MS National Geographic Explorer
Saint Andrews Bay and Godthul
Sunday, February 27, 2011

    This morning started early; before sunrise. We, well some of us, were wading to shore after exiting Zodiacs right at sunrise at St. Andrews Bay. St. Andrews is the site of the largest king penguin colony on South Georgia; and it is BIG! Stepping on to shore here is living those spectacular images that you've seen in books. Making our way slowly up the beach, the incredible mass of these “most proper” birds part before you and close up again behind you.

    The king penguins seem so large after being with the brushtail penguins so long. They are extremely curious and will come very close to investigate you if you stay in one place for even a few minutes. The colony is jam-packed and seems to go on as far as you can see. Both the sound and odor of the colony are unforgettable.

    At St. Andrews, though, the king penguins are just part of the wildlife story. In addition to hundreds of thousands of penguins, there are hundreds of Antarctic fur seals (mainly juveniles at this time of the season) and also a couple of hundred reindeer that were introduced by whalers and sealers.

    The king penguins are unique in that in the colonies you can observe all phases of the breeding cycle, year round. That means that at any time, you can see adults, chicks, and older juveniles. Some are mating, some are sitting on eggs, some are caring for chicks, some are molting, and some are just hanging out.

    I was able to get a couple of strange angle shots of the king penguins using my ultra-wide angle lens by lying prone on the ground and just waiting for a curious penguin to waddle by. Sometimes they would come over to the camera that I had resting on the ground at arm's length and look right into the lens; actually touching the lens with their beak. Shooting at f/22 and using a wide-angle lens, I was able to capture these geometrically distorted portraits. One thing that might attract them to the lens is that they may see their reflection in the lens.

    The king penguins exude an aristocratic air that the brushtails can't. The Adélie, gentoo, and chinstrap penguins just can't help looking comical. The king penguins are trimmer, taller, stand erect, and walk around like a collection of gentleman's gentlemen. They also have those colorful patches.

    The king penguins were certainly keeping the fur seal pups in their place. At times, a small gang of penguins would scold a playful pup. The penguins almost always win the encounters with the pups.

    Although we landed just at sunrise, we couldn't see the sun due to a low overcast that would occasionally become fog for short periods. That was all right, though, since there was still so much to shoot. At 7:45 am we had to return to the ship, have breakfast, and then I was back on the beach at 9:00 am until 12:30 pm when we were all called back to the ship for lunch and a repositioning to Godthul.

    At Godthul, I partook of a Zodiac tour of the bay. Again, there were lots of fur seal pups, a few gentoo penguins, birds, and some pretty scenery. The wind had increased a bit, but the Zodiac was able to stay mainly in more protected areas, which reduced the splash and spray and allowed us to keep the cameras out and clicking.

    The ship was then moved to an even more protected bay where we anchored and will spend a comfortable night.