Winter is...... here!

It has been about two months since I have updated this blog so it is time to catch up!

The reason for the big delay between posts has been how busy the work has been in this time. In early April we had Last Call when the RRS Ernest Shackleton dropped off our last bits of cargo and food for the 7 month winter ahead whilst also taking Al and Siân back home, it was amazing to work with you both and you are greatly missed on the island! Of course, not only did we have to prepare for the Shack but I also had to prepare for taking on the albatross ZFA role as well. As previously mentioned Lucy is staying on here for a second winter which means going on a well-earned holiday for a time first, so Lucy has trained me in her role to cover the workload for April and May.... but there will be more on that in the next blog!

So what has happened in the past two months? Well the main change has been winter has come (but thankfully no white-walkers are yet to terrorize our shores)!

No white-walkers but plenty of gentoos around in the snow

The changing seasons has made a big difference to the species we see around as the northern geeps have now all fledged and the macaroni penguins have all left the island until they come back in October. The southern giant petrels are about to fledge as well whilst the mollies will also be gone by the end of May.

With no macaronis left it was time to dismantle the weighbridge for the winter (Photo courtesy of Jerry)

But that doesn’t mean we are deserted for the winter, far from it! In this season numbers of other birds greatly increases. Pipits and pintails are pushed out of the islands interior, where ponds freeze and tussock gets covered in snow, down into the bays where they can forage in the shallows or strand line.

Pipits are more common on the rocky shorelines now

Pintails are actually one of two species, alongside sheathbills, that I will be counting twice a month from May to August. But when you get over 200 of them in one go it is worth counting them a few weeks early!

211 pintails in one location!

Gulls and shags can still be seen around the coast in good numbers as well but the greatest difference is in the smaller petrels. Cape petrels have made their way in to our bays in large numbers to feed on small critters in the seaweed and we are occasionally treated to a glimpse of storm-petrels as well!

Cape petrels rivaling the pintails for numbers, 170 is the biggest count in one location so far!

Flying past a cape petrel, I got quick glimpses of a stormie!

Not only has the bird world changed but so has the mammal world. Winter marks the arrival of leopard seals. Whilst we had an unseasonal visitor back in February it is May to October when these massive creatures normally come ashore. That being said, they have arrived early and we have already had over 15 sightings in April alone!

A leopard seal, called 'Jumpy Jim', enjoying a snooze

Cute but a fearsome predator

James using sticks lined up with head and tail to measure 'Max'

But whilst all the wildlife has been great to watch in transition when talking about the arrival of winter on a sub-Antarctic island there is only one element of change that gets the prize for most dramatic – snow/ice!

Went for a quick session photographing a lep next to base and get hit by the snow! (Photo courtesy of James)

Not long after Last Call in early April we got the first flurries of snow. This was followed by a day when the wind gusts topped 50 knots and the base was literally shaking around us (it’s built to withstand that though, so it’s normal in bad weather!). Waking up after a night when the 50 knot winds were dying down was an interesting sight for us all..... ice! And lots of it!

Ice filling the bay and altering the coastline

Not only had ice been blown in to the bay outside base but it had arrived in such large quantities that it covered the shoreline quite spectacularly and pretty much drowned our jetty from view. There was so much in fact that much of it is still here two weeks later.

Jerry looking out over the ice

After all the ice came in we had regular snow falls which has now left the island covered in snow ranging from 2 inches thick to waist deep depending on the topography of where we are. This had made traversing the island to complete our ongoing fieldwork more of a challenge, chains on our boots help combat the slippery ice, but when walking across tussock or part-frozen bogs it is near impossible to see where the big gaps or weak spots are. This has resulted in numerous falls for us all and occasional wet feet as we go through the ice layer up to our knees, or even our waists on occasion!

But despite the difficulties it poses having the whole island covered in snow is absolutely breathtaking and at least makes going downhill much more fun and a lot quicker!

Wanal chicks are happy on their nests despite the snow all around