Photos From Kozue

 

Brendan looking at penguins

Paul before diving (Turtle Rock)

Jessica, seals, and skuas (Turtle Rock)

Brendan, Paul, and Jessica (Turtle Rock)

Brendan and Jessica trying to take a great picture (Turtle Rock)

Some of the penguins powdered in snow.

Someone fell in the hole.

Someone turning over in the hole

My "last" FROSTY BOY (big one)

Releasing our birds – Cass, left, and Brendan, right

The penguins didn't leave soon.

Penguins marching to the open water

Emperor penguin...??

An Adelie penguin came close to us.

Brendan likes Adelie penguins very much.

The penguin seemed to like Brendan.

Jessica and the Adelie penguin

He seemed to need a break before diving.

Adelie manjuu. It is this shape that reminds me of a 'manjuu'.

Real manjuus

He started moving.

Maybe fell.

 

An Adelie penguin walking to Cass

A photo taken before Paul left Penguin Ranch

I tried to take a picture of all the 15 penguins. (One bird is very difficult to see.)

Thank you very much

Penguin Ranch Tatts

Jessica and Cass decided that the Penguin Ranch needed its own special tattoo. They ordered a set of 1000 from their own money and gave them out to people in McMurdo Station. The “tatts” were a big hit with the other graduate students and support people.

 

A Blog Entry From Jessica

Monday night we returned our second group of birds, 5 more this time leaving only 5 in the corral.  The big storm that we had over Thanksgiving seems to have blown out a lot of the ice, so there was a very clean, stable ice edge when we arrived by helicopter near Beaufort Island. 

Barry, our pilot. Thanks for an incredible flight Barry!

Ron, the helo mechanic, resting comfortably

We were able to walk all the way out to the edge, and it was truly a spectacular sight to behold.  Adelie penguins were porpoising all around in the water, emperors were swimming around as well, and we even saw 3 snow petrels whizzing by in the air.

Cass at the ice edge with Adelie penguins behind her

Jessica with Beaufort Island in the background

Kozue conquers the ice edge

Brendan at the ice edge

Snow petrels are incredibly beautiful birds, and a bit more rare to see down here for us.  The release went well, and by the time we headed back to the helo, our 5 birds had figured out where the food was, and started their march toward the open water. 

Our 5 released birds head toward the ice edge, with some Adelie penguins tagging along as well!

We were all in very high spirits when we returned to greet Paul back at the Ranch, but unfortunately it was a bit sad as well, as after a goodbye toast and a bit of reflection on the season, Paul had to return to town to get ready for his flight departing the ice the next day.

Paul and I did our last dive out at the Ranch recently as well.  As you can see from the photo of Cass in the Ob Tube, the visibility has really gone downhill as the temperatures are warming up and algae (and so on through the food chain) has begun to accumulate. 

Cass in the Ob Tube

It was still a fantastic dive, as always down here, and we were graced by the presence of some our emperor penguins zipping through the water only a few feet away from us. I was quite sad before coming up, though, knowing that it was my last dive under the ice, at least for some time. 

Here’s a self portrait of Paul and me that I captured to mark that moment, thanks again to Jerry’s fabulous underwater Olympus.

“The last dive”

It has been another spectacular season down here on the ice, and I am getting very sad knowing how soon I will be leaving, and knowing that for the first time in four years, I don’t have any definite plans to be back here soon.  Thank you so much once again to Paul and to all of the present and past Ranchers for making this a truly exceptional experience, certainly the most remarkable in my life thus far.

An Unexpected Gift

(from Paul)

We received a package from Cory. I have attached pictures of the package,

seeing the SF Chronicle front page with Obama's victory,

and playing with the puzzle and the play dough.

 

Although Jessica and Cass often teamed up and teased and picked on poor Cory, he is still thinking of us, is part of the team, and is with us in spirit! Thanks, Cory!

I also attached a picture of Jessica with cookies from her sister - chocolate chip. They are very good. Thank you, too!

And, here’s a picture of us eating the TG food from the galley a few days later.

I am going to bed. It is late and we start early tomorrow on the last recorder.

A Visit By The BBC

(from Paul)

Our visitors have left. It was a good visit. The two were Doug Allen and Hugh Miller.

Doug has been the cameraman for many BBC documentaries around the world. Doug was part of the BBC team that worked at Cape Washington a number of years ago, and he has done extensive Antarctic diving. He was the Scotsman who spoke at the McMurdo Sunday night lecture several weeks ago.

Below is a photo of Doug with his zoom lens taking close up pictures of  our penguins.

The other cameraman, Hugh, assists Doug in his filming. They both have been working with Norbert Wu on a new documentary.

Below is a photo of Kozue showing her 3D dive records to Hugh, Doug and Jessica.

I have to get ready for our experiments tonight. Cass has returned to camp. I hear the Pisten Bully pulling in.

