2 Apr 18 - Atlantic Odyssey - Day Five: Prion Island

There was a lot more to see at Prion Island beyond the South Georgia Pipits from the previous Post. The landing site is a small beach. With a number of Gentoo Penguins & Antarctic Fur Seal pups on the beach, we had to leave it quickly & get onto the boardwalk.

The landing beach: It was quite busy with Antarctic Fur Seals & Gentoo Penguins

However, there was time to grab a couple of quick photos & more time once we were on the boardwalk.

Gentoo Penguin: The welcome committee had sent a few representatives along to wave at us & greet us as we left the beach for the boardwalk

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguin: Gentoo Penguins make a proper nest

Gentoo Penguin: Most of the Gentoo Penguins were happy to watch from their nest sites on the hillside

Northern Giant Petrel: There were also a couple of the bouncers keeping any eye on the beach

As we found on Salisbury Plain, the Antarctic Fur Seal pups are inquisitive & keen to check us out. So as we got onto the boardwalk, I wasn't too surprised to see a couple of pups follow us up the boardwalk for some way. They were clearly use to using the boardwalk as an easy highway through the Tussock Grass. That was all very well, until a much larger female Antarctic Fur Seal decided to also use the boardwalk as a highway back down to the beach. At that point, there was nothing we could do, other than to carefully step off the boardwalk & stand just beyond biting range to let her pass.

Antarctic Fur Seal: These two pups followed us for about 50 metres

Antarctic Fur Seal: Pup

Antarctic Fur Seal: This pup would get quite close if you stayed still for too long

Antarctic Fur Seal: Another better behaved pup who stayed off the boardwalk

Antarctic Fur Seal: The Tussock Grass looks comfortable

Antarctic Fur Seal: Some occupied sites with prime real estate views

Leon Glass: Gets a few minutes off from duty on the beach to keep an eye on the boardwalk

At the top of the boardwalk there were a couple of larger viewing platforms overlooking a short grass clear area which had several Wandering Albatrosses & Northern Giant Petrels. The clearing was just about large enough for them to run along & get enough lift to be able to take off. From one of the viewing platforms, it was possible to see a nesting Wandering Albatross. Again the viewing boardwalk worked well to keep everybody at a safe distance from the nest. In my opinion, there were a handful of photographers (none of which I had any time for) on the ship who despite having much better photographic equipment than me, would have tried to get a lot closer if there wasn't a boardwalk. That would then have given a number of the other passengers the licence to also try getting to close & consequently risk disturbing the nest, especially with Northern Giant Petrels hanging around nearby.

Wandering Albatross: Adult Snowy Wandering Albatross nest

Wandering Albatross: Adult & chick Snowy Wandering Albatross. The adult was standing up as junior wanted to be photographed yawning

Wandering Albatross: Adult & chick Snowy Wandering Albatross. Both now happy to pose for the cameras

Wandering Albatross: Adult Snowy Wandering Albatross: Photos over the adult had settled down on the next again by the time I reached the other viewing platform

Wandering Albatross: Subadult Snowy Wandering Albatross. This looked like it might want to leave

Wandering Albatross: Subadult Snowy Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross: Subadult Snowy Wandering Albatross. But after a stretch it settled down again

Northern Giant Petrel: There was also this Northern Giant Petrel close to the Wandering Albatross. The bill tip colour is really subtle in this individual

Northern Giant Petrel: Another older & uglier individual

Southern Giant Petrel: White Nellie. Some really old Southern Giant Petrels can go really white which is a plumage that Northern Giant Petrels do not show. They are known as White Nellies. Unfortunately, this one wanted to remain well hidden in the Tussock Grass

It could get a bit congested on the boardwalk: Especially where at the point it was best to see the nesting Wandering Albatross

It was a cracking view from the top of the boardwalk 

As we were walking down the boardwalk, a shout went up to say there were a group of South Georgia Pintails flying over. Clements regards them as the endemic subspecies of the mainland Yellow-billed Pintails, but I'll stick with the name South Georgia Pintail (albeit as a subspecies) to separate them on the Blog from their mainland relatives. I had missed the brief flight views in the morning at Salisbury Plain, so it was good to see them flying over.

