Tuesday we worked on the snow petrel project. The petrels nest in crevasses in cliffs on the Petrel Islands and other surrounding islands. First we had to capture the birds while they incubate a single egg. We equipped the bird with geolocation systems (GLS, see previous entries), and took some measurements. They are very beautiful white birds and look very peaceful, however, they are not. To defend their nest they vomit a very smelly orange stomach oil. Once they have you covered you with stomach oil they bite your fingers - and it’s very painful! In the picture with the GLS device you can see Agnes bloody hand.

Despite the pain, we enjoy doing this work a lot. It’s so magical to be able to approach such fascinating birds in such a remote place. With the GLS we will be able to know where they forage during the winter. They are known to leave in the pack ice around Antarctica, but they can cover very large distances. This is important information which will allow us to understand how sea ice affect these birds and what will be the impact of sea ice on their population, especially under future climate change.

Wednesday we counted seals across the entire archipelago. Because the sea ice is extended this year we had to cover an unusual large area. We gathered people at the base and formed four teams of three persons (minimum number to walk on sea ice for security reasons).

I went to the furthest sector, at Helene Island, 13 km from the base. The polyny was just near the Island, and had advanced by a couple of kilometers since the last time I was there one month ago. We definitely counted many seals that day. We encountered a group of thirty of them! With the sun, they were golden and very beautiful. I especially like when they scratch themselves and then look at you with their wide eyes. It was a great journey although very exhausting (we walked 35 km in melted snow). The sea ice had started to melt and I fell a couple of time into small holes covered by snow. I was wet to the knee but the weather was so warm (5 degrees Celsius, warmest day since I’ve been here), that it was not a major inconvenience. 

Thursday I worked at my computer on a National Science Foundation proposal while Agnes and Sophie continued to monitor the laying date of snow petrel eggs and were able to equip some skuas with GLS. Initially I was supposed to leave yesterday. But with the weather conditions we encountered this year, the boat will not leave before the 27 of December. Thus I will spend Christmas here and the new year on the boat, and have to deal with NSF deadline here without internet access! Hard life :)