Photos By Kozue – A Season’s Retrospective

Cass and Kozue in the ice cave.

Brendan, Jessica, and Cass at Cape Royds

Chef Brendan

Brendan releasing one of our penguins at the ice edge

Jessica releasing one of the birds

One penguin walking the wrong way

Aftermath

(from Paul)

We never made it into town for the Thanksgiving dinner. However, we called the galley and they are saving us portions, which Cass will bring out tomorrow. She went into town tonight.

Today was a busy day. We took off the NIR recorders in the morning and it  looks as if both worked; hurrah for Cass! We deployed Kozue's recorders, did guano patrol, built a new snow wall, and I dug out the snow berm in front of the propane cylinder cabinet of the sleep hut, which was about 5 ft deep.

We even cleaned out the snowmobile that lost its cover in the wind. Actually, the cover was not lost, it blew off during the storm.

John came out with the Challenger to clear the excess snow away. It was really good of John to come out on his day off. I am attaching two photos of what the camp was like this morning. Now it is back to when it was first put in!

 

 

We  were able to let some of the birds dive while John was here, so he could see them from the Ob Tube. He also had the road graders come out to smooth the road and help him around camp. One of his crew included his boss, who had never been out here, and also a woman named Meow Meow, who was on one of the census flights with us. They all got to see the birds diving.

This is a photo by Kozue of one of her recorder birds.

 

We hope to put in two of Cass's recorders again tomorrow. Will take advantage of the good weather.

I am going to eat now - steaks by Jessica. It has been a long day.

Mother and Child???

(from Paul)

Here are our visitors - beyond cute. At first glance, we thought it was a Weddell seal mother and her pup that had crawled across the ice and had stopped by the ranch for a rest. However, the pup is an unusual color since most Weddell seal pups are light brown and this one is white.

Jerry says that this is a Weddell seal accompanied by a juvenile crabeater seal. We haven't seen this behavior before, and it is unclear if they are just travelling together, or if the crabeater has been "adopted" by the Weddell.

It looks like the Weddell was bitten on the neck in a fight in the water, and has chosen to find a new dive hole.

She is taking her adopted pup with her as she wanders across the ice, looking for another crack or hole.

There are some cracks within a mile of the ranch, and I am sure they will reach those holes soon.

Both look healthy; both are quite large.  So both should do well.

And a photo from Jessica of the two seals seeking shelter from the wind. Now that the storm is over, they have moved on.

 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner at Penguin Ranch

(from Paul)

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Cass outdid herself in cooking. Below is a photo of Cass cooking with Jessica, Kozue, and Brendan appreciating the end result.

Jessica and Brendan at the table. We had pork tenderloin, yams, asparagus frittata, stuffing, a fruit salad, and cornbread along with wine.

The entire group sits down to the meal. And, for dessert, spice cake with strawberries. It was really quite good.

And Cass’ recorder birds dove well this afternoon; "Oprah" was the star diver. It looks like the weather is clearing. I hope it is over. I have also attached some post-storm pictures of the camp.

   

Tomorrow we will remove all the instrumentation. Perhaps the group will be able to make the dinner in town after all.

The Storm Continues

(from Paul)

The birds do not mind the storm at all. If it is real windy, they huddle behind the snow wall or just lie down on the ground and fall asleep. Even in the mild winds (25 mph), they will stand and preen, seemingly oblivious of the weather. It does not phase them in the slightest.

We, on the other hand, are pretty much confined to the huts most of the time. The photo below shows some of the buildings and the blowing snow.

The two below are of Kozue taking pictures of the birds in the storm.

 

Jessica was stuck in town because the storm came on so quickly, and the visibility is too poor to travel now. As usual, the weather controls all in Antarctica.

We may not make it in to the big Thanksgiving dinner in McMurdo (held tomorrow – Saturday – our time) since the storm may continue for another day.

(Later)

We are having a Thanksgiving dinner here, instead. I have made a spice cake, and Cass is making the pork tenderloin and goodies.

The weather cleared for a few hours, and Jessica was able to return to camp. Our experimental birds did some more dives and we plan to take all the recorders off tomorrow morning if the weather permits. Otherwise, it was a quiet day. We just closed the dive holes and will be starting dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

Our best wishes to everyone.

A Storm Day

(photos from Paul)

We are having a little colder weather today with winds and light, intermittent, blowing snow. All the birds are diving, though less often. Cass's recorder birds are diving, which is the important thing. 

The PO2 electrode only worked for about half the day, but we still were able to record some shallow dives that were as long as 12 min. So, that is valuable data.  Not much else is happening, since we are just letting the birds dive today.

Some blowing snow is collecting on the periphery of the camp, but none in the corral. I hope this wind is only temporary so that we can record more dives. The penguins lose interest in the high winds. (Can’t say that I blame them!)

The storm is not that dramatic, but certainly the wind should help with charging the batteries in the power sled.

