Spectacular Sightings!!!

Signy is home to some amazing wildlife, but, even though you can never get enough of the Adelies and co., there is nothing quite like experiencing a rare sighting. And we have been fortunate enough to see three in the space of just a few days!

On the 16th February, whilst counting Southern giant petrel chicks on the north of the island, a large group of birds was spotted on the water. Upon closer inspection in turned out to be dozens of giant petrels and hundreds of cape petrels feeding on a whale carcass! This is the first such reported sighting since January 1969!

A feeding frenzy for the birds

The exposed blubber is great food for the giant petrels and small scraps that come off are easy pickings for the cape petrels

Not content with the rarity of the carcass alone there were 17 Northern giant petrels feeding on the carcass as well; they themselves are very much a rare sighting on Signy and can be differentiated by the red tip to the beak as opposed to the green tip of the Southerns

On the 18th February we were amazed to find not one, but two, very rare penguin sightings for Signy as well. Both were found on the southwest of the island during our all-island seal census. The first was a visitor from further north - an immature Magellanic Penguin that appeared in a group of moulting gentoos. These guys breed in the Falklands and seeing one this far south is extremely rare.

A young Magellanic confused to end up with gentoos at Signy

Shortly after seeing the Magellanic we came across the biggest surprise of them all - an immature Emperor Penguin!!!! The other way around to the Magellanic, the Emperor has appeared further north than expected by being here as it should be further south on the continent itself. Another mega rarity to truly cap off an amazing string of sightings - things really do come in three's!

A very smart looking penguin even in the immature stage

Emperor Penguin - never expected to see one of these here!!

Well, everyone does it and even rare sightings can't always be pretty!

Not content with seeing the Emperor just the once, it was still about a couple of days later as well! Eventually the young one left during the day, hopefully to find its way back further south, but it was amazing to see it at all!

Taking it easy before setting off for colder climes!

It was simply incredible to have the Emperor here!

2019 Update

It is amazing how quickly time flies by during the closing stages of a seabird season and the colonies have certainly changed to reflect it! As summer draws to a close most of the species are getting ready to fledge their chicks, but one species gets there that bit sooner than all the rest; Adelie Penguins.

A colony full of chicks getting close to fledging

The colonies were full of large chicks in January and towards the end of the month they were sporting some funky hairstyles as their chick down moulted away to make way for the first set of true feathers.

Some impressive chest hair to go with the thick beard there!

That has to be a wig, surely!?!

Once the chicks have fully moulted they look like real little penguins and start to venture out from the colony. They will follow adults around, begging for food, but will eventually have to leave the colonies to fend for themselves.

The chicks are quite different to the adults, although they are unmistakably still Adelies

When the chicks do finally start to leave then they go en masse, hundreds of chicks disappearing off for their first swim and to fend for themselves, all within the space of just a couple of weeks.

Out of the colony and off to the ocean

Luckily for us, although the Adelie colonies became empty from early February there were still plenty of other species around for us to see and study. The Chinstrap penguins are roughly one month later than the Adelies and so when the Adelie chicks were getting big and ready to leave the Chinstraps chicks were only just getting big enough to be left unguarded by adults.

The adults stay near the nest for a while, even when the chicks are too big to be brooded

But the chicks are soon left to themselves, in the safety of the colony, so both parents can go and collect food for them

Although, by late February the chinstraps are also getting very big and are on the verge of fledging themselves!

The Chinstrap chicks are quite varied in development but they are all getting there

Hairy-backed penguin!

Our third penguin species, the Gentoo, are closer to the Adelies in terms of timings but are still a fraction later. So, although many of the chicks haven't yet left the colonies, they are now roaming around and getting ready to go.

Gentoos almost ready to go

The early part of the year hasn't just been a great time of development for the penguins. The flying birds have also made a lot of progress. The Snow Petrels have developed from little bundles of fluff...

Even at this early stage the chicks are left alone, in the safety of well hidden nests

...to large chicks looking a little scraggly as their flight feathers come through.

So big it is almost too big for the gap between rocks!

It won't be long until these guys leave as well but when they do they'll have to leave the comfort of their nests, hidden away under rocks and in crevices.

Spot the chick peeking out!

The Blue-Eyed Shags are also on the verge of fledging. Although they are much more nervous at this stage so getting near them is something we avoid so as not to disturb them, however, it was only a month ago when they were still bundles of fluff being watched over by the adults themselves!

A shag colony is a very busy place

Especially when there are three big chicks in a lot of the nests

Not all species are currently or soon to be leaving though. The Southern Giant Petrels take a bit longer to fledge their chicks and they won't be ready to leave for the first time until April. For now the chicks are just starting to be left alone on the nest or with adults in close attendance.

A geep chick with adults nearby

The chicks may be all fluff but you can still see the white morph ones even at this stage as the fluff, like the feathers, is white rather than grey!

