The colony consists of thousands of adult penguins and their chicks, who still have their downy fluff. The penguins were busy moving about on foot and on their belly, propelled by their back feet. "They were sliding quite fast!" said Charles. A look across the colony saw several large groups, with individual penguins moving between the groups. As the weather cools, the groups will condense to conserve heat, but on a warm and sunny day like today, the groups were more loosely associated.
"The penguins were very curious," Charles commented, adding that they would walk to within 3-5 meters of him before stopping to study him. " They were much friendlier than the Americans at the South Pole base." We had to chuckle at that comment :)
It was a noisy site. Each penguin has its own unique vocal call critical to individual recognition between parents, offspring, and mates. It was also a relatively stinky site with more brown on the ground (scat and regurgitated food) than clean snow.
After approximately three hours the team returned to Novo where they tried to catch up on their lost sleep (they only got 2 hours of sleep last night!). A late afternoon trip to the Banya was a relaxing way to reflect on the day, and a celebratory dinner (that they are enjoying as I write this) will cap off the expedition. Tomorrow, weather permitting, they return to Cape Town.
Check back tomorrow for another update from the team!
