Passage before joining a ship—but take
a small ship instead. If you fly, you'll
miss all the albatrosses, not to mention
a dozen other seabirds (shearwaters,
fulmars, petrels, storm-petrels, prions,
diving-petrels) which bulk up an Ant-
arctic trip list. Weather conditions can
also delay flights; going by sea is actu-
ally more reliable.
The sea around the Antarctic continent
itself is usually flat, sheltered by islands
and bays and ice. I remember vividly my
first tabular iceberg, drifting on a placid
afternoon in the Southern Ocean. It was
far from land, but as our ship gradu -
ally drew closer I could make
out a scatter of dots on
the berg's mile-wide
flank, which
25
January 2019 | Birder's Guide to Travel
above : n Gentoo Penguins have reddish
beaks and look like they are wearing
white earmuffs.
Photo © Noah Strycker
right : n South Polar Skuas patrol many
sites in Antarctica.
Photo © Noah Strycker
above: n Gentoo Penguins have reddish
beaks and look like they are wearing
white earmuffs.
Photo © Noah Strycker
right: n South Polar Skuas patrol many
sites in Antarctica.
Photo © Noah Strycker
