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 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

July 12: Sunday stroll to Eagle Cave

A day without wind is a rarity on Macquarie Island. In a change from the usual prevailing westerlies, this morning we awoke to a light south-easterly wind. Myself and Ben decided a walk around the north-west featherbed SMA to Eagle Cave would see us tucked in out of the winds completely, so we set out at 0800hrs. Ben donned his headphones, but my incessant chatter finally broke him, and he gave up on the music. This part of the coast is usually exposed and windblown, so to stroll along in such great conditions, admiring the offshore surf breaks was a treat. In a round trip walk of 5 hours we checked out the caves, explored the beaches, and collected (more) marine debris treasures. The haul this time was a few bottles, green string, and a large docking rope.
We treated to reflections of the plateau, in Duck Lake, which reflected the colours of the mountain so beautifully.
A great way to spend a Sunday morning. We made it back to VJM (Station) by 1300hrs, despite the appearance of my baby giraffe legs and some spectacular uncoordinated feats of physical daring on the rocky sections with about an hour to go!
Thanks Ben Golden for the company!







Reflections of the plateau. Photo: Jacque Comery





View toward Half Moon Bay from the featherbed. Photo: Jacque Comery

Duck Lake. Photo: Jacque Comery

Ben 'hipster much' Golden. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 2: Bauer Bay to Station via the Northern Featherbed Special Management Area

Today rather than return to Station via the plateau and retrace our steps we thought we'd go around the west coast and see if we could collect some more storm debris. This route crosses over the breeding grounds of the Giant Petrels, and so is considered a Special Management Area (SMA). The access to the SMA ends at the end of July, so it was wonderful to experience this part of the coastline, especially as there was little wildlife to disturb. We were still investigated closely from the air by a number of Giant Petrels squawking like pterodactyls, who call this part of the island their home.
We picked up plastic bottles, fishing marker buoys, another 130 pieces of green string, and many pieces of rope.
We carried what we could, and the rest, especially the buoys were left at caches along the way for collection at resupply when we can get a helicopter.
We took a small detour to visit Eagle Cave where the survivors of a shipwreck once spent an entire year before being rescued!
It was a great day of walking along beaches and the featherbed, a floating peat and moss bog that bounces up and down as you walk on it. We had a few near bogging events with both Andrea and I stuck up to our knees a few times.
We arrived back on Station tired, but no too late to tuck into hot soup and shortbread. (Thanks Chef!)A huge thanks to Ranger Andrea Turbett, for showing me this part of the island, and allowing me to join in on the marine debris action. A great day.



A fishing buoy and piece of boat that was washed up. Photo: Andrea Turbett



Taking photos at Eagle Cave. Photo: Andrea Turbett



Looking towards home. Photo: Andrea Turbett

Thanks so much for the pics Andrea (Turbo) Turbett!