West Point Island, the Falkland Islands
This leg of our journey over the South Atlantic Ocean, from Peninsula Valdez, on the coast of Argentina, to the Falkland Islands neared completion. Soaring seabirds, never out of sight on our trip over the ocean, became even more abundant as we approached and then sighted land. These islands are an important breeding area for black-browed albatross, rockhopper penguins, slender-billed prions, diving petrels, and more, all harvesting the rich productivity of the southern water. Anticipation aboard the National Geographic Explorer was palpable.
The Falklands consist of two main islands (cleverly named West and East Falkland) and numerous smaller islands and islets. The islands off West Falkland support the greatest abundance of the breeding seabirds that we have come to see. Our Captain and Expedition Leader chose West Point Island for our landfall in the Falklands. Our Zodiacs took us to shore at "the settlement", the one residence on the island. We were greeted by a gang of young striated caracaras or "Johnny Rooks", upland geese already with small goslings, and kelp geese just getting down to some serious courting. We crossed the narrow part of the island by foot or vintage Range Rover. On the far side of the island, facing the incoming westerly wind, is a colony of breeding black-browed albatross and rockhopper penguins - variations on a theme of black and white. The albatross place a single egg on a mud pedestal nest. The two parents then take turns at incubation. Each nest was now attended by a single bird, while its mate is away at sea feeding. Most of the albatross that we have seen at sea over the past few days are probably nesting in the Falkland Islands. It is a quiet time in the albatross colony.
Not so, the rockhopper penguins. They share the colony with the albatross, occupying the spaces between albatross nests and amongst the clumps of native tussock grass. Their ruby red eyes and feather eyebrows give the rockhopper penguins a stern and serious look.
There is little or no visible interaction between the two species. It seems likely that the breeding success of albatross is unaffected by the presence of their noisy neighbors, while the penguins gain a measure of protection from nest predators, skuas and Johnny Rooks, from the layer of albatross with their formidable beaks overhead. By this hypothesis, the association is neutral for albatross and positive for the penguins.
Most of the penguins were standing in pairs. It seems that courtship and pairing have occurred, but egg-laying has yet to commence. I suppose that, when we return to the Falkland Islands in a week, we will find that incubation is underway.
It is a powerful moment to stand at one's first albatross colony. Our traveling companion, Carl Safina, has been instrumental in bringing to popular attention the plight of these great birds, endangered by fishing practices and by the accumulation of plastic trash in the world's oceans. May we heed his warning.
In the words of Robert Cushman Murphy,
I now belong to a higher cult of mortals, for I have seen the albatross.
