Houses at Port Stanley.
Me under an arch made of Blue Whale jaw bones.
A male Upland Goose.
A Dolphin Gull.
Flowers near Port Stanley
Variable (Red backed) Hawk nesting on a sea cliff neat Port Stanley.
Another flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Yet another beautiful flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Magellanic Penguin Colony at Gypsy Cove near Port Stanley.
Arrived in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands at 10am. We were escorted in by over 40 Giant Petrels, 5 Cape Petrels and over 80 Black-browed Albatrosses, come coming within 20 feet of the ship. Over 75% of the world’s population of Black-browed Albatrosses breeds on the Falkland Islands. As we got closer to Port Stanley we began to see more and more Magellanic Penguins in the water and then saw a few Gentoo Penguins “porpoising” away from the ship like stones skimming along the top of the water. From the sea Port Stanley looks very like Reykjavik in Iceland. Many of the houses have blue, red or white corrugated roofs and brightly coloured walls. The islands also reminded me a bit of Iceland because the landscape was devoid of trees and bushes, outside of town. European Gorse was in full bloom, an introduced species that is spreading quickly in some parts and causing a threat to some of the islands wild life. Spent the day in and around Port Stanley and saw a great selection of birds and plants. Most of the birds were very tame and not at all wary of humans. Bird highlights included Variable Hawk, Upland, Ruddy and Kelp Goose, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Falklands Flightless Steamer Duck (found nowhere else in the world), close views of Magellanic Penguins in their nesting burrows with young and a flock of about 200 on a sandy beach, Blackish Oystercatcher and Dolphin Gulls which are beautiful birds, and a totally albino White-chinned Petrel. I think I got some good video and will hopefully upload a selection of images in the next day or two. Need to get some sleep now as we have an early and busy day tomorrow at the Black-browed Albatross and Rockhopper Penguin colony at West Point Island on the west side of the Falklands, weather permitting – fingers crossed! Bye for now.
