2015 - Cheesemans` Ecology Safaris

SOUTH GEORGIA
AND FALKLAND ISLANDS
C H E E S E M A N S ’ E C O LO G Y S A FA R I S
EXPEDITION LOG 2015
EXPEDITION LOG
C HEESEMANS’ E COLOGY S AFARIS
South Georgia and Falkland Islands
31 October to 16 November 2015
Designed by Teresa Floberg
Edited by Gina Barton and Teresa Floberg
Written by Gina Barton, Pauline Carr, Joe Kaplan, Artie Morris,
Rosie Seton, Dave Shoch, Janet Wiener and Jon Wiener
Images by Passengers and Staff as credited
i
Cover Photo
King Penguin
By Glenn Bartley
Back Cover Photo
Southern Elephant Seals
By Tashi Tenzing
Title Page Photo
Male Southern Elephant Seal
By Ty Smedes
This Page Photo
Landscape with South Georgia Shags
By Pat Lillich
Next Page Photo
King Penguins
By Muriel McClellan
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright ©2015 Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris
Photographers hold the copyright to their work.
TA BL E O F C O N T E N T S
Introduction
2
Salisbury Plain and Prion Island
10 November
22-23
31 October
3
At Sea en Route to the Falklands
11 November
24-25
At Sea to South Georgia
1 November
4
At Sea en Route to the Falklands
12 November
26
At Sea to South Georgia
2 November
5
At Sea and Stanley Disembarkation
13 November
27
6-7
At Sea Offshore of Falklands
14 November
28
At Sea and Ushuaia Disembarkation
15-16 November
29
Flight to Falklands and Embarkation
South Georgia Island
Undine Harbour
3 November
8-9
King Haakon Bay and Elsehul
4 November
10-11
Expedition Staff
Grytviken
5 November
12-13
Species List by Date
32-33
Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord
6 November
14-15
The Many Faces of Nature
34-35
Gold Harbour and Godthul
7 November
16-17
Photo Montage
36-37
Fortuna Bay and Stromness
8 November
18-19
Friends of South Georgia Island
St. Andrews Bay
9 November
20-21
31
38
1
INTRODUCTION
By Ted Cheeseman, Expedition Leader
A FANTASTIC VOYAGE
Welcome friends! Wander through the
pages ahead and let yourself remember
the glory and intensity of our South
Georgia voyage. There is no place like
South Georgia on our blue planet, its
Zodiac Cruising
2
very remoteness and inaccessibility
heightening the treasure we found on
its coasts.
Now is a special time for South Georgia, on land and at sea rebounding to a
wildness not enjoyed for centuries; we
saw how the rat and reindeer eradica-
tions are allowing South Georgia Pipit
populations to explode and vegetation
to recover. At sea, we believe whale populations are rebounding, even while climate and ocean chemistry is changing.
Thank you for joining us; these images
speak volumes but only hint at the full
scale of beauty, and I can think of no
better group to have shared the experience with. I want to extend a special
thanks and dedication of this voyage log
to all of our fantastic expedition staff
who made such an ambitious itinerary
possible.
Lynne Bergbreiter
Day 1
By Gina Barton
FLIGHT TO STANLEY
We awoke early to enjoy our breakfast
before checking into our flight to Mount
Pleasant, Falkland Islands. All but those
already in Punta Arenas or the Falklands shared the flight together, so there
was talking and excitement despite the
early hour. During our flight we experienced beautiful views of the glaciers,
valleys, and lakes of the Andes Mountains plus an interesting menu of snack
choices for our meal service. During
our quick stop in Punta Arenas to go
through Chile customs, we got some
looks at Upland Geese running at the
runway edge. Despite the winds whipping across the plane making it wobble
side to side, the pilot made an impressively smooth landing in the Falklands,
which welcomed us with windy, cloudy,
and drizzly weather. The tiny Mount
Pleasant Airport was a little chaotic
with lines to get through customs weaving alongside the one luggage carousel.
BOARDING THE ORTELIUS
During our hour-long bus drive to Stanley to board the Ortelius, we got brief
glimpses of wildlife along the rolling
hills dotted with rocks. Upon arrival
we learned that a storm was headed in
so the Captain wanted to depart earlier than planned, so we had to quickly
Flight to Falklands and Embarkation
31 October 2015
check-in on board the Ortelius, briefly
settle into our cabins (our new home!)
in time to have a safety briefing and
emergency test run. After our briefings
we were introduced to our Captain and
Expedition Staff and enjoyed a toast
from our Captain. We bid farewell to
the protected harbor at Stanley as we
entered the choppy seas and began the
rocky voyage to South Georgia. Our
first dinner on board was quiet as folks
unaccustomed to the motion of the ship
retreated to their cabins. But for those
that remained, we could feel the excitement of our journey to South Georgia
and what it would bring.
The Ortelius Approaching a Rainbow
Janet Cole Ready to Set Sail
Teresa Blase
Chief Officer Sven Haindl on the Bridge
Clemens Vanderwerf
Teresa Blase
3
1 November 2015
By Dave Shoch
SAILING EAST
The Ortelius shuddered and heaved
through the night and into the morning,
generously redistributing loose items in
our cabins. On the bridge, the gauges recorded Force 10, at least 50-knot winds,
and swells averaging a healthy 6 meters.
A few stalwarts stepped out in the early
morning, amid bouts of snow and hail,
before the captain made the call to close
the outside decks. The force of the sea
was on full display, with occasional 25to 30-foot swells belying the 300-foot
length of the Ortelius. The intensity of
the weather seemed to kindle the flight
of the southern ocean birds to exhilarating extremes. We were accompanied
Gray-headed Albatross
4
At Sea to South Georgia Island
by Cape Petrels, Southern Fulmars,
Northern and Southern giant-petrels,
and Black-browed and Gray-headed
albatrosses. Those fortunate few out on
deck in the morning were also treated
to the appearance of a single Antarctic
Petrel, a bird seldom seen away from
the Antarctic continent and unexpected
in these waters, perhaps brought northward by the storm. Following the deck
closure, many gathered after breakfast
on the bridge, where we continued to
observe the southern ocean spectacle
through the spray-soaked windows.
LEC TURES AND BIOSECURIT Y
Lectures carried us through much of the
day: Dave reviewed the identification of
southern ocean birds at sea, Moe gave
Ted Cheeseman
Southern Fulmar
Day 2
a lecture on landscape photography,
Hugh presented an orientation on the
operation of the Zodiacs and landing
protocols … In the afternoon we began
the slow, steady, sometimes tedious,
process of inspecting and cleaning and
re-cleaning our onshore gear in preparation for our landings on South Georgia. The South Georgia government requires intensive biosecurity screening
to prevent the introduction of non-native organisms that, especially given the
rapidly changing climatic conditions in
the region, have the potential to severely
disrupt the unique natural communities
on the island. We would do our part to
protect the integrity of the crown jewel
of the Antarctic.
Ty Smedes
Location
DAY 2 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
52˚11’ 9 S
Longitude
53˚12’ 4 W
Total Sailed
180 miles
Wind
45 knots SW
Air Temperature
4°C
Weather
Overcast
ON DECK
After the weather lessened some in the
afternoon, the outside decks were reopened and many of us re-emerged to
enjoy the seabird show. It is interesting to imagine being plopped down to
some unknown stretch of ocean, with
no bearings or sense of latitude or longitude, and having to locate your general position by inference from the bird
community around you. The fast-flying
Atlantic Petrels arcing over the ocean
swells and visible from the deck of the
Ortelius in the afternoon indicated that
we are somewhere in the south Atlantic and north of the Antarctic Convergence, as they are birds typical of the
warmer waters of the Falklands current.
We ended the day with an impressive
count of great albatrosses, the masters
of the southern ocean winds: 5-10 Wandering Albatross and 10-15 Southern
Royal Albatross.
Day 3
Location
At Sea to South Georgia Island
DAY 3 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
52˚58’ 6 S
Longitude
46˚31’ 8 W
Total Sailed
252 miles
Wind
32 knots NW
Air Temperature
4°C
Weather
Overcast
and Southern Ocean wildlife,” Pauline’s
discussion of “Environmental Issues
Facing South Georgia”, and finally a visually-pleasing after dinner lecture by
shipmate Clemens Vanderwerf “South
Georgia: A perspective from a Wildlife
Photographer”.
PREPARATION FOR SOUTH
GEORGIA
Between bird spotting and informative
lectures we also commenced the nitty-gritty task of denuding our clothing
and equipment of foreign biomass under the well-regulated South Georgia
2 November 2015
Biosecurity Requirements. The sound of
vacuums and a full compliment of tweezers, headlamps, and watch-full eyes is
our assurance that our visit to South
Georgia would leave only footprints and
take only a terabyte or two of memory.
By Joe Kaplan
BIRDS AT SEA
With the sea-state continuing to improve so does our enthusiasm as we
steam towards South Georgia in open
ocean. This morning delivers our first
iceberg bits unexpectedly early into focus along with a full complement of seabirds and lectures. By mid-morning the
Bridge opens the bow quickly followed
with first views of King Penguin, Brown
Skua, Slender-billed Prion, Kerguelen
Petrel, Light-mantled Albatross, and
diving-petrel the “flying football.”
Our lecture series complemented this
rich assortment of seabirds; Ron presented his popular “Animal Scapes” and
“Shooting Video and SLR Cameras”,
Pauline and Tim’s “Grytviken ‘Antarctic
Outpost’”, followed by Moe’s “Creative
Photography Techniques for Landscapes,” Joe’s primer on “South Georgia
Black-browed Albatross, Cape Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel
Ted Cheeseman
5
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND
King Penguin Colony, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia
6
Ron Niebrugge
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND
Point Landing
Date
1
Undine Harbour
3 Nov
2
Elsehul
4 Nov
3
King Haakon Bay
4 Nov
4
Grytviken
5 Nov
5
Cooper Bay
6 Nov
6
Drygalski Fjord
6 Nov
7
Gold Harbour
7 Nov
8
Godthul
7 Nov
9
Fortuna Bay
8 Nov
10
Stromness
8 Nov
11
St. Andrews Bay
9 Nov
12
Salisbury Plain
10 Nov
13
Prion Island
10 Nov
13
2
1
12
9
10
3
4
8
11
7
6
Antarctic Fur Seals
5
Douglas Bullock
7
3 November 2015
By Joe Kaplan
The early morning finds us within the
territorial boundaries of South Georgia, approximately 40 miles east of
Shag Rocks – a set of rocky fangs that
rise 250 feet out of the ocean along the
Scotia Ridge. The day is beautiful as we
greet our first (of many) Snow Petrels
along with Blue Petrel, Fairy Prion,
and South Georgia Shag (compliments of Shag Rocks). An
all-too-brief Sperm Whale
also cruised by the ship
providing our first verifiable cetacean of the
voyage.
LAND HO!
With
Biosecurity
measures completed we are ready for
South Georgia. Shouts
of “Land Ho!” reverberate across the bow at
2 p.m. as we continue to
sail towards our destination
of Undine Harbour through
the scenic and rugged Willis and
Bird Islands. We finally reach our
destination and begin Zodiac operation
at 4 p.m.; our first taste (and smell) of
South Georgia.
As expected, hoped, and realized, the
rocky beaches of Undine Harbour are
8
Undine Harbour
active with the likes of Gentoo Penguins, molting King Penguins, feisty
Antarctic Fur Seals, harem-gathering
Southern Elephant Seals, inquisitive
sheathbills, marauding giant-petrels,
View
t h ro
ugh
a H aw
sehole
watchful Brown
Skuas, hovering Antarctic Terns,
winging Yellow-billed (South Geor-
Day 4
gia) Pintails and much to our surprise
diminutive and singing South Georgia
Pipits.
Adjectives and accolades aside, this
short three-hour
landing
Phil M
arcu
s
serves
up nearly a full compliment of South
Georgia wildlife along with four sea-
sons of weather – and, no doubt, an
indelible memory for all after such a
long journey to this special and isolated
station.
By Janet Wiener
HIKE AT UNDINE
Land ho! It was great to finally set our
feet on solid ground. After all Zodiacs were ashore Tashi led the hike
up through the tussock grass
for a view. The trek through
a stream, mud, and the
grass itself proved to be
a challenging climb. We
lost a few hikers after
one took a fall into the
water and mud at the
start of the hike. From
up above, the views of
the mountains, beach,
a Gentoo Penguin colony, and across the island were rewarding. We
saw our first South Georgia
Pipit here, as well as a Yellow-billed (South Georgia) Pintail. Upon descending, we trekked
back along and through a stream,
crossing it several times to avoid the fur
seals. A few Gentoo Penguins trekked
up the stream towards us and here another hiker took a bath in the cool water
when she slipped on the rocks.
Day 4
Undine Harbour
Location
Launching the Zodiac
Bellowing Southern Elephant Seal
3 November 2015
DAY 4 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
53˚55’ 6 S
Longitude
39˚09’ 5 W
Total Sailed
273 miles
Wind
35 knots NW
Air Temperature
4°C
Weather
Overcast
Poses
Phil Marcus
Teresa Blase
Gentoo Penguin
Teresa Blase
Alan Lillich
9
4 November 2015
By Pauline Carr
SHACKLETON CROSSING
THWARTED
Our alarm went off at 4 a.m. so that the
climbers who were planning to do the
Shackleton Route could get an early
breakfast before disembarking. Reception was full of skis, big packs, and men
wearing climbing harnesses - an exciting scene. The weather had been clear
early on but snow squalls began to come
storming down the long fjord and guide
Tashi Tenzing’s face showed concern.
After breakfast the decision was made better to have another try later than be
caught in strong winds on the glaciers.
King Haakon Bay and Elsehul
We were anchored off Peggotty Bluff.
This is the historic site where Shackleton’s boat, the James Caird, was hauled
up the beach and turned upside down
for three men to live underneath until
Captain Worsley could return with the
whale catcher Samson to rescue them.
Some of the passengers were able to
view the hallowed bluff and beach from
the ships decks and marvel at the dramatic scenery all around. By the time
everyone was up and about the ships
anchor began to drag, so the time was
clearly right to depart.
Location
Day 5
DAY 5 AT NOON
Stewart Strait
Latitude
53˚59’ 0 S
Longitude
38˚04’ 0 W
Total Sailed
134 miles
Wind
25 knots WSW
Air Temperature
2°C
Weather
Overcast
REPOSITIONING
Ortelius repositioned to Elsehul where
we had better shelter for the ship. On
the way we detoured slightly to view a
spectacular tabular iceberg at least one
mile long, probably grounded on near-
Giant-Petrel in Front of a Tabular Iceberg
Phil Marcus
by reefs.
Pauline read aloud from Captain Worsley’s account of approaching this dramatic coast in the tiny James Caird in
hurricane force winds and high seas. A
chilling tale of almost
unimaginable hardship.
This was followed by
Tim and Pauline’s
third
entertaining
lecture in their series
about their 14 years
exploring
South
Georgia by boat, by
ski and by “boot.”
Light-mantled Albatrosses
10
Alan Jones
Southern Elephant Seals
Les Sharp
ELSEHUL
Elsehul
beckoned
- calm waters in a
wildlife amphitheatre.
Gentoo Penguin on Nest
Elsehul
Teresa Blase
kings, gentoo, Black-browed Albatross,
giant-petrels and - for some the high
trilling territorial song of South Georiga Pipits was the “icing on the cake”.
Joe photographed three wee chicks on
the nest. Pauline saw tiny tracks in the
snow and stopped in alarm to examine
them in case they were from rats that
had escaped the eradication program
three years ago. But the long lines that
might have been rats tails were made
by the South Georgia Pipits’ spurs (long
hind claws) and it seemed entirely right
that the once common rat tracks had
been supplanted by South Georgia Pipit
tracks. Tim and Pauline had never seen
a pipit in Elsehul during 23 years of visits - now, suddenly, there were dozens.
By Janet Wiener
HIKE TO GRAY-HEADED
ALBATROSS
Unable to land on the desired beach,
we trekked a steep ascent and weaved
through tussock to see Gray-headed
Albatross nesting. We had clear views
of these birds both in their nests and
flying overhead. Wildlife on this hike
was plentiful with Gentoo Penguins,
fur seals, birds, and a fantastic view
of the beaches below. Giant-petrel
nests were particularly plentiful
mid-hike and we had to be cautious about maintaining distance
so we would not disturb them.
And at one overlook we watched
several giant-petrels on the beach with
bloody heads as they
feasted on the
carcass of an
animal.
tl ey
Gray-headed Albatross showed up
white across the cove - a long walk for
the hardy but amply rewarded. A shorter walk took us to Light-mantled Albatross sites and incredible views out to sea
on both sides of the anchorage. We saw
4 November 2015
n B ar
King Haakon Bay and Elsehul
Glen
Day 5
S n o w Petre
l
Teresa Blase
11
5 November 2015
By Dave Shoch
HIKE FROM MAIVIKEN TO
GRY T VIKEN
With our plans for a morning landing
at Hercules Bay thwarted by dangerous swells, we redirected the Ortelius to
Maiviken, where our intrepid contingent of hikers would begin their overland crossing to Grytviken. Here con-
Hike from Maiviken to Grytviken
Overlooking Grytviken
12
Grytviken
ditions were calmer and inviting, with
brilliant blue skies and sculptured ice
in the bay just off the beach. The coastal tussock above the cobble gave way to
short dry grassland, and easier stepping,
as we ascended toward the pass between
Maiviken and Grytviken. The snow was
brilliant off the slopes of Mt Hodges,
to the point of blinding, but allowed a
more effortless descent from the pass for
those of us with skis or snowshoes. The
church steeple was the first sign of civilization to appear, a welcoming sight,
but after rounding the bend into Grytviken, abruptly juxtaposed against the
rusting remains of the whaling station,
presenting a microcosm of humanity’s
range of achievements.
Day 6
Location
DAY 6 AT NOON
Cumberland Bay
Latitude
54˚14’ 2 S
Longitude
36˚30’ 0 W
Total Sailed
81 miles
Wind
10 knots N
Air Temperature
7°C
Weather
Partly Cloudy
Glenn Bartley
Phil Marcus
Macro
Janet Cole
Day 6
GRY T VIKEN
Here in Grytviken the hikers met up
with the rest of the group, which had
sailed around from Maiviken into King
Edward Cove. We all gathered at the
cemetery to pay tribute to Sir Ernest
Shackleton. Pauline led our toast, and
we raised our plastic cups of scotch to
The Boss “For scientific discovery give me Scott;
for speed and efficiency of travel give me
Amundsen; but when the chips are down
and all hope is lost, get down on your
knees and pray for Shackleton.”
[Sir Raymond Priestly]
In Grytviken proper we took full advantage of our brief access to civilization,
Posing Antarctic Fur Seal
Grytviken
Zodiac
5 November 2015
Phil Marcus
exploring the whaling museum, shopping in the museum gift shop, and mailing post cards (which we were destined
to beat home as the last mail shipment
had gone out just a few days before). In
the evening we brought most of the population of Grytviken and King Edward
Point aboard the
Ortelius for a barbeque on deck,
with gluehwein
on tap to warm
us against the
descending cold.
Afterward, Sarah
Lurcock presented the ongoing
work of the South
Georgia Heritage
Trust, inspiring
our
upcoming
auction.
Liz Green
Maiviken
Grytviken Church
Mark Maletsky
Marian Herz
Derelict Whaling Ship, the Petrel
Marian Herz
13
6 November 2015
By Joe Kaplan
COOPER BAY AND DRYGALSKI
FJORD
Four-season weather (mostly winter)
appeared again this morning in Cooper
Bay – our “last chance” destination for
a quality Macaroni Penguin experience
and our “only chance” to see Chinstrap
Penguin from shore (an avian cholera
outbreak among the Chinstraps in past
years keeps this colony closed for landings). Fortunately, our tenacity paid off
– Macs were enjoyed by Zodiac and on
foot against a backdrop of fresh snow as
these krill-dependent penguins arrived
fresh from months at sea to their nesting
colonies hidden in the rock and tussock
of the south end of South Georgia. As
our luck would continue this morning
Chinstrap Penguin Poses
14
Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord
we found a narrow window of opportunity to thread ourselves through the
rocky tidal islets of Cooper Bay to view
Chinstrap Penguins along the beach
and then again in the afternoon spotting
a group of ten hauled out on an iceberg.
With Macaroni and Chinstrap memories safely secure we sail towards the
geologically rich Drygalski Fjord and
enjoy a bridge-side lecture by Hugh on
the complexity and significance of the
Fjords basalt lava flows, and the metamorphic material remaining from the
original Gondwana continental plate
margin. The day finds its conclusion
with a chilly Zodiac cruise up Larsen
Harbor in the company of Snow Petrels,
Antarctic Terns, and the Weddell Seal –
the southerly most ranging mammal.
Macaroni Penguin
Weddell Seal
Cindy Kassab
Oakum Boys at Gold Harbour
Day 7
Debra Herst
Snowy Sheathbill
Ty Smedes
Heather Cunningham
Gentoo Penguins
Pat Lillich
Les Sharp
Day 7
Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord
By Janet Wiener
HIKE AT COOPER BAY
The decision to do a trek or spend time
at the Macaroni Penguin colony was a
difficult one to make. This meant we’d
also miss an opportunity to see the
Chinstrap Penguins on a Zodiac cruise.
But, for those who opted to follow
Tim and his skis, whether walking in
snowshoes, or following behind on the
packed snow while sometimes stepping
into deep snow, there was a tremendous reward ahead. We walked up over
snowy tussock hills, a bit inland from
the beach, and enjoyed beautiful landscape. Passing fur seals, elephant seals,
gentoos, giant-petrels, and then seeing
our first King Penguins, this hike enchanted and rewarded all who opted
in. It was here that the hikers saw their
first Oakum Boys as the snow and wind
pelted us. A sailboat was anchored in
the bay and Tim indicated they had
Location
navigated further into this same bay
with the Curlew. On our return a fur
seal gave Tim a good chase and clearly
indicated her intention to guard a sig-
6 November 2015
nificant area around her. So we diverted
inland up over a snowy hillside covered
with tussock grass rising to the right
of us on another hillside where the fur
seals were resting and returned to spend
about 15 more minutes with the Macaroni Penguins.
Macaroni Penguin
Dahlia Battles the Elements at Gold Harbour
Les Sharp
Weddell Seals
Alan Jones
Cindy Kassab
DAY 7 AT NOON
Cooper Bay
Latitude
54˚47’ 3 S
Longitude
35˚47’ 8 W
Total Sailed
72 miles
Wind
25 knots SW
Air Temperature
5°C
Weather
Mostly Cloudy
King Penguins Entering the Surf
Elaine Heron
15
7 November 2015
Gold Harbour and Godthul
Day 8
By Gina Barton
GOLD HARBOUR
Our 4:30 a.m. landing was cancelled
because of gusting winds over 60 knots,
but thankfully the winds died down
enough to allow us some time at beloved
Gold Harbour. Approaching the dark
beach of Gold Harbour you could start
to see that the beach was not dark from
the sand, but from the many bodies of
Southern Elephant Seals inhabiting it.
We landed overwhelmed with many
elephant seals on the beach – weaners,
pups, young males practice fighting,
weaners trying to cuddle with our gear
(and sometimes people!). Kings wandered around the beach. We finally had
our first good looks at Oakum Boys who
were interactive with each other and us
while listening at the cacophony of their
whistles. We still took it all in despite
the strong gusts and low visibility, never quite getting a view of the stunning
Macro
16
Janet Cole
Macro
Janet Cole
mountains and glacier backdrop to the
colony. We also had to watch our back
as male elephant seals bellowed to protect their harems and on occasion chasing each other. Sadly, the gusts eventually became too strong and the landing
was cut short.
By Janet Wiener
HIKE AT GOLD HARBOUR
Our first colony of King Penguin
chicks was delightful. We trekked back
Joining the Group
Janet Garrison
King Penguins
through the tussock grass over to a
ridge that overlooked the colony. Wind
speed increased almost immediately after we reached the ridge and visibility of the colony below worsened.
We’d just been ordered to get down off
our feet to wait for a break in the wind
when a call on the radio reached out to
staff. Wind speed was gusting to over
60 knots and we needed to get back to
the boat. We estimated 40 minutes or
more to backtrack the route we’d taken
to this spot. But, there was potentially
a shorter route through the tussock and
across a river to the beach, provided it
was crossable. There appeared to be a
Janet Cole
break in the colony in this area and with
increasingly strong winds, this looked
like it might be the safest and quickest
route back. We successfully navigated
through this area, to the beach and back
to the Zodiacs.
Location
DAY 8 AT NOON
Gold Harbour
Latitude
54˚37’ 8 S
Longitude
35˚55’ 1 W
Total Sailed
79 miles
Wind
25 knots WSW
Air Temperature
2°C
Weather
Overcast
Day 8
Gold Harbour and Godthul
7 November 2015
By Gina Barton
Curious Oakum Boy
Oakum Boys
Godthul
Brian Snell
GODTHUL
After everyone was safe on board, we
headed to our next scheduled afternoon
stop, St. Andrews Bay. Unfortunately,
the weather (70-knot winds) was no
better at St. Andrews, so we scrapped
the landing there and headed to Godthul known for being a sheltered spot
from South Georgia’s weather – the
word is Norwegian for “good cove.” The
harbor was very quiet, no winds, and
sunny, demonstrating the varied weather conditions of South Georgia. Our
landing was small with some resident
elephant seals, gentoos, and kings with
some whaling remnants along the shore
from a time long past.
Thierry Deschryver
Douglas Bullock
Summit
By Janet Wiener
HIKE AT GODTHUL
We ascended with Tim and Tashi up
to summit. As we arrived on the summit, Tashi exclaimed “this is just like
the summit on Everest, there’s room for
about 30 people up here.” He warned us
to move away and not walk on the snow
cornice at the top of the mountain. We
all took in the wonderful views of the
other side of the mountain, celebrated
with pictures, and waved to the boat
below. Later on the ship, someone who
had been on the boat when we called
and said we had reached the summit
indicated that they could see us way up
above dotting the summit. Descending
Tashi Tenzing
we passed two gentoo nesting areas and
found an empty gentoo egg, which had
likely been a skua’s dinner.
Cracked Egg
Janet Cole
17
8 November 2015
Fortuna Bay and Stromness
Day 9
By Pauline Carr
FORTUNA BAY
Ted’s dulcet tones awoke us to find
Ortelius in another spectacular anchorage. High peaks encircled the bay, two
glaciers and steep grassy buttresses
embraced a black sand beach. Fortuna
Bay is steeped in Shackleton history,
so we were able to see the route that
Shackleton, Worsley and Crean took
to descend from the glaciers onto safe
terrain, trek around the bay and head
off back up into the mountains on the
last leg of their epic self rescue.
After breakfast we landed between territorial fur seal bulls, and most folk
headed up the bay to a beautiful king
penguin colony of about 12,000 pairs.
King Penguins
Oakum Boys (King Penguin chicks)
were easily accessible at the edge of the
colony and several were very inquisitive
inspecting us and our gear. A pair of
Light-mantled Albatross circled above
us but we were not able to find a nest site
this time. However Joe, ever eagle-eyed,
found a South Georgia Pipit nest and
a juvenile being fed. It came out of the
nest for some lucky photographers - still
without a proper tail and its feet looked
huge and out of proportion to its tiny
body. This was probably the first South
Georgia Pipit nest seen in Fortuna for
perhaps 200 years or more.
After lunch a band of keen and hardy
hikers followed Tim, Tashi and Hugh
up to the col some 300 metres up a long
moraine ridge. Ted brought up the rear.
Out of our sight they then continued
past the lake named after Tom Crean
South Georgia Pipit Juvenile
18
Marian Herz
Tashi Tenzing
where their tracks converged with
Shackleton’s. Up at the top, surrounded by steep crags, the wind increased
dramatically and it was difficult to keep
their footing.
STROMNESS
Meanwhile in the quiet comfort of Ortelius the rest of us steamed out to sea
and made the short voyage to Stromness
Bay. Here the Captain took us into Leith
Harbour before reaching Stromness
where we were to pick up the climbers
from the beach by the whaling station.
Tracks high in the mountains traced
across a great snow slope marking a fun
glissade or ski that greatly speeded up
and simplified their descent into Shackleton Valley.
Before we left Fortuna, Pauline had
read from Captain Frank Worsleys ac-
count of part of the journey, and then
in Stromness she recounted more of
this epic story, as well as some whaling
details and insights into the life of the
whalers. She also told us, a surprise to
many, how the 1982 conflict with Argentina had begun in South Georgia,
in Leith Harbour and details about the
fighting.
The wind had really picked up and willy-waws, small whirlwinds whipping up
the waters of the bay, sealed the decision for us not to go ashore. However
the climbers were picked up safely and
came aboard tired but extremely happy
with their hike and satisfied with their
efforts.
It was a happy ship, and the volume of
chatter and laughter over another splendid dinner ended another exciting day.
Day 9
Fortuna Bay and Stromness
King Penguin Molting
King Penguin
King Penguin and Chick
Denise Ippolito
Marian Herz
Denise Ippolito
By Janet Wiener
HIKE FROM FORTUNA TO
STROMNESS
Pauline Carr pointed to the pass where
Shackleton and his men came into Fortuna Bay on their hike and we anxiously
loaded onto the Zodiacs to begin our
hike. Beautiful blue icebergs floated in
the bay below as we gained altitude,
ascending from the beach, over tussock grass, scree slopes, and onto snow
again. The wind was fierce and we battled it on foot while Hugh, Tim, and Ted
did so on skis. At times, the strength of
the wind brought us all to the ground
to avoid being blown over. The wind
remained strong throughout this hike
and gave us all an appreciation for the
weather Shackleton and his men faced
as they trekked this same final stretch
into Stromness. After descending part
way down the steep slope on foot to-
wards the old whaling station structures
far below us, we slid on our bums down
the mountainside. Staff had been alerted that the wind was blowing 60 knots
at the ship and so Hugh said that probably meant 80 knots or more up where
we had come from. We headed promptly towards the beach, across the braided
riverbed, past the fur seals guarding the
Stromness whaling station, and loaded
immediately into Zodiacs to return to
the ship. The wind had the ship listing
rather noticeably as we approached it
during the semi-wet ride back to the
ship, grateful as ever for the skill of our
King Penguins in the Surf
8 November 2015
Location
DAY 9 AT NOON
Fortuna Bay
Latitude
54˚08’ 6 S
Longitude
36˚48’ 3 W
Total Sailed
96 miles
Wind
25 knots variable
Air Temperature
4°C
Weather
Overcast
Zodiac drivers and crew who brought
all aboard safely in the wind and sea
swell.
Janet Garrison
19
9 November 2015
By Dave Shoch
ST. ANDREWS BAY
After our shutout from St. Andrews Bay
two days before, we planned our second landing attempt for this morning,
hopeful but cautious of the potential
for deteriorating weather conditions.
St. Andrews Bay is directly exposed to
incoming easterly ocean swells, and
landings there are often challenging
and subject to suspension at short notice. With the Ortelius parked a cautious distance offshore, we guided the
Zodiacs to the beach at 4 a.m., mindful
that our time ashore would likely be
curtailed by mounting seas in the afternoon, and ready to make the most
of the morning. Those early risers were
Southern Elephant Seal
20
St. Andrews Bay
treated to a transient, but brilliant pink/
peach alpenglow cast off the peaks of Mt
Brooker and Nordenskjold Peak, lighting a magical backdrop to St. Andrews
Bay. On arrival, we quickly flagged out
a route from our landing site to the top
of the moraine overlooking the main
King Penguin colony, fording the river
bisecting the beach and full of molting King Penguins. From the moraine,
the immensity and decibel level of the
colony was on full display. St. Andrews
Bay is the largest King Penguin colony
on South Georgia, and second in size
only to the colony on Macquarie Island
on the other side of the world. The last
estimate (Clarke et. al. 2012) was of ~
150,000 pairs and growing, which, together with this year’s Oakum Boys and
Lynne Bergbreiter
non-breeding subadults present, would
potentially approach half a million birds
at St. Andrews. From Zodiac cruises along the beach we took in the full
expanse of the colony, and beyond the
icy lake growing at the foot of the Cook
Glacier. The Zodiacs afforded point
blank views of King Penguins in the
surf, Cape Petrels and Antarctic Terns,
and we discovered along the beach a
fresh elephant seal carcass lorded over
by blood-drenched Southern Giant-Petrels, which afterward, somehow out of
character, rested offshore to carefully
wash themselves clean.
Most of us returned to the Ortelius to
warm up on board and recharge with
a hot lunch, though with waning hope
for an extended afternoon landing. Re-
Southern Elephant Seal Weaners
Day 10
Location
DAY 10 AT NOON
St. Andrews Bay
Latitude
54˚26’ 3 S
Longitude
36˚10’ 0 W
Total Sailed
67 miles
Wind
17 knots N
Air Temperature
2°C
Weather
Overcast
markably, when we re-emerged from
the ship after lunch, the bay was almost
flat calm, inviting us all to return. The
afternoon on the beach was leisurely, and adjective seldom used on these
voyages, with time to roam, explore the
kelp-fringed rocks north of the landing
beach, sit with the Southern Elephant
Fran Maletsky
Day 10
Seal weaners gravitated to the collection
of dry bags … an epic day with a soft
landing.
By Jon Wiener
HIKE AT ST. ANDREWS
Advertised as a 1,500-foot climb, this
hike did not disappoint anyone looking
for a challenge. It started out innocently enough, with a gentle climb for the
first few hundred feet. Once we gained a
little elevation Tim wasted no time getting his skis on so he could take advantage of the soft snow we were walking
through. However, as we climbed high-
St. Andrews Bay
er the snow got harder and the pitch
got steeper. As we got beyond the midpoint of the climb those without snowshoes were advised to not continue. Our
group of roughly 11 hikers dropped to
about 8. As we reached around 1,000
feet of elevation things got much more
difficult, with the hard pack snow becoming pretty much ice, and the climb
becoming extremely steep. Tim lost
traction with his skis, falling and sliding down about 10-15 feet. Fortunately he was able to regain traction, since
he could have easily fallen a lot further
and/or slid into rocks.
As Tim regained his footing, Tashi, who
had been bringing up the rear, caught
up and quickly decided that there was
an easier way up. Fortunately he was
correct, and we followed him up to a
ridge at about 1,200 feet. After resting
for a few minutes we decided to climb
the final portion of the mountain. As we
started climbing the wind picked up and
clouds blew in, obscuring the peak. We
took it as an omen and decided it was
time to head back down.
Although we did not achieve our goal
it was an enjoyable hike with plenty of
excitement and views of the colony and
beach area.
2006
Heaney Glacier in 2006
Ted Cheeseman
9 November 2015
By Ted Cheeseman
THE HEANEY GLACIER
From satellite observations we know
that the vast majority of the glaciers of
South Georgia are receding. The Heaney
Glacier in St. Andrews Bay has retreated
at a rate of about 100m (330 feet) per
year, or close to a foot a day, for the last
decade, making its recession quite slow
by comparison to many. About 15 miles
south in Iris Bay, the Twitcher Glacier
has retreated 1.5 miles in the last 5 years,
about 4 feet per day, four times as fast as
the Heaney Glacier photographed here.
2015
Heaney Glacier in 2015
Ted Cheeseman
21
10 November 2015
Salisbury Plain and Prion Island
as a photographic leader was made in
2006 with the irrepressible Peter Harrison (Seabirds: An Identification Guide).
We were one of the very last groups to
visit Prion before the boardwalk and
the accompanying restrictions were
put into place. Small group visitation
is now strictly time-limited and everyone is restricted to the boardwalk. With
the boardwalk the hike up is way easier
and the birds are afforded a greater level
of protection. On some visits folks are
lucky to see a single young albatross on
or near its nest.
Brown Skua
By Artie Morris
THE MORNING AT SALISBURY
PLAIN
In the morning, we landed early at the
main Salisbury Plain King Penguin
Rookery. The photographers were blessed by sweet light early, and then later, by
perfect cloudy bright conditions. Some
hiked to the top to enjoy spectacular
views while others enjoyed a Zodiac
cruise down the beach. Along the water’s
edge large groups of kings were loafing
and leaving or entering the water to feed
as small groups of Antarctic Terns dived
for tiny baitfish nearby. Amazingly
there were several large groups of Cape
Clemens Vanderwerf
I had a premonition that today would
provide a magical end to what had al-
ready been—after a few days of rough
weather at the start—a magical expedition. When we arrived the sky conditions were perfect: cloudy bright. And
then up the hill we went.
SO HOW DID THAT WORK OUT?
There is a small observation deck below
the main viewing platform. You usually
get to stand there doing nothing for 30
minutes as you wait for the group ahead
of you to pass you on the way down. We
were not there a full minute when we
spotted the head of a Wandering Albatross chick atop the ridgeline. Then, the
bird stood up and began flapping, test-
Petrels floating very close to the beach.
Many Southern Oceans vets had never
seen this behavior before. And neither
had I. Then it was back to the Ortelius
for lunch.
THE PLAN
The afternoon landings at Prion Island
were to be made in two shifts, with the
Deck 5 folks in the first wave at 1:15
p.m. and Decks 3 & 4 folks in the second
wave at 3:15 p.m. The ascents to view
the hoped-for Wandering Albatross
would be in tightly controlled groups
of 12. We hoped to view and possibly
photograph this endangered species.
My first trip to the Southern Ocean
Wandering Albatross Chick
22
Day 11
Cheryl Cathcart
Day 11
Location
Salisbury Plain and Prion Island
DAY 11 AT NOON
Bay of Isles
Latitude
54˚03’ 2 S
Longitude
37˚19’ 2 W
Total Sailed
63 miles
Wind
18 knots W
Air Temperature
10°C
Weather
Partly Cloudy
ing and strengthening its wings. With
both the wind and the light behind
us, we were all hoping that we would
witness the young bird’s first flight. It
flapped and flapped and flapped, then
rested for a minute and flapped and
flapped and flapped some more. Though
the bird never took flight we were off to
an amazing start. We learned later that
though others had seen this particular
bird hidden in the grass, it had stayed
low and never flapped once.
COULD IT BE?
On the way up the hill, I asked Joe Kaplan, “Has anyone seen a flying adult
today?” He said, “No. The adults spend
less time in the colonies as the chicks
get near fledgling age.” Fat chance I
thought….“Boy, that next to last group
is sure taking a long time up there,”
someone mentioned. Right after that,
Dave Shoch who like Joe is a premier
10 November 2015
birder radioed Joe that there was an
adult flying in from over the ocean. Joe
alerted everyone in the group just before a stunning adult male Wandering
Albatross flew circles right above us for
five full minutes until it landed at its
nest with chick just below. The bright
orange marking on the back of the head
tells us that this adult was a very old
male.
THE GRAND FINALE
The young bird got fed and the bird on
the ridge quit flapping just as we were
summoned to the main observation
platform 50 meters above us. As we arrived we noted that there was a Wandering Albatross chick about 2 meters
from the boardwalk somewhat hidden
in the deep tussock grass. Immediately
the bird stood up, posed for head portraits, and began flapping in place. Then
it walked about a bit, posed for more
head portraits, and flapped and flapped
and flapped. Just as our time was up,
the huge young seabird sat back down
in the grass. If that afternoon had been
a movie, no one would have believed
the ending.
By Jon Wiener
Wandering Albatross
Artie Morris
HIKE AT SALISBURY
Our final hike on South Georgia was a
relatively easy one, climbing just a few
hundred feet on mostly easy terrain. A
small amount of snow, some rocks and
scree, and finally across a tussock filled
ridge. After less than one hour we had a
nice complete view of the King Penguin
colony from above. The weather sort of
cooperated, giving us a mix of sun and
clouds. All in all a great way to finish
our hiking tour of South Georgia!
What better way to put the finishing
touches on an incredible 3-week journey than with a magical fairy tale ending?
Adult Wandering Albatross with Chick
Denise Ippolito
23
11 November 2015
At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands
Day 12
OK, the yoga workout did not really
happen although it was scheduled and
it would really have proved interesting!
We actually started our day a little more
leisurely with a fine “Good Beautiful
Morning” announcement from Michael,
beckoning us to breakfast at 8 a.m.
Salisbury Plain
By Rosie Seton
AT SEA, LEAVING SOUTH GEORGIA BEHIND
We are at sea today steaming towards
the Falkland Islands. The skies are
cloudy; the seas constantly undulate. It
was a great gift in that our last two days
in South Georgia were sunny and spectacular. It was as if she graced us with
her more benign side before we had to
24
Mark Maletsky
say goodbye. Once we weighed anchor
yesterday afternoon at Prion Island and
got underway, she closed her doors once
again as a mix of mist and clouds quickly closed in. The magical show that is
South Georgia was over…We steamed
westward overnight. Dawn broke and
we woke up with South Georgia left far
behind us and we wondered if we had
just imagined her.
ON DECK WORKOUT
Our day started with a yoga workout at
8 a.m. on the Ortelius’ helicopter deck
and led by our captain! Dressed in our
finest landing gear and life jackets we
headed out to the heli pad to workout!
With the rolling of the seas, performing down-dog, upward-dog and planks
proved interesting and required using
muscles we didn’t even know we had!
SHAG ROCKS
During the late morning, we came upon
an iceberg which served to remind us
we were still in Antarctic waters. Just
beyond we could make out the shadowy
outline of Shag Rocks, a lonely outcropping of six small rocky islands - part of
the British Overseas Territory of South
Georgia - jutting out of the ocean and
named for one of their main inhabitants
- the seabird known as a shag although
prions and Wandering Albatross are
also known to nest there as well. On our
eastbound voyage to South Georgia we
passed Shag Rocks during the night, so
this occasion presented a rare photo opportunity as we passed by.
LEC TURES, AC TIVITIES AND
BIRTHDAYS
After passing Shag Rocks, we kept our
eyes glued to the ocean with expedition
staff Joe Kaplan and Dave Shoch to do
a spot of bird watching and photography. Upon the bridge, our science team
from Allied Whale, COA kept an eye
out for whales and dolphins. Sprinkled
Day 12
At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands
11 November 2015
Location
King Penguins
throughout the day - and for those not
wishing to be out on deck - we were engaged below listening to several superb
presentations. During the late morning,
Tashi Tenzing gave a lecture entitled:
“Fulfilling Your Dreams: Celebrating
the 50th Anniversary of Climbing Everest.” It was a moving account of five
decades of climbing the famed peak
coupled with spectacular footage and
stunning music. Lunch was served afterwards. During the afternoon, we
were further treated to several more
illuminating lectures including: “Southern Ocean Biodiversity: From Geologic
Past to a Changing Future” presented by
Phil Marcus
Yellow-billed (South Georgia) Pintail
Ted Cheeseman, “Creative Photography
Techniques for Landscapes II” given by
Moe Witschard and followed by Hugh
Rose’s lecture on “Plate Tectonics of
South Georgia Geology.”
As well as searching for whales and
seabirds and listening to the always informative talks, several of our expedition staff were soliciting and accepting
photos for several upcoming events:
the Nature and People slideshows and
Photo Critiques slideshow. All on board
were invited to submit two photos for
the photo critique, up to 5 for the nature slideshow, and lots for the people
slideshow! For those who participated
Sharon Gibb
in the Zodiac cruise to Larsen Harbour
in the Drygalski Fjord, photos of Weddell Seals were also desired for research
purposes. As well as soliciting photos
all day, staff also sought donations for
the upcoming South Georgia Auction, a
fundraiser for the South Georgia Habitat Restoration and the Save the Albatross Funds to be held on Nov. 12 before
the departure of some of our passengers
in the Falkland Islands. One can only
imagine the interesting and unique contributions offered!
DAY 12 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
53˚27’ 8 S
Longitude
42˚21’ 0 W
Total Sailed
196 miles
Wind
24 knots NW
Air Temperature
4°C
Weather
Overcast, Fog
Always fun to have a birthday on board
a Cheesemans’ Expedition! Dinner was
followed by the film, “Around Cape
Horn,” in the lecture hall. This famous
1929 movie was filmed by the seaman
and filmmaker, Irving McClure Johnson
on the barque Peking as it rounded the
notorious Cape Horn. The rolling of the
seas in the Lecture Hall only added to
the experience! It was another splendid
day on the Ortelius!
In the evening, we had a leisurely dinner
at 7 p.m. with heartfelt birthday wishes
extended to shipmate Doug Bullock!
King Penguin Neck Abstract
Artie Morris
25
12 November 2015
At Sea en route to the Falkland Islands
Day 13
It’s like living in the middle of the ocean, with no future, no past, and everything that’s good about now, well might just glide right past - songwriter Beth Orton.
By Joe Kaplan
ALL EYES ON DECK
Sunrise finds us halfway between South
Georgia and the Falklands under favorable conditions for passage and a
productive “All Eyes on Deck” seabird
spotting session with Dave and Joe. This
morning the Ortelius befriends a pod
of ten Hourglass Dolphins that spends
a generous amount of time bow-riding
our ship and providing some fantastic
views of this beautiful, poorly-known,
and highly pelagic cetacean. Our excitement ramped up again with a sighting
Gray-headed Albatross
26
of a Soft-plumaged Petrel - our 25th
species tubenose (in the order Procellariiformes) for the trip. Following
quickly on the wings of the petrel was a
sighting of another rarely encountered
cetacean the Southern Bottlenosed
Whale. Adding a clean sweep of the albatross (Gray-headed, Black-browed,
Light-mantled, Royal, and Wandering)
the morning took on a certain sense of
accomplishment. What could top this?
A rhetorical question until a Manx
Shearwater – from the North Atlantic –
answered the call from the stern of the
ship during the late afternoon.
Clemens Vanderwerf
Cape Petrel
SEA TIME = LEC TURE TIME
Sea time is also lecture time on a Cheeseman Expedition and today’s tropics
varied from Tim and Pauline’s “South
Georgia’s Environmental History, Challenges, and Successes,” to Evan Kovac’s
“Titantic Mapping Project”, and Ali’s
“Zooniverse: People and Penguins and
Citizen Science,” followed by the ever
popular photography critique lead by
Hugh and Ron and finally David Smith’s
film “Falklands, South Georgia and
Antarctica with Cheesemans’ Ecology
2014-2015.”
Ty Smedes
Location
DAY 13 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
52˚40’ 1 S
Longitude
49˚11’ 5 W
Total Sailed
253 miles
Wind
15 knots NNW
Air Temperature
9°C
Weather
Clear
Ice Formation
Ron Niebrugge
Day 14
By Dave Shoch
APPROACHING THE FALKLANDS
Our third day at sea after leaving South
Georgia … We had now crossed the
Antarctic Convergence and entered the
warmer waters to the north. The water
temperature today averaged 3 degrees
Celsius, and mind you, it was still cold,
just that you could tolerate longer periods on deck.
We had a number of close sightings of
Fin and Sei Whales, surfacing briefly
close to the Ortelius, but despite several
deviations from our heading to afford
closer views, our encounters remained
fleeting. The birdlife now heralded the
increasing proximity of the Falkland Islands, with building numbers of Sooty
At Sea and Stanley Disembarkation
Shearwaters, Great Shearwaters, Atlantic Petrels, a single Falkland Skua (identified by its dark cap), and Southern
Royal Albatross – at one point in the
wake, near where a group of whales had
been spotted, there was a tight conference of 8 great albatross, wanderers and
southern royals, sitting in a tight group,
heads together over some apparent foraging opportunity at the surface.
AUC TION
In the afternoon we gathered at the bar,
champagne glasses in hand, to toast
our successful voyage and to hold the
auction to benefit the Save the Albatross campaign and the South Georgia
Heritage Trust. Auctioneer and entertainer Joe Kaplan presided over some
hot rounds of bidding,
many on items generously donated from
among us, including
prints by Artie, Denise,
Clemens and Hugh, and
an especially memorable item donated by
Arvi, and later sported
uncannily well by a successful Joe. All told, we
raised over $4,660 from
the live and silent auctions.
13 November 2015
Joe Sporting Memorable Auction Item with Arvi Bahal
FIRST DEPARTURES
In the evening before dinner we watched
the Falklands appear at the horizon, and
the wealth of birdlife accompanying our
approach in the warm light of the sunset, including Imperial Cormorants and
several rafts of Magellanic Penguins.
After dinner we bid farewell to our contingent departing in Stanley, and ferried
them ashore for their last “landing”, but
not without a final showing of wildlife
- a group of Commerson’s Dolphins
keeping pace in the wake of the Zodiacs,
visible in the fading light.
Location
Dinner on the Deck
Debra Herst
DAY 14 AT NOON
Scotia Sea
Latitude
51˚52’ 7 S
Longitude
55˚53’ 6 W
Total Sailed
260 miles
Wind
20 knots W
Air Temperature
9°C
Weather
Partly Cloudy
Teresa Blase
27
14 November 2015
At Sea Offshore of Falkland Islands
Day 15
By Joe Kaplan
Giant-Petrel
Southern Royal Albatross
28
Glenn Bartley
On Deck Photography
Helena Backes
Ty Smedes
LAST LANDING FOILED
This morning had an auspicious beginning with a Tusscock-bird (the Falkland
Islanders name for Blackish Cincloides)
coming aboard to greet the Ortelius as
we anchored just offshore of Sea Lion
Island – our last landing destination.
Unfortunately, our luck would not hold
as the landing party spent 45 minutes
bouncing in big surf watching breaker
after breaker bombard the sandy beaches within full view of Falkland Steamer-Ducks, Magellanic Penguins, and
Gentoo Penguins on shore. No matter
how we angled a landing was not possible and conditions only promised to
deteriorate during the morning. Sadly,
we steam west looking for an alternative landing site that never presents.
The waters surrounding the Falkland’s
are still rich with viewing opportunities
as we enjoy our first encounters with
Peale’s Dolphin, Brown-hooded Gull,
Magellanic Cormorant (Rock Shag),
and Northern Royal Albatross - the
dark-winged form that that nests on
the Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands,
and Taiaroa Head near Dunedin, New
Zealand. Later in the afternoon while
back in the pelagic zone, a Barn Swallow
joins the ship taking refuge in an open
hatch to rest from an undoubtedly long
flight over a large ocean.
Location
DAY 15 AT NOON
South of Falklands
Latitude
52˚47’ 1 S
Longitude
60˚02’ 8 W
Total Sailed
205 miles
Wind
15 knots NW
Air Temperature
12°C
Weather
Partly Cloudy
Alan Lillich
Clemens Vanderwerf
Pat Lillich
Clemens Vanderwerf
Day 16-17
At Sea and Ushuaia Disembarkation
By Dave Shoch
binoculars revealed trees (!) ashore.
EN ROUTE TO BEAGLE CHANNEL
Sooty Shearwater was the bird of the
day. We saw thousands over the course
of the day, streaming by in loose, weaving groups. The sooties were all headed
north to south, soon to arrive at their
colonies here among the Fuegian Islands, returning from their marathon
migration from the north Atlantic
where they spent the austral winter.
In addition to the Sooty Shearwaters
we saw around 10 Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses (saying goodbye to our last great albatrosses of the
voyage!), and typical seabirds of the
southern South American coast: Imperial Cormorants, South American
Terns, Kelp Gulls and Chilean Skuas. Of
interest were two small groups of penguins sighted, one of which proved to
be Magellanic Penguins, which we expected, and the other Rockhopper Penguins, which we did not. Our reaction
at the time was that the Rockhoppers
must be far out of place – later we dis-
In the morning we passed Staten Island
(Isla de los Estados) and worked our
way slowly toward the entrance of the
Beagle Channel. Shockingly, a scan with
Rockhopper Penguins
15-16 November 2015
Andy Lee
covered that colonies of Rockhoppers
had been recorded thirty years ago on
islands nearby by Gerry Clark, Alan
Cowan and Peter Harrison (their travels
recounted in Gerry’s book The Totorore
Voyage).
By Gina Barton
DOCKING
We awoke very early to the sounds of the
Ortelius docking in Ushuaia, then later
greeted by Ted’s last soothing “Good
morning, shipmates.” Peeking out from
the ship we had sweeping views of the
mountains that surround Ushuaia.
Those on the 9 a.m. flights out had an
early breakfast before boarding the bus
Light-mantled Albatross
Beaker on Deck
Phil Marcus
straight to the airport. While those on
later flights had a more leisurely breakfast before boarding the bus to enjoy
some time in Ushuaia before heading to
the airport. Some folks were staying on
board to continue on to the Antarctic
Peninsula.
Many goodbyes and hugs were shared
in Reception, and very hard to believe
that our voyage was over. Expeditions
are wonderful because we share so
many experiences, while each of us still
has a unique experience of the magical
island of South Georgia.
Glenn Bartley
29
30
King Penguins
Alan Lillich
E X P E D I T I O N S TA F F
Judy Allen
Gina Barton
Pauline Carr
Tim Carr
Ted Cheeseman
Oliver Coray
Tom Fernald
Lynne Hoole
Joe Kaplan
Ron Niebrugge
Hugh Rose
Juan Manuel Salcedo
Rosie Seton
Dave Shoch
Peter Stevick
Ali Swanson
Tashi Tenzing
Moe Witschard
Bar Harbor ME
USA
Waimate
New Zealand
Bar Harbor ME
USA
Seward AK
USA
Mount Desert ME
USA
Wolvercote OX
United Kingdom
Mountain View CA
USA
Santa Cruz CA
USA
Mowbray
South Africa
Fairbanks AK
USA
Charlottesville VA
USA
Kathmandu
Nepal
Waimate
New Zealand
Soldotna AK
USA
Escanaba MI
USA
Puerto Ayora Galápagos
Ecuador
Rockport ME
USA
Bozeman MT
USA
31
32
Gray-backed Storm-Petrel
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Common/South Georgia Diving-Petrel
South Georgia Diving-Petrel
Common Diving-Petrel
Manx Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Great Shearwater
White-chinned Petrel
Fairy Prion
Slender-billed Prion
Antarctic Prion
Blue Petrel
Soft-plumaged Petrel
Atlantic Petrel
Kerguelen Petrel
Snow Petrel
Antarctic Petrel
Cape Petrel/Pintado Petrel
Southern Fulmar
Northern Giant-Petrel
Southern Giant-Petrel
Wandering Albatross
Southern Royal
Northern Royal
Royal Albatross
Light-mantled Albatross
Black-browed Albatross
√
√
2-Nov
1-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
3-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
1-Nov
Gray-headed Albatross
Rockhopper Penguin
√
4-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
5-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
6-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
7-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
8-Nov
√
9-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
10-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
12-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
13-Nov
√
14-Nov
√
15-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
16-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
13-Nov
Macaroni Penguin
√
√
√
15-Nov
Magellanic Penguin
√
√
7-Nov
Chinstrap Penguin
6-Nov
√
9-Nov
√
5-Nov
√
10-Nov
√
4-Nov
√
11-Nov
Gentoo Penguin
2-Nov
√
3-Nov
√
12-Nov
King Penguin
31-Oct
√
8-Nov
Yellow-billed (South Georgia) Pintail
14-Nov
Falkland Steamer-Duck
Bird species
(page 1 of 2)
SPECIES LIST BY DATE
16-Nov
11-Nov
31-Oct
South American Sea Lion
South American Fur Seal
Antarctic Fur Seal
Weddell Seal
Southern Elephant Seal
unidentified dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin
Peale's Dolphin
Hourglass Dolphin
beaked whale species?
Southern Bottlenosed Whale
Sperm Whale
Minke Whale
Sei Whale
Fin Whale
Humpback Whale
Mammal species
House Sparrow
South Georgia Pipit
Barn Swallow
Blackish Cinclodes
Rock Pigeon
√
√
Antarctic Tern
√
South American Tern
√
√
Kelp Gull
Brown-hooded Gull
Dolphin Gull
Brown (Subantarctic/Falkland) Skua
Chilean Skua
31-Oct
Rufous-chested Dotterel
Magellanic Oystercatcher
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
3-Nov
√
4-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
5-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
9-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
10-Nov
8-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
11-Nov
7-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
8-Nov
√
7-Nov
√
9-Nov
Snowy Sheathbill
6-Nov
√
10-Nov
Turkey Vulture
√
?
?
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
13-Nov
Black-crowned Night-Heron
4-Nov
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
15-Nov
Imperial Cormorant
√
√
5-Nov
Magellanic Cormorant/Rock Shag
1-Nov
√
14-Nov
South Georgia Shag
2-Nov
√
3-Nov
√
11-Nov
unidentifed storm-petrel
12-Nov
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel
(page 2 of 2)
SPECIES LIST BY DATE
√
√
√
√
√
√
16-Nov
16-Nov
15-Nov
14-Nov
13-Nov
12-Nov
6-Nov
2-Nov
1-Nov
31-Oct
33
T H E M A N Y F A C E S O F N AT U R E
Southern Elephant Seal
Les Sharp
South Georgia Pipit
Chinstrap Penguin
Gray-headed Albatross
Male Southern Elephant Seal
34
Debra Herst
King Penguin
Douglas Bullock
Oakum Boy
Lynne Bergbreiter
Macaroni Penguin
Artie Morris
Northern Giant-Petrel
Alan Jones
Black-browed Albatross
Debra Herst
Alan Jones
Denise Ippolito
Clemens Vanderwerf
Southern Elephant Seal
Mark Maletsky
Wandering Albatross chick
Cheryl Cathcart
Southern Elephant Seal
35
Andy Lee
36
37
38
Phone #
Billing Phone
City
Street Address
Zip Code
970 704 9178 (USA) / 970 948 0778 (USA) / +44 (0) 1382 229792 (UK)
Email: [email protected] • Website: www.fosgi.org
State
Billingaddress&phoneifdifferentfromabove:
Date
Signature
/
Friends of South Georgia Island is a US 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for the conservation of South Georgia.
If you would like to receive our updates by email, please ensure your email address is included above. We use email as it is quicker and cheaper –
leaving us with more money to spend on our conservation work. We guarantee that your information will never be made available to any other party.
q Please check this box if you do not wish to receive FOSGI updates.
Friends of South Georgia Island, 25 Dakota Meadows Drive, Carbondale, CO 81623
Expiration Date
Security Number (the last 3 digits on the back of your card)
Credit Card Number
Name on Credit Card
q Credit Card:
q Check: Please make payable to “Friends of South Georgia Island” and send it with this form to the address below.
q Wire Transfer (Preferred Method): Donations directly into our account should be sent to: Alpine Bank, 711 E. Valley
Road Ste. 101, Basalt, CO 81621, USA. Bank phone: 970 927 3653. Account Name: Friends of South Georgia Island.
Account Number: 55200008332. Routing number: 102103407.
Payment Options:
Please tell us where you obtained this form
Email address (please write clearly)
City/State/Zip
Address
Name(s) as you wish it to be on the certificate
Name
I would like to sponsor (number)________ hectares x $140 each = Total value: ________
And remember…a hectare of South Georgia makes a unique and appreciated gift
for anyone who cares about preserving our natural world.
Help give South Georgia back to its birds for only $140 per hectare. All sponsors receive a certificate.
When you sponsor a hectare (or more) of South Georgia you help support work to conserve endangered and
threatened wildlife and studies to help us understand how best to protect the island’s wildlife.
Through Friends of South Georgia Island (FOSGI)
Sponsor a Hectare of South Georgia
S O U T H G E O R G I A A N D FA L K L A N D I S L A N D S
EXPEDITION LOG 2015
C HEESEMANS’ E COLOGY S AFARIS
20800 Kittridge Road
Saratoga, California 95070 USA
(800) 527-5330
www.cheesemans.com
[email protected]