September 10: First seal pup on the Isthmus!

There has been a competition running on Station to guess the date of the birth of the  first elephant seal pup of the season. Our Station Mechanic was the eagle eye who spotted this little fella on the morning of the 10th September. The Station Electrician took the prize!
The elephant seal pups have a black furry coat which is all skin rolls waiting to grow into.  This they achieve rapidly as soon as they start feeding.
They are quite feeble and stay close to the cow seal, making the most amusing barking sounds, to call out to their mother. Skuas lurk all around, at first to feed on the placenta after the birth and then to take advantage of any weak pups who stray too far from their mother.
The pups have imploring big wet eyes that are a most endearing sight.

Thanks to Lionel Whitehorn our Station Mechanic for the great pictures.

** I managed to fall off a tussock mound and hurt my foot, and can't walk around for a few weeks.  I hope you enjoy the guest photography!! Thanks to everyone who offered to contribute so I could keep the Blog going!**

First seal pup on the Isthmus for 2015. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Elephant seal cow and pup. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Skuas keeping a close watch on the prospect of a meal. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Elephant seal mother and pup. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 9: Boating day

With October resupply creeping ever closer, some time playing around in our IRBs (Inflatable Rescue Boats) after a long winter was well overdue. A beautiful sunny day of light winds gave us the perfect opportunity to get on the water.
A shout out to Justin Chambers for the wonderful pics taken from the Ham Shack, whilst holding down the fort back on Station.

Boating with IRBs in the shadow of the plateau. Photo: Justin Chambers

Jacque and Ben Golden practising approaches in the IRB. Photo: Justin Chambers

Picking a line between the kelp and rocks. Photo: Justin Chambers

Approaching the trailers on landing beach to retrieve the boats. Photo: Justin Chambers

Landing Beach and The Razorback lookout stairs. Photo: Justin Chambers

September 8: Rabbit tomb

An eerie find in a small burrow on the north-west featherbed. This rabbit seems to have died in it's burrow and somehow  evaded the eye of the Skuas and Giant Petrels who ordinarily would have ripped carrion such as this to pieces.
Finds like this are the only traces of bunnies left on Macca, after being declared pest free.

Rabbit skeleton in a burrow. Photo: Jacque Comery

Rabbit skeleton. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 7: More Northern Giant Petrels....

Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli on a nest. Photo: Jacque Comery

The NGP condominium complex. Seven birds were nested in this one rock stack. Photo: Jacque Comery

NGP nests with a lovely tussock veranda. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 6: Snow storms and sunshine on the featherbed

We experienced some pretty morning light as we headed out from Bauer Bay to the north to continue Petrel nest hunting. Squalls of snow  swept through all day, followed by clear blue skies and sunshine. The featherbed twinkled all day with the sun dancing on the constantly renewed snow dusting.
Driven by maritime weather, the speed with which the weather and the light change here from one minute to the next is incredible.

A dusting of snow on the featherbed looking north west. Photo: Jacque Comery

The next approaching storm from the south-west. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 5: First seal pup...and the skuas

After a long day of Petrel nest hunting we returned to Bauer Bay hut, to  witness the first seal pup that we saw for the year, cuddled up and bleating beside its mother. With little other food choices on the beach, an armada of skuas, also arrived, ready to pounce on the pup if it became weak, or to nibble of its umbilical cord, given the first opportunity. They also are on the ready to harass the pup off the nipple when it is feeding, and take advantage of the free flowing  rich seal milk.
The elephant seal pups are black furry little things, with a hoarse yelping bark, and big round eyes that seem to fill most of their faces.
There are still only two cows on the beach, something sure to change rapidly in the coming days as the  breeding season draws closer.
Spring has sprung.

Two cows , one pup and many Skuas lined up ready for a meal. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 4: Northern Giant Petrel nests

The opportunity arose to assist the Tasparks Rangers with the annual Northern Giant Petrel census and nest marking. We set out over two days through snow squalls and wind, to scour the north-west featherbed, looking for every bird on a nest we could see. The Rangers would then carefully approach the nest and check if the bird had a band on its leg, and confirm that it was sitting on an egg. We then GPS logged the location of the nest so that the summer scientists can come through and check on the success rate of incubation, and also band the chicks. We searched  the tussocks and rock stacks, usually finding the  birds nesting up in close to tussock mounds, or rocks. The NGPs Macronectes halli, are a flighty bird, and their drive to not abandon their nest upon the approach of humans was strong, and quite incredible to witness. If the birds flee the nest there is a chance that Skuas will swoop in and eat the eggs. Much stealth was used in sneaking up on the nest, but care also had to be taken not to startle the birds either.
The opportunity to see these huge birds on nests was a wonderful privilege. Their beautiful blue eyes and soft grey plumage will stay etched in my memories.

NGP on a nest. Photo: Jacque Comery

Northern giant petrel on a nest tucked in to a rock ledge. Photo: Jacque Comery

An interesting nest site for this NGP. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 3: Whale bones

These whales bones lay amongst soft green cushions of Colobanthus sp well  away from the waters edge, on the featherbed of the north-west coast. I am looking into their story, and will try and add an update soon.

Whale vetebrae. Photo: Jacque Comery

Whale bones. Photo: Jacque Comery

Whale bones in the Colobanthus. Photo: Jacque Comery