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What Adelie Penguins do on New Years Day, originally uploaded by blather.
"Morning"
"Morning"
"Happy New Year to you"
"Happy New Year to yoursel. How's the missus?"
"Oh, she's grand. Here, was I telling you about yer man... good jasus, what the bleedin' feck is that thing?"
Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
Macronectes giganteus - Southern Giant Petrel. Giant petrels are aggressive predators and scavengers, which has led to the other common name they were known as, the Stinker.They look a bit like albatross, except for the tube nostrils on the top of their bill - albatross bills have the two tube nostrils opening seperately, further up. They're still bloody big tho - this geezer has a 2m wingspan!
Another lucky shot - it's almost pin sharp, when I look at it 100%. Settings:
Exposure:1/3200 sec
Aperture:f/5
Focal Length:110 mm
ISO Speed:200
Exposure Bias:-2/3 EV
My first emperor! This guy was standing all by himself on a piece of pack ice, in the snow. Looking a bit moody, but then, wouldn't you?
These guys are huge - over a metre tall and up to 40kgs, they can live from 20 to 40 years.
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Iceberg, Antarctica
Seen from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in Antarctica, Defending Whales voyage 2007-2008.
Iceberg, Antarctica
Seen from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in Antarctica, Defending Whales voyage 2007-2008.
Iceberg, Antarctica
Ice: it's more colourful than you'd think...
Ok, this guy may look rather dull, but I think they're rather special, and I'm very happy with how sharp this picture turned out. It's almost pin-sharp!
Phoebetria palpebrata - from a whole different family of albatross that includes the dark-mantled sooty.They're the smallest albatrosses, with wingspans of 200cm, and can dive down to 12m! They're listed as near-threatened by the World Conservation Union.
The snow petrel is one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica and has been seen at the South Pole. It has the most southernly breeding distribution of any bird.
Saw this seal first thing this morning - well, first thing after a late night! I think it had a late night too, and wasn't so happy about the wake-up call.
Not sure if you can make out its teeth, but they're designed for chewing krill, and are very oddly shaped! Notice the scar on his back - it's very regular which makes me wonder if it's longline-related.
The little known Crabeater Seal, Lobodon carcinophagus, is possibly one of the most amazing mammals in the world. At a population of 8 to 50 million (LAWS 1973), it is perhaps the second most numerous large species of mammals on Earth, after humans. More than half the seals in the world is a Crabeater Seal. More on wikipedia »
Seen from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in Antarctica, Defending Whales voyage 2007-2008.
