Edward Wilson went to the Antarctic as a Doctor and Scientist with Captain Scott on both his expeditions. He died along with his companions, on the return journey after reaching the South Pole.
This year three of his great nephews were all in The Antarctic together, and joined in with the Welsh Kite Trust Annual Birdwatch. Mark Wilson has written their account.
We made an early start, and out of the window were grey clouds and dark forbidding cliffs. Icebergs loomed out of the mist, and if this was Shackleton’s last chance then what a ghastly fix they must have been in!
Elephant Island is where his crew stayed in relative safety whilst he headed to South Georgia to get help after his ship was lost in the ice of the Weddell Sea. It was actually quite choppy this morning with plenty of white horses, and a black-browed albatross swung into view. Wilson’s and Black-bellied Storm Petrels appear to like these rougher conditions, but after a short while we turned away and headed south west. The Cape Petrels following the ship used all the available breeze to show off their black and white plumage to full advantage.
My lifetime’s ambition has been to go to the Antarctic, and here I was doing the Kite Trust Birdwatch with my two brothers on board the Marco Polo, heading towards that magical continent.
The South Shetlands were visible on our starboard side as we headed for Deception Island. The sea had become much calmer once away from Elephant Island and there were several whales in the vicinity. We have seen Finn, Minke, Sperm, and a Blue whale, but they appear to be mainly Humpbacks today.
As we approached Deception, it was hard to pick out the entrance but it slowly appeared, and we found ourselves going in through Neptune’s Bellows, into the caldera which is eight miles in diameter. Everywhere is covered by a layer of black ash, and we saw at least two bases that had been destroyed by the volcanic eruptions.
On one beach were giant petrels, including a white morph, which looked very large on land. Weddell seals were also hauled out on this volcanic ‘sand’ and as we approached the further side, we could see some huts positioned on a raised piece of land. There are two active bases in the Deception caldera, which study volcanic activity. It took us almost an hour to sail round inside before we came back out through Neptune’s Bellows and into a glassy smooth sea disturbing the flock of Cape Petrels. An ice flow just outside the entrance had two Kelp Gulls and a leopard seal on it, no doubt well fed on the chinstraps that nest here.
We headed on down the Bransfield and then into the Gerlache Strait; there were mountains over to the left ….The Antarctic Peninsula at last!
The sunlight on the mountains, with the snow and ice lit up and glowing; some of it must be many tens of miles away and the clarity of the air makes scale deceptive. We sailed on, and the brilliant visibility meant that the whale spouts could be seen for miles around. It was a magical experience in the early evening sunlight.
Glaciers flow down to meet the sea at ice falls, and had a jumble of small bergy bits floating away from their foot. Some of the stacks of ice were leaning over at crazy angles, and would make new bergs. Icebergs may be white in pictures, but the reality is of delicate shades of blue, through to a deep turquoise/blue. They are very beautiful, and sail serenely on with the odd wave breaking against their sides. Some have holes and arches in them, others platforms over which the sea can break, or apparent swimming pools on their surface. Occasionally a piece would break off, causing a massive wave as the lump crashed into the sea.
It was a wondrous place, spectacular, awesome, and overwhelming.
It was also cold, of course, and the sun was getting low in the sky, and a breeze set in. The humpbacks were still blowing and sounding all around, and with tales up, they were gone for a few minutes, mothers with calves, and small family groups, all enjoying the summer feeding. An Antarctic Tern flew past, our last bird of the day, then a pod of Orcas appeared and headed across our wake; a young male was with them, but the old male from previous seasons was missing. With sunset a few minutes before midnight a long birdwatch day came to an end. We may have only managed 12 birds onto our list, but it was one day that I will never forget.
Birds
Black-browed Albatross
Southern Giant Petrel
Southern Fulmar
Cape Petrel (Pintado)
Wilson's Storm Petrel
Black-bellied Storm Petrel
Gentoo Penguin
Chinstrap Penguin
Antarctic Cormorant (Blue-eyed)
Antarctic/Brown Skua
Southern Black-backed Gull (Kelp Gull)
Antarctic Tern
