Stunning glaciers and even more penguins

In the afternoon I got to see an even more spectacular site, a Glacier In a fjord. Fjord is an Icelandic name for a long, narrow inlet with very tall steep sides or cliffs.

The fjord is created in a valley carved by the slowly moving ice. Monique said the best way to describe it was a very slow flowing river of ice. The ice also wears away the rock beneath which creates the Fjord.

As we approached the head of a fjord the front and two sides were spectacular glaciers. One was a hanging glacier leaving us all wondering how on earth the whole thing had not come toppling down yet, and the other two were tide glaciers, meaning they end into the sea.

We could clearly see the ice thickly packed behind the face of the glaciers and we could imagine the immense pressure pushing forward. The colour was also dramatic, a deep blue colour. Wow this is just as spectacular as seeing all those King penguins.

Before we left South Georgia we visited a few more King penguin colonies. I found these penguins fascinating and could watch them all day.

The downside of being adapted to live in the sea and swim underwater is that they walk with a funny waddle – but it doesn’t bother the penguins at all.

As we left we spotted a light mantled sooty albatross nesting site on a hanging cliff, our stay at South Georgia has come to an end. we are now on our way to South Orkney Island. This would mean another 3 days cruising at sea and watching sea birds from the stern (front) of the boat.

However the Antarctic waters are also rich in life and food so many types of whale and dolphin also visit these cold waters. Some the whales I had seen before, I have watched the humpbacked whales in the Hawaiian Islands and the Channel Islands (USA) and these whales travel north to the Arctic to feed.

There are also sperm whales, the biggest of all the toothed whales. They can grow to 20 m and have the biggest brain of any whale (even though it’s not the biggest whale). Orcas are the biggest type of dolphin, also known as killer whales.

They feed on seals and penguins. I am glad that I did not see any seals or penguins being eaten, but just like the seal eating great white sharks that Chris and Monique study, this is all part of natures balance.

Monique also pointed out some small dolphins, peales dolphin and hour glass dolphins. I had not seen these dolphins before, or the sperm whales. You might think it would be boring spending 3 days to travel to our next destination but I found it very exciting wondering what we would come across next!

Walking amongst Penguins

Hi all

After 3 days at sea we finally arrived at South Georgia Island, home to 40 million sea birds, Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals. I had prepared myself to experience the awesome landscape of ice and snow, and even to witness human damage.


I thought I might see a few whales the occasional seal and a few penguins. I was really surprised to discover that there was so much animal life living here. I thought it would just be ice and snow. There are no plants or forests in Antarctica but there is a lot of wildlife that has adapted to live here. Monique said it’s because they all find their food in the ocean.

4.30am was a very early morning wake up for Chris & Monique and me. Monique said our first landing was to be at Salisbury Plain, home to 250,000 King penguins, yes, 250,000 !!!

Outside it was 1 deg C and snowing, Monique said this was perfect conditions for Antarctic penguin watching!

Our arrival on the beach was rather chaotic… there was a little bit of a swell which pushed our zodiac boat up the beach and as we leaped out we had to be very careful to avoid a large number of very aggressive male Antarctic fur seals. Monique carried me so I was safe.

These bull fur seals have territories on the beach so our sudden arrival caused a lot of chaos. Monique said it was important not to disturb wildlife, but sometimes it is hard not to do so. So, in these kind of situations it is best to move as quickly as possible out of the trouble area. So, we ran up the beach, dodging bull seals and then finally we were in the gigantic King penguin colony.

250,000 penguins were jam packed together on a large plain and then stretched even further up the mountain side.

Included in this were also many thousands of chicks. They are brown in colour and look completely different to their parents.

They are not as colourful and look a bit scruffy, but they need these fluffy feathers to keep them warm.

The noise was unbelievable and the penguins sounded like loud race cars revving their engines before the start of a race.

Not many people get to visit Antarctica and even fewer get to walk around.. This is probably why the penguins were not afraid of people at all and if we sat very still many times both the adults and the chicks would approach within a meter of us.

Monique said they were particularly curious of me with my bright green jacket standing out amongst everyone else in the group. It was an amazing wildlife experience; complete sensory over load (too much to see and loads of noise and too). This is one of the most amazing and memorable sights ever. Wow!

