There were 5 or 6 Peale's dolphins which are the larger of the ones we see here and they were still there after I had walked along the beach and back. They are so graceful.
The black spots on the photos are a fault on the camera not an unusual sun. I was almost tempted to go for a swim with them but as I didn't have any swimmers with me and had to go to work soon I thought I had better not.
I have planted up the rockery with aubretia, rockroses, saxifrages and other plants I have grown from seed. Time will tell what will succeed here.
These include turkey vultures
Falkland skuas
and striated caracaras. This rare bird of prey are known locally as Johnny rooks.
They are very unafraid of people and will steal anything they can carry including cameras and binoculars. This one was very determined to get into our tent. Other visitors to our tent incuded hundreds of small black beetles and a mouse which took up residence in Simon's bag and nibbled our chocolate. John also thinks there were penguin fleas - the magellanic penguins are renowned for them!
Near the beach is a stark reminder of the decimation of wildlife caused by humans in the past. This trypot was used to boil penguins to extract oil. They were first rounded up and clubbed to death. Seals were also slaughtered for oil and apparently the whole area between the two beaches at The Neck is so barren and eroded because the tussac grass was burnt to drive the seals out.
These pretty little dolphin gulls are also seen amongst the colonies but only seem to be feeding on droppings and not attacking chicks and eggs.
Some Falkland Skuas must also have had their nests in the area as we found ourselves being dive-bombed by some. They are quite frightening as they hurtle down towards you with powerful beaks and I was glad to have my stick to wave above my head.
John spotted our first seal on a small beach. They are difficult to see amongst the kelp and rocks despite their large size. Some were hauled out on the grass and many of them were moulting. By the time we rounded the end of the island we had seen about 50 so our efforts were well rewarded.
After a welcome cup of tea we all headed back along the beach once more to watch the rockhoppers.
This was the first time we had seen rockhopper penguins and they are very captivating. They are the smallest of the penguins here but seem to have real characters and are very inquisitive.
Like the magellanic penguins they are only here in the summer. For some reason they chose to nest at the top of steep cliffs and come ashore where waves are crashing onto rocks. It is amazing that they don't get smashed to pieces.
They then hop up the rocks, using their beaks to help them where it is very steep.
Because they have used the same routes for many years there are deep grooves worn in the rocks by their claws.
They often seem to nest in mixed colonies with shags and albatrosses which are very chaotic. The older chicks are left in large groups or creches whilst the parents go fishing.
When they came down from the colony they seemed to be having great fun bathing and playing in rock pools before leaping into the sea. They swim incredibly fast, like little torpedos and often leap out of the water as they are going along.
These ones had climbed even further up the hill to drink at a small stream. Apparently at another site on Saunders Island there is a waterfall where they enjoy having a shower.
There are large colonies of black-browed albatrosses nesting on the cliffs near The Neck. Some of them are on their own whilst others are in mixed groups with imperial shags and rockhopper penguins.
Until I saw them "for real" I had no idea how beautiful these birds are. When they are sitting you don't realise how big they are but they have a wingspan of up to 250cm. They are quite ungainly on land, having to run along the ground before taking off but as soon as they are airborne they are amazingly graceful just soaring around hardly beating their wings at all.
They build nests of mud and vegetation which build up over the years and become hard like chimney pots.
The pairs seem very affectionate towards each other, displaying and rubbing their beaks together when one returns to the nest and frequently preening each other.
They lay one large egg and when it hatches one parent stays guard whilst the other goes up to 2,000 km fishing.
The chicks are grey and fluffy and surprising aggressive to anything that passes the nest. As the chicks get bigger they are left on their own whilst both parents go off to feed.
During March all the parents leave the colony and don't return until the next year. The chicks remain on the nests for about a month unfed and then one evening after sundown they take their first flight and don't return until 7 years later when they are mature and ready to start breeding!
I was amazed how unperturbed by people the albatrosses were. This one walked up to me whilst I was sitting watching them and sat down and watched me. It seemed particularly interested in the muesli bar I was eating.
