Looking West from the top of La Roche (the highest point on the island) towards Willis Island. The base can be seen in the distance.
Home
Looking East, over Bird Sound- the 500m stretch of water that separates us from South Georgia itself.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
A few pictures of home on a sunny summers day (and no, there is no snow- its summer)
Looking West from the top of La Roche (the highest point on the island) towards Willis Island. The base can be seen in the distance.HomeLooking East, over Bird Sound- the 500m stretch of water that separates us from South Georgia itself.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
One month on Bird Island.
Somehow I seem to have been here a month already! At this time of year (midsummer, and therefore peak breeding season for most of the wildlife) we're outside collecting data/monitoring/checking nests of penguins and giant petrels every day, so there is little time for doing things like updating blogs or wondering where the time is going! The other field assistants on base are equally as busy with the albatross and seal work. There is certainly no time to worry about being bored or wanting to go home!
Wildlife update:
The base is situated on a flat beach in the middle of a breeding Antarctic fur seal colony. As the weeks have passed, we have watched the males come in from the sea and select territories on the beaches. The females follow a short while later, coming ashore to pup, joining one of the male's harems on the beach. In the last week, the number of new pups has dropped dramatically and the females are now all returning to sea, returning only every few days to feed their pups. The base is now surrounded by hundreds of small black angry pups. The males are still defending their beach spots, but the peak breeding is definitely over. The males fiercely defend their territories and we watched many fights between rival males as each attempted to establish its own territory.
The wandering albatrosses are settling down well and are just passed the peak laying period. There are still a handful of last year's chicks that have yet to fledge. These can be seen running up and down the meadows trying out their enormous wings, before they will finally take off and head out to see. Wanderers only breed every 2 years, so the birds returning to breed this year are not the parents of the chicks that are still to fledge. The stunning Grey headed albatrosses already have chicks, and the Black-browed albatrosses are incubating eggs which should hatch any day now.
My work is to monitor the giant petrels and the penguins and check on a few other species such as the blue-eyed shags. The macaroni penguin chicks started hatching this week; the Gentoo penguins had their chicks before I arrived. The young Macaroni's are like tiny grey balls of fluff and are very cute. The gentoo chicks are getting quite big now. The Northern giant petrel chicks are also getting big now, and are usually seen without the parent birds. The Southern giant petrels are just beginning to hatch. The giant petrel chicks are very cute from a distance, but vomit stinking fishy oil all over you if get too close.
That was just a quick summary of what's going on- I was meant to be writing about Christmas so I'll stop with the wildlife for a bit there!
Wildlife update:
The base is situated on a flat beach in the middle of a breeding Antarctic fur seal colony. As the weeks have passed, we have watched the males come in from the sea and select territories on the beaches. The females follow a short while later, coming ashore to pup, joining one of the male's harems on the beach. In the last week, the number of new pups has dropped dramatically and the females are now all returning to sea, returning only every few days to feed their pups. The base is now surrounded by hundreds of small black angry pups. The males are still defending their beach spots, but the peak breeding is definitely over. The males fiercely defend their territories and we watched many fights between rival males as each attempted to establish its own territory.
The wandering albatrosses are settling down well and are just passed the peak laying period. There are still a handful of last year's chicks that have yet to fledge. These can be seen running up and down the meadows trying out their enormous wings, before they will finally take off and head out to see. Wanderers only breed every 2 years, so the birds returning to breed this year are not the parents of the chicks that are still to fledge. The stunning Grey headed albatrosses already have chicks, and the Black-browed albatrosses are incubating eggs which should hatch any day now.
My work is to monitor the giant petrels and the penguins and check on a few other species such as the blue-eyed shags. The macaroni penguin chicks started hatching this week; the Gentoo penguins had their chicks before I arrived. The young Macaroni's are like tiny grey balls of fluff and are very cute. The gentoo chicks are getting quite big now. The Northern giant petrel chicks are also getting big now, and are usually seen without the parent birds. The Southern giant petrels are just beginning to hatch. The giant petrel chicks are very cute from a distance, but vomit stinking fishy oil all over you if get too close.
