http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/ en-us Webligo BlogHoster This afternoon I went around to Gypsy Cove for a couple of hours, the Magellanic Penguins are now in large groups while they undertake their annual moult. In amongst one group there was a lone Rockhopper Penguin.                    Other birds seen included Tussucbird, White Bridled Finch, Dark Faced Ground Tyrant, Black Chinned Siskin & Falkland Pipit. At the Black Crowned Night Heron colony there were 6 adults and 5 chicks. When I was leaving Gypsy Cove I came across this recently fledge Falkland Thrush waiting for one of its parents to bring it food.                      http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/14372/ I went out to Bertha’s beach this morning after taking my Uncle to the airport for his flight to the UK. My main aim was to look for Sanderling, but no sign of any on the sand at the end of East Cove, I then moved around to the next beach where I could see there were thousands of waders on the washed up kelp. I parked up and waited for the flock to move past the car, I estimated that there were 3000+ White Rumped Sandpipers, 700+ Two Banded Plovers & 150+ Rufous Chested Dotterels on the two beaches. Juvenile Two Banded Plover Female Two Banded Plover White Rumped Sandpiper Winter plumaged Rufous Chested Dotterel http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/14368/ Out at Goose Green at the weekend, down at the killing shed large numbers of Southern Giant Petrels & Falkland Skuas were hanging about for a free meal.                                                 As Southern Giant Petrels get older they develop much lighter heads. They are very long lived birds with some reaching 30-40 years old.                                          http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/14160/ I found this male Black Chinned Siskin asleep in one of the small conifers in my garden when I got home from work today. I approached very slowley and managed to get the below images of it.                http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/13879/ I started this year’s birding at Kelp Point area. Best birds of the day were 2 Hudsonian Godwits and a Baird’s Sandpiper at Whale Point and a total of 5 adult Coscoroba Swans.                  Black Crowned Night Heron with small Rock Cod Young male Southern Elephant Seals sparring on the beach at Kelp Point. My daughter Lucianne practising her driving skills   By the end of the day I had seen a total of 43 species of birds and 4 mammals http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/13802/ Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but birding has been very quite. I have spent a lot of time photographing some of the Falkland Islands plants. Below are the four species of Orchids found in the Falkland Islands.  All of which are in bloom at the moment. Gaudichaud’s Orchid Chloraea gaudichaudii             Pale Yellow Orchid Gavilea australis            Yellow Orchid Gavilea Littoralis                  Dog Orchid Codonorchis lessonii http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/13769/ On Sunday I had the opportunity to spend a few hours at the North west end of Carcass Island before I went across to West Point Island. Below is a selection of images that I took. Cobb's Wren Juvenile Falkland Thrush  Upland Goose family with Southern Elephant seal in foreground Kelp Goose Goslings  Falkland Steamer Duck Ducklings All along the beach there were both Blackish Oystercatchers & Magellanic Oystercatchers with young and a few with eggs. Blackish Oystercatcher nest Magellanic Oystercatcher nest      http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/13011/ Yesterday evening at the ponds just through the gate that leads down to Cape Pembroke I saw a small flock of 8 Baird’s Sandpipers, also in the flock were a couple of White Rumped Sandpipers. This is the best location for seeing Baird's Sandpipers that I know of in the Falkland Islands, late afternoon seems to be the best time to see them. 6 Baird's Sandpipers with a single White Rumped Sandpiper (In water facing left) White Rumped Sandpiper with a Bairds Sandpiper behind Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper Adult Baird' Sandpiper with Juvenile bird on the right http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12974/ After I disembarked the Corinthian II I got a lift over to Carcass Island on Mike Clark’s boat called Condor. During the voyage over we were joined by up to 10 Commerson’s Dolphins.                                                                                                                     http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12973/ After Saunders Island yesterday morning we sailed over to West Point Island where we spent the afternoon looking at the Rockhopper Penguins & Black Browed Albatross at the “Devils Nose”. Below is a selection of images taken during the afternoon Corinthian II in West Point Harbour The "Devils Nose" at West Point Island                                              Above & Below Black Browed Albaross coming into land                    http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12972/ On Wednesday & Thursday of this week I was onboard Corinthian II as their local guide, On Thursday morning we made an early morning zodiac landing at the Neck on Saunders Island. We spent just over 3 hours on the beach looking at the Gentoo, Magellanic & King Penguins  and then hiking up the cliff to view the Rockhopper Penguin & Black Browed Albatross on their nests. Below is a selection of images from the morning spent on Saunders Island. Gentoo Penguins getting ready to come ashore at the Neck The "Neck" at Saunders Island   Adult Black Browed Albatross sitting on its pedistal nest Rockhopper Penguin doing what it does best Scaring on the cliff face made by millions of Rockhopper Penguins climbing to their nests over the centuries King Penguin chicks from the last breeding season Adult King Penguin http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12971/ This morning I took Darren & Ali a couple of visiting Royal Marine band members out birding, first we headed out to see if the King Penguin was still about, unfortunately there was no sign of it but we did see White Bridled Finch and Long Tailed Meadowlark. We then headed out to Cape Pembroke where we saw quite a few species of birds and a young female Southern Sea Lion.                At Yorke Bay pond we saw White Tufted Grebe, Rufous Chested Dotterel & Two Banded Plover  while looking for White Rumped Sandpipers we found a Lesser Yellowlegs. After studying the photographs I took, it turns out that it is a different bird from the one that was last seen on the 17th November at the pond. At Gypsy Cove we added Magellanic Penguin, Black Chinned Siskin & Grass Wren to the day’s species list.                             