Gentoo penguins on the Antarctica Peninsula

Many visitors come to Antarctica specifically to see penguins, those cute flight-less marine birds that nest on land. We had seen quite a few penguins in South America on previous trips, but it is still a treat, especially to see different species with different behaviors.

Most of the penguins we saw on the Antarctica Peninsula are Gentoo penguins. They are about 70-80 cm (~2–3 feet) tall and recognizable by their orange beaks and white band over their head from eye to eye (see photos below). 

Gentoo penguins at Port Lockroy

In this post I’ll show images of Gentoo penguins at Port Lockroy, a British World War II base that was abandoned in the 1960s, and then restored in the 1990s by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. While abandoned, a penguin colony, now numbering around 1500 individuals, moved in. Port Lockroy is located on the tiny island of Goudier, on the west side of the Antarctica Peninsula.

The restored base is now a popular tourist location, not only because of the penguins, but also because it is the southernmost post office in the world. Visitors can purchase post cards and penguin stamps. Eventually, the postcards will make their way to their destination.

Life cycle of Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins feed on krill in the ocean during the Austral winter. In the late spring (November), they come onto land and build their nests out of rock pieces. The chicks hatch in December. During the summer months the parents keep busy going to the ocean to fish and then returning to their nests to feed the chicks. 

We are here in late summer (late February), when most of the Gentoo chicks have achieved adult size and grown their full set of water-proof feathers. In contrast, the adults are molting—they shed and replace all of their feathers simultaneously in a process that lasts about three weeks. This comprehensive overhaul helps maintain the integrity of the penguins’ waterproof barrier, which is crucial for their successful return to the ocean in late summer (March). We have been seeing some bedraggled adults suffering through their molding period, when they are more vulnerable to inclement weather and predators. 

Penguins in the colonies are not all in the same stage. Some adults have fully achieved their replacement plumage while most are still in the replacement process. Some of the juveniles are fully weaned and eager to go fishing in the sea while others are still pestering their parent(s) for food. The sequence below shows two juveniles who still want food from their parents and who are making themselves quite a nuisance. Parent penguins eat as much fish as they can and then regurgitate much of the food for their young.

The penguins, which appear so awkward on land, are olympian athletes in the water. In February some of the penguins were already back in the sea, at least periodically. We watched their sleek bodies shoot through the water and marveling at their porpoising behavior.

Penguin portraits

Kayaking around Goudier Island

Clients on Antartica21 expeditions have the option of kayaking during some of the excursions.

In my next post, I’ll further explore the world of ice.