Whilst driving past Leicester on West Falkland last week i came across this little fellow. The chick is a Rufous-chested Dotterel (Charadrius modestus) and judging by the length of its legs i can only assume that it is its body that grows!!!

After reading Alan’s Blog, yesterday i decided to pop down to Yorke Bay Pond to take a look at my first Lesser Yellowlegs. I missed on seeing the other bird several weeks ago. I managed to get 10-15m from the bird before it flew across the other side of the pond, it was very timid.

The tussac bird (Cinclodes antarcticus antracticus) is  one of the characters of the Falkland Islands. Whilst at Rockhopper point if you overturn rocks they will rush in to eat the "jumping jacks". This fellow suggests tht he has had a good feed of these in recent times!!

Without shadow of a doubt Sunday was the worst day i have ever witnessed on the Islands, hail and gusting winds led me to look around the islands from the comfort of a land rover. At Long Pond  there were 12 Silvery Grebes. As I lay on the banks of the pond they became curious and came over for a look.

Upland Geese (Chloephaga picta leucoptera) are very prevalent in the Islands. Below is a fairly recently hatched gosling.

Black-crowned Night -herons (Nycticorax nycticorax falklandicus) frequent the small pond (in particular the juveniles). The juvenile pictured below is about to land. The second picture is of two adults fighting at Weaner Pool.

Sea Lion Island is a small Island situated to the south-east of the Falkland Islands. The Island is rat,cat and mouse free making it a vitally important breeding ground for many Falkland Island species(particularly the endemic Cobb’s Wren). At this time of the year many of the birds are producing the next generation. It also hosts the largest Elephant Seal colony in the Falkland Islands.

Pictured below is the endemic Cobb’s Wren (troglodytes cobbi), its conservation status is classed as vulnerable. These birds are very nimble and difficult to photograph. It is named after Arthur Frederick Cobb an ornithologist who was born in 1877 and was identifed after he had shot it using rice as the charge. the specimen was sent to the Uk and identifed as a new specie by the Natural History Museum in London.

The other endemic specie to the Falkland Islands is the Falkland Steamer Duck (Tachyeres brachypterus). The bird is flightless. Pictured below is a duckling.

Tussac grass (which can grow to 3 metres in height) provides a breeding ground for many young birds. The juvenile Black-chinned Siskin (Carduelis barbata) was captured by the small pond, which along with Elephant Corner/Weaner Pool is my favourite spot on the Island. The Juvenile resembles the female.

The 2 pictures below are of the Black-throated Finch (Melanodera melanodera melanodera), the first is a juvenile and was  taken at the Gulch, like the Siskin this resembles the female. Like the Siskin both birds were unable to fly more than a couple of feet. The second picture is of an adult male.