This evening I went back to have another look at the Lesser Yellowlegs but there was no sign of it, I did however see 7 Baird’s Sandpipers on the pond just through the gate to Cape Pembroke. 3 of the 7 Bairds Sandpiper with a couple of White Rumped Sandpipers (middle birds) http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12928/ Went out this evening to have a look around the ponds on Cape Pembroke, at the ponds just through the gate there was a couple of Baird’s Sandpipers and a single White Rumped Sandpiper & Magellanic Snipe. At the larger pond further along the track there was a few Speckled Teal, Silver Teal, Chiloe Wigeon and a pair of Yellow Billed Pintail which took off as soon as they saw me. Yorke Bay pond was very quite apart from a few Rufous Chested Dotterel, Two Banded Plover and a male Upland Goose having a wash. Finally came across this moulting King Penguin at the East end of Surf Bay. http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12882/ While at Goose Green over the weekend I went and had a look at the Red Backed Hawk nest. The chicks are growing fast and are now left on their own while the adult birds are away hunting.                           http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12864/ At 2pm this afternoon I found out that a Northern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes chrysocome moseleyi had been seen in one of Southern Rockhopper Penguin colonies out at Berkeley Sound on Sunday. At 5pm Mick Reeves, Saphena Berntsen, Mike Morrison and myself were on our way out there on a launch. After we were securely anchored, we went ashore in a small inflatable which turned out to be a very wet experience, with all of us getting soaked. It was only a short hike up the hill to where the bird had been seen, the first bird we saw was the Northern Rockhopper Penguin. Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Far right) with two Southern Rockhopper Penguins                   Northern Rockhopper Penguin has been recorded in the Falkland Islands on three other occasions, 1 bird was seen by Mike & Sue Morrison at Seal Bay in November & December 1995 which returned again in December 1996 and by Rafael Matias on New Island in November 2004 & Mark Pearman on Kidney Island in December 2004.   Other birds seen on the trip included Common Diving Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Southern Fulmar, Cape Petrel, Black Browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, White Chinned Petrel, Wilson’s Petrel, Brown Hooded Gull, South American Tern, Gentoo Penguin, Magellanic Penguin Rock Shag & King Cormorant http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12806/ On the 9th November a Dove sp was reported in a hen house in a private garden down at Moody Brook, It was again report yesterday but by the time I got there it had found its way out again and vanished.   I had a look first thing this morning without luck, so went back this lunch time and saw it inside the hen house.             I can confirm that it is an adult Eared Dove a rare vagrant to the Falkland Islands http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12704/ Yesterday I was told of a quite tame Red Backed Hawk on a nest just outside Goose Green. This morning I went to have a look and see if it would be possible to get some images, I found her quite easily and got the below images. Female sitting on the nest with two recently delivered Upland Goose goslings to feed her two chicks. I will over the coming weeks keep a photographic record of the growing chicks http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12617/ While on Sea lion last week I had the opportunity to observe the deployment of a satellite tag on a female Southern Elephant Sea by Dr Filippo Galimberti & Dr Simona Sanvito with the assistance of Zoe Luxton of the Falkland Islands Government veterinary department. The Southern Elephant Seal that received the tag was born on Sea Lion Island at 11:45 on the 8th November 1997, which makes today her 12th birthday, she gave birth to her first pup at the age of 5 years and gave birth to a female pup this year in the evening of the 18th October. She weighed 640kg when she returned to shore to give birth and weighed 500kg when she received the tag on the 2nd November. She was expected to suckle her pup for a further 4 or 5 days before returning to the sea. Dr. Filippo Galimberti giving paula a sedative that has been calculated to her weight. After 5 minutes work starts on collecting data and preparing for the deployment of the satellite tag.                  Zoe Luxton monitoring the breathing and heart rate of the animal Great care is taken to make sure that the area where the tag is to be attached is clear of abbrasions and cuts which might cause discomfort to the animal. The satellite tag being attached using a poxy type resin. The tag will come off the animal when it has it's annual moult in Jan/Feb next year. Finally Dr. Filippo Galimberti collected swabs from the nose and mouth before the animal came round from the seditive. The whole procedure took about 20 minutes, later I watched the female suckle her pup none the wirse for her ordeal. Click on the link below for more interesting reading and understanding of the valuable research work that Dr Galimberti & Dr Sanvito have been undertaking on Sea Lion for the past 14 years   www.eleseal.org       http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12616/ Went down to Yorke Bay this evening after work to have a look about, not long after getting there I saw a Lesser Yellowlegs feeding at the edge of the pond. It was very wary of me and flew across the other side of the pond. This was very different from the bird in October behaviour so I suspected it could be a different bird.                   After examining the photographs I can confirm that it is a different individual from the one I found in the same location on the 19th October. October's Bird Today's Bird October's Bird Today's Bird  http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12579/ This morning I went out on a launch to Berkeley Sound to give Customs clearance to a tug & barge that had come into collect bunkers from a tanker. Around the back of the barge there were a few Cape Petrels (Pintado Petrel)and couple of Southern Fulmars feeding. Cape Petrel (Pintado Petrel) Southern Fulmar     Other seabirds seen today included Black Browed Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, White Chinned Petrel. http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/falklandbirder/12572/