Part 4. Other Seabirds

In addition to penguins, at least seventy other species of seabirds can be seen in Scotia Sea at least occasionally; about half of them breed here. The most numerous are small bluish-grey petrels called prions (Pachyptila). South of the Antarctic Convergence, you can usually see hundreds of them flying around at any given time. I don't have any pictures of them, because their fast, irregular flight makes them almost impossible to photograph unless you get to their breeding grounds. Most seabird colonies in the area are off-limits to visitors coming by cruise ships: landings usually occur on protected beaches, while smaller seabirds nest in burrows on grassy slopes, and albatrosses need steep hills where strong winds allow them to take off easily.

Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) has the largest wingspan of all living birds: up to 3.6 m/12'. About 4,000 pairs breed on South Georgia. Burdwood Bank, Scotia Sea.

Grey-headed albatross near breeding grounds, Elsehul, South Georgia.

The most common albatross in the area is black-browed (D. melanophris), with almost half a million pairs on the Falklands and 60,000 pairs on South Georgia. Grey-headed albatross (D. chrysostoma) is less numerous, with less than 40,000 pairs on South Georgia and 20,000 on Diego Ramirez islands south of Cape Horn. Each species has its own migration patterns. Wandering albatrosses are believed to fly around the Antarctic after each breeding season, making up to 50 flights around the globe in their lifetime. Albatrosses feed on whatever they can snatch from surface, although black-browed albatross prefers krill and fish, while others feed mostly on squid. All albatrosses are now under threat: many birds are accidentally killed by fishing operations.

Grey-headed and black- browed albatrosses, Elsehul, South Georgia.

Black-browed albatrosses. Off Isla de los Estados, Scotia Sea.

Light-mantled albatross building a nest. Hills above Grytviken, South Georgia.

Probably the most beautiful seabird of the Southern Ocean is the light-mantled albatross. These long-tailed, narrow-winged birds nest on steep, often rocky, slopes. Their breeding season starts later than in most other seabirds, sometimes in late summer. Less than 8,000 pairs breed on South Georgia.

Light-mantled albatross building a nest. Hills above Grytviken, South Georgia.

Light-mantled albatross at nest. Hills above Grytviken, South Georgia.

Courtship flight of light-mantled albatrosses. Hills above Grytviken, South Georgia.

Courtship of light-mantled albatrosses is a stunning display of synchronized flying along rocky cliffs. Unlike wandering and grey-headed albatrosses, they breed every year.

Courtship flight of light-mantled albatrosses. Hills above Grytviken, South Georgia.

Southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus), Northern giant petrels (M. halli), and one white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis), Elsehul, South Georgia.

Southern giant petrel. These birds have more universal airframe than albatrosses: they are not as good at gliding, but are less dependent on wind. Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. .

Dark phase of Southern giant petrel, Elsehul, South Georgia.

Giant petrels are the vultures of the Southern Ocean. They feed on carrion; males also kill small birds, while female are better at catching squid and fish. Both species have variable coloration. Northern giant petrel, with pink bill tip, is less common, with just 3,000 pairs on South Georgia. Southern giant petrel is more numerous and widespread; some birds in the far South are almost pure white. Both species are highly migratory, and sometimes form mixed colonies, but Northern giant petrel starts breeding much earlier (late September rather than November).

White phase of Southern giant petrel, off South Orkney Islands.

Southern giant petrel, Drake Passage.

Both species of giant petrels, Drake Passage.

Northern giant petrel, Gold Harbour, South Georgia.

Southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), off South Orkney Is.

Numerous other species of petrels, fulmars, shearwaters, prions, diving-petrels and storm-petrels inhabit the islands of the Scotia Sea. The most abundant is Antarctic prion (P. desolata), with 20-30 million pairs on South Georgia alone. All these birds lay only one egg; smaller species usually nest in burrows. On the Falklands, Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia, many are now extinct or rare on main islands because of predation by introduced rats and other mammals, but still breed in huge numbers on offshore islets.

Southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), off South Orkney Is.

White-chinned petrels, Elsehul, South Georgia.

			My personal favorite is snow petrel. It breeds in high mountains, often far inland, and feeds around icebergs or ice floes.
Cape petrel (Daption capense), off Elephant Island, South Shetland Is.	Snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea), off Antarctic Peninsula. I hope to get better views and better pictures of them during my future trips to the Antarctic.			At 34-45 g, Wilson's storm petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) are the smallest seabirds in the Southern Ocean. But they calmly feed even during the fiercest storms, and migrate all over the world's oceans. They have good sense of smell, and feed on krill, tiny fish and squid.

Dolphin gull (Larus scoresbii), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

Kelp gull (L. dominicanus), Grytviken, South Georgia.

