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.

Sunday, 7 January 2018

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone back at home.

We had a white Christmas, but the sun shone too making it a very pleasant day.  We all enjoyed a good Christmas dinner.

Some of us had a walk out to the bottom of the glacier in the sunshine.

Christmas involved some tasty treats including mince pies, trifle, and a large Christmas cake, made and iced by me, but then cleverly finished by Catrin who did an excellent job of making marzipan sculptures to go on the top.

 Boxing Day some of us were back to work.  The days are long at this time of year, and the weather can be stunning.  The sun shone on our trip over the icecap to the west coast by skidoo. 

Nothing is prettier than the view across to Coronation island on a bright day. 

Some of the icebergs were looking particularly nice.

With temperatures just above zero and no wind, the green moss banks were snow free and it felt very summery!

A content looking Weddell seal was also enjoying the sun.

Things can change rapidly- the next morning we awoke to winter again.

The next couple of months are probably the busiest for me.  The Adelie and gentoo chicks are getting big, so there are tasks like chick weighing and fledgling counts to be done.  Meanwhile the chinstraps have started hatching and the fur seals, which also get counted, are starting to arrive.  There is much to be done!   

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