Summer Science Programs

As previously mentioned (don't ask me where or when, I don't have much a sense of time any more) there are extra expeditioners sent in to work on various science programs over the summer. Two of the longest running and most extensive programs are the fur seal project and the albatross research program. Everyone is given the opportunity to help the scientists out if they need the help and I was lucky enough to do so recently.

A day or so before New Year's I helped Jaimie and Julia on the east coast near Brothers Point Hut where we were counting how many Light-Mantled Sooty Albatross were in the area. As we climbed the slopes Jaimie said she saw a couple of chicks that had hatched within a few days, sadly I missed seeing these little guys. A lovely night was had in the hut with gnocchi, prosciutto and wine and we had a nice walk back to station conversing with the penguins along the coast. A young King penguin may have been running up to us and chewing on our fingers, but if that did happen, we didn't take any photos.

Jaimie making her way along the slope while a Sooty checks her out

Julia giving directions around the more precarious parts of the slope

A Sooty in a nest - gotta love telephoto lenses

Last week some time, or was it the week before?? Anyway, last week sometime I helped Mark with the fur seals on North Head. This program monitors the Antarctic, Sub-Antarctic and New Zealand fur seals and their offspring as they slowly repopulate various parts of the Island after the fur seals were wiped out by the Sealers all those years ago. It isn't known what species was here before and the anecdotal descriptions by the Sealers hasn't been good enough to identify weather or not the fur seals were one of the listed above, or their own "Macquarie Island" fur seal.

A male, female and pup. I don't remember what kind of fur-seals these are, but there's different chest colouring or snout size or head shape which make it easier for those in the know to know which is which.

We were noting the tags of males, females and pups in the area in order to find out which ones were still around and which had already left for the season. Tim was having a day off and taking a day trip to the south of the station. We were also tagging the pups that had started to moult and let me tell you, these guys are vicious little bastards. Don't let their cuteness fool you, they have sharp little teeth and aren't afraid to use them - it's hilarious! The pups have to be caught and then held down, usually by using your knees against their head so that they have a kind of cave and are subdued by the lack of light. Unfortunately for me one of the pups wasn't as quiet as he should have been and he tried to bite in a rather delicate area... luckily I was quick enough to push him away while feeling only the lightest of touches. I would've been speaking in falsetto for a long time.

Pups playing in the tussock