That was just a quick summary of what's going on- I was meant to be writing about Christmas so I'll stop with the wildlife for a bit there!
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone. This is the gang i'm living/working with at the moment. They usually look a bit more normal than this so don't worry too much! :) Hope you all have a good Christmas. I will try and keep my blog updated more often in future. Thanks to you all for your nice Christmas emails, and best wishes for the new year. Lots of love Stacey. xxx
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Bird Island
The cargo tender was launched with the first load of cargo and set off out of sight around the headland, for the Bird Island base, which is in a little cove on the South side of the island. The rest of us packed up and got ready to leave the ship. The cargo tender returned after an hour or so, reporting that conditions at the jetty were good enough to unload the rest of the cargo. We all got into the tender, along with another load of cargo and headed into Bird Island.
We were greeted on the jetty by the current islanders (5, plus some of the BBC film crew who were working on a documentary and living at the base). Introductions were made, over bacon sandwiches (due to the 2 hour time difference between ships time and Bird Island time-meaning it was still only breakfast time for the people who had got off the ship). The day was spent unloading cargo, then the ship left to do some science work for a few days, and we were left on our new island. Fabrice, (the current Penguin/Giant Petrel assistant, who I will be working with and then taking over from at the end of the season) took me out for a quick walk up the hill to see Big Mac- one of my Macaroni penguin colonies. This is our biggest colony and contains around 40,000 pairs of nesting Macaroni's. The evening was spent getting to know each other and sorting out boxes.
The next day (24th Nov) was the anniversary of 50 years of science at Bird Island, so we had an entertaining evening watching videos of work done many years ago, whilst dressed up in the type of clothes worn 50 years ago. The seal work here involves marking pups with blonde hair dye for identification. Annually, the Bird Island staff also enjoy this, and by the end of the evening, all present on base were blonde.
The next few days were spent doing field work (I'll write about my job later), then the JCR returned from its science cruise for a second day of unloading cargo. Much time was spent rolling barrels of fuel from the cargo tender to the base, and rolling empty drums back. In the afternoon, the sun shone and lots of the crew and passengers from the JCR went out for a walk, up through the meadows where the wandering albatrosses are displaying, to the macaroni and grey headed albatross colonies. The beautiful weather and views dispelled the myth that it is always foggy or wet on Bird Island, and everyone left happy. In the evening, the JCR and its passengers left us, not due to return until after Christmas. It is great to finally have arrived!
We were greeted on the jetty by the current islanders (5, plus some of the BBC film crew who were working on a documentary and living at the base). Introductions were made, over bacon sandwiches (due to the 2 hour time difference between ships time and Bird Island time-meaning it was still only breakfast time for the people who had got off the ship). The day was spent unloading cargo, then the ship left to do some science work for a few days, and we were left on our new island. Fabrice, (the current Penguin/Giant Petrel assistant, who I will be working with and then taking over from at the end of the season) took me out for a quick walk up the hill to see Big Mac- one of my Macaroni penguin colonies. This is our biggest colony and contains around 40,000 pairs of nesting Macaroni's. The evening was spent getting to know each other and sorting out boxes.
The next day (24th Nov) was the anniversary of 50 years of science at Bird Island, so we had an entertaining evening watching videos of work done many years ago, whilst dressed up in the type of clothes worn 50 years ago. The seal work here involves marking pups with blonde hair dye for identification. Annually, the Bird Island staff also enjoy this, and by the end of the evening, all present on base were blonde.
The next few days were spent doing field work (I'll write about my job later), then the JCR returned from its science cruise for a second day of unloading cargo. Much time was spent rolling barrels of fuel from the cargo tender to the base, and rolling empty drums back. In the afternoon, the sun shone and lots of the crew and passengers from the JCR went out for a walk, up through the meadows where the wandering albatrosses are displaying, to the macaroni and grey headed albatross colonies. The beautiful weather and views dispelled the myth that it is always foggy or wet on Bird Island, and everyone left happy. In the evening, the JCR and its passengers left us, not due to return until after Christmas. It is great to finally have arrived!
