If Adelie is the cute one of the Pygoscelis genus, the Gentoo is the jester of the bunch. They are hilarious to watch waddling from the sea to their rocky colonies in single file on well worn snow highways. However, once they get in the sea they are sleek and graceful like little torpedos. We sometimes saw massive groups porpoising ahead of the boat. All pictures taken in Antarctica.
The cutest of all Penguins is the Adelie. We saw many of them in Antarctica including some really big colonies. These colonies are amazing to see but also kind of heart breaking because they are surrounded by all kinds of predators picking off the young and old birds one by one. We approached one breeding colony in a Zodiac only to watch Leopard Seals picking them off and sometimes separating the head, leaving a bunch of headless bodies floating around which in turn fed Kelp Gulls, Skuas and Giant Petrels. Life is hard.
This largest and most sought after of the Penguin species is usually very difficult to see for most birders because they only breed in the austral winter which makes visiting them a dicey proposition. Most boat tours of Antarctica understandably only visit in the austral summer. Emperor Penguins disperse in the austral summer and the only way to find them is to have a chance encounter either on the sea or if you are even more lucky on an ice berg. When Matt and I took our trip to Antarctica, we did not expect to get this bird. What is even more remarkable is that Matt, Steve B and I happened to be standing at the front of the boat when this bird appeared on the surface of the water. I think we were the only ones on the boat that got to see it. Not seeing the Snow Petrel hurt pretty bad but this beauty softened the blow.
This spectacular bird is found throughout the northern half of South America and Central America. It has an ancient lineage and is most closely related to the Kagu of New Caledonia which shows that the common ancestor dates back to Gondwana Land. Both these species have an amazing wing display which I didn't witness, but I did catch one landing after a short flight so you can get an idea of the wing patterns. I saw these in the Pantanal in Brazil which is actually the southern limit of their range.
One frustrating thing about finding Antarctic Terns in Antarctica is that Arctic Terns can also be found there in the austral summer when most people visit Antarctica. That was a mouthful. The good news is that Arctic Terns at that time of year would always be in non-breeding plumage. So I can be sure that the first couple photos are Antarctic Terns. The last photo could potentially be a non-breeding Arctic, but it's not likely considering the Antarctic ones outnumber Arctics in that area. All photos taken in Antarctica.
This species is similar to Common and Arctic Terns in appearance, but they are the most common species on the shores of Argentina and Chile where I saw these ones. We saw large breeding colonies with individuals in many different stages of development. These pictures are from Ushuaia where we took a scenic boat tour the day before we set sail for Antarctica. They are slightly larger than Common or Arctic Terns.
Adult breeding bird.
This was probably the best bird of the year for 2020, for me at least. The species is far ranging in the eastern hemisphere, but records to the western hemisphere are few and far between. In North Carolina, I think there was only one record in 1994 before this one was found in 2020 at Salt Pond on the outer banks. This species blends the black-and-white color scheme perfectly with its dark head and body contrasting in a very elegant way with the white wings.
Although I have seen this species several times in Europe, it was not until my trip to the South of France this year where I could really study them in detail. They are the most prevalent species there except maybe Black-headed Gull. These ones were photographed at Cap d'Antibes on the famous Le Sentier du Littoral hiking trail.
In 2024 the Herring Gull was split into four species: American, European, Vega and Mongolian Gull. Luckily I took some pictures on my last trip to London. This one was happily floating on a lake in Hyde Park in the center of the city. I recently bought the Gull Guide and plan to study it so I can potentially find North Carolina's first European Herring or Vega. Apparently telling the early cycle birds is easier than the adults. This one is an adult bird.
The Kelp Gull is in the news right now as I write this because one of them is breeding with an American Herring Gull in Wisconsin. This is highly unusual and in fact this bird mostly sticks to very southern South America in Argentina, Chile but also as far as Antarctica where they are the only regular gull species. That is where I saw and photographed these. They are most closely resembling our Black-backed Gulls and somewhat intermediate between the two in size and some other traits.
A first winter bird.
Previously the Common Gull was lumped with the Short-billed Gull as the Mew Gull. Luckily for me, they split them out because I have both. The first was photographed in the middle of Norway up in the Hardangervidda which is a high elevation plateau and one of the coolest places I have been to. The second photo is from Hyde Park in London, also a nice place to visit!
This west coast gull species is a crowd pleaser especially when in breeding plumage. The vast majority (90%) of this species nests at Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California off of the coast of Baja. However, there are some nesting sites in Seaside, CA. In fact, one of the sites in Seaside was a McDonalds that had an accident and burned out. There are pictures on the Wiki entry for this species of an individual perched on the burnt out McDonalds looking for their nesting site.
We have had at least one individual bird that has been flying up and down the east coast with significant time spent in North Carolina including this one time where we had it at my local beach (Wrightsville Beach).
It seems strange that this gull species is in the same Genus as Laughing gulls. We saw these in Ushuaia, Argentina before setting sail for Antarctica. They range all over the southern parts of Argentina, Chile and the Falklands. They have very different plumages in the various cycles and ages.
This gull species is seen in the lower half of South America with all breeding happening in Argentina and Chile. The plumage and structure is very similar to Europe's Black-headed Gull and in the past they were lumped by some authorities. We had ours on either end of our Antarctica boat trip in the harbor at Ushuaia, Argentina.
