365 @ 54°30' South

September 17: Southern Giant Petrel feeding on a bull seal

When the Giant Petrels feed on the carcasses of seals, they make a hole in the skin, and then poke their entire heads down inside the carcass. Their blood soaked plumage is a striking sight particularly on the lighter coloured Northern Giant Petrels and the white Southern Giant Petrels. Carcasses of dead seals though so not lay around long. The Giant Petrels and Skuas feed voraciously upon them, leaving little more than a deflated skin behind.

Northern Giant Petrel after a feed. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Northern Giant Petrel dripping with seal blood. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Northern Giant Petrel feeding on a seal. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 16: Northern Giant Petrel

A Northern Giant Petrel feeding on a carcass.

Northern Giant Petrel. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

NGP feeding on a carcass on the beach. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 15: Redpoll Finches

These little Redpoll finches Acanthis flammea were introduced to Macquarie Island. They are usually seen flitting around in the tussock and the grasses of the plateau. They are the smallest birds that we have here on the island, and their little cheep cheep calls are sometimes the only wildlife sounds that I would hear whilst walking on the plateau over winter.

Redpoll finch. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Redpoll finch: Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 14: Fuel farm in the sunlight

Macca fuel farm in the sunlight. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Thanks Lionel for the picture!

September 13: Southern Giant Petrels

A few great shots of the Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus flying above Station by Lionel Whitehorn.
They are most easily distinguished from the Northern Giant Petrel by the greenish beak tip.The SGPs also appear in a beautiful white variation here on Macquarie Island.

Southern Giant Petrel. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 12: Diving Cormorant

The Macquarie Island Blue Eyed Shag, or King Shag, Phalacrocorax albiventer purpurascens, is endemic to Macquarie Island.
Thanks Lionel for sharing this great diving great sequence.

Blue-eyed Shag. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 11: Boating with Orcas

Another boating day presented. I jammed my injured foot into a dry suit and off we went.
En route to The Nuggets, my crewman Ben shouted out that he had spotted Orcas. We drove along parallel to the coast watching the Orcas out to sea. I am sure that my squeals of excitement could be heard from Station.
Ben and I were confused why Rich in the second IRB was taking photos of us and not the Orcas.
Unbeknownst to us we had an Orca following our boat the whole time!

What an incredible experience to be out in the boats, with the plateau blocking out the sky on one side of us, and the horizon stretching to the east, with no land for thousands of kilometres. To have the Orca pod consider us worthy of investigation was quite the honour.

Thanks Rich Youd for the photos.