Kelp gull, Hope Bay, Antarctric Peninsula.

Gulls are not very common in the Southern Ocean. Only kelp gull makes it all the way to the Antarctic Peninsula (and even winters there). Two smaller species occur on Tierra del Fuego and the Falklands. They eat all they can find or catch, although kelp gull is partial to limpets. Kelp gull population and range are growing; vagrant birds now show up in North America every few years

Kelp gull with chicks, Elsehul, South Georgia.

South American terns (Sterna hirundinacea), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

Antarctic tern (S. vittata), Grytviken, South Georgia.

Immature Antarctic tern, Grytviken.

Unlike gulls, terns feed almost exclusively on fish and krill. South American tern breeds on Tierra del Fuego and the Falklands; Antarctic tern - on islands further south. They fiercely protect their nest, attacking trespassing people. Very similar Arctic tern comes from the Northern hemisphere during Austral summer. It has the longest migration route of any bird.

Arctic tern (S. paradisaea), off South Georgia.

Brown skua (Stercorarius antarctica), Stanley, Falkland Is.

Brown skua chasing a sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus). The skua tried to rob the shearwater of a fish it had caught, but the shearwater kept diving every time the skua was about to kick it. After two or three minutes, the skua gave up the chase. Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.

South Polar skuas (S. maccormicki), Hope Bay, Antarctic Pen.

Brown skua feeding on a dead king penguin, Grytviken, South Georgia.

Skuas are the bad boys of the Scotia Sea islands. They feed on carrion, garbage, fish, eggs and chicks of other birds, and also rob fishing seabirds of their catch. Of the three local species, brown skua (with two subspecies, northern and southern) is the most common, widespread, and predatory. Three smaller species come from the Arctic to winter, but are seldom seen.

Chilean skua (S. chilensis) and imperial shags, Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.

Snowy sheathbills (Chionis alba), Grytviken, South Georgia.

Snowy sheathbill, Grytviken.

Sheathbills' diet is similar to that of skuas. Their flight is a bit clumsy, but they are mostly migratory, breeding from South Georgia south and wintering in South America and the Falklands. They are related to plovers and, unlike other seabirds, don't have webbed feet. This species only breeds in Scotia Sea area, with total population estimated at 10,000 pairs. Most of them hang out around penguin colonies in summer, and garbage dumps in winter. They are very tame.

Snowy sheathbill, Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia.

Imperial shags (Phalacrocorax atriceps), Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.

South Georgian shags (Ph. georgianus), Elsehul, South Georgia.

Antarctic shags (Ph. bransfieldensis), Hope Bay, Antarctic Pen.

Blue-eyed shags inhabit rocky cliffs on all island groups around the Scotia Sea. Recent DNA research suggested that three very similar races are, in fact, separate species: imperial shag in South America and the Falklands, South Georgian Shag on South Georgia, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands, and Antarctic shag on South Shetlands and the Peninsula. Three more species of cormorants occur on Tierra del Fuego. All are mostly sedentary, and hunt for fish not far from shore, sometimes in large flocks.

Rock shag (Ph. magellanicus), San Julian, Patagonia.

Imperial shags, Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.

Grey cormorants (Ph. gaimardi), San Julian.

Imperial shag, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

Flying steamerduck, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

Steamerducks are so called because their often run across water surface, flapping their wings as an old steamer boat with sidewheels. The widespread flying species (Tachyeres patachonicus) is apparently the ancestor of flightless Magellanic steamerduck (T. pteneres) on Tierra del Fuego, and Falkland steamerduck (T. brachypterus) on the Falklands.

Falkland steamerduck, Gypsy Cove, Falkland Islands.

Kelp geese (Chloephaga hybrida), Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.

Kelp goose and Magellanic steamerducks with chicks, Beagle Channel.

Black-necked swans (Cygnus melanocorypha), Gypsy Cove, Falkland Islands.

On rocky shores of Tierra del Fuego and the Falklands, steamerducks are often joined by kelp geese, beautiful birds with striking sexual dimorphism. Numerous other coastal waterbirds that occur there range in size from tiny grebes to black-necked swans.

Black-necked swan with chicks, Gypsy Cove, Falkland Islands.

Crested ducks (Anas specularioides), Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Gypsy Cove.

This coastal bird community also includes night-herons, plovers, oystercatchers, snipes, kingfishers, birds of prey, four species of small birds called cinclodes, and numerous wintering waders from the Northern hemisphere. Of all those, only two species of ducks have made it to South Georgia. The islands further south have only seabirds. Let's start the tour of Scotia Sea islands from where all diversity is.

Dark-bellied cinclodes (Cinclodes patagonicus), Ushuaia.

Royal albatross (D. epomophora), Scotia Sea.

Part 5: Temperate Islands
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