Between August 2008 and April 2018 I spent a number of years working on Signy Island (South Orkney Islands) and Bird Island (South Georgia) for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). I worked as a Zoological Field Assistant on the penguin, seal and albatross long-term monitoring programme. After a 5 year break, i'll be heading back down to Bird Island in Janary 2024 for another dose of penguin work.

This blog gives readers an insight into my day-to-day life in the Antarctic, from my first trip south in 2008 to the present day.

Monday 15 February 2010

Ice!

A nice big iceberg that grounded just offshore and got us all excited (we haven't seen many big bergs for a while). The next day it was gone, but there are still plenty of others drifting around a little further offshore.

Sunday 14 February 2010

A few pictures because its a rainy day

Snow can fall at any time of year... we woke up one morning to this- the seal pups loved it!

The fur seal pups are moulting out of their black fur into lovely soft grey swimming fur. They are quite big now, and very inquisitive, playing and fighting on the beach and in the sea.

Krill- the staple food source upon which most Antarctic wildlife depend.

Gentoo penguin chicks- like the seal pups, these too are getting very big. It has been a good year for krill and all the species that depend on this have done really well. The chicks parents leave them each morning to go fishing and return at night to feed them.

Blonde fur seal pup. We still have a blonde pup living on the beach outside base. Here he has just come back from a swim in the sea.