Lonely Penguin

I miss being able to see serious wildlife every time I look out my window.  Nothing against the crickets and domestic cats of North Carolina, but an occasional penguin would be super.  Anyway, I’m posting a photo to quench my own nostalgia:

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:

 

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.

Holiday Cheer from Antarctica

Happy New Years Eve Eve, everyone!   Here are some penguins, me, a couple of bathing suits, friends in Santa hats, and Travis’s bepenguined unipajama.  May the final moments of your 2011 be full of antics.

 

 

Baby penguin yawning

I bet you came here looking for a super cute picture of a sleepy penguin chick.  Busted!  Well check out this freaky factoid in photo form:  Adelie penguin tongues have spikes.  SPIKES!  Creepy little dino-beaks with spiky tongues.

(click on the photo to enlarge it)

If you must know, their tongues have spikes to better catch and devour krill.

 

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