Antarctic Adventure # 17 - Prion Island and Leaving South Georgia
A new mood greeted us today. Mist and drizzle created a grey world of rocky islands tufted with tussock grass, kelp patterned smooth waters rising and falling with the swell and diving darting splashing shiny seals disturbing the peace. I had experienced grey wet weather before in South Georgia. But it carried a different energy. Gritviken had had a morose and threatening vibration. Here off the shore of Prion Island, life was awakening and hope seemed to pervade.
We landed on the island, knowing not all who travel here receive permits to do so. We arrived in two groups so as to least effect the wildlife we were to witness in their natural habitat. We were greeted by fur seals and gentoo penguins including some seals that were albino.
A party of workmen had spent the summer constructing wooden steps to the cliff top. In so doing erosion would be minimized, but the invitation for a larger invasion of humanity was a threat. It was muddy and the walkways certainly helped. But on the cliff top we squelched around the clumps of tussock grass where the boardwalk was yet to be completed. Fellow travelers gave me a hand to maneuver and I endeavored to position myself screened by grass. My camera lenses were constantly wet becoming blurred and decreasing the clarity of my photographs. It was a 'hold your breath and don't intrude' world that I had entered.
There was no wind, making what we witnessed unique. We were in the nesting area of the mighty wandering albatross. The adult must hurl itself into the wind to become airborne. Without wind they are halted, either on land or out at sea. So there they were. The adults waiting to fly off or the massive chick sitting alone waiting for a wandering parent to return. The mist allowed minimal visibility and in the background there was a chorus of barking seal pups sounding.
The wandering albatross has a wingspan measuring almost 3.5 metres with a body length up to 1.35 metres. The females are slightly smaller than the males. To lie against the body, the wings are folded in three with two "jointed" parts. The adult wandering albatross appears entirely white from a distance but close up areas of black can be seen.
They mate for life returning to land every two years to breed around November. In their roaming of the ocean the rest of the time they are known to follow fishing boats and many drown when caught in the lines. A single egg will hatch after about two months and the pair remains for the nine months it takes for the chick to begin its independent life.
I was there. Up close to chicks waiting to be fed and adults waiting to fly off when the wind rose. I was close to the giant petrels and their tousled chicks The petrel's bill has external tubing out of which drips saline. A way of removing from the body, the salt consumed in their diet. They all seemed frozen in time and shared our company unperturbed. It was as if we were not there. Or perhaps we were viewing the world through glass. It seemed a holy encounter. It was a privileged moment of awe. Only the noisy seal pups acknowledged our presence.
There was a moment to contemplate the mortality of the albatross as deep line fishing claims them. South Georgia forbids fishing during the breeding season when birds are within the territorial waters. Some ships attach waving strips to their lines to make them more visible to scare off the birds. These are legitimate efforts by the legal fishing industry. But the pirates of the sea probably outnumber those with licenses and retreat in the night uncaring of the irreparable damage they have done.
I retreated from Prion Island changed, privileged and silent. The words would come later; the awe of the experience everlasting. Our Polar Star lifted her anchor and began her northbound journey, leaving behind South Georgia, an island that had claimed my heart.
We landed on the island, knowing not all who travel here receive permits to do so. We arrived in two groups so as to least effect the wildlife we were to witness in their natural habitat. We were greeted by fur seals and gentoo penguins including some seals that were albino.
A party of workmen had spent the summer constructing wooden steps to the cliff top. In so doing erosion would be minimized, but the invitation for a larger invasion of humanity was a threat. It was muddy and the walkways certainly helped. But on the cliff top we squelched around the clumps of tussock grass where the boardwalk was yet to be completed. Fellow travelers gave me a hand to maneuver and I endeavored to position myself screened by grass. My camera lenses were constantly wet becoming blurred and decreasing the clarity of my photographs. It was a 'hold your breath and don't intrude' world that I had entered.
There was no wind, making what we witnessed unique. We were in the nesting area of the mighty wandering albatross. The adult must hurl itself into the wind to become airborne. Without wind they are halted, either on land or out at sea. So there they were. The adults waiting to fly off or the massive chick sitting alone waiting for a wandering parent to return. The mist allowed minimal visibility and in the background there was a chorus of barking seal pups sounding.
The wandering albatross has a wingspan measuring almost 3.5 metres with a body length up to 1.35 metres. The females are slightly smaller than the males. To lie against the body, the wings are folded in three with two "jointed" parts. The adult wandering albatross appears entirely white from a distance but close up areas of black can be seen.
They mate for life returning to land every two years to breed around November. In their roaming of the ocean the rest of the time they are known to follow fishing boats and many drown when caught in the lines. A single egg will hatch after about two months and the pair remains for the nine months it takes for the chick to begin its independent life.
I was there. Up close to chicks waiting to be fed and adults waiting to fly off when the wind rose. I was close to the giant petrels and their tousled chicks The petrel's bill has external tubing out of which drips saline. A way of removing from the body, the salt consumed in their diet. They all seemed frozen in time and shared our company unperturbed. It was as if we were not there. Or perhaps we were viewing the world through glass. It seemed a holy encounter. It was a privileged moment of awe. Only the noisy seal pups acknowledged our presence.
I retreated from Prion Island changed, privileged and silent. The words would come later; the awe of the experience everlasting. Our Polar Star lifted her anchor and began her northbound journey, leaving behind South Georgia, an island that had claimed my heart.
Posted by Key Life Journey's Blog at 4/9/2009 10:03 AM 
Categories: Antarctica
Tags: wandering albatross gentoo penguins Prion Island giant petrel Gritviken South Georgia
Categories: Antarctica
Tags: wandering albatross gentoo penguins Prion Island giant petrel Gritviken South Georgia
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