October Update

October is the busiest month on BI in terms of establishing the bird work for the season. Northern giant petrels, grey-headed albatross, black-browed albatross and gentoo penguins are all at their peak of establishing nests and laying eggs whilst the macaroni penguins return, wandering albatross work continues and initial monitoring is done of blue-eyed shag, southern giant petrels, brown skuas and light-mantled sooty albatross. Then of course we mustn’t forget the returning fur seals, leopard seal sightings and elephant seal pups!

The sooties carry out synchronous flying displays as a courtship ritual, it is amazing to see them fly so close and identically to each other! Unfortunately my bird flight camera skills aren't up to much at the moment, so here is one slightly blurry sooty instead!

So in order to keep up with all this work we have been incredibly busy over the past couple of months, the daily visits to the bird colonies starting in early September, but there has been so many amazing things to see!
 

Giant Petrels

As my main study species I have spent most of my time with the geeps of late. The northern started breeding in mid-September and reach a peak of laying their eggs in the first few days of October.

To monitor their nests I have to put a stake with identifying numbered tag next to each nest, GPS its location and get the details of each bird on the nest, done via its ring number. Once both birds are confirmed for each nest, females are noticeably smaller than males, and then it is a case of checking it regularly, from a distance, to see how they progress through the season.

Laying the egg is rarely seen

The rounds of the geep study area take a minimum of 2.5 hours but when there are plenty of new eggs and partners to check then it can take up to 6 hours, and all this before other species are taken it to account! This makes field days quite relentless when they are done every day for a three month period (September, October and November) no matter what the weather. There has been plenty of wet (driving sideways rain and snow) and windy (gusts of 35-40kts) days on our little island making some field excursions particularly trying. But when the wildlife is this amazing we can’t help but love this job.

Marking the geep nests

In late October the daily work for the northern geeps stops as they finish laying their eggs and they start getting checked just once a week for survival as we eagerly await the chicks to hatch in a couple of months. But just as the northern stop, the southern start and daily checks of them begins in mid-October.

The southerns are now nesting as well

Penguins

Gentoos come ashore most in the evening

Although the geeps get the title of my main study species the penguins come in a very close second! Throughout October the gentoo penguins have a large focus as they build their nests and lay their eggs.

The first gentoo egg of the season!

There are 7 colonies of gentoo penguins on BI but my work initially focuses in just 2 of them, Johnson Cove and Square Pond. In these two colonies I have study plots of a number of nests that are checked every 2-3 days for the presence of eggs.

Large rocks make finding study nests easier!

Gentoos are very variable in their breeding season timing, unlike most birds that start at similar times each year the gentoos could lay their eggs any time between late September and Late November! Therefore, to know when we will have to check on the chicks later in the season we have to establish when 75% of nests have eggs at this time of year. From this date all following works can be calculated for optimal timing.

The gentoos are very proud of their eggs!

The gentoos started laying their eggs on the 1^st October this year, a couple of weeks earlier than the average, and reached their 75% date in the 2 main study colonies by mid-October. This meant that all 7 colonies were due to be counted in late October for number of active nests.

An Isabelline gentoo - a rare morph

Standing on the periphery of each colony in turn we spent a lot of time over the course of one weekend counting 3,800 nests! Lucy joined me for day one (Johnson Cove and Square Pond) and James for day two (the other 5 colonies) with the number of nests very even between the two days. It is great fun spending time with the gentoos, particularly as they now continue their breeding season until January when the next piece of work, counting their chicks, without regular monitoring. Let’s just hope they actually get some chicks away this year!

We had to wrap up warm during the count, standing still for a while made the cold worse (Photo courtesy of Lucy)

Whilst the gentoo work is on certain occasions through the season the macaroni work is a bit more regular, but first we had to wait for their return! The first macs were seen on the 17^th October and it is very strange seeing a large colony like Big Mac with just a handful of penguins in it! But after just a week the number of penguins had gone from a few to well over a thousand! They won’t stop there either, Big Mac will reach 40,000 before long and their noise will be heard constantly through the season.

Spot the first macs at Big Mac! Harder than a Where's Wally!

The macs are amazing little characters and our intial work is all about seeing how well they have done over winter. At Little Mac a weighbridge is set up to get weights of the birds as they arrive but at Big Mac the weights are collected manually. This means spending an afternoon at the entrance to the colony and weighing 50 male pingus (50 females are weighed in early November as the females return a bit later).

We were really excited to be working with macs again :)

Now that the macs are back I will be visiting the Little Mac colony on a weekly basis to check on the weighbridge. They were certainly a highlight of last summer and I can’t wait to spend a lot of time over the next 5 months with these characters again!

Macaroni penguins - can't help but smile every time I see them!

