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

Blue-eyed Shag. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Blue-eyed Shag. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

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.

Our IRB being followed by the Orca. Photo: Rich Youd

Orca pod frolicking. Photo: Rich Youd

Orca. Photo: Rich Youd

Ben and I oblivious as to our visitor following us. Photo: Rich Youd

Jacque and Ben headed north up the east coast opposite east beach. Photo: Rich Youd

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