Antarctica - Port Charcot Gentoo Penguins

Port Charcot is a bay on the north side of Booth Island, which is off the Kiev Peninsula to the west of the Lemaire Channel.  It was first mapped by Jean-Baptise Charcot who led the 2nd French Antarctic expedition in 1904.  He overwintered here and left a cairn which you can see at the top of the hill.  

The landing spot.  The cairn is at the top of hill.

I forgo the pleasure of the view promised at the top of the hill and took my time watching the Gentoo Penguins that were nesting here.  The Gentoos were the largest of the brushtail penguins and supposedly the fastest underwater birds. They were slightly earlier in their breeding cycles than the Adélie Penguins so they were still brooding in their roosts.  We had to wait till they decide to get up to stretch so we can see the eggs. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs.  

There were also some chinstrap and Adelie penguins here too.  The blue-eyed shags nest right in the midst of the penguins.

The Gentoo, distinguished by its red beak

Parents take turns incubating the eggs






Nests lined with pebbles



An egg!



Penguin highways - the pink is from guano , which took on the colour from the krill the penguins fed on



The gentoos took great care picking their way through the rocks, almost like humans



A hop, skip and a jump!

This one Adelie penguin tried to "swim" on its tummy over the ice.

These two chinstraps are hilarious, almost posing for the camera

The blue-eyed shags nest right in the midst of the penguins - here is a good-sized chick

One of the parents flew off maybe looking for food for these open beaks...

We walked along one of the penguin highways leading to the landing area

This is a closeup look at the layers that made up the icecap

The weather changes very quickly down here - mist would roll in unnoticed and could disappear just as fast.

We cruised among giant icebergs on the way back to the ship.

The ship provided a sense of scale for the icebergs

 Our route in Antarctica