It was our last full day of this trip and we spent the morning in wildlife heaven. We were off the small island of Isla Observatorio, a place that used to have two magnetic observatories. We explored the various coves on our Zodiac cruises. There were thousands of seabirds all along the cliff edges everywhere we looked we saw different species. The blue-eyed shags were setting up nests around the tussock grass. There were hundreds of dolphin gulls along the shoreline along with kelp geese and snowy sheathbills. We had fantastic looks at Magellanic penguins heading down to the sea to feed.
In the crystal clear waters we had South American sea lions swirling and diving in the beautiful kelp beds. We saw several large males onshore with small groups of females getting ready for the upcoming breeding season. Along the shoreline in several places South American fur seals were resting on the rocks. Gangs of young male fur seals were curious about these strange visitors and played all around the boats for a closer look. It was a fantastic way to cap off a great three days off this rarely visited and special area of Staten Island!
