OCEAN TRAMP –
Whale Tales & Penguin Calls – Helen Roessler
Just before entering the Lemaire Strait motoring through brash ice and growlers, passing icebergs and glaciers the call out from Niall “whale” came for the first time today. “Whale at one o’clock”, followed by the question: “what kind?”. Two Humpbacks resting and feeding in the calm and icy waters. Caesar got ID shots of the flukes of both animals that will be uploaded to the happy whale database to compare them with previously spotted Humpback whales and find out if those individuals have been seen before, where and when they travel or rest in certain areas. We have seen Sei, Minke and other Humpback whales but are still waiting for our first Orca sighting. David and Gaya are practising to adapt my ocean scanning technique which has been very successful so far in spotting whales, penguins and seals. And Jacqueline and Bassem are perfecting their photography skill with pretty difficult light and contrast conditions to handle.
The scenery is so stunning that it is difficult to know where to look first. But me being interested in the penguins next focus point of the binoculars is a colony of Gentoo Penguins. It can be seen from afar by the brownish discolouration of the snow by the sea from their poo and their footing on muddy grounds. It is very impressive to see the size of the Gentoo colony and watching their highways reaching all the way up to a few hundred meter where another rocky area provides for nesting ground. Another shout this time from David with his first spotting: “whale at 3 o’clock”. A little juvenile Minke whale next to Gentoo Penguins in the water.
During the last week I was already using every quiet and still standing minute to do underwater and in air sound recordings of animals and the surroundings. Which were quite successful by getting a Minke whale vocalising and Fiona catching an ID shot of the dorsal fin. As well as trying to get Penguin vocalisations under water and hearing Weddell Seals and Iceberg calving instead. Last night my two assistant for the evening Caesar and Gaya and I got the chance to get some in air ecstatic display calls from a Gentoo colony at Jougla point. They were very relaxed and most individuals breeding on two eggs. Whenever the mate returns from sea they call out to coordinate the way back to their nest and partner. Upon arrival to the right partner they synchronize their calls to a harmonic synchronized ecstatic display. Some hissing, bonding and calling and then they exchange the position. Before the next one goes off to sea to feed, he or she reorganizes the pebbles around the nest often also stealing from the neighbour which leads to some fighting and unneighbourly shouting. In this location, Imperial shags also nest in between the penguins, but do not seem to bother the penguins or the other way around. It was a successful evening getting some beautiful clear calls to analyse in frequency and structure to find out if the Gentoo penguins adapt their calls if other penguin species like Adélies or Chinstraps are around. To see whether they change the behaviour with me and my assistant around the second assistant watches from afar and documents any change or interruption we cause to prevent it and be as camouflage and non-invasive as possible while getting scientific data. In the next days I hope to get a lot of clear calls from a mixed penguin colony of Gentoos, Adélies and Chinstraps together with the help of my amazing assistants.
It is difficult to write this blog post due to ongoing interrupting calls of “whale” and glassy sea with more and more ice covering our path in the beautiful Lemaire Strait. It’s the juvenile Minke again that seems to check us out as much as we check it out as well as an adult Minke with its calve. Niall steering, Damian as spotter and Caesar on the drone helping the Ocean Tramp to slowly find its way through the Ice while we soak in all that nature can offer.
Photo – Damian Foxall (Captain)
During the last week I was already using every quiet and still standing minute to do underwater and in air sound recordings of animals and the surroundings. Which were quite successful by getting a Minke whale vocalising and Fiona catching an ID shot of the dorsal fin. As well as trying to get Penguin vocalisations under water and hearing Weddell Seals and Iceberg calving instead. Last night my two assistant for the evening Caesar and Gaya and I got the chance to get some in air ecstatic display calls from a Gentoo colony at Jougla point. They were very relaxed and most individuals breeding on two eggs. Whenever the mate returns from sea they call out to coordinate the way back to their nest and partner. Upon arrival to the right partner they synchronize their calls to a harmonic synchronized ecstatic display. Some hissing, bonding and calling and then they exchange the position. Before the next one goes off to sea to feed, he or she reorganizes the pebbles around the nest often also stealing from the neighbour which leads to some fighting and unneighbourly shouting. In this location, Imperial shags also nest in between the penguins, but do not seem to bother the penguins or the other way around. It was a successful evening getting some beautiful clear calls to analyse in frequency and structure to find out if the Gentoo penguins adapt their calls if other penguin species like Adélies or Chinstraps are around. To see whether they change the behaviour with me and my assistant around the second assistant watches from afar and documents any change or interruption we cause to prevent it and be as camouflage and non-invasive as possible while getting scientific data. In the next days I hope to get a lot of clear calls from a mixed penguin colony of Gentoos, Adélies and Chinstraps together with the help of my amazing assistants.
– Helen Roessler (guest scientist onboard)