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
South Georgia
On Friday 21st, the ship drew in alongside South Georgia and pulled in to the BAS base at King Edward Point (KEP). The sun broke through the clouds as we arrived, revealing stunning snowy peaked mountains and incredibly blue seas. The base at KEP is located close to the old whaling station at Grytviken. This is where all the tourist cruise ships call, to visit the whaling museum and Shackleton's grave, so there is a big jetty for ships to moor up at. The JCR docked and we all got off the boat and had a day out at KEP. As the JCR could unload directly onto the jetty, we were not needed for unloading cargo as this was done mechanically, so we were free to do what we wanted. We visited the church and whaling museum and ruins of the old whaling station, and walked out to Shackleton's grave and up one of the nearby hills. It was gorgeous and sunny and very beautiful. There was plenty of opportunity for photo's of king penguins (which only visit Bird Island in small numbers, so it was nice to see lots), gentoo penguins and huge elephant seals. I also got my first introduction to Antarctic fur seals, of which there are thousands on Bird Island. We spent the evening socialising with the BAS staff at KEP, who I had done much of my training in Cambridge with so it was very nice to see them. These had arrived in Antarctica about 10 days before we arrived, travelling down on the South Georgia fisheries patrol vessel instead of the JCR. The JCR spent the night docked at KEP and then set sail for Bird Island the following morning.
We sailed for one more day, and anchored just off Bird Island early the following morning, while the captain decided whether the sea was calm enough to transport cargo and people ashore.
The JCR is a scientific research vessel for BAS, but also delivers supplies and people to various bases in the Antarctic. At both Signy and KEP, people, kit, food, fuel and provisions were offloaded to the bases, and waste from the winter returned to the ship to be transported back to the mainland. The same was to be done at Bird Island, with me, and two others to be dropped off at Bird Island, and one of last years winterers to be picked up as he had reached the end of his contract as was returning to the UK. Due to the weather and sea conditions, Bird Island is the most difficult base to re-supply, and often the ship may have to anchor offshore and wait a few days before conditions are calm enough for unloading. Bird Island only has a small jetty so the JCR had to remain offshore, and the smaller cargo tender launched from it, and used to transport everything to base. Conditions need to be calm for this to be done safely.
The captain decided conditions were good enough, and gave the go-ahead for Bird Island.
We sailed for one more day, and anchored just off Bird Island early the following morning, while the captain decided whether the sea was calm enough to transport cargo and people ashore.
The JCR is a scientific research vessel for BAS, but also delivers supplies and people to various bases in the Antarctic. At both Signy and KEP, people, kit, food, fuel and provisions were offloaded to the bases, and waste from the winter returned to the ship to be transported back to the mainland. The same was to be done at Bird Island, with me, and two others to be dropped off at Bird Island, and one of last years winterers to be picked up as he had reached the end of his contract as was returning to the UK. Due to the weather and sea conditions, Bird Island is the most difficult base to re-supply, and often the ship may have to anchor offshore and wait a few days before conditions are calm enough for unloading. Bird Island only has a small jetty so the JCR had to remain offshore, and the smaller cargo tender launched from it, and used to transport everything to base. Conditions need to be calm for this to be done safely.
The captain decided conditions were good enough, and gave the go-ahead for Bird Island.
Monday, 8 December 2008
Signy
Sorry to those who have been eagerly awaiting my update- I've been rushed off my feet ever since I arrived here! I finally arrived on Bird Island on 23rd November as originally planned. Here's what happened on the way:
Signy:
The next 2 days were spent on board the ship heading for South Georgia. Conditions varied but the sea was relatively calm for most of the time. Whales were sighted on a number of occasions, but none well enough to identify the species. The lovely white snow petrels that had been numerous around Signy faded away and were replaced by albatrosses the closer we got to South Georgia.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Going to Antarctica!!!!
My lastfew days in Cambridge were a bit hectic, involving lots of packing/unpacking/repacking etc etc etc. I spent my last weekend at home with family, which was nice.
