Falkland Islands - Saunders Island & West Point Island

December 21 A.M. Saunders Island, Falkland Islands

Saunders Island is the fourth largest of the Falkland Islands, lying northwest of West Falkland. The island is run as a sheep farm. It consists of three peninsulas linked by narrow necks, and it has three large upland areas.

This morning we were summoned awake about a half hour before breakfast by the soft gentle voice of Shane with a temperature and wind speed report. So far, we have had beautiful warm sunny days. Our first stop was at Saunders Island in the Falkland Islands.

We had our first experience with getting “kitted up”. Choosing what we thought would be appropriate layers, then covering everything with our waterproof pants and jackets and hats and then our muck boots, as well as the life vest and finally our liners and waterproof gloves. By this time we were ready to spontaneously combust if we didn’t get outside where it was cold enough to need all that gear. We hoped we would be faster at it as time went on.

While waiting out on deck to have our group called to board the zodiacs we saw quite a few Commerson's Dolphins playing in the wakes of the zodiacs. They are black & white and look a bit like Orca Whales. Each day the expedition leaders took the zodiacs out to make sure they were sea worthy and to check the landing site to make sure it was safe. They were so fast it was nearly impossible to get any good photos. 

 shots from the back deck

zodiacs preparing for the excursion 

 dolphin in the wake

 Commerson's Dolphin

We were the second group off the ship and as we approached shore in the zodiac we saw penguins on the beach! Adorable! You could feel the excitement in the zodiac. We get out of the zodiac as instructed and waded to shore through the water and sand to shore.

 

 the ship from our zodiac

 Miko was our zodiac driver

 Greg

 front of zodiac approaching shore

our first glimpse of penguins on the beach

There were a lot of geese  & sheep here and a rookery of Gentoo Penguins (6700 pairs), Southern Rockhopper Penguins (6900 pairs), Macaroni Penguins (4200 pairs), Black-browed Albatrossess (11,000 pairs).  

 Striated Caracara

 Gentoo Penguins

 penguins on top the hill

 another zodiac arriving

Striated Caracara

We did a fairly long hike over some hilly areas across The Neck. We followed a guide, but you could go at your own pace and stop anywhere you wanted for as long as you wanted. This was our stop to see Rockhopper Penguins and there were even a few Macaroni Penguins in the mix. We managed to not get any photos of the Macaroni’s, so I am including some fellow passengers shared. There were tons of chicks nestling under their parent. A very few King Penguins were also mixed in, but since we should see thousands more of those in other locations, we tried not to spend too much time on them. (but of course we did) Then, we finally got to the top where the Black-browed Albatrosses were nesting.

 Gentoos and chicks

 Brown Skua

 King Penguins & chicks

 one King Penguin is molting

 young King Penguin

 Upland Goose

 Upland Geese

 Whale bones

 Gentoos & Kelp Gull

 sheep, penguins & geese on the hill

 Magellanic Penguin & sheep

 Rockhopper Penguins

 Blue-eyed Shag & Rockhoppers

 penguins on the hill

 Rockhopper

 my feet as I sit watching the Black-browed Albatrosses

 Black-browed Albatross

Greg next to the rookery

 Greg is standing on the left

 Albatross flying

 Greg

 chick being fed

 Greg on the right

 me on the hill watching the Albatrosses

 Rockhopper

the hillside with sheep and penguins and geese

We sat and watched them for a long time, before wandering back to the zodiac spending some more time with the penguins on the way back. We went down to the beach and watched a bunch of Rockhoppers making their way to and from the ocean. (video to be added to the online albums later)

 Rockhoppers

 Magellanic Penguins

 Magellanic Penguin in the nest

 almost down to the beach

 circle of life....Caracara eating a penguin

 bird bones

 Gentoos

 Gentoo Penguins coming out of the ocean

 Magellanic Penguin

 Gentoo & chicks

 Upland Goose

 King Penguins

 broken egg

 Macaroni Penguins

 a passenger shared these Albatross photos

 Macaroni Penguin

a shared photo of a Rockhopper in mid air

 Shane & another person in the zodiac

 getting back on the ship

 

December 21 P.M. West Point, Falkland Islands 

West Point Island (originally known as Albatross Island) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying west of West Falkland. It has an area of 4.85 sq. miles. The island is run as a sheep farm and is run by Roddy and Lily Napier.

