antarctica
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| A promontary on West Point Island in the western Falklands is setting for a surprisingly tolerant mixed nesting colony of rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatrosses Ref:MKANTC751 |  |
| A black-browed albatross, one bird among more than 2,000 pairs which nest, along with rockhopper penguins, in a natural shoreside bowl on West Point Island in the Falklands Ref:MKANTC752 |  |
| A pair of rockhopper penguins finds peace among the chaos of nesting albatrosses and penguins at West Point Ref:MKANTC753 |  |
| Carcass Island in the Western Falklands hosts a wide range of southern ocean birds yet also has landscapes that seem to echo the Scottish highlands Ref:MKANTC754 |  |
| Houses in the Falkland Islands capital, Stanley, have the suburban air of many an English town. Those daffodils, though, are blooming in November Ref:MKANTC755 |  |
| A welcome committee of king penguins is there to greet us as we first land in the impressive island of South Georgia Ref:MKANTC756 |  |
| On a quiet beach on South Georgia island a small group of king penguins ignores somnolent elephant seals Ref:MKANTC757 |  |
| From 1904 to 1965 Grytviken was a massively murderous whaling station. Now it is better known as the site of explorer Ernest Shackleton's grave Ref:MKANTC758 |  |
| Elephant seals doze among the relics of Grytviken's whaling station where once they were slaughtered for their rich oil in the hundreds of thousands Ref:MKANTC759 |  |
| The restored Whalers' Church at Grytviken contains memorials to the whaling station's Norwegian founder and to Ernest Shackleton Ref:MKANTC760 |  |
| Snow-covered mountains are the dominant feature of South Georgia, extending over the length of the island Ref:MKANTC761 |  |
| Penguins mass in large numbers in the safety of a South Georgia ocean shore river Ref:MKANTC762 |  |
| Adding to the huge penguin population already ashore another group of kings arrives from the sea Ref:MKANTC763 |  |
| Dazzling the eye are both the huge number of penguins and the South Georgia mountains that shelter them Ref:MKANTC764 |  |
| Sunrise on South Georgia reveals an astonishing vista--literally hundreds of thousands of king penguins Ref:MKANTC765 |  |
| King penguin chicks at six weeks old wear a fluffy woollen coat that precedes adults' elegant black and white with orange ear patches; they live in a communal crèche Ref:MKANTC766 |  |
| Still dependent on parental care, "fluffies" need to identify their own mums or dads Ref:MKANTC767 |  |
| 'Hey, mum, it's me,' is what might be inferred from the chick's approach to an apparently indifferent adult Ref:MKANTC768 |  |
| At least one family unit among the huge horde of penguins has come together: a fortunate chick is fed Ref:MKANTC769 |  |
| The striking colours and patterns of a king penguin's costume suggest a cunning designer has been at work Ref:MKANTC770 |  |
| Human visitors to South Georgia not only don't strike fear among the penguins but arouse instead a friendly curiosity Ref:MKANTC771 |  |
| An orgasmic moment occurs as a male elephant seal, denoted by a jumbo-sized proboscis, clasps a much smaller female in his harem with a mighty flipper Ref:MKANTC772 |  |
| The pup born to elephant seal parents, fed on its mother's rich milk, becomes a plump and engaging weaner--when it is abandoned to seek its own independence Ref:MKANTC773 |  |
| Viewed from the sea South Georgia is daunting--yet, in a renowned exploit, Ernest Shackleton and two of his men crossed mountains and glaciers to get help for their stranded shipmates Ref:MKANTC774 |  |
| The Russian research ship, Akademik Sergey Vavilov, operated by One Ocean Expeditions, was the supremely comfortable base for our Antarctica voyage Ref:MKANTC775 |  |
| A fine sunset over South Georgia provided a fitting farewell as the ship continued south towards the 'white continent' Ref:MKANTC776 |  |
| Prion Island, on the way south, is a bird breeding ground; fur seals. not in the least friendly. are present too Ref:MKANTC777 |  |
| A splendid 7-month-old albatross chick was still in its nest, the parents away, on Prion Island Ref:MKANTC778 |  |
| How easily different penguin species tolerate each other is clear when three king penguins wander through a gentoo nesting site Ref:MKANTC779 |  |
| A hilltop in the Antarctic peninsula is a dramatically set 'rookery' to a small colony of gentoo penguins Ref:MKANTC780 |  |
| It's a long walk home for a gentoo to its own social group way up the hill--a challenge penguins face all the time Ref:MKANTC781 |  |
| Gentoos have a striking glacier as backdrop to their chosen refuge Ref:MKANTC782 |  |
| The ocean is rarely far away; it only takes a hop and a skip for a penguin to move from land to water Ref:MKANTC783 |  |
| Penguins and people are equally minuscule in the context of the Antarctic Ref:MKANTC784 |  |
| A gentoo penguin makes its way across the snow: a short little creature, wide and perhaps a little unbalanced. Why am I reminded of me? Ref:MKANTC785 |  |
| A lenticular cloud hangs like a pink zeppelin over South Georgia in the Southern Ocean Ref:MKANTC786 |  |
| An Antarctic shag poses on an Antarctic iceberg in the Southern Ocean Ref:MKANTC787 |  |
| Chinstrap penguins in a small Antarctic colony Ref:MKANTC788 |  |
| Ship passengers in a zodiac are glimpsed through an iceberg's arch in Antarctic waters Ref:MKANTC789 |  |
| Ice castles, two blue icebergs, rise high in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean Ref:MKANTC790 |  |