currently having bad hair days. They are losing their baby fluff and looking like young adults. Notice how the black feathers do not cover their chin yet (adult is on the right). They will get their adult feathering next year. Now that they have feathers they are waterproof and can enter the water to play and find food.

Looking Down the Throat of a Humpback

 

The Day of the Whales lasted several days. Swarms of krill filled the ocean so the humpbacks spent days in the area feeding. This whale came within 20 feet of our zodiac, but at not time did we feel concerned that the whale might hurt us. They were aware of our presence and did not seem to care.

It's hard to believe that these large whales eat krill, a shrimp-like crustacean that can be found worldwide.They use the baleen in their mouths to sieve the krill from large mouthfuls of seawater.

Day of the Whales

Today, we were blessed with around 15-20 humpback whales near station. They were feeding on krill and so they stuck around most of the day. We went out in the zodiacs and watched them for hours. We saw them bubble feeding and breaching - it was awesome! I went out twice to watch them.