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Winter
Wildlife
(part 3 of 4)
Thursday February 8th 2001
Returning
to Auster
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The
first hints that summer was approaching came from the new
signs of life at Auster and it was not until mid August that
I made it back, 10 months since I had last been there in November
1999. Finding Auster for the first time after the sea ice
reforms each winter can be tricky because the icebergs surrounding
Auster move and jostle, or break up into different positions
making it impossible to record a permanent location using
the icebergs as landmarks. The first trip usually has to spend
some time travelling around the icebergs until you stumble
across the rookery.
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A
huddle of Emperor penguins below a large iceberg - Early August. |
As
a guide we used the GPS location of the rookery from the previous
year. I find it amazing how the penguins can find their way back
to the same place, often within a few hundred metres of where it
was last year, even though all the icebergs may have moved and shuffled
around.
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During
the cold of winter the Emperor penguins form large huddles
where each bird stands facing inwards and shoulder to shoulder
so that there is a compact huddle which keeps the warmth in.
The birds in the outside nearest the cold shuffle around and
swap places with those on the inside so everybody has a chance
to stay warm. To me this is the most fascinating aspect of
the Emperor penguins. Why they chose to come so far from food
and to such a hostile environment to bring up their young
would have to be one of the biggest mysteries of nature and
one that I feel very privileged to have glimpsed.
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An
Adult Emperor inspects a frozen egg at Auster Rookery. |
The
Emperors eggs have usually been all laid and hatched by late August,
so I did not see any unhatched eggs being carried on the parents
feet. However, I did see quite a large number of eggs that had been
previously dropped or neglected only to be snap frozen in minutes.
The mothering instinct in Emperor penguins is very strong, and for
most eggs or chicks that escape from the warmth of it's parents
feet are quickly picked up. If an Emperor walks past a freshly fallen
or frozen egg, it will always have a look and perhaps see if it
can adopt it.
This
year Auster was located at least 50km away open water so the adults
had a long march over the sea ice to bring food to their chick and
to swap roles the other parent. Near large rookeries, Emperor tracks
are everywhere - and generally all pointing in the general direction
of the rookery. Travelling long distances over the snow and ice
has meant that the Emperors have developed an interesting travelling
technique to save energy called tobogganing. This is where they
drop down onto their front and slide along using their feet and
wings to propel them. If they have to stop and stand up, they press
their beak down onto the ice and push up with their powerful wings.
To drop back down into the tobogganing position they just drop over
forwards onto their bellies then move off.
Emperor
penguins tobogganing to Auster
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In
August the sun does not reach very high into the sky in the
day, so the sunlight casts a warm golden glow over all the
icebergs and accentuates the golden colours of the Emperors
feathers. Taking pictures of the rookery is also quite difficult
due to the low light conditions and the cold temperatures
(-20degC) making batteries seem flat. Shutters freeze and
painful and numb fingers struggle to operate small levers
on the camera.
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In
August the sun casts a dull warm glow over the penguins at
Auster. |
Auster Rookery is nestled amongst a lot of grounded icebergs which
form a wind break sheltering the rookery from the harsh winter winds.
On quiet days the constant calls of the penguins creates a cacophony
of sound that echoes off the walls of the surrounding icebergs.
Amongst a sea of heads a chick calls
to its parent.
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These
sounds, the warm light, freezing cold air, a swarming sea
of heads and the sight of the recently hatched chicks tucked
under their parents feathers makes Auster a very special place.
On
my first visit to Auster in November 1999 I had a very special
experience seeing the rookery for the first time. On my second
visit I knew what to expect - but the subtleties of the light
and colours along with the harsh conditions made that visit
an even more memorable experience.
When
the chicks hatch they are barely bigger than a tennis ball
and are covered in a silky soft grey down which contrasts
with their deep black hoods and white eye patches. They sit
atop their parents feet and covered by the parents feathery
down fold.
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Checking
on junior. |
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In between sleeps they poke their head out, stretch their
little wings, raise their head and drop it again at the same
time making a high pitched trill call to mum or dad up above
for some more food. After a few calls and movement, the parent
bends down opens its mouth to nearly cover the chicks head
and regurgitates some food.
Every
visit to Auster was a special experience - and in a different
way and I looked forward to being able to come back and watch
the progress of the chicks as the warmer months drew closer.
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An
adult Emperor feeding its young |
Email
continues in part 4
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