Christmas on Bird Island

Christmas on Bird Island has been a wonderful and unique experience. As we are spared the commercial and social pressures of Christmas in the UK things were a little slow to build up and real festive spirit didn’t arrive until Christmas Eve (despite the abomination of a Christmas tree erected in the lounge and a quite frankly offensive amount of tinsel about the place.) Things were kicked off by the Bird Island Christmas Photograph which was taken on the beach outside the main buildings.  Over the past few days we have been receiving photographs and Christmas greetings from international research stations and expeditions all over Antarctica and Sub Antarctica. These communications reminded us of the very special community that we are part of here. We received about 25 emails in all, including  Christmas Wishes from the Americans, Australians, French, Koreans, Indians, Poles and New Zealanders to name but a few. The Bird Island Team took advantage of the good weather on Christmas Eve, raided wardrobes and fancy dress supplies and headed out amongst the seals. I think that you will agree that we make very fine, if unconventional, pirates.

Despite the busy work schedule a number of the base staff have been busy in the kitchen over the past few days. As a result we now have enough cake, brownies and gingerbread to last us well into the New Year. After out Christmas photo session we headed over the Seal Study beach (SSB) armed with mulled wine, mince pies and a selection of festive hats. The sun shone and the skies were clear – perfect weather for sitting on the gantry above the seals and enjoying the view. This scaffold gantry allows the seal biologists to move about above the colony unmolested by the confrontational bulls and their harems of female seals. Every year this beach becomes crowded as males hold their territories and fight for breeding rights with the females who come ashore to give birth to their pups. Many of the pups are now old enough to be left ‘home alone’ while their mothers go back to sea to feed for days at a time. Their antics are endlessly entertaining and guaranteed to leave even the most hard-hearted observer in fits of laughter. Twice a day the seal team head over to the SSB to record the number and location of newly born pups, the identity of their mothers (if known) and the presence of territory-holding males. The pups are weighed and measured before being marked with a splash of peroxide on their dark coats. This ‘blonding’ process has led to a tradition amongst Bird Island Staff in which they dye their hair blonde in honour of the first seal pups of the season. This explains the rather unprofessional looking highlights currently being sported by all of us here on the island.

Christmas day itself started with the usual work routine here on base. However a festive atmosphere prevailed with the unwrapping of cards and presents that had been thoughtfully provided by loved ones at home and transported with great care in our kit bags. As it was my responsibility to provide the Christmas meal preparation started early. Phone calls from home throughout the day served to sustain the cheerful mood and the teams worked hard to finish their work in time to help out in the kitchen. Taking advantage of the glorious weather Jaume and I managed to escape long enough to enjoy the spectacular views from the top of Gazella peak where Antarctic Terns wheeled above the cliffs . These small birds are no bigger than a swallow. They have grey plumage and a black cap, but seen from a distance on a sunny day they appear pure white as they dance and swoop above the waves. 

A traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings was enjoyed by all. This was followed by Christmas cake made by Ruth, complete with marzipan seals, and Gingerbread houses by Steph and Craig – decorated with both penguins and polar bears (a biological conundrum that did nothing to detract from our enjoyment of their work.) After dinner we settled down to a game of ‘Balderdash.’ I would like to tell you that this was a quiet and civilised affair in which we adhered to every rule of the game before retiring early to bed.  However the hushed tones about the base this morning, the bloodshot eyes and the general Christmas debris littering the dining room might suggest something different....... However work continues. Generators must be checked, seals tracked and counted, birds monitored and data recorded. Sleepy heads have been roused from bed, coffee brewed and boots are tramping across the hillsides- not for us the traditional Boxing Day stupor in front of the television.  And I can honestly say that not one of us would have it any other way.