Mollymawks

Of course it isn’t just my study species that are kicking it to high gear at this time of year. Lucys albatrosses are also starting their season and laying their eggs. In particular the grey-heads and black-brows are filling up their colonies and laying their eggs. Lucy monitors them in much the same way I do the geeps, tag nests, check partners and use ring numbers to identify the birds.

Black-brows arrive a bit later than grey-heads, but both are laying eggs in October

At this time of year there is so much going on that we often help each other out so I have been fortunate enough to check the mollies on occasion myself. Finding the first grey-head egg of the season was a great moment and it certainly reminds us how much we have missed these striking birds over the winter!

Grey-head getting mucky building its nest

Wanderers

Unlike the geeps, mollies and pingus the wanals are actually still in the previous season! The chicks are getting very big now and fledging will start in mid/late November. Just in time for the next cohort to begin nesting in December.

They may be growing up, but they still love seeing their parents come in.... because that means food!

Work with the wanals is therefore a bit quieter in October as the main study area is checked on a weekly basis, but it is always great to have an excuse to see these awe-inspiring birds again before they take their first flights.

A wanal chick looks after my geep stake posts for me!

My, what big wings you've got!

Other birds

Whilst initial observations have been made of skua, sooties and shags the majority of work for these species’ is carried out in November to January, so there will be plenty of updates on these species as we progress through the season. Burrowing petrels, particularly white-chins,also take our attention at times through the season and I can’t wait to work with these little guys again!

Shags nesting and having their quiffs blown in the wind

Seals

So there is a lot of bird activity in October, but we are still treated to a change in the seal season as well. James is still out on a daily check for leopard seals at this time of year and whilst numbers have certainly decreased since the ice has gone and temperatures have ‘warmed’ up (it’s a balmy 0-2°C nowadays!) there are still enough sightings to keep us happy.

Haydn the lep is still a fairly regular visitor

Whilst the leps may be declining in sightings our attention has been taken by the elephant seals. BI is not a major location for ellies; compared to colonies on South Georgia itself which number in the 100’s our few dozen ellies seems like a small amount. Whilst there may not be many we have seen 11 different pups in various places across the island and seeing the huge males bellow at, chase, and even occasionally fight each other is one amazing wildlife spectacle!

A sub-adult male enjoying a scratch, the big guys aren't this cute when fighting!

A pintail stands guard over a male ellie claiming his female!

The first ellie pup of the season :)

He's ermmmm, cute?!

Leps are the winter seal species and ellies are concentrated at this time of year. But over the past couple of weeks we have started getting signs of what is to come, the return of the furries! Whilst fur seals are present in low numbers on BI through the year the breeding individuals only start to arrive in October when the big males start claiming their territories.

Male ellies chase each other with a lep, immature ellie, female ellie and furries looking on

Throughout November fur seal numbers will greatly increase and James will be kept busy with daily checks in his study colony from the 1^st November; it won’t be too long after that for us to wait until the first pups as well! But for now it is all about us getting used to the smell of the big guys outside of base again!

A big male has set up his territory under the living room window!

Bird Study Heaven

Whilst the seals have been providing plenty of entertainment recently the main focus for Lucy and I has been the start of the 2016-17 bird season. For us that means looking for signs of each species returning, mating, nesting and eventually laying their eggs!

Fieldwork began on the 1^st September but the unusually long winter down here has meant that ice and snow cover, plus the frozen ground, has interrupted the start of the season slightly. Many of the birds are a bit late in returning or breeding. Consequently Lucy and I have been able to spend more time preparing for the season finishing off important tasks like: painting quadrat markers, painting inside the field huts, getting all nest tags and marker stakes up to the study areas, checking our field equipment, preparing all the data documentation etc.

132 rocks needing a yellow makeover at Big Mac - no problem for team bird!

Luckily the birds weren’t too late and recently they have started their seasons. Our first sights of grey-head and black-browed albatross’ were on the 10^th September (actually early for the black-browed!), whilst the first grey-heads returned to one of the regular study colonies on the 16^th September. It is amazing to see and hear these pretty birds back on the island!

Return of the grey-heads :)

Pure joy! - Lucy has her grey-heads back

Meanwhile my main study species, the giant petrels, have been around in small numbers all winter but they are now coming back in full force and showing nesting and breeding behaviour.

Catching up with old friends! - I'm now spending plenty of time with my geeps

The first northern geep egg was found on the 17^th September and there will be plenty more over the coming weeks!

The first geep to lay her egg :)

The first of so, so many field notes!