The white morph, or 'spirit chick', really does stand out compared to its grey neighbours

The seal activity increased through January but has since declined through February. Although they too will soon be leaving us for the season that doesn't mean they can't also show some excellent sights before they go.

A very sleepy blondie

A summer on Signy really does fly-by but it is all incredible when working with such amazing wildlife. And the scenery isn't too bad either!

A cloudy day can't detract from the spectacle that is Signy Island!

Chicks!

The season is progressing rapidly on Signy as the Adelie chicks are growing quickly and starting to creche with each other. This happens when the chicks are left unguarded by the adults and they all huddle together for warmth and safety.

The Adelie colonies are now a mass of creching chicks and wandering adults

Of course, with so many penguins moving around the ground becomes quite muddy and is well covered in the guano of the birds. The result is a very smelly and dirty looking colony with some very sorry looking chicks.

The ground, and the penguins, have a orange/pink hue due to the amount of guano being ejected by the birds!

But looks and smell aside, the chicks are progressing very well.

Bedraggled and dirty, but healthy

"This stuff gets everywhere!"

Despite the muck, the chicks can still pull off that cute look!

You can't help but still find them endearing

Now that they are creching the chicks are also beginning to moult. The warm fluff is being replaced by their first set of proper feathers, providing some quite funny looks during the process.

The chicks are sporting some fine hairstyles as they moult

One or two chicks are so advanced in their moult that they are looking close to fledging already. Most chicks have a couple of weeks to go yet but there are a couple that look like they could go for a swim in a few days' time!

Once moulted the chicks have a blueish colouration to the feathers

They soon look as sleek as the adults and ready to swim - but maybe not until they have some friends to go with!

These chicks are the early starters though, the majority are still reliant of the adults returning and feeding them as often as possible to help them grow.

The adults return and try to find their chicks in the jumble - the colony still looks quite dirty even with a filter on the camera!

Of course, returning to such a messy colony and finding your chick isn't exactly an easy job and the adults come out of it looking quite messy themselves!

Looking after the kids can be dirty work, they may preen but it will take a trip back to sea to get fully clean again

The Adelies aren't the only ones progressing well. The Chinstraps, who are about 4 weeks later than the Adelies in their season timings, are now hatching very quickly.

The Adelie colony (left) is looking quite a bit more dirty than the Chinstrap colony (right).... for now!

The Chinstrap colonies are now echoing with the sound of young chicks squeaking away and the nests are full of fluffy grey blobs sticking out from under the parents.

Spot all the fluffy grey chicks

The chicks are barely big enough to hold up their heads but they will grow quickly and it won't be long until they reach the stage the Adelies are already at, so this is the best time to enjoy the chicks when they are at their smallest.

The adults are keeping the chicks safe whilst they are so small

Many nests have two chicks and with enough food and security from the parents both can grow to fledging

But for now it is a struggle just to lift their heads up

However, the effort is worth it for a bit of food!

It is not just the penguins that are on chicks. The Skuas have also started hatching and are raising their chicks on the fringes of the colonies. They may predate on the penguin chicks, but with chicks of their own to feed it is all part of the ecosystem here.

A very young Skua chick with its parent brooding a second chick

They grow quickly, this Skua chick is twice the size and only a bit older

It is harder to track the progress of some of our other species. Snow Petrels, Wilson's Storm-petrels and Antarctic Prions all nest in rock crevices and under boulders whilst Cape Petrels nest on inaccessible (by land) cliff ledges. But that doesn't stop us getting some views of how they are getting on.

Cape Petrels on the cliff ledges

Late evening is the best time to see these species as they have been feeding at sea all day and come back to the nest site most often at night (to avoid predators like Skuas and Giant Petrels who are about during the day). The ones that begin returning to the colonies in the early evening can sometimes be seen quite clearly as they find their nest sites among the rocks.

Wilson's Storm-petrel about to enter it's nest site

With so much going on it is a very busy time for the birds and for us here on Signy, but a very exciting time as well!

Living on an Antarctic Island

The British Antarctic Survey have five permanent bases; Halley on the continent, Rothera on the Peninsula, King Edward Point on South Georgia and neighbouring Bird Island on - you guessed it - Bird Island. The fifth and smallest of the stations, Signy on Signy Island in the South Orkneys, is my home this austral summer and whilst I recommend taking a virtual tour of the station I'll do my best to describe it, and what life is like in it, as well.

Signy Station

Signy is home to a maximum of 8 people each summer - this year we have 7 in total - and the team is typically made up of 4 regular positions and up to 4 alternating roles depending on the works going on each particular season. The four regular roles are: Station Leader, Facilities Technician, Field Assistant and Zoological Field Assistant; and this year we have two Carpenters and one Visiting Scientist with us as well. There is plenty happening at Signy this year; the fieldwork is as busy as ever monitoring the penguins, seals, shags and giant petrels whilst at base there is plenty to do with the station undergoing a refurbishment with new doors, floors and paintwork and the field huts are being modified as well - Busy Times!

