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Antarctic Peninsula: Humpback Whales feeding

Antarctica: Deception Island
February 2024

Deception Island, Antarctica

 

A great hike up onto the volcanic rim of Deception Island from a black sand beach, and some incredible sightings of humpback whales feeding.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

Deception Island, one of the South Shetland Islands, is an active volcano and one of only three places in the world where you can sail into the caldera. We had already been to Santorini and sailed to islands within its caldera. The third is in the far east off Japan.

Sealers and whalers were the first to visit this island, Norwegian whalers established a whaling station here. Two research stations were set up, one belonging to Chile and the other operated by the British Antarctic Survey which used some of the buildings from the whaling station. These were both abandoned when they were badly damaged by volcanic explosions between 1967 and 1970.1

 

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

We sailed into the caldera on an overcast morning, through a channel called Neptune's Bellows, avoiding the rock in the centre, just below the surface which has wrecked several ships. Cloud cover was total and very low, making the caldera look a very forbidding place, quite appropriate considering the hazardous rocks and active volcano!

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Approaching Neptune's Bellows.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

 

In the caldera the water steams - the volcano is still active.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

 

It's a dramatic landscape, black ash-covered glaciers, steam rising incongruously into the air.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island remains of whaling station and BAS research station
Remains of the whaling station/BAS research station in Whalers Bay.

 

The remains of the whaling station and the BAS research station could be seen in Whalers Bay, just inside Neptune's Bellows.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island remains of whaling station and BAS research station
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island remains of whaling station and BAS research station
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
The island is a study in black and white.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

 

 

I loved the black and white landscape of the island. I don't know whether it was the particular weather conditions but it looked starkly beautiful to me.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

We anchored in Telefon Bay and the Zodiacs ferried us to the shore for a 2.4km hike up the steep slopes of the caldera. Experts from the ship were stationed along the way and gave us information about the island.

The caldera formed after a massive eruption around 10,000 years ago. The horseshoe-shaped caldera, with the narrow channel of Neptune's Bellows at the south east, is half covered in glaciers. This is quite surprising as in many areas steam can be seen rising from the surface.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Meltwater running out from a glacier.

 

First we hiked up to ship's geologist Sofia who talked to us about the island's geology and volcanic activity. She was standing on the lip of a vast chasm with meltwater from a glacier running down the centre of it far below.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Volcanic pumice full of cavities.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

It was a steep climb from Sofia up to where Ian, the ship's historian, was waiting for us on a ridge. He told us a wealth of detail about the history of the island and the various people who had used it as a base for sealing, whaling and research activities.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Courtesy of Keith Thompson,
photographer with Quark Expeditions.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
The only excursion we really needed our all-weather gear, and I was very glad of it!
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

 

We walked down a little then up onto another ridge and headed back towards the sea walking high above the shoreline.

It was then a steep descent back to the shore.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Courtesy of Keith Thompson,
photographer with Quark Expeditions.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints.
Lunchtime special: traditional Philipine dish pork adobo
Lunchtime special: traditional Filipino dish Pork Adobo - really excellent.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Brightly coloured seaweed.

 

 

Though the weather was anything but clement, it was a really great hike.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

Lunch was, as usual, very good. The special today was Pork Adobo, a traditional Filipino dish which was really excellent. So good I asked for the recipe and the chef very kindly wrote it out for me.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Approaching Neptune's Bellows as we left Deception Island; a good view of "Neptune's Window" - the gap in the rim of the caldera at Whalers Bay.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Neptune's Window
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Steam rising and vivid colours on the rim of the caldera.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island

 

There are some incredible colours around Neptune's Bellows in/on the rocks, mainly red, yellow and green. I don't know what causes them. The greenish/yellow could be due to mosses but I can't find any info on what causes the extensive red colouring of the cliffs.

Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
The birds on the cliffs are penguins, probably Chinstrap.
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula Deception Island
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

Later we were again sailing through snow-covered landscapes and saw a lot of humpback whales feeding. We saw several with huge open mouths as they scooped up the seawater full of krill. They then force it through the baleen which pushes the water out and retains the krill.

Antarctic Peninsula
The open mouth of a feeding humpback.
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

 

Most of the humpbacks were not very close to the ship but a few were right alongside.

I got some great shots of them feeding but Dany, the onboard marine biologist had to explain what I was looking at!

Because they hunt together when they are bubble-netting it is very difficult in the photographs below to separate out individual whales.

Antarctic Peninsula humpback whales feeding
The ridges (centre) are on the underside of the whale's lower jaw and are actually pleats in the tissue. They allow the mouth to expand enormously when the whale scoops seawater, forming a huge sac.
Antarctic Peninsula humpback whales feeding
Fully extended rigid bellows of the sac, a small ridge where the eye is located, then extending along to the right the upper jaw. This whale appears to be on its side.
Antarctic Peninsula humpback whales feeding
Closing the mouth.
Antarctic Peninsula humpback whales feeding
Collapsing the sac to force out water.
Antarctic Peninsula humpback whales feeding
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

References

  1. British Antarctic Survey: Deception Island – Antarctic Specially Managed Area