There are about 2,500 people living on the Falklands Island with most of them living in the capital village of Stanley.  These islands are also home to a large numbers of seabirds and marine mammals. We approached the islands from the west this morning and made our way to visit two islands: Carcass and Saunders Islands. While on these islands we saw three species of penguins and got some work done as well!

The first specie we saw was the Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus). This species is stands about 15 in (38 cm) tall and is black and white in color. It has a black head with white markings and a black back and white breast with a prominent black band. They nest in burrows dug into the ground, lay their eggs in October with chicks hatching about 38-40 days later.

A Magellanic Penguin

Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) were also breeding on both islands we visited. Gentoo penguins are about 23 in (58 cm) tall. They have black backs and white bellies and a black head with a white patch above their eyes. In addition they have a very distinctive orange beak. They are found breeding throughout the Sub-Antarctic islands as well as on the Antarctic Peninsula. In The Falklands they breed on many islands in colonies ranging in size from 300-800 nests. They make their nest out of small stones or directly on the ground and lay their eggs in October with chicks hatching about 34 days later. We were able to collect eggshell and molted feather samples from Saunders Islands which we will use to examine their diets using stable isotopes. In addition I help my research partner Dr. Tom Hart install a remote camera which will take time laps photos of the Gentoo colony on Saunders Island.  When we collect the memory card from this camera in one year’s time we should have a lot of information about the timing of breeding and reproductive success of Gentoo penguins at this breeding site.

A colony of Gentoo penguins on Saunders Island

In addition, at Saunders Islands there was a large colony of Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome).  This is the smallest penguin species on the islands at about 14 in (35 cm) tall. They are black and white in color and have a black head with a distinctive crest of yellow feathers above the eyes. They form very large colonies on the Falklands and nest along steep slopes and among the tussock grasses.  This species feeds on squid, fish and small crustacean called lobster krill.

A Rockhopper penguin staring me down!

Tomorrow the ship will travel to Stanley, stay tuned for more!