Jan 21, 2016
Casey Youngflesh, Guest Scientist
Our second day on Deception Island, we decided to make the journey up and out of the caldera to Bailey Head, a massive chinstrap penguin colony on the east side of the island. The trek began at the historic Whaler’s Bay, a former Norwegian Whaling station, which still bears the cauldrons and tanks used to process large baleen whales during industrial whaling in the early 20th century. My personal interest in our destination lies in the many, feathered residents nesting on the slopes. I came aboard Ocean Tramp to conduct research on penguins in the Antarctic – Quixote Expeditions were kind enough to have me along as a guest scientist. This research, however, means that I’m often with scientific equipment in tow. My scientific goal for the day was to take a series of ‘spectral readings’ at targeted locations at the penguin colony using an instrument known as a spectroradiometer. This backpack portable device essentially measures the color of a particular target (though on a much broader spectrum of ‘colors’ than we humans are able to see). Getting a better idea of what the ‘spectral characteristics’ of these penguin colonies are allows us to better interpret information obtained by various satellites. We are now quite literally monitoring these penguins from space!
The views en route, from the top of Deception Island, were stunning. Massive stone columns stand in the water just opposite lichen-covered cliffs. The tens of thousands of penguins at Bailey Head create quite the racket, which we easily heard several kilometers before reaching our destination. When did arrive we were treated to the site of chubby penguin chicks begging their parents for food, adults passing one another on penguin highways, on their way to and from the ocean, and the many penguin squabbles triggered by territorial disputes. This is our first penguin colony for the trip and our first glimpse at these birds up close – such a fantastic place to kick our penguin adventure off at. I was sure to conduct the necessary research and we all (for the time being) got our fill of these funny little birds.
As the clouds rolled in we started our way back to Ocean Tramp, anchored in the protected waters of Whaler’s Bay. We were sure to check out the historic sites that the former whaling site had to offer, effectively satisfying both the historian and naturalist in all of us. I think it’s safe to say that we had our fill of adventure today. One can only imagine what more the coming days will bring.
– Casey