South Georgia Pintail: The endemic South Georgia Pintail subspecies which some other authorities split, so maybe I'll get to Tick it at some point in the future

All too soon it was time to head back to the beach for our zodiac tour of the coastline

The coastline was indented with lots of narrow channels with these large strands of Kelp

Having other zodiacs in the water did help locate interesting wildlife: However, it did feel like a safari at times

Arjen, the deputy Expedition Leader, driving his zodiac: Probably for South Georgia Pipits

Atmospheric photo of the kelp on the shoreline

South Georgia Pintail: I was happy to see these close views of this party of South Georgia Pintail. It's not often you can get this close to a genuinely wild Duck

South Georgia Pintail: Unlike the mainly relatives, these South Georgia Pintails have a reputation of scavenging dead Penguins if they get the chance, so perhaps the only meat-eating Duck? Although these ones look like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths

South Georgia Shag: My first adults

Antarctic Fur Seal

All to quickly it was time to return back to the Plancius, as the zodiacs couldn't pick the people up from Prion Island, until we had been dropped off. So ended another great day as there was little activity around the ship & by the time we were leaving the Bay of Islands, the light was starting to go.

Antarctic Fur Seal: About the only wildlife around the Plancius

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2 Apr 18 - Atlantic Odyssey - Day Five: South Georgia Pipit

Prion Island is another of the approved landing places for Expedition ships in South Georgia & lies within the Bay of Islands so it has the benefit of only being a short distance from Salisbury Plain. While we were having lunch after the morning at Salisbury Plain, the Plancius was moving location so it would be able to land us at Prion Island.

Sailing through the Bay of Islands: From the warmth of the observation lounge

A better close up

The South Georgia conservation team have constructed an excellent boardwalk through the vegetation from the beach, to minimise the impact that visitors have on the habitat. Once we landed we were told to walk quickly to the boardwalk & not to leave it, till we were at the bottom again & the Expedition team were ready to load us into the next zodiac. Another condition at Prion Island is there is a limit to the number of visitors who can be on the boardwalk at any time. Therefore, the plan was they would land the Petrels group, including myself, first & then carry out a zodiac trip with the Albatross group. At the end of the Albatross zodiac cruise, the zodiacs carrying the Albatross parties would go to the beach and land them & we would get into zodiacs for our zodiac cruise.

There was an excellent boardwalk through the vegetation towards the top of a nearly hill: This minimised the impact of people on the vegetation, but also to the large number of Antarctic Fur Seals which were in the Tussock Grass

The view from the boardwalk

As we were walking back to the beach, we found a couple of South Georgia Pipits feeding in the wet, bare stream bed next to the boardwalk. They were totally unfazed by our presence & happily carried on feeding allowing plenty of photo opportunities at only a couple of metres distance. It was good to see them well, given my views at Salisbury Plain were fairly brief.

South Georgia Pipit: They are the only Passerine on South Georgia, apart from any vagrant visitors

South Georgia Pipit: Not surprising they are endemic to South Georgia

South Georgia Pipit: Most of the South Georgia Pipits were only found on the offshore islands, due to the impact of introduced Rats on the mainland

South Georgia Pipit: Bath time

South Georgia Pipit: Now Rats have been eradicated from South Georgia, it is encouraging to see that South Georgia Pipits were returning to the mainland

South Georgia Pipit

Morton Jorgensen photographing one of the South Georgia Pipits: Just after this it walked under the boardwalk & headed off into the Tussock Grass. Morton was a passenger on the Odyssey, but switched to become the Expedition Leader for the West African Pelagic

Rat & Mice clearance on these isolated Seabird islands is so important. I would recommend anybody who wants to donate some money to conservation considers donating to removal of these introduced predators. One of the next projects will be to clear Mice on Gough Island in 2019 - people can find more information & donate here.

We needed to get going down the boardwalk as zodiacs were arriving to swap people over

One of the zodiacs arriving to drop some of the Albatross passengers off & collect us for our zodiac cruise

I was pleased to have had prolonged views of a couple of South Georgia Pipits. What I hadn't expected was I would see at another sixteen on the zodiac cruise as every little inlet within the rocks had at least two South Georgia Pipits feeding on the rocks.

Entering one of the inlets

South Georgia Pipit: Showing the habitat. I was nervous to get my main camera out in the zodiac, so switched to the SX60 which does have the disadvantage of not being as sharp & enhances the yellow/green colours in the photos

South Georgia Pipit: It's behind you feeding at the tide line

South Georgia Pipit: They were totally unworried by a zodiac next to us. On a couple of occasions, they flew off the rocks to hover over an approaching zodiac in curiosity

South Georgia Pipit: One of the things I got used to on the Odyssey was seeing the few Passerines in habitats that European Birders would not generally expect them to be. Most European Pipits tend to be open grassland species, albeit Rock Pipits would be fairly comfortable in this habitat. I guess given the limitations of food sources on a small island, mean they have adapted to take advantage of every food source

Mike Deverell pointing something out to Glenn Overington: I hadn't met either before before, but both became firm friends & we spent many enjoyable evenings in the observation lounge having a drink (albeit only tea in my case)

Zodiac cruise over it was time to head back to the Plancius