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Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctica: Paulet Island
February 2024

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins

 

A wonderful voyage through iceberg-strewn seas to the Antarctic Peninsula and Paulet Island with its large colony of Adelie Penguins.

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

 

A spectacular morning as we sailed towards Paulet Island off the Antarctic Peninsula. We woke early and went out on deck with the sun just risen, clear blue skies and icebergs all around.

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

There was a lot of brash around - small pieces of ice.

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

 

Never tired of photographing the many different iceberg formations.

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula

 

 

The Antarctic Peninsula is mountainous and deeply snow-covered - as expected.

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
A vast snow field between the illuminated mountain peaks and icebergs appears blue.

Photography was quite tricky. Pristine white icebergs in the foreground reflect a huge amount of light, the peninsula in the background then looks darker and the snow takes on a blue/lilac cast reflecting light from the sky.

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Looks like a fog bank between the mountains and the sea but it is, in fact, a vast blue-tinged snow field.
Antarctic Peninsula
The depth of snow on shore is amazing.

Video: Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Paulet Island

 

Paulet Island is only 1.6km in diameter and was once an active volcano. Its cone rises 350m out of the sea.1

Antarctic Peninsula

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
We watched as the whale made his way leisurely out to open water.

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Humpback whale close to the island.

There were lots of Adelies on the icebergs and a humpback whale quite close to the shore.

Paulet Island
Paulet Island

 

Antarctic Peninsula
Keith Thompson Antarctic Peninsula
Courtesy of Keith Thompson, photographer with Quark Expeditions.

 

 

 

 

 

We boarded the Zodiacs and headed for the island which is home to a large colony of Adelie Penguins.

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins

 

 

 

There were a lot of Adelie chicks still covered in brown downy feathers.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Ruins of a stone hut built by Swedish explorers after their ship was wrecked.

 

 

The exploration ship Antarctic, of a 1903 Swedish expedition, got stuck in the ice and was wrecked. The crew reached Paulet Island and built a stone hut, the ruins of which can still be seen.2

 

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Adelie Penguins and an Antarctic Cormorant - there were a lot of these here too.
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins

 

 

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island fur seal
Weddell Seal
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island fur seal
Young Antarctic Fur Seal

 

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins

Some of the penguins eyed us very warily, I hope tourism isn't distressing them.

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island  Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Snowy Sheathbill
Snowy Sheathbill
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Antarctic Cormorants
Antarctic Cormorants
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Antarctic Cormorants
Antarctic Cormorants
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Keith Thompson Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Courtesy of Keith Thompson, photographer with Quark Expeditions.

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
A very young chick.
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island
Cormorant of some description; it doesn't have the orange patches above the beak of an Antarctic Cormorant.
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island
This was fished out of the water by our guide, but neither he nor anyone on the Zodiac knew what it was.
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Weddell Seal
Weddell Seal

After wandering among the penguins, and taking far too many photographs, we got back in the Zodiac for an excursion along the shore, spotting Weddell seals, fur seals and plenty of penguins on the ice.

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Fur Seal and Cormorant
Fur Seal and Cormorant
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Cormorant
Cormorants aren't really built for walking...
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Fur Seal
...neither are seals.
Antarctic Peninsula Adelie Penguins
Keith Thompson Antarctic Peninsula
Courtesy of Keith Thompson, photographer with Quark Expeditions.

 

Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Weddell Seal
Weddell Seal
Antarctic Peninsula Paulet Island Fur Seal
Antarctic Fur Seal
Antarctic Peninsula Adelie Penguins
Antarctic Peninsula Adelie Penguins

 

 

 

It was an amazing excursion. We headed back to the ship feeling we'd been so lucky to see so much on our trip so far. Incredible icebergs and snowy mountainous landscape and so many different species of penguins: King Penguins in the hundreds of thousands, Gentoos in a clifftop colony, Adelies on icy landscape, Macaronis on steep cliffs and the lovely Chinstraps.

Antarctic Peninsula

 

References

  1. Antarctic Treaty: Paulet Island (PDF)
  2. Westin, J., Almevik, G., Avango, D., & Lindström, K. (2021). Built Cultural Heritage in Antarctica.
    Centre for Digital Humanities, University of Gothenburg. https://antarctica.dh.gu.se