Birding at Palmer Station

I went birding with the research team that monitors the various seabird populations near Palmer Station, from Adelie penguins to giant petrels. The expedition leader here is Donna Fraser, who has been coming down to the Ice for years. She became fascinated with the giant petrels, a large scavenger that nests throughout the islands here, and went on her own quest to study the bird population. Through patient observation and perseverance, she was able to habituate the birds to her presence on Humble Island, where the team currently monitors 27 nests. They measure the bills of the chicks and weigh them every couple of days or so, and also place transmitters on the adults to track their foraging patters.

I went with the team yesterday to watch them at work. They spend long hours hiking and climbing around the islands to survey the nests, some of which can only be reached by a hard scramble up nearly sheer rock faces. The treks are made even harder because they try to avoid trampling the moss on the island, so you're rock hopping most of the time, watching your feet on the ankle-twisting rocks while trying to avoid stumbling on the nests, which seem to appear suddenly despite the large size of the birds. I was pretty spent by the end of the day, particularly after our final climb up a cliff on DeLaca Island to check on just one nest.




A giant petrel nesting, with Palmer Station in background.

Not long before this chick is done nesting.

Surveying a nest.


Elephant seals in a messy, smelly wallow.

Cormorants and their brown chicks.