Besides our main study species of albatross, petrels and penguins (for whom monitoring will soon begin in earnest as well!) there are plenty of other birds around for us to start work with. Pintails, skuas and pipits are all being closely watched whilst we are awaiting the first signs of the burrowing petrels returning. But the star of the show at the moment is the blue-eyed shag. In a quick check of one of the colonies we were very surprised to have a shag land on a nest just above our heads and place some nesting material down as it starts its season!

"Ermmmm... that didn't fill my nest much! Time to go get some more!"

Absolutely stunning birds!

With so much going on at the moment the field season is getting us all very excited! We are certainly glad to be back out in the field every day working with such amazing birds! Plus when we come back to base there are still plenty of seals around to add yet more entertainment!

"I'm bigger than you, stay away furry!"

"Oh yh?! We'll see about that ellieblob!"

Lucy and James very happy to spend an evening with a big ellie - although this guy is still small by ellie standards!

Bird Island is certainly one of the best wildlife experiences and we are all very privileged to be working here!

"Oh my god! It's a lep!" - The leopard seals are still around in good numbers, but never less than exciting to see!

Squealy good entertainment

As a seabird zoologist my first thought is always for feathery creatures with wings (or in the case of penguins, flips!). But whilst the bird season is only just starting - we have had our first 3 grey-head and 1 black-brow sightings and the northern geeps have started making nests - there is still time to enjoy the sight of the seals, aka. squeals!

"I am blondie, I am the master of the pingus!"

The fur seals are starting to increase slightly in numbers; for the most part they really enjoy the ice, scratching on it and sliding around the bays. But there are some that don't seem impressed!

"Barrels are more comfortable than ice!"

It's behind you! - This furry isn't happy being on the ice with hungry leps around.

"Stay away!" (the furry survived the leps curiosity)

Of course how can we mention one lep without looking at some more! The amount of ice still around means we are getting large numbers of them. In fact, we sighted 11 different leps in one day not long ago, a record for this year, and we are getting some of the highest numbers ever recorded.

They look so peaceful whilst asleep, but they are very good predators.

Unfortunately the work with seals isn't all observations and photographs at this time of year. Their diet is also an important line of study and there is only one way to ascertain that!

"What are you doing with my poo you silly human?"

Lucy investigating the feathers and bird feet found in a lep poo - such a glamorous job!

Of course we mustn't forget the third seal species on BI - the ellies! This time of year some big males are just starting to come ashore, awaiting the females arrival who will then give birth before mating again for next seasons pups!

The adult males are certainly HUGE! It is great to start seeing them come ashore now.

When you have been on BI for so long we start to loose track of 'normality' and blend in to our new home. On this occasion Lucy decided she would join the ellie fraternity!

The seals are certainly a very interesting aspect of life on 'Seal' Island, but I think I'll stick to my birdies for now. Won't be long until geep eggs are laid and the penguin breeding seasons begin!

James is very happy with his study species - but I have put the word out to my little pingus and soon we will take back the island for the bird world! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Springtime?!?

August is a transition time for the bird work on BI. During August the last surveys are done for the 2015/16 season and final preparations are made for the first surveys of the 2016/17, which start on the 1st September.

Pipits survive the winter foraging along the water line; as our only songbird when they start calling it is a wonderful sign of spring!

With the final pintail counts completed in August and final all-island checks of the wanal chicks completed by, or on, the 1st September it certainly feels like the end of a season. Working with the wanals is a particular highlight at this time of year as the chicks start to develop their feathers and become a bit more adventurous, leaving the nest and starting to wander around!

The fluffy chicks are getting bigger

But unfortunately, despite now being on the lookout for signs of it, spring certainly isn't here just yet! The snow and ice are still in control of the island and trudging through it all on our surveys can be a challenge at times - especially when we still manage to find holes, some of which are head height!

Lucy enjoyed watching me try and climb out of a 6ft hole!

Of course, if we ever needed confirmation that winter is still very much holding on to BI all we need to do is look out the window! Leopard seals have been around in good numbers recently, on occasion we have had up to 6 leps hauled out within view of our front door!

The leprasaurus' always look so happy with themselves!

It's a hard life for a lep!

It is not just the leps either. There are some birds that are clinging on to the winter conditions as well with terns in good numbers feeding in the bays and even the occasional snow petrel (also referred to as snope) feeding on the waters surface.

Terns and snopes looking for food

Despite seeing the snow, ice and winter wildlife we can say that spring is at least on its way though as we have had the first actual sign of the new season beginning - the northern giant petrels are pairing up and starting to mate!

Northern geeps are getting ready for the new season

It won't be long now until the mollymawks start returning, the gentoos start nesting and come October we will see sooties and the return of the macs! It really is beginning to feel like the season is changing - if only the snow and ice would recognise that as well!!

The sun occasionally tries to bring on spring, I'm sure it'll get there eventually!