This is my third and final Blog Post in the trilogy covering the boat trip down the Beagle Channel to Martillo Island (Penguin Island). The first Post covered the islands just outside of Ushuaia where there are breeding colonies of Imperial Shags, Rock Shags and South American Sealions. The second Post covered the other Seabirds and a small pod of Commerson's Dolphins seen on the trip down to Martillo Island.
This boat was running about fifteen minutes ahead of our boat, to stagger visits to the various locations
Our skipper slowly parked the boat onto the beach at Martillo Island. The loafing around Penguins were clearly used to this and were completely unfazed by it.
Magellanic Penguin: Looking to the right where some of the Magellanic Penguin were resting
Magellanic Penguin: Magellanic Penguins dig out burrows under the bushes for their nests
Gentoo Penguin: There was also a compact Gentoo Penguin colony further back on the island
Magellanic Penguin: These Magellanic Penguins were only about ten metres from the boat and they didn't move as it was beached
Magellanic Penguin: Adult. This adult barely opened an eye as we beached
Magellanic Penguin: Juv. Zooming in on one of the juveniles
Magellanic Penguin: Another juvenile
Magellanic Penguin: There were also some Magellanic Penguins in the shallows
Magellanic Penguin: Looking in the water for food
Magellanic Penguin: The water is clear enough to allow a photo of this individual swimming underwater
Magellanic Penguin: Adult. They breed from coastal central Chile & central Argentina to Cape Horn & the Falkland Islands and winter as far North as South East Brazil
Magellanic Penguin: Thinking about going into the water
A closer view of the Gentoo Penguin colony.
Gentoo Penguin: This is the nominate papua subspecies which breeds locally in Tierra del Fuego, as well as, on the Falkland Islands
Fortunately, there were one or two photogenic Gentoo Penguins around the water's edge.
Gentoo Penguin: There are other two subspecies which breed on South Georgia and in the Antarctic Peninsula & neighbouring islands, respectively, with a third subspecies breeding on Macquarie Island & the South Indian Ocean islands of Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet & Heard Islands
I didn't realise it was possible to land on Martillo Island. Looking into this option, there is an operator who can land up to fifteen visitors. However, at just under three hundred quid per person, it's three times the price I paid and it would be hard to justify paying that price to get a bit closer to the Gentoo Penguins, if you were planning on a Southern Oceans trip.
Tourists with the Gentoo Penguins
There was a small colony of distant Rock Shags nesting on the cliff behind the left end of the beach. Other Birds on the beach includes some Imperial Shags, a few Upland Geese and a handful of Chilean Skuas.
Chilean Skua: They have a capped appearance. This monotypic species breeds along the coasts of South Chile & South Argentina and they range North to the coasts of South Peru & central Brazil outside of the breeding season
Chilean Skua: Like all Skuas, this one is on the lookout for an unguarded egg or chick
As we left, I spotted this navigation buoy with a few Rock Shags breeding on it, as well as, a few South American Sealions at its base.
This was a popular navigation buoy
A close up of the Rock Shags
A close up of the South American Sealions
We returned to Ushuaia about mid-afternoon and I wandered off to find a late lunch, before heading back to the flat. There were a couple of old Routemaster buses which are used for tourist runs around Ushuaia.
An old Routemaster bus: The colour scheme just looks wrong
An old Routemaster bus: Another thing that is wrong is having doors on the bus. The great thing about the Routemasters, is you could run after them and jump aboard a moving bus, if it had already pulled away. This was in the days when nobody worried about Elves and 'Elf & Safety wasn't as big a worry as today
I spent the rest of the day in the flat catching up on emails, backing up photos etc, as the next day I was headed off to Antarctica.
