Penguins (at last)
Penguin rookery
December 22. I had an opportunity to take a helicopter ride to Cape Royds on the west end of Ross Island. There were thousands of Adelie penguins nesting in a rookery. I have heard that in a normal year, there would have been ten times as many. This year the sea has remained frozen longer and farther than usual. The penguins therefore could not find open water near the rookery, and many abandoned their nests. Last week's storm broke up a lot of that ice, so maybe the remaining penguins will do alright.

Adelie The Adelie at left came to check us out. Once he was satisfied, he turned and walked away. Click on the photo to see a bigger picture. Or you can see a really big one.
Serdar with Penguins
While the penguins were free to come check us out, we were not allowed to go closer to the rookery than this.