The Journey Home - Part 2: Signy

After visiting the neighbours at KEP it was on to Signy station on the South Orkneys for another few days seeing a different BAS base. I had briefly visited Signy on my way south, but on this occasion we were on the station for a longer time and I got the opportunity to look around quite a bit more.

Signy station

Signy is a summer only station, meaning it has to be closed down and everything stored for the winter. This takes a bit of time and with other works ongoing there was plenty to do around station getting everything sorted. But around that there were some opportunities to see more of the island itself.

Elephant seals hang around the base itself, sitting alongside, or even on, all the walkways

My best view of a weddell seal as one came ashore just a little away from the ellies

It was amazing to still see so much wildlife; after how incredible BI was it is hard to imagine anything else matching up to it, but Signy does just that and I hope to have an opportunity to work here sometime in the future. But until such a day comes, it has been a privilege to see it now and enjoy the wildlife on offer.

We visited a number of chinstrap colonies, in total there were hundreds, even a couple thousand, of them :)

Not a bad view for these chinnies to have from their colony

We've seen the occasional chinstrap on BI, but being in a colony was incredible

As ever, penguins are just entertaining to sit and watch

There is always one that more feisty than any others!

Time to get artistic with black and white photos of black and white penguins!

At this time of year the chinstraps, like gentoos and macs, are around to moult

It was great to be able to sit and enjoy the sites of another station

They are a very smart looking species

Just chilling out

The scale of the animals we have worked and lived with really hits home at moments like this

So many seals you can't even see the beach, these were all males!

They do seem to enjoy laying around together and moulting...

...but the occasional squabble occurs with individuals rearing up at each other

Signy is within the Antarctic circle itself so having to cross a glacier to get to work is a regular position for the scientists on base, but for those of us from BI whilst very deep snow and thick ice may be often experienced a glacier was certainly something new!

No picture I could take will do it justice - but glaciers are amazing!

With the sky and the ground pretty much the same colour you can see how in worse weather conditions you could get disorientated on this sort of terrain, BAS make sure all staff are fully trained for such circumstances

An interesting way to walk to work

At the end of the glacier a beach full of elephant seals and a chinstrap penguin colony around the corner - brilliant!

Leaving Signy marked the end of my time as an Antarctic research scientist but luckily it didn’t mark the end of my travels home as Lucy, James and I had arranged to investigate the Falklands and Ascension on the way back. But it is goodbye to BI, BAS and the Antarctic…………. for now!