ED THE BEAR JOURNEYS TO THE END OF THE WORLD BEGINS

AN INTRODUCTION BY MONIQUE FALLOWS  
As you know, Ed the Bear is a very well-travelled bear but not even he has had the opportunity of visiting Antarctica, the very end of the world… You will know from earlier entries that he recently visited us to come face to face with the great white sharks we study and also to find out the true facts about these awesome predators.

So, when Chris and I invited Ed along with us on our trip to Antarctica, he pulled on his beanie and his warm winter jacket ready for adventure! Even though it was summer in Antarctica we had to be prepared for zero and sub-zero temperatures.


Ed The Bear would be cruising with us and many other eager travellers on a big Russian Ship called the “The Akademic Vavilov”, a special ice-breaker designed for the cold Antarctic waters.

The Ship departed from Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world, in Argentina and would not only be cruising to The Antarctic Peninsula but would also make stops at The Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and The South Orkney Islands, all amazingly special and unique wildlife places. This special expedition was specifically to look for Antarctic wildlife and as such we would be making 2 zodiac landings each day.

We were going to have very close encounters with animals and birds we have never seen before. It was most exciting as we finally headed off.   We were also set to cross the infamous Drake Passage. This piece of water between Antarctica and Argentina is home to some of the most dangerous and rough pieces of water in the world where winds can reach up to 100 knots and ocean swells can be as big as 30m. For this reason Ed packed extra seasickness tablets, just in case.  

We would be in Antartica for about 2 weeks and these are the highlights of my adventures here.

One of the highlights of the expedition was standing on the stern (that’s the front) of the ship and watching the huge number of sea birds that were attracted to the ship.

Luckily I had brought my binoculars.

Monique explained that in the open ocean sea birds are attracted to travelling vessels, mostly in the hope of scavenging food. They also make use of the up drafts created by prevailing winds blowing up against the ship to effortlessly soar around us.

Black browed Albatross

Cape Petrel

Many of these birds spend much of their life at sea and only return to land to nest.

Antarctic Giant Petrel 
These open ocean birds all form part of the group called “tubenoses” and the group is made up of various species of Albatross, Petrels & shearwaters, storm petrels and diving petrels. I said that tubernose was a funny name.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatross

Monique explained that these birds have a horny appendage which sits atop of the bill, whose function seems to relate to obtaining the direction of food by its smell as its blown on the wind.

Monique said that the Latin name for the tubenose group is Procellariiformes. This means word means “violent wind or storm”, the perfect description to the habitat they must survive in.

I found the name Procellariiformes difficult to remember and pronounce but this was the perfect word to describe them. Monique said tbey feed mainly on fish, squid and similar marine animals.

It really was a great experience for Ed to watch the multitude of sea birds soaring around the ship, although he had to make sure to hold on very tight most of the time. Sometimes the sea was very rough and we all had to be very careful to not fall overboard!

Brigthon Science Festival

Hi all

We took the display of my travels to the Brighton Science Festival, Bella came to so we could share her freshwater experiences.

 

We spoke to lots of adults and children.

I even did some talks about my travels, especially my recent adventures with sharks and my trip to Antartica.

 

Snow in the UK

After my visit to Antartica it was strange to wake up and find that the beach was covered in snow.

This time of the year the vegetated shingle plants are dormant beneath the shingle waiting for the warmer weather before they sprout into life.

I visited by sister Bella today. She has her own weblog about freshwater habitats and the importance of using water wisely.

Bella played a trick on me and later we had a snow ball fight - you will have to check out her weblog to find out what happened. http://theadventuresofbellathebear.blogspot.co.uk/

Bye for now

Ed the Bear

Ed returns from Antarctica

Hi all

Well I am back from Antarctica and had an amazing time at the end of the world with Chris and Monique. Lots of work top do preparing all the photographs of my adventures, so while you are waiting, here is a pictures to give you a flavour of my adventures.

Not only was it great to benefit from their experience and knowledge, they also looked after me. Antarctic is a huge place, stunningly beautiful but also a bit scary especially for a small bear.

Even the huge ship we were on was tiny compared to the ocean and icy landscape.

Come back soon and you will find out more about my Antarctic adventure and some of the amazing wildlife I encountered as well from seals and whales to ocean birds to penguins.

More about my Antarctic Adventures soon

Bye for now

Ed the Bear

Off to Antarctica

Hi all

Amazing news. Chris and Monique Fallows are taking a trip to Antarctica and they have invited me to go along with them.

Look out for my Antarctica trip in the New Year.

Bye for now

Ed the Bear