Antarctica - Penguin Drama at Port Lockroy

Saturday, 22 February 2020

A large number of gentoo penguins use Port Lockroy as their breeding site.

This gentoo juvenile has started to get the adult feathers it will need to survive at sea.

These juveniles have completed their adult plumage and are now learning how to swim. There were a number of shallow tidal pools where the penguins practiced their swimming skills.

Where there is a penguin colony, there will be snowy sheathbills. Here a sheathbill (lower left) watches a penguin chick beg for food from its parent.

The sheathbill continues to watch as the chick gets fed.

Knowing that the sheathbill would love to steal the food from the chick, the parent harasses it.

The sheathbill moves to the other side of the penguins, but continues to monitor the situation.

Success! The sheathbill intercepts the food by dive-bombing between parent and chick.

Hey, what happened? The sheathbill will fly away to feed its own chicks a short distance away.

And yes, the penguin colony is as dirty and smelly as it looks!