 

Cass is making some omelets. We got fresh veggies from Peggy (the food room manager) yesterday. We cook with propane, using Coleman camp stoves.

Kozue and Brendan are in the foreground eating breakfast. Cass and Jessica are bent over the stove,

A Visit To Cape Royds

(photos from Jessica)

Cape Royds is known for two things. First of all, it is the location of an Adelie penguin colony, 

and next, it  is the site of Shackleton’s hut (1908) .

Shackleton built his hut during the Nimrod expedition, when Scott refused to give him permission to use the Discovery Hut. (The Discovery Hut is right next to McMurdo Station. see our blog, Scott's Hut, for photos.) Cape Royds is approximately 25 miles north of McMurdo.

On 9 January 1909, Shackleton and his group (Wild, Marshall and Adams) came within 112 miles of the geographical South Pole. Although Shackleton failed to reach the Pole, he lead the first  expedition to reach the  Polar Plateau, his group did the first ascent of Mount Erebus, and other members of his expedition (Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson, and Alistair MacKay) located the approximate position of the magnetic South  Pole. (The magnetic pole moves constantly, so it is no longer in the same location as when it was in 1909.)

Interior shots of the hut.

Kozue in the kitchen area of the hut

Brendan in the lab area of the hut.

 

On the way back from Cape Royds, Jessica also took a photo of the Barn Glacier.

Bye! And Thanks For The Fish!

(photos from Jessica)

Here are some photos from the release of the penguins.

Going home. Kozue opens the penguin box to let one of the birds go.

“What was THAT all about? I’ll never understand humans!”

A Mystery Visitor To Camp

(from Paul)

Yesterday, we had left the barn door open while taking out the boxes for the birds; when we returned the boxes, there was a black deposit on the snow inside. When I looked closer, I figured out it was skua guano. One must have wandered in when the door was open.

Sure enough, it looks as if Fred is back (or Fred’s cousin). I saw him hanging around today.

Fred is a South Polar Skua, Stercorarius maccormicki. They feed primarily on fish, but will rob nests and prey on penguin chicks. They are also highly adaptable and will scavenge human food if given a chance.

In fact, in McMurdo when the skuas return to the Antarctic, one has to take care walking across Derelict Junction holding food. The skuas have been known to bomb-dive humans and steal food right out of people’s hands. As a consequence, skuas have a bit of a bad reputation, but I admire them. They are smart, tough birds.

Better Photos

Here are more photos of the landing shot in a proper ISO. (See previous entry – as you can see, the day wasn’t as gray as the photos posted earlier suggested.)

The birds all did well on release, and the ice edge is just as far out as it was. (The edge is all the way out to Beaufort Island.)

You can the helicopter coming in. It’s the black dot above the fence line. In the foreground, you can see the penguin’s snow wall, which serves as a wind break for them. They also like to eat the clean snow and, at times, enjoy climbing on the wall to look around.

The helo coming in for a landing.

 

Brendan and Jessica helping to unload the empty penguin boxes.

 

The helo going back to McMurdo.

Some Go Home

(from Paul)

Here are some pictures of the helicopter taking five of our birds back to the ice edge, where we originally caught them. The ice edge is so far away (~60 miles from camp) that we can’t release them directly from Penguin Ranch.

Unfortunately, I was still on ASA 3200 when I shot these photos, so most were burnt out. I did darken the photos some, but you lose a bit of detail from that.

 

These photos just show us loading the boxes. Each box contains one bird. The penguins tend to be calmer in a dark box, which makes it safer to transport them.

and the helo taking off,

in one shot, you can see Scotty the pilot.

We are now down to 10 birds!  One-third less guano to clean each day.

Photos From Camp

Here are some of Paul’s recent photos. Tonight, we are returning 5 birds back home to the ice edge.

Impatient birds waiting for the cork to be removed so that they can go diving.

Here’s one of Hillary exiting (we have a political theme for names this year)

Kozue and Jessica working on Kozue's recorder

Kozue’s 3D profile recorder. The rectangle of white tape is installed to protect the small propeller on the top of the recorder. That propeller records the penguin’s swim speed when they are hunting. The tape keeps the feathers down. Everything just peels off at the end of the experiment.

A photo of Brendan and Cass with the anesthesia setup

   

Shorty Is Becoming A Beach Ball

Shorty is our smallest penguin, but we know from the camera logger that he is good hunter. Here’s Paul’s photo of Shorty (on the right) after a particularly good day. I think that he is getting fat. These birds will need all the fat they can store to get through the harsh Antarctic winter.

Catching Rays

Paul and Jessica went diving at Turtle Rock. There were a lot of Weddell seals about because the sea ice forms cracks around islands and that allows the seals to come up on to the ice. Here are two photos of the seals that decided to catch a few rays on a nice day.

Ah! It doesn’t get any better than this!

A mother and her pup sun bathe.