The days are slowly getting longer and this is having a noticeably positive affect on us all and making it easier to get out. Now that our sea ice route to Macey hut and the Auster colony has been proven, everyone on station is eager to go and meet our penguin neighbours — some other life in the area!
Last weekend another group headed out and were fortunate to have a few windless hours at the colony, and for the sun to break through the clouds to add to the picturesqueness of the location - it’s way easier to sit quietly in the snow watching the birds if there’s no wind sucking the heat out of you!
There are guidelines for how close we can get to the birds but no one has explained that to them, so those without eggs were venturing away from the huddle and some were keen to come and check us out and pose for photos. We have restrictions in place as to how often we can visit so the birds don’t become overwhelmed — we are only allowed to Auster for a maximum of 6 days per month with no more than 2 days in a row, hence there’s always people keen for the opportunity when it arises.
This time a lucky few even spotted the first chicks for the season!
Otherwise it’s all business as usual on station with everyone getting on with their work tasks, which doesn’t make for very interesting photos so it’s all penguins this week!
