Penguins!

We signed up for a tour to Volunteer Point penguin colony.  We were told it was a 4-wheel drive expedition, and they weren’t kidding.  We drove on roads for one hour, then spent 1.5 hours cutting across farms in a caravan of SUVs.  At one point we got to the edge of a bay… we couldn’t even see a road!  We drove down the bank and into the edge of the water before coming out on the other side (it was high tide… on the way back we actually had a beach on which to drive.)

Our tour guide worked two summers as Warden at the site, so he knew the area well and told us all about the wildlife we were seeing.  As we got to the point, it was foggy, and suddenly we were seeing sheep and penguins.  Lots and lots of penguins!!!  Thousands of penguins!

This area is home to three types of penguins – King, Gentoo and Magellanic. 

 

The Kings are about 3 feet tall, and so colorful with yellow markings around their heads.  They keep the egg on their feet as they stand in the colony.  As we approached the colony we began to hear them call… they raise their heads and sound off… wait until we get the DVD out!  We even watched a group “parade” to the beach.

king chick with adults

The Magellanic penguins burrow into the sandy hills.  They are about 12-16 inches tall and have two stripes below their heads. 

The Gentoo penguins are a little bit bigger, and they have a white mark on their heads.  They build nests of pebbles on the hill above the beach.  None were nesting, but we saw various aged chicks.  What was the best thing about it was that they were curious and would come close to the humans.  Our guide explained that these were the juveniles… that the parents had gone to sea to feed in the morning.  In the afternoons they come back and call to their young.  Somehow in the chaos of thousands of birds, parents find their chicks.

We were eating lunch, and suddenly around us the Gentoos all started falling over.  Apparently it was naptime.  Some “fell” going up hill, others just picked a quiet spot.  It was so funny to watch.

the end!