On Sunday 9th November, we loaded up the car and drove to RAF Brize Norton, near Oxford, where i met up with the rest of the people from BAS. My flight was at 11pm. Family saw me off at the airport. The flight was an 18hour flight, to the Falkland Islands, with a 2hour stop at Ascention Island on the way down. It was a good flight, and we were well fed. Arriving in Ascention a 9am on Monday morning, we all got out of the plane and got our passports stamped, and waited in the lovely hot sunshine for the plane to refuel. We werent allowed to explore, but it looks an interesting place! All too soon we were herded back onto the plane for the second leg of the journey to the Falklands.
The Falklands runs 3hours behind UK time so we arrived at 3pm on Monday. A bus ran us to the James Clark Ross (JCR), the British Antarctic Survey ship that was anchored just outside Stanley (the capital). We were given our cabins and a safety briefing and left to our own devices.
The next few days, the JCR remained in Port in Stanley, awaiting a spare part that was required before we could sail. This gave us 3 days to explore. (Photo's will follow but the ships internet cannot cope with them so they will have to wait until i reach land). We had days out walking and exploring the area. The Falklands seem to be a mixture between Iceland and Shetland- vey wild and windy with few trees. Lots of rocky areas and beautiful white sandy beaches. Many areas however were out of bounds due to being uncleared minefields from the Flaklands conflict. Stanley itself is a small but colourful place with brightly roofed buildings, and all shops and services you might need. The islands themselves only have about 3000 people. The islands had lots of new and exciting wildlife (again, photos will follow later), including turkey vultures, giant petrels, night herons and some smaller birds like long-tailed meadowlarks and rufous-chested dotterel.
The JCR finally set sail around lunchtime on Friday 14th November. Almost immediately once out of sight of land, the albatrosses started appearing, following the boat. Black browed albatrosses appeared first, and also many cape pigeons and a few Wilsons petrels, these were soon followed by wandering albatrosses. Grey headed albatrosses only appeared the following day. This is day 3 at sea now and the weather has calmed down dramatically compared to the first 2 days which were pretty bumpy. We are due to arrive at the BAS base at Signy (South Orkney Islands) tomorrow, where the base will be opened up for the summer, and many of the ships passengers will get off. It is planned to spend 3 days at Signy, before heading for South Georgia and Bird Island, where i will be getting off. We crossed the Polar front this morning, which although had not obvious visual change, was apparently marked by a large drop in sea temperature. It was snowing when i woke up this morning and the air temperature is currently at 2 degrees, dropping day by day. The first icebergs are due to be spotted any time now.
Think thats all- i'm now heading up on deck to see if there's any ice about yet.
On Sunday 9th November, we loaded up the car and drove to RAF Brize Norton, near Oxford, where i met up with the rest of the people from BAS. My flight was at 11pm. Family saw me off at the airport. The flight was an 18hour flight, to the Falkland Islands, with a 2hour stop at Ascention Island on the way down. It was a good flight, and we were well fed. Arriving in Ascention a 9am on Monday morning, we all got out of the plane and got our passports stamped, and waited in the lovely hot sunshine for the plane to refuel. We werent allowed to explore, but it looks an interesting place! All too soon we were herded back onto the plane for the second leg of the journey to the Falklands.
The Falklands runs 3hours behind UK time so we arrived at 3pm on Monday. A bus ran us to the James Clark Ross (JCR), the British Antarctic Survey ship that was anchored just outside Stanley (the capital). We were given our cabins and a safety briefing and left to our own devices.
The next few days, the JCR remained in Port in Stanley, awaiting a spare part that was required before we could sail. This gave us 3 days to explore. (Photo's will follow but the ships internet cannot cope with them so they will have to wait until i reach land). We had days out walking and exploring the area. The Falklands seem to be a mixture between Iceland and Shetland- vey wild and windy with few trees. Lots of rocky areas and beautiful white sandy beaches. Many areas however were out of bounds due to being uncleared minefields from the Flaklands conflict. Stanley itself is a small but colourful place with brightly roofed buildings, and all shops and services you might need. The islands themselves only have about 3000 people. The islands had lots of new and exciting wildlife (again, photos will follow later), including turkey vultures, giant petrels, night herons and some smaller birds like long-tailed meadowlarks and rufous-chested dotterel.
