Elephant Seals and Sea Lions on Sea Lion Island, Sunday 30th October 

We were up very early to see the sun rise and see the Orca’s prowling just off the coast to catch any seals or penguins going for a swim.N They are fickle creatures and Mickey had said that they appear for a few days and then are not seen for a day or two before returning so a sighting is not guaranteed. Not much happened for the first hour and it was only after 6am that had our first sightings.

Gentoo penguins off for an early morning swim and fishing session

 Seal pups suckling

 A partial view of an orca’s body and several orca fins.

 The Elephant Seal Research Group have been monitoring the seals here for more than two decades and they all have names and tags for identification.

Sunrise at last but not a memorable one except for the rain, cold and wind.

Yesterdays evening's head of a harem has ben ousted after a vicious fight during the night during which he suffered some serious wounds to his 'trunk'. The former dominant male is now on the outside of the harem hoping his wounds would heal.

 Weaned pups fighting just like their dads.

 An elephant seal pup.

The Orca's were still about waiting for a seal or a penguin. There dorsal fins are unique to the individual and are used as identifiers. Back at the Sea Lion Lodge Hotel were pictures of the various fins so that clients could identify which Orca's they had seen. They are also encouraged to write down details of confirmed sightings to maintain a log of Orca movements.                                          

 It took ages and several shots to get the horns just right!

Two banded plover which actually only has one full band but the beginnings of a second band starting under the arm pits or should that be wing pits?

Silvery grebe

Magellanic Snipe

Another goose and seven goslings, our highest count to date.

 And a pair of Upland Geese with a single surviving gosling. The Caracaras take a great toll of eggs and goslings.

Dolphin gulls, full face and side on views around Beaver Pond on th north east of the island.Face on looks something like a bird out of Wallace and Gromit fame.

A few shots of the the terrain, ever subject to erosion from the wind.

A King cormorant or Imperial shag (same bird but has undergone a renaming) colony.

 There was a also a Rockhopper colony and amongst them, a single part of Macaroni penguins.

 Flying steamer duck

Finally on an island called Sea Lion Island, you just have to find some sea lions and at the base of one particular cliff we were rewarded.The males have the distinctive manes whilst the females are smooth necked but both have long whiskers.They are timid and will seek the safety of the sea if startled so some stalking and quiet is required.

 It was getting late so we had to take photos of the sunset.