Circumnavigating South Georgia – Part 6
Holmestrand and Elsmark Glacier
After an on-board lunch in King Haakon Bay we sailed out and rounded Cape Nunez on our way to Homestrand and Elsmark Glacier. Dion told us that Sally Poncet, his mother, and he had been here a number of times to take counts of albatross and that she had found a dead mouse at Cave Cove, Cape Rosa, last summer. This was significant because rodents are decimating bird populations that have no land predators and have their nests on the ground on South Georgia. The glaciers, including Elsmark, were always believed to protect large areas of the Islands because the rodents do not cross them, but with the retreat of these glaciers due to the on-going warming the rodents are finding their way into new areas.
At Holmestrand we had been looking for South Georgia Pipits, but they have become threatened presumably because of the recent arrival of mice and rats. Several times we saw a small bird flit into the tussac grass, but we were not quick enough to positively make identification. Dion was a font of information on the subject, but we were never together at the same moments. Apparently mice and rats were first found on South Georgia in 1976 by a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) field team. Since then rules have been enacted to protect the threatened species of birds and try to prevent the invasion of rodents into new areas—like no landing on Bird Island.
Rounding Cape Nunez we were treated to a full blue sky and bright sunshine, almost a first on this part of the cruise. I have tried to stay away from too many descriptions of the “beauty,” “the ruggedness,” “paradise,” and all the other adjectives that can be applied to wilderness areas, but this fully sunlit part of the island was a crown jewel—there I have been a little trite. Anyway, we headed into Homestrand. Elsmark Glacier flows into the west part of the Bay. Even though I knew it was not true, I felt we were the very first people to have seen this place and then landed on the pebbled beach among the Elephant Seals, Gentoo Penguins and a large colony of King Penguins.
We crossed the beach in a crowd of Kings returning from the sea and heading inland toward the main “city” of
penguins. One cannot help but notice that there is almost always heavy two way traffic on the penguin highways to and from the beaches. As our crowd moved along there was a lot of vocalizing. It was not long before the first chicks began scampering toward some fish full-bellied adult making a soft triple like whistle. Once everyone was satisfied with who was who, regurgitated feeding began. After observing this behavior for extended periods of time and in many other locations it seemed that the chicks were never filled or satisfied no matter how long the ritual went on.
The King Penguin colonies are interesting because there are birds of all ages present. We found a number of adults who were molting and chicks who we still in their other worldly-fluffy coats that got them referred to as “Wooly Penguins” by the whalers a century before. There were young birds just beginning and/or finishing their first fledges. I was sure that if I knew how to identify them there were probably “retirees” present too.
I found a centrally located, curiously clean rock and sat down in the warm sun to observe and photograph the birds and their socializing. As in other places it did not take long for curiosity to exert itself and for both young and old individual birds to check me out. One of t
he birds would amble over quietly watching; stop three or four feet away and sway back or side-to-side to observe me better. After a few minutes, satisfied, the King would amble away. In the meantime, other penguins would be conducting penguin business all around me whether slapping each other with flippers as they “fought” with one another, go walking in small groups or just conducting a peering-about routine.
As the afternoon waned the wind arrived and began chasing the warm air away. The sun was moving closer to the horizon as we began the flat trek back to the beach. The afternoon had been exceedingly pleasant. We were not hanging out on a wind-screeching cliff hundreds of feet above the beach considering the safest and most secure way back…we just walked back unimpeded except for newly returning Kings from the sea. And even though the wind was rising, we did not have to face a roiling, heavily heaving sea to get back to the Golden Fleece. What a golden moment.
Back aboard we decided to sail through the night to Diaz Cove. Dion explained that so few people visited the coast between Homestrand and Diaz Cove that underwater obstacles, rocks and other dangers were present and were the primary reasons so few people visited these areas. Several places on the map were noted “unvisited” and we would have run out of time for the vast remainder of the circumnavigation had we exercised the kind of safety and caution that would have been necessary to visit these “unvisited” places. We decided and agreed, “Next time!”
