Punta Arenas, Chile

Two days of traveling has taken me from the southern islands of Tierra del Fuego back to the continent of South America and the city of Punta Arenas. Every minute of the last 15 days has been one incredible experience after another. I have seen birds that many die hard birdwatchers dream of seeing. I have seen dolphins porpoising at the bow of the boat, so close that I could have touched them. I left my mark on a desolated landscape. I have seen hundreds of albatross soaring in the heavy winds. A skua tried to steal my gloves. I have been rained on, snowed on, hailed on, and in seas so rough you had to tie up in the stays to keep from going overboard. I had rockhopper penguins at my feet and my boots sucked into the mud and guano past my knees.

This trip has taught me a lot about penguins, other seabirds and the nature of field work in such remote locations. In the two weeks at sea I learned how to identify many of Chile's seabirds, how to count penguins and survive on a small boat in the southern ocean. I hope that the information collected during this research trip will help to protect southern rockhopper penguin populations, and I know that I will never forget my experiences with these amazing birds!

To learn more about penguins and get your chance to see them up close and personal, visit the New England Aquarium. Our penguin exhibit has over 80 birds of 4 different species, including the southern rockhopper penguin! If you are interested in helping penguin conservation efforts find out how you can help by sponsoring one of our animals. And if you think that working with penguins sounds like a job for you, check out our exciting volunteer opportunities!

Thanks for following along with me on this unforgettable experience!

Labels: Caitlin, conclusion, return home

Logan Airport, Boston

In two hours I board the first of three planes that will take me to the southern most city in the world. Punta Arenas, Chile is just over 6,600 miles away from Boston and will be the starting point of my work with the Feather Link research team. Feather Link has been coming to southern Patagonia since 2005 in order to study southern rockhopper penguins. Southern rockhoppers breed in southern Argentina and Chile, as well as the Falkland Islands. They have been well studied in both Argentina and the Falklands, but due to the harsh conditions in the fjords and channels of southern Chile little is known about exact breeding locations and their overall population in the country.

Unfortunately, southern rockhopper penguins are listed as a species vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and have seen dramatic population declines of at least 30% over the last 30 years. Chile is estimated to have at least 1/3 of the remaining population of southern rockhoppers and the Feather Link researchers have found many previously unknown colonies during their work in prior years. This year we hope to seek out more undiscovered colonies and gather information that will help to secure protected breeding areas for the southern rockhopper penguin.

For me, this trip will be my first experience working in the field and my first opportunity to see penguins in the wild after many years of working with them at the New England Aquarium. "Excited" doesn't even begin to explain how thrilled I am to be on this trip and hope that the next 24 hours of traveling goes by fast, because I can't wait to get started!

See you in South America!

- Caitlin

subscribe

Labels: Caitlin, Expedition, Feather Link, IUCN, Map