Our final Zodiac cruise before the sailing further south gave us our best glimpse of the Macaroni Penguin. This species was only just arriving at their breeding grounds, as our cruise was a really early one in the Antarctic 'Spring'. Our earlier sightings had just been a distant one on the Falkland Islands, and a small group hiding in heavy scrub from an earlier Zodiac cruise. We were therefore delighted when a Macaroni Penguin was spotted standing on top of a very small island that we could sail close to. It certainly isn't easy taking photos from a floating Zodiac, but fortunately, a f ..read more

 As our time on South Georgia was coming to an end, it was time to ponder what had been such a magical experience. As well as the enormous numbers of King Penguins, we had also had several lovely encounters with the Gentoo Penguins. A species we would be seeing many more of as we went around parts of Antarctica. We had a lovely moment watching a mating pair of Gentoo at Godthul. Unlike most birds, that just mate in a very quick hop on, hop off kind of thing, the penguins took their time, and during mating, lots of neck pecking went on. A lovely gentle moment for them, and also us just wat ..read more

 On all our landings on South Georgia we saw plenty of mammals. However, all mammals on the islands are marine animals. The most obvious were the Southern Elephant Seals. The dominant males were setting up territory, and the biggest of these were battling for the right to mate with the females that were also already on the beaches, having recently given birth to their pups. Younger males were practising these fights, getting ready for the day when they would be giving it their all for the right to mate. Some of the fights were pretty gruesome. Although we only saw one full bodied battle ..read more

 As we approached South Georgia, Matt sent me a text saying that I should make sure I see both the South Georgia Pintail, and the South Georgia Pipit. As these birds are both only found on South Georgia, and I was unlikely to ever get back there it was a gentle reminder that these birds were quite important to see. Although neither Lisa or I are bird listers, we do still like to see any unusual birds and other wildlife. There were also several other people on the trip who also wanted to see these birds, and most of them were listers, so they were even more keen!! As it happened, the South ..read more

 Of all the wonderful wildlife on South Georgia, the most well known has to be the King Penguin. The largest colonies on the planet of this splendid penguin are on South Georgia, with the largest of all being on St. Andrews Bay. South Georgia has around half of all the King Penguins in the World with an estimated 450.000 pairs, of which St. Andrews Bay has around 150.000 pairs, as well as lots of chicks!! We were lucky to get 6 actual landings on South Georgia, as well as 3 zodiac cruises, so we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the King Penguins, and the other wildlife on the islands ..read more

 After a visit to Port Stanley, on the Falkland Islands, an interesting place with lots of history, it was back to sea to head to one of the greatest places for wildlife on the planet. South Georgia. On the way Lisa and I spent many hours on the deck, looking out for seabirds, whales and dolphins. We had a few lovely encounters with Peale's Dolphins, although they were mainly playing under the bow of the ship, so difficult to see in any detail. However, occasionally one or two would swim out and play in the bow-wave. We did have many whale encounters, but these were generally seeing the b ..read more

 Our visit to the Falkland Islands coincided with the nesting season of the Black-browed Albatross, which nest in large numbers on the Falklands. After photographing the Southern Rockhopper Penguins at North Harbour, I walked further around the cliffs to see the Black-browed Albatrosses using the thermals, as they kept flying alongside the cliffs and over the sea. On the way, there were also nesting birds and some pair bonding going on. Pair Bonding Black-browed Albatrosses. Black-browed Albatross on nest. Black-browed Albatross coming in to land. Brakes on!! When it c ..read more

 At last we reached the Falkland Islands, and on the first day here we had two excellent landings on New Island, at Coffin's Harbour and North Harbour.  Both landings involved a bit of walking, but after 2-3 days at sea, this was actually very welcome. We also had plenty of time at both landings, and as it happened, this was the case at all landings during the whole trip. The main stars at both landings at New Island were the fabulous Southern Rockhopper Penguins and the Falklands variety of Imperial Shag. The shags actually turned out to be my personal favourites, with their fabulou ..read more

 Following the night at Buenos Aires, we flew down to Puerto Madryn where we had 3 nights before the cruise started. After a comfortable night, the lady that owned the apartment we were staying in, drove us out to Punta Loma, a nature reserve that had a beach with a colony of South American Sea Lions. We had decided we would walk back from there, but as she drove us out to the site, it seemed a heck of a walk back. However, we did it, despite it taking around 7 hours!! Around the bay where the Sea Lions were, there were some lovely views, birds and the odd animal around. These included Ch ..read more

 Over the past couple of weeks, I've had some good interesting walks with Lisa, and also on my own. Lisa and I do try to stick reasonably local when we can, so the car can be left at home. One of the delights of living just a couple of minutes walking distance away from the South Downs. This week, which was towards the end of Lisa's summer break, she had work to get on with, in preparation for her dance classes, so I headed out on my own up to my local wildlife patch. As I headed up the hill I was pleased to see a couple of Common Redstart, a species I sometimes see in the autumn as they ..read more