The JCR finally set sail around lunchtime on Friday 14th November. Almost immediately once out of sight of land, the albatrosses started appearing, following the boat. Black browed albatrosses appeared first, and also many cape pigeons and a few Wilsons petrels, these were soon followed by wandering albatrosses. Grey headed albatrosses only appeared the following day. This is day 3 at sea now and the weather has calmed down dramatically compared to the first 2 days which were pretty bumpy. We are due to arrive at the BAS base at Signy (South Orkney Islands) tomorrow, where the base will be opened up for the summer, and many of the ships passengers will get off. It is planned to spend 3 days at Signy, before heading for South Georgia and Bird Island, where i will be getting off. We crossed the Polar front this morning, which although had not obvious visual change, was apparently marked by a large drop in sea temperature. It was snowing when i woke up this morning and the air temperature is currently at 2 degrees, dropping day by day. The first icebergs are due to be spotted any time now.
Think thats all- i'm now heading up on deck to see if there's any ice about yet.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
October Christmas Party.
I've been asked several times why I've stopped updating my Blog. This is because I've moved into a new house in Cambridge that doesn't have the internet so I only have access to update it at work when I'm meant to be working! Once i get there (November) it will be updated far more regularly!
However, I've done all sorts of interesting training courses (including dentistry and paramedics) in the last couple of months so will write all about them in the next few weeks.
This weekend I went home for Christmas. As I won't be around for proper Christmas, we decided to have Christmas early. We had a great evening on Saturday with 19 family members arriving late afternoon for Christmas tea and the evening. The Christmas decorations and exchange of Christmas cards made it seem very Christmassy! It was a great evening and I think everyone enjoyed it. It was particularly nice to see everyone as I've not seen some people for quite a while.
On Sunday, Katie&Alistair, Mum&Dad and myself had a day out, then had Christmas dinner for tea. I had to leave on Sunday night to get back to Cambridge for a Home Office course of Animal ethics on Monday morning.
4 weeks to go!!!!! :)
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Antarctic Clothing
Today i was kitted out with all my Antarctic clothing. Typically it was the hottest day we've had since i arrived in Cambridge. This was fine when trying on thermals and base layers, but as more layers were added including padded boilersuits, sallopettes, waterproofs and ski goggles, it started to seem like it would be a good idea to have a giant freezer room to try things on in to give an idea of warmth! Eventually my gear was all packed into a huge orange bag and put in a big pile ready to go on the ship next week. I will have access to it as soon as i join the ship in the Falklands. I then went to visit the packing sheds to see the size of the boxes i have for my personal kit, which i'm hoping to have packed and ready by Tuesday.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Getting started
People checking this page in the hopes of exciting iceberg and penguin photos will have to wait patiently for a bit longer. But, progress is being made. I am now at least working for the people who will take me south. I left my previous job with the RSPB on Oronsay last week and have now moved down to Cambridge where i shall be living for a couple of months, getting trained up ready for the big adventure.
I shall be based in Cambridge from now until early November. During this time, i have various training courses to undertake, to prepare me for my time in antarctica; this ranges from dentistry, to satellite communications to analysing penguin vomit!
My first training began yesterday, when i was flown up to Aberdeen to learn all about the satellite communication system that provides us with telephone and email contact with the outside world. We got to play with big satellite dishes to locate satellites and learnt what to do if parts of the system fail. It was quite complicated to a biologist! But i got the general idea and it was very interesting. Today i returned to Cambridge to continue my packing.
I shall be based in Cambridge from now until early November. During this time, i have various training courses to undertake, to prepare me for my time in antarctica; this ranges from dentistry, to satellite communications to analysing penguin vomit!
My first training began yesterday, when i was flown up to Aberdeen to learn all about the satellite communication system that provides us with telephone and email contact with the outside world. We got to play with big satellite dishes to locate satellites and learnt what to do if parts of the system fail. It was quite complicated to a biologist! But i got the general idea and it was very interesting. Today i returned to Cambridge to continue my packing.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Welcome to my Blog
I've set up this blog for all the people who have asked me to keep them updated on what i'm up to down in the South Atlantic. Theres not much here yet because I haven't got there yet but keep checking this page as i'll be putting up pictures and keeping you all updated as things progress!
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