Week 9 (?) Su 26 January 2020, morning at Cape Shirreff Somehow Friday marked the halfway point in my third season here at Cape Shirreff. Having experienced the glorious full length season of late October to mid-March my first year, these shortened seasons of early December to mid-March are difficult to fathom. The drastically lower amount of snow at the start breaks my spirit; there’s not enough for skiing to work,…
Week 8: Su 27 January 2019, 8:13. Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, Antarctica #1 We arrived offshore on 10 December but didn’t move on-island until 11 December because the wind and ocean’s swell were too high for safe operations. #2 We’ve been busy, and I haven’t been doing any writing, journaling, or reading. #3 When I made my first trip to the intertidal zone to poop back on December 11, there…
Su 22 April 2018, 22:24. Rooftop terrace of Windmill Hostel, Mendoza, Argentina. Considering I entered Antarctica knowing virtually nothing about fur seal or penguin biology, I learned a lot over the course of my first season at Cape Shirreff. Doug, Jesse, Sam, and Adam taught me about seals. Jefferson and Nai taught me about penguins and skuas. Because of his short stay, Mike mostly taught me about baking sourdough, which…
Week 17: Sa 17 February 2018, 19:34. Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, Antarctica After months of careful observations and thought, I’ve figured it out. Between Antarctic fur seals, penguins, and brown skuas, I know which animal’s offspring-rearing strategy is the most appealing. Though penguins are diligent parents, they don’t offer their chicks any freedom. Their protection from skua predation is essential for the first 3-4 weeks of the chicks’ lives, but…
Week 6: Sa 2 December 2017, 22:10 … through Week 7: Sa 9 December 2017. Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, Antarctica And suddenly it’s December. In just another month we’ll be at the halfway point when we get our resupply and camp leader swap. What have we been up to since our arrival the last week of October? For the first few days we focused on opening camp, which included lots…