Walking in Antarctica: Penguin Colony at Cape Royds

Above is a sampling of photographs of Adélie penguins at the Cape Royds penguin colony from my Antarctica project.

David Ainley established a longterm study of this and three other Adélie colonies in 1996, so this was its 19th season. I spent several days there observing the penguin couples, who were in the midst of nesting season, taking turns sitting on eggs and trotting down the rocky slope to the water to feed. The researchers monitored the nests, walking the colony with a notebook every other day to count birds and eggs, and to track the nesting activities of banded birds. The hills are covered with black gravel and rounded stone formations called volcanic pillows, vestiges of past activity of nearby Mt. Erebus. On my final day I spotted the first chick of the season to hatch. Video of the chick and other penguin behaviors are on my YouTube channel.

Please inquire to see other photographs of these subjects.

More information about Walking in Antarctica | Download the exhibition proposal: 4-page PDF