This afternoon we were first off the ship to board the zodiacs. Again, we got off the zodiacs and waded to shore. Here we had another fairly long walk to get to the large colony of nesting Black-browed Albatrosses. We were greeted by Upland Geese and saw quite a few other birds near the beach. It was a rolling hill terrain and we enjoyed the scenery along the way. The Tussock Grass was really tall and a challenge to walk between in some areas. We got to spend quite a bit of time observing the Black-browed Albatrosses & their chicks and the Rockhopper Penguins that were mixed in with them.

 Greg & part of their farm

 Blackish Oystercatcher

Patagonia Crested Ducks 

 Turkey Vultures

 Upland Goose

 another zodiac arriving

 Kelp Goose

 Kelp Goose & goslings

  Kelp Goose & goslings

 Turkey Vulture

 Austral Thrush

 me

 me

Long-tailed Meadowlark 

 hiking to the other side of the island

 the tussock grass is quite tall

 Rockhopper & chicks

 Black-browed Albatross

Black-browed Albatross feeding chick

 this one flew over everyone's head

 Greg in the tussock grass

 Striated Caracara & Black-browed Albatross



We could either walk back or the owners of the property would give you a ride back to their house near the landing site. They also put out a fantastic tea with various goodies. People were taking off their muck boots to go in so we opted not to go in, but wandered their gardens instead. Here are some photos that other passengers took of the yummies inside. Later we found out they didn’t care if you took your boots off or not. (not like we needed more food as we were fed plenty and often on the ship. Besides the regular meal times, there were snacks in the afternoon and then appetizers before the briefing. There were also 2 kinds of cookies out 24/7. ) 

 

 This guy used to be a caretaker on the farm and was back for a visit. He volunteered to help drive people back to the owner's house if they didn't want to walk. He had a very interesting story of traveling around the word and staying in different locations while he worked to make money to continue. He spent time in Panama, not far from where we live now.

 Owner's house

 their gardens

me in the garden

 I wish we'd gone in.....

 departing their house

 sunset photos shared by a fellow passenger

 

 

Today's program:

Falkland Islands Saunders Island & West Point Island

06:00 - 07:00 A Continental Breakfast is served in the Main Lounge
07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast is served in the Dining Room

TBA We hope to land at Saunders Island! Saunders Island is home to a rich diversity of wildlife, despite having rodents. This includes approximately 11,000 breeding pairs of black-browed albatross and four different species of penguin. Historically, Saunders Island was selected as the site of the first British settlement in the Falkland Islands. Reasons for its selection included the presence of a safe natural harbor and nutritional plants which were beneficial to sailors departing on long voyages. The 12,545 ha (31,000 acre) island was first leased for farming in the 1800’s and purchased by Tony and David Pole-Evans in 1987. It currently has a population of seven people and is still farmed with cattle and sheep.

Disembarkation sequence: 1) Shackleton 2) Worsley 3) Crean 4) McCarthy 5) Vincent 6) McNeish

12:30 Lunch is served in the Dining Room

TBA We hope to land at West Point Island! West Point Island lies off the most northwesterly point of West Falkland and has an area of 1,255 ha (2,700 acres). The settlement is located on the east side of the island, in the lee of Black Bog Hill and Michael’s Mount. The valley between these peaks takes us over the centre of the island, to the dramatic Devil’s Nose and surrounding cliffs. Here we can see Blackbrowed Albatross and Rockhopper Penguins.

Disembarkation sequence:

1) Worsley 2) Crean 3) McCarthy 4) Vincent 5) McNeish 6) Shackleton

19:00 Please join the Expedition Staff for a Re-cap & Briefing about tomorrows events

19:30 Dinner is served in the Dining Room

21:15 Please join Christian in the Main Lounge for his bar talk, “Nautical Terms, Superstitions and Their Origins”

“I have often had the impression that, to penguins, man is just another penguin - different, less predictable, occasionally violent, but tolerable company when he sits still and minds his own business.” - Bernard Stonehouse

Sunrise: 04:45 Sunset: 21:17

We had a very enjoyable day in the Falklands and looked forward to tomorrow's visit to Stanley. Both locations today were private property and Quark has a contract to visit. West Point is uncertain for the future since the owners are getting too old to run the farm and the children don't want to do it. Perhaps someone will buy it and let the current caretakers take care of it, but of course is just speculation.