Flight

My first glimpse of a Wandering Albatross is a moment that will stay with me forever.  Seen from the monkey deck of the RSS James Clark Ross it seemed to glide effortlessly above the waves. Riding the invisible currents it soared with its outstretched wings seemingly motionless and made the other smaller birds seem graceless in comparison.  As it followed the ship the Wanderer kept its distance, appearing aloof and majestic. Periodically it would catch the rising air and soar upwards, climbing far above us and then hang suspended for a moment in a stall turn that brought it plummeting back down towards the waves. As it flew low it seemed to brush the ocean with its wingtips. This mastery of flight made the plunging progress of the ship seem clumsy and slow.

A short while later I was privileged to be able to observe these birds at close quarters at their breeding grounds on Bird Island.  Sitting on the steep tussock above Evermann Cove I watched Black-Browed Albatross circling above their nests. The wind was blowing hard and the birds seemed to be enjoying the thrill of swooping close to their partners on the ground before pulling away and soaring back out over the water. Eventually through this wheeling maelstrom of birds came two Wanderers whose impressive wingspan far out measured that of the smaller Black-Brows.  They glided unperturbed through the busy airspace, subtly angling their wings to avoid collision. As I continued to watch I heard the rush of feathers above me as we were joined by a squadron of Skuas. These birds are smaller and more compact than the Albatrosses, their short wings and powerful bodies cut through the air like fighter jets. In contrast to the dramatic white plumage of the other birds Skuas are mottled brown for easy camouflage amongst the tussock and moss of the island. They quickly displayed their superior power and manoeuvrability as they sliced through the turbulent air. They seemed to come closer to certain disaster with every wing-beat but somehow avoided collision with both the hillside and the other birds. Though the Wanderers may be the icons of avian grace and elegance it is the Skuas who clearly hold air superiority on Bird Island.

On my way home that evening I was treated to a very different but equally thrilling aerial display. Tiny Storm Petrels live in burrows on the rocky slopes around the island and, though they are most active at night, they can often be seen flitting close above the ground around their nesting sites. These birds move so quickly that they seem to stay in the periphery of my vision and it is hard to observe them closely. They have an undulating flight pattern and seem to flit like bats through the evening light. Sometimes they can’t be seen at all but from their burrows they make their presence known through a characteristic ‘churring’ call that seems to emanate from the very ground beneath my feet. On a foggy day (of which there are many on Bird Island) these disembodied calls give an eerie quality to my walk home across the hillside.

Today we start the all-island Gentoo chick count so the whole team are heading off to the colonies around the eastern end of the island. This gives us the opportunity to admire the impressive icebergs that are now regularly passing by. These huge lumps of glacial ice seem to glow blue-green as they sail past on their silent voyage north.  There is a small ‘berg stranded out in Freshwater Bay and we have an excellent view of it from base. As it is slowly moulded by the tides it appears as an ever-changing sculpture that is our very own piece of floating art (I may be crazy but I think it has something of Henry Moore about it.) We were recently treated to a taste of this ancient ice when fragments were carried home by members of the team.  On close inspection I could see that it is full of tiny bubbles of air. These bubbles were trapped in the ice when it was first formed thousands of years ago and it is these that make glacial ice such an important part of climate-change research. As the ice slowly melted it cracked and popped as the air was released.  I couldn’t resist tasting a piece and found that it fizzed in my mouth a bit like popping candy. We also discovered (in very British style) that it is excellent in a gin and tonic!