Circumnavigating South Georgia - Part 7
Diaz Cove & Poncet Island
The weather at Holmestrand had been just about perfect and I think, a rarity for the time of year and place. While working around the boat and preparing dinner Dion talked about motoring through the night toward Cape Disappointment. During dinner there were further discussions and he offered an intermediate stop at Diaz Cove and Poncet Island, about two thirds of the way to Cape Disappointment. (Poncet Island was named after Dion's family in recognition of their many contributions to the development of wildlife and ecological preservation of South Georgia.)
So far the days had been physical and focused on getting some of the initial digital images I was after. The nights were early to bed and fast asleep while Dion steered us to our next landing spot. I was often bone weary from the climbing, scrambling, and then the sea tossing. This night I lay in bed with Sally's book, my notes and my shooting wish list thinking I would outline a few angles and subject compositions I would like to get...but like each of the nights before I was fast asleep and then it was morning in Diaz Cove. We could see Poncet Island across
from our landing site.
The weather was typically overcast, dark, and cool, but little to no wind. As the zodiac approached the beach we could see that it was covered in elephant seals, but no fur seals...that was a welcome change. I have almost never observed elephant seals charging or harassing people walking carefully through their territory. Sometimes, as in this instance, the big bulls will watch you and actually raise up to get a better view. It is a very good idea to steer a wide path around these beach masters as they can be incredibly fast if they chose to move aggressively. The breeding bulls are often about 5 meters (16 feet) long and really look to be as big as Volkswagen beetles. I find the bulls very individual in that t
heir large prominent proboscises are distinctly different bull to bull. Their necks are scarred from many fights establishing beach territories and maintaining control of the harems, but the scars are unique to each animal. The large proboscis is inflatable and achieves the beginnings of its maturity when the bull is about eight. Remaining dominant and retaining their territory with up to 35 cows is an energy draining job. Only a few particularly strong bulls breed more than one season. Crossing the beach reminded me of the times I have watched various penguins walk right through the middle of such herds without a glance from the elephants. I felt they were watching us but it was with a kind of indifference...they certainly did not turn their heads or give any indication that we might decide to challenge them for a piece of their territory.
We crossed the beach a
nd faced the tussock grass covered hillside. There did not appear to be the muddy trails through the tussocks as we had encountered on the other landings. The thick grass looked to be impenetrable. No fur seals seen on the beach and no trails leading upward. As noted the fur seals are very athletic climbers and they were not here. I decided to seek out a Gentoo nesting area to observe the morning activities.
The Gentoo males were particularly active stealing stones from one another and then running the gauntlet back to their own nest through the egg sitters who squawked and poked at the thieves in their midst. Many of the nests were occupied eggs and one adult sitter, but there was still a lot of landscape rearranging going on by the rock robbers. I watched for a long time and it may have been the first time I noticed that bringing rocks back to the nest and its sitter went on after the initially pairing and nest building. It was a little like remodeling was an ongoing nest owner's responsibility. I had not paid much attention to that in the past. I concluded that the process must be a part of the pair bonding ritual as the sitter was sitting on the egg and the free individual would just be standing around, except for this particular activity. Usually, it seemed to me that thief would show his building material to the sitter before dropping it in the rim area of the nest.
This was an easy morning and soon time to return to the Golden Fleece. Large icebergs seemed to have arrived and the horizon looked to be filled with them. I figured the wind from Antarctica must have been blowing them in our direction, but there was so little wind on the beach. It was pleasant to have a longish walk without a fur seal to watch out for...lots of elephant seals, sea birds and Gentoo penguins but no fur seals.
The weather at Holmestrand had been just about perfect and I think, a rarity for the time of year and place. While working around the boat and preparing dinner Dion talked about motoring through the night toward Cape Disappointment. During dinner there were further discussions and he offered an intermediate stop at Diaz Cove and Poncet Island, about two thirds of the way to Cape Disappointment. (Poncet Island was named after Dion's family in recognition of their many contributions to the development of wildlife and ecological preservation of South Georgia.)
So far the days had been physical and focused on getting some of the initial digital images I was after. The nights were early to bed and fast asleep while Dion steered us to our next landing spot. I was often bone weary from the climbing, scrambling, and then the sea tossing. This night I lay in bed with Sally's book, my notes and my shooting wish list thinking I would outline a few angles and subject compositions I would like to get...but like each of the nights before I was fast asleep and then it was morning in Diaz Cove. We could see Poncet Island across
from our landing site. The weather was typically overcast, dark, and cool, but little to no wind. As the zodiac approached the beach we could see that it was covered in elephant seals, but no fur seals...that was a welcome change. I have almost never observed elephant seals charging or harassing people walking carefully through their territory. Sometimes, as in this instance, the big bulls will watch you and actually raise up to get a better view. It is a very good idea to steer a wide path around these beach masters as they can be incredibly fast if they chose to move aggressively. The breeding bulls are often about 5 meters (16 feet) long and really look to be as big as Volkswagen beetles. I find the bulls very individual in that t
heir large prominent proboscises are distinctly different bull to bull. Their necks are scarred from many fights establishing beach territories and maintaining control of the harems, but the scars are unique to each animal. The large proboscis is inflatable and achieves the beginnings of its maturity when the bull is about eight. Remaining dominant and retaining their territory with up to 35 cows is an energy draining job. Only a few particularly strong bulls breed more than one season. Crossing the beach reminded me of the times I have watched various penguins walk right through the middle of such herds without a glance from the elephants. I felt they were watching us but it was with a kind of indifference...they certainly did not turn their heads or give any indication that we might decide to challenge them for a piece of their territory. We crossed the beach a
nd faced the tussock grass covered hillside. There did not appear to be the muddy trails through the tussocks as we had encountered on the other landings. The thick grass looked to be impenetrable. No fur seals seen on the beach and no trails leading upward. As noted the fur seals are very athletic climbers and they were not here. I decided to seek out a Gentoo nesting area to observe the morning activities. The Gentoo males were particularly active stealing stones from one another and then running the gauntlet back to their own nest through the egg sitters who squawked and poked at the thieves in their midst. Many of the nests were occupied eggs and one adult sitter, but there was still a lot of landscape rearranging going on by the rock robbers. I watched for a long time and it may have been the first time I noticed that bringing rocks back to the nest and its sitter went on after the initially pairing and nest building. It was a little like remodeling was an ongoing nest owner's responsibility. I had not paid much attention to that in the past. I concluded that the process must be a part of the pair bonding ritual as the sitter was sitting on the egg and the free individual would just be standing around, except for this particular activity. Usually, it seemed to me that thief would show his building material to the sitter before dropping it in the rim area of the nest.
This was an easy morning and soon time to return to the Golden Fleece. Large icebergs seemed to have arrived and the horizon looked to be filled with them. I figured the wind from Antarctica must have been blowing them in our direction, but there was so little wind on the beach. It was pleasant to have a longish walk without a fur seal to watch out for...lots of elephant seals, sea birds and Gentoo penguins but no fur seals.
