Courtesy of Jean Pennycook

From: Jean Pennycook
Cape Royds, Antarctica, December 17, 2008

Too Much Ice

This year the open water is about 35 miles away from Cape Royds. After laying their eggs our female penguins had to walk a long way to replenish their body reserves and many have not returned in time to relieve the males who are tending the eggs. In these pictures you see the loss of nests as the days past and the females did not return. Males stayed on the nest as long as they could, but they will not sacrifice themselves for the sake of the eggs. This breeding group started with 23 nests with eggs, it is now down to 15. Chicks started hatching last week and will require a constant supply of food. Parents will need to make the round trip to the ice edge on a regular basis now. For more information and pictures go to Penguin Science and Life in the polar regions.

Go to the next postcard

Postcards from the Field: Adelie Penguins 2008

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Life in the Polar Regions: Animals, Plants, and Others in Extreme Environments

All sorts of living things call Earth’s polar regions home – from tiny lichens encrusting the rocky landscapes of the Arctic tundra to huge blue whales swimming through the frigid waters of the Southern...more

Spring Is Here

It is spring here, although you wouldn't know it. Temperatures are -10°C to -13°C, and in every direction all you see is ice and snow. But we know this is spring for Antarctica because the Sun is up. The...more

Return to Royds

This year the penguins arrived early. Our remote camera recorded the first ones Oct 21, a full week earlier than last year. The sea ice edge is 50 miles away so their walk is much further than last season,...more

Penguin Weather Vanes

Normally when I come down to the colony on my daily rounds the penguins are sitting every which way on their nests. Some face each other, some face away from each other, some face inwards, some outwards,...more

Baby Come Back.

The colony is very quiet now, the nesting groups of penguins are mostly males patiently keeping the 2 eggs warm while the females are out foraging for food. This year the sea ice edge, where the females...more

"The Birds" of Royds

Penguins aren't the only ones that come to Cape Royds to raise their chicks. The South Polar Skua makes its home here during the same time because the pickings are easy. Penguin eggs and chicks fall prey...more

Cave Day

This cave is near the end of an Ice Tongue, a huge part of a glacier that has moved off the land and is floating in the water. Because the ocean is still frozen, we can get close to the cave entrance and...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA