Elephants, Leopards and Lions - with flippers.

[Dewi]

As the season changes from Winter to Summer, the chick looses the down feathers and emerges with a full set of flight feathers with just a few wisps of down to shed.



Their time on the Island is drawing to a close, and they spend time either resting, or wing flapping furiously.







They are now covered in a coat of chocolate brown feathers, with white faces.





Finally, it's time to leave on their maiden voyage which will take them around the bottom of the world several times.



They must wait for favourable wind conditions before finally making their first flight.



But once airborne, they will wander the Southern Oceaans for between 7 and 10 years or more before returning to land to find their own partners and repeat the cycle of life.

[Dewi]

Lis, as their main home is the open ocean, they are in trouble at the moment with longline fishing as I mentioned earlier and pollution, especially from plastics.

This bird was saved after we found her on her nest. We managed to remove the hook after some very amateur vetinary surgery and she survived quite some years after this and raised a chick that year.



Fortunately, most of their breeding islands are protected, but on Gough Island, the chicks are being eaten alive on the nest by mice that were introduced to the Islands and have evolved quickly into "supermice" of "giant" proportions. They nibble away at the chicks remorselessly until they die.

Rats also take eggs and young chicks on mainland South Georgia, so their range on the island is now limited to rat free areas.

Mel, your question can be answered in many ways. Captive birds live longer than wild birds. In the wild, mortality rates are higher when the birds are younger, but improve as the birds get older. Hummingbirds have the shortest lifespans of wild birds, around 6 years, and Macaws are known to live for 80 to 100 years. I've read that a Turkey Vulture lived to be 118 years old, but think that this was in captivity and am not sure if the age has been verified or not. Swans also live long lives, the oldest reported being 102 years, again, not sure if this has been verified.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird.


Mute Swan


Leachy, I know you were only joking here :lol: , but in truth the ice is melting fast. If you saw the difference the same as I did between the 1980's and the 2000's, you would be as worried as I am over the way we are heading. We are leaving an awfully big footprint on this little planet of ours.



I only hope that we wise up before it's too late otherwise scenes like this will be a thing of the past.

[Dewi]

Although away from home for long periods of time, working in remote areas gives you the chance to experience the place in all it's moods. Sometimes spectacular, sometimes less so, but always something of interest in a particular scene to marvel at. There were many ocasions when I did not take photos at all. I soon realised that sometimes, taking photographs meant that I missed the experience of what was actualy happening, so opted to simply sit and watch instead. Some of those memories are still etched clearly on my mind, such a Halley's Comet over the mountains of the Peninsula on a clear night.

Here are some of the ones I did take though.....

A rainbow over the old base at Bird Island.


Mount Paget towers at 9,760ft. The highest mountain on South Georgia.


The weather closing in at Cooper Bay.


Bedrock ground into pieces carried down the Royal Glacier.


Strange light over the bay.


Snowfall lit by the sun's rays fall above an iceberg.


Shafts of sunlight stream out from beneath the clouds.


Those alien clouds make a return to the island.


Cloud blown over a ridge lit up by the setting sun.


The suset reflected off low cloud at Bird Island.


And the view from my desk as the moon rises at sunset.

[Dewi]

Whale and Dolphin sightings were always special, but getting photographs of them was another story. Most of my Whale shots are of a dark fin poking up out of the sea and are a little boring to say the least. Whenever something exciting like breaching was observed, it was always too far away and by the time you pressed the shutter, you ended up with a splash and no animal in the pic.

Minke Whales were the commonest seen, often in small pods as they swam up the channels between the islands. Often feeding close to the ice edge. They are small compared to the great whales, but always great to watch.

These two motered along one of the channels during a fall of snow.


Humpback Whales were relatively abundant. We would often sit on the hill watching them as they surfaced and dived to feed on Krill.

This youngster shows it's tail flukes as it sounds.


Humpbacks can be individually identified by the colouration and pattern of the tail flukes.


The weather also hampered photo opportunities. It seemed that whenever we had a close encounter, the sun never shined.




But occasionally, the light would help to make an image better than it should have been.


Southern Right Whales were regular off Bird Island. This youngster was left close inshore by it's mother and promptly enjoyed itself playing in the kelp beds.


Sei Whales were encountered further offshore, their sicle shaped dorsal fins are larger than the fins of other similar species.


You would sometimes see them in association with Hourglass Dolphins, which bow ride these giants much like they do with ships and boats. The dolphins also feed on the krill or fish that the Whales fail to trap in their cavernous mouths.




I always enjoy watching Dolphins as they hurtle along at top speed. They always seem to be having fun in what they do.


And now and then, you get a really close encounter such as a pod of Peale's Dolphins playing in the surf on the beach, mere feet away. Magical.

[Dewi]

Approximately halfway between South Georgia and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula are the South Orkney Islands. Less vegetated that South Georgia, they are home to colonies of the smaller Penguins and Seabirds. As you approach the Islands, icebergs become more frequent and the temperature of air and sea are noticeably colder to that of the former island.

Coronation Island is the largest in this group, with smaller islands dotted around. The mountain range of the main island is spectacular on clear days, with snow covered peaks and glaciers forming a backdrop to the ever present icebergs.

The icebergs come in all shapes and sizes, depending on their age, wind and weather erosion.





Their colours vary from pure white through all shades of blue and turquoise.



Low evening light transforms them into pastel colours.



The mountain peaks seem to go on evdlessly.



Snow capped peaks and icebergs.



Tabular icebergs and jagged mountains.



The aptly named Sunshine Glacier.



As the last of the sun moves below the horizon....



The mountain tops take up the colours of the sunset momentarily.

[Dewi]

As promised in the title, I have some Elephants for you this evening. :lol:


Although Elephant Seals breed on the South Orkney Islands, it's back to South Georgia for these photos as it was too late in the season for these animals during the time I worked there.

From September onwards, depending on which beaches you are on around the island, bull Elephant Seals start hauling out and claiming territories. The big beachmasters can reach 6.5m in length and weigh up to 3,700kg.

They roar out a challenge to any other bulls in the vicinity, and usually the depth and resonance of the more dominant bulls roar is enough to deter most of the hopefulls lurking offshore. Occasionally though, a bull of equal size and weight will make a challenge and this is when fierce battles are fought on the shorelines. Fights can last for half an hour or more when equally matched males battle together, but usuallt it's all over in a matter of minutes as one bull concedes to the other and makes a hasty getaway. When two matched bulls do meet, the spectacle is impressive to observe........

A Beachmaster has claimed his territory on the shoreline.


A challenger roars in defiance from the shallows.


The Beachmaster takes up the challenge and both bulls rise to their full height, chest to chest.


With both bulls roaring, most fights will end at this stage as one bull acnowledges it's mistake from the depth and resonance of the others roar.


But these two are well matched and both attempt to bite each bother around the neck area.


They rise up and slam their bodied down against the other, attempting to bite on the downstroke.


One will attempt to gain the upper hand by placing it's weight over the other.


While the challenger pushes back with all it's might.


The weaker bull starts to give way to the more dominant of the two.


And gives ground as it backs into the sea.


The victor then returns to the beach to await the return of the cows.........

[Dewi]

Territories estaablished for the timebeing, the bulls settle down, battlescars and all, to await the arrival of the cows.



The cows start to arrive and soon the beaches are dotted with hareems of them watched over by the beachmaster. Hareems can hold up to a hundered cows, but thirty is around the average.





Within a few days, they begin to give birth to the pups and it's not long before the beaches are alive with the belching, bleating and flatulent noises that only an Elephant Seal can produce.



The pups suckle on a rich milk produced by the cows and put on weight at an extraordinary rate.













Copulation takes place around 18 or 19 days following the birth of the pup. The beachmaster grabs the cow with his flippers to avoid her escaping into the sea and keeps her close like this until she becomes receptive.

[Dewi]

With the cows coming into oestrus, the bulls become even more determined to either keep their territory, or to gain one at the expense of another. The challenging roars become more intense, with bulls lining up to see if they have a chance of a takeover.





They inflate their elongated proboscis and either challenge or reply.









A challenger is met by the beachmaster who is determined to keep his hareem.



The beachmaster drives the challenger back into the sea.



A cow attemps to return to the sea, but is stopped in her tracks by the huge bull.



He cannot risk one of the bulls that are waiting offshore from mating with her, so keeps her on the beach until she is ready to mate.



She eventually becomes receptive, and copulation takes place.

[Dewi]

The pups grow quickly on their diet of rich milk and are weaned at three to three and a half weeks. The cows depart and head out to sea, leaving the pups alone. For a while following their mothers departure, the pups still put on weight due to the richness of the milk, but the fasting period will last for thirty five to fifty days before they too leave and head out into the ocean.

A pup just prior to moulting into it's yearling coat.


A moulted and unmoulted pup meet at the shoreline.


A pup in moult.


When moulted, they discover the shallows and start to practice their swimming........


Underwater sleeping.....


And fighting skills required for later in life.


They always seemed to wake up as we were about to go to bed, and would continue playfighting noisily all night.


Then spend the daylight hours asleep on the beaches.


They can be very engaging to observe at this age.




But must be wary of bulls who did not get a chance to mate that season. These rogue bulls consider anything fair game.

[Dewi]

As you head further South onto the continent itself, the ice becomes more predominant. Mountainous snow capped peaks tower vertically out of the sea, icebergs are everywhere and the sunsets and sunrises become more surreal. Atmospheric phenomena are encountered which leave you breathless with awe and the wildlife is even tamer than encountered before.

Nacreous (Mother of Pearl) Clouds are actually ice crystals in the higher atmosphere that reflect the suns rays. Their shape and colour mesmerises the observer as they dance across the sky in ever changing shapes and patterns.







Sun Pillars shoot vertical shafts of light into the sky.







And Irridescent clouds show the colours of the spectrum.



A gathering storm threatens to blank out the sunset.







While the planet Venus shines brightly as the sun dips below the horizon.



Cold, clear mornings give off pastel shades.





And tranquil scenes keep you transfixed as evenings draw in.