Scary Birds

If you thought the Giant Petrel was a little scary, let me tell you about the Skua.  Skuas are one of the top predators here.  They’re quite good at what they do, too, and get a reputation for being a bit evil.  Some individuals, for example, have been caught pecking out the eyeballs of penguin chicks.  Rather than eating them on the spot, the skuas leave these chicks wandering around helpless, ensuring a fresh supply of easy-to-catch meat throughout the entire Antarctic summer. Yup, skuas are pretty easy to hate… until you see BABY SKUAS, which are even cuter than penguin chicks.  I mean, c’mon.  Look at this lil guy.  He’s like a real-life marshmallow Peep!

Squawkward: embarrassing penguin portraits (Episode 1)

SIX-FOOT WINGSPAN

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve met plenty of six-foot wingspans before. Heck, there are folks on UNC’s basketball team with wingspans much wider than that. I don’t think any of them have big, pointy beaks, though, and I’m also pretty sure none of them have ever eaten a penguin or seal. Meet the Giant Petrel: closest thing I’ve ever seen to a pterodactyl.

Rondo à la Penguin

ice tide

Today is a nice, cozy, indoorsy kind of day – as in it’s blowing 45 knots with gusts of 55.  King Neptune is having a great time blasting sea spray into faces and teaching lessons to the idiot who tried to carry her open coffee mug between buildings.  So, after a quick trip to the laundry room, I’m huddled in the galley, with a fresh vat of caffeine safely in hand.  What to do with my spare time?  How about string together some mellow video clips of sea ice rolling in on the changing tide:

 

This is how I feel about Mondays:

Flying Penguins

This lil Chinstrap penguin hopped into view while I was crouched behind a rock, trying to get a photo of the cormorant bobbing in our harbor.  He scared me about as badly as I scared him!

Whales!

Just in case you wondered whether I ever see anything besides penguins here:

…yes.

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