Welcome to the Falkland Islands
8th January – Stanley Harbour
Last night, we said goodbye to the Drake Passage, and this morning we cruised into Port Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. We were up bright and early at 6am to squeeze in a survey before we arrived, hoping to spot some new species! It was a quiet morning for the marine mammals; however, we did catch a quick glance of a Commerson’s dolphin just beneath the bow of our ship.
After breakfast, we piled into the tender boats that took us to Port Stanley. Once on land, we hopped on a shuttlebus over to Yorke Bay to find a Gentoo penguin colony nestled between the sand dunes. What a strange sight coming from Antarctica to watch already rather large gentoo chicks bumbling about or having a snooze on almost white sand!
Further down the dunes we also spotted our 7th penguin species of the trip – somewhat bedraggled looking (moulting) king penguins towered over the passing gentoos. After a quick chat with the penguin guardian on the beach we then took a long, scenic walk along the coastline towards Gypsy Cove (much needed after 9 days on our ship).
We added some new bird species to our list such as the Magellanic and blackish oystercatchers, two-banded plovers, sand pipers, rock shag and turkey vulture! As we approached Gypsy Cove we saw Magellanic penguins in the water and also climbing up into the vegetation to their nests. Much excitement was had by spotting a Peale’s dolphin mother and calf cruising up and down the beach in the shallows. We just had enough time to do a little loop around the headlands, taking in some historic sites as well as wildlife before meeting our shuttle for the return to town.
Once back in Stanley, we spread out in search of lunch and souvenirs! Despite being such a small town, there was lots to see including the Whalebone Arch, constructed from the jaw bones of two blue whales, and the Historic Dockyard Museum which displayed exhibits ranging from maritime to natural history – we were particularly impressed by the life-size wandering albatross hanging from the ceiling! Before heading back to our ship, we quickly wrote some postcards to send home to our friends and family from the Falklands Post Office!
written by Jade
Penguin chicks grow a thicker coat of hair when they're young as this helps to protect them from the wind and surface temperatures they experience while they are being raised. Once they have outgrown this layer and are ready to take to the ocean they moult this skin in place of their fatty epidermal layer they have been building which allows them to move quickly through the water while maintaining body temperature. Penguin feathers are short and broad but closely spaced. Feathers can be as dense as 15 feather per cm squared allowing feather to overlap and insulate heat. Their hair also contains soft under feathers and can be erected to trap more heat to the skin.