After an on-board lunch in King Haakon Bay we sailed out and rounded Cape Nunez on our way to Homestrand and Elsmark Glacier. Dion told us that Sally Poncet, his mother, and he had been here a number of times to take counts of albatross and that she had found a dead mouse at Cave Cove, Cape Rosa, last summer. This was significant because rodents are decimating bird populations that have no land predators and have their nests on the ground on South Georgia. The glaciers, including Elsmark, were always believed to protect large areas of the Islands because the rodents do not cross them, but with the retreat of these glaciers due to the on-going warming the rodents are finding their way into new areas.
At Holmestrand we had been looking for South Georgia Pipits, but they have become threatened presumably because of the recent arrival of mice and rats. Several times we saw a small bird flit into the tussac grass, but we were not quick enough to positively make identification. Dion was a font of information on the subject, but we were never together at the same moments. Apparently mice and rats were first found on South Georgia in 1976 by a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) field team. Since then rules have been enacted to protect the threatened species of birds and try to prevent the invasion of rodents into new areas—like no landing on Bird Island.
Rounding Cape Nunez we were treated to a full blue sky and bright sunshine, almost a first on this part of the cruise. I have tried to stay away from too many descriptions of the “beauty,” “the ruggedness,” “paradise,” and all the other adjectives that can be applied to wilderness areas, but this fully sunlit part of the island was a crown jewel—there I have been a little trite. Anyway, we headed into Homestrand. Elsmark Glacier flows into the west part of the Bay. Even though I knew it was not true, I felt we were the very first people to have seen this place and then landed on the pebbled beach among the Elephant Seals, Gentoo Penguins and a large colony of King Penguins.
We crossed the beach in a crowd of Kings returning from the sea and heading inland toward the main “city” of
penguins. One cannot help but notice that there is almost always heavy two way traffic on the penguin highways to and from the beaches. As our crowd moved along there was a lot of vocalizing. It was not long before the first chicks began scampering toward some fish full-bellied adult making a soft triple like whistle. Once everyone was satisfied with who was who, regurgitated feeding began. After observing this behavior for extended periods of time and in many other locations it seemed that the chicks were never filled or satisfied no matter how long the ritual went on.The King Penguin colonies are interesting because there are birds of all ages present. We found a number of adults who were molting and chicks who we still in their other worldly-fluffy coats that got them referred to as “Wooly Penguins” by the whalers a century before. There were young birds just beginning and/or finishing their first fledges. I was sure that if I knew how to identify them there were probably “retirees” present too.
I found a centrally located, curiously clean rock and sat down in the warm sun to observe and photograph the birds and their socializing. As in other places it did not take long for curiosity to exert itself and for both young and old individual birds to check me out. One of t
he birds would amble over quietly watching; stop three or four feet away and sway back or side-to-side to observe me better. After a few minutes, satisfied, the King would amble away. In the meantime, other penguins would be conducting penguin business all around me whether slapping each other with flippers as they “fought” with one another, go walking in small groups or just conducting a peering-about routine.As the afternoon waned the wind arrived and began chasing the warm air away. The sun was moving closer to the horizon as we began the flat trek back to the beach. The afternoon had been exceedingly pleasant. We were not hanging out on a wind-screeching cliff hundreds of feet above the beach considering the safest and most secure way back…we just walked back unimpeded except for newly returning Kings from the sea. And even though the wind was rising, we did not have to face a roiling, heavily heaving sea to get back to the Golden Fleece. What a golden moment.
Back aboard we decided to sail through the night to Diaz Cove. Dion explained that so few people visited the coast between Homestrand and Diaz Cove that underwater obstacles, rocks and other dangers were present and were the primary reasons so few people visited these areas. Several places on the map were noted “unvisited” and we would have run out of time for the vast remainder of the circumnavigation had we exercised the kind of safety and caution that would have been necessary to visit these “unvisited” places. We decided and agreed, “Next time!”
