21 October, 1998
Today was an incredible day. We were taken out to Cape Bird (I
think I spelled it Byrd yesterday) by helicopter. I thought it was
going to turn out to be a bad day because here at McMurdo it was
overcast and cold. It was bad enough that once again there were no
flights from New Zealand. It is beginning to cause logistical problems
here. About 15 minutes into our 30 minute flight we left the clouds
behind us and hit sunshine.
Upon arriving at Cape Bird we set out fish traps. That was after
all the purpose of our flight to collect fish for our experiments. We
truly are in need of fish. After we set out our traps we took off
exploring Cape Bird.
Cape Bird is aptly named because there are Adelie penguin rookeries
there. A rookery is a nesting area for penguins. It is also a protected
area. This means that you can look but not disturb the penguins. They
were everywhere and they were hilarious to watch.
Adelie penguins reach about 28 inches in height. Their head and
back are black and the front is white. What makes them look so
interesting is that they have a small white ring around their black eyes
that makes them look like toys. Penguins by the way are found only in
the Southern Hemisphere just as Polar Bears are found only in the
Northern Hemisphere.
The penguins would waddle along with some flapping their flippers
(they do not fly0. When they came to a patch of snow or ice they got
down on their stomachs and slid. The only bad about the penguins is the
smell. Their feces is quite odorous. Actually it stinks worse than a
chicken coop. They sure were cute to watch. I have a Teddy Bear I
brought here for a group of elementary school students. They call it
Geo-bear. It has been all around the world and had its picture taken.
I set it on the ground and left it there after a while a group of
penguins got curious and came over to it. They slapped it and knocked
it over than walked away. They did not seem to appreciate the teddy
bear.
Cape Bird is almost ice free. There was open water just beyond the
small stretch of ice along the beach. We could climb out over the small
ice pressure ridge and get right to the edge and look down into the
water. This is where we threw out our fish trap. It was beautiful to
look down into the water. You could see the bottom. I estimate it was
about 30 feet deep where we were standing.
I really got tired out there today. It is amazing how quickly the
cold saps your strength. You really cannot stop and stand around
because it is just too cold. The constant activity begins to wear you
down after a while. I got back on the helicopter 6 hours later and I
was worn out.
While we were at Cape Bird we also saw a Weddell Seal and its pup.
When it saw us it raised its head and bellowed out a warning. There was
no argument from us. We left it alone.
Once we got back to McMurdo we were right back in the lab. We
still had a lot of work to do. It really never ends. It probably will
not end until I am loaded on the plane headed for home. Anyway that was
the day today. It was definitely one of the best days here yet. The
penguins really made the day for me. Well that ends another day. Bye
for now.
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