Back L-R: Me (Zoological Field Assiatnt), Fabrizio (Scientist studying Chinstraps), Matt (Station Leader/Carpenter), Ali (Field Assistant), Iain (Facilities Engineer), Elephant Seal (local layabout)
Front L-R: Tom (Carpenter) and Jim (Carpenter); (photo courtesy of Iain)

The base itself has changed somewhat since it was originally built in the mid-1940's. With the change from a wintering station to that of a summer only one in the late 1990's the profile of Signy has changed considerably.

Photos of the old stations in our corridor

The base itself is comfortable but smaller than my previous home of Bird Island. The main building houses our labs, offices, living room, kitchen, bootroom, bathroom and toilets, medical room, boilers and the bedrooms (invariably called bunkrooms or pit rooms).

The main building, Sørlle House, with a remnant from a, fortunately, bygone era out front - a boiler from a whaling ship dating from around the 1920's, the cetacean populations are still very much struggling and barely beginning to recover in most cases

The pit rooms are rather small but enough for us to store all our stuff. There is something strange about still using bunk beds for a team of people in their 30's to 50's but it becomes quite a usual thing when working on small, remote islands to save space.

Bunk beds - the grown-up way to sleep

Of course the wildlife is never far away, with penguins and seals often coming ashore and making it known they are here early in the morning outside the bedroom windows!

Noisy neighbours, a couple of elephant seals under my bedroom window

The kitchen is ideal for cooking the meals for a small team and there is a pantry to store some foodstuffs so that we just restock this room when needed from the main food stores in another building. This means we don't have to go outside every time we need an extra couple of eggs!

The kitchen and pantry at the end

The living room is comfortable for 7-8 people and is great for setting up the projector and watching a movie in the evenings, playing darts and generally chilling out. It also serves as our dining room with tables wheeled in and out each evening for our meal. Of course at this time of year the living room gets a seasonal upgrade!

Iiiiiiiiit's Chriiiiiiistmaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!

The other rooms all serve the purpose for which they were built very well, with refurbishment going on this year there are quite a lot of building materials about which isn't usual. But the labs, offices, bootroom and bathrooms are all very much like Bird Island, just that bit smaller but very familiar.

Bootroom, heated to dry out all our field clothing each day

Shower - looking like some sort of metal bunker!

My lab/office, and temporary home to some of the seasons building supplies

The other buildings on station are: the generator shed and RO plant room (reverse osmosis for water collection); the fuel farm (storage of our fuel for the season); haz-store (safe storage of hazardous substances, such as chemicals for scientific sampling, paints and cleaning products); and top-store where waste management is sorted, tools and equipment are stored, chippy work can be carried out and next-door all the food is stored.

The combined workshop, field equipment store and waste management area

Our store of dried food, with three large freezers and one large fridge in the next room for all our meat, vegetables, fruit, cheese, ice cream and other bits and pieces

Although quite isolated here at Signy we do get visitors! Cruise ships can schedule visits here and we have four set-up for this season, the first of which came back on the 8th December.

Our usual visitors, the elephant seals, aren't bothered about the new visitors

The Barque Europa is a very interesting way to travel the Southern Ocean with it's three masts it looks more like something out of history than current Antarctic sailing. But this is the experience the visitors pay for, and quite an experience they get! not just a tour of Antarctica but also required to help out on the ship, keeping it clean and learning the ropes - quite literally!

Barque Europa

Sometimes the best ways to travel and explore are to get fully involved with the entire experience.

For the visitors, learning to help sail means learning some of the rope systems on deck!

Of course. the highlight for the visiting ships are to come ashore, see what life is like on base, talk to our staff about what we do, how we do it and what experiences we have had; plus the inevitable shopping for souvenirs!

Visitors enjoy their shopping

It is not just the occasional visit of a cruise ship that keeps the isolated feeling to a minimum here. Communications with the outside world are very good by phone (we have a British landline!) and decent enough by the internet. But we are also in regular contact with the other stations, particularly the islands for whom the similar living conditions mean we have a lot in common. We have annual competitions with the other bases, in particular darts matches. This year we have already played, and lost to, Bird Island, a fact they will not let us forget anytime soon!

Oooone-hundreeed and eeeeiighty!! (If only!)

Life on an Antarctic Research Station can feel isolated and extreme. But when you have a great team, comfortable surroundings and incredible wildlife it very quickly feels like home! This year all 7 of us have worked on at least one BAS station before at least once, so it is all very familiar and yet very different at the same time. It is this mixture of the familiar and the new that keeps us all excited and interested to work here again!

For more great photos and information on what it is like here at Signy then check out Ali's blog as well, he is a much better photographer than I am!