This year is my second year of working at Palmer Station and the second year without Sheri at my side. She will not be working for the United States Antarctic Program this time, but is experiencing what it is like to spend the winter in our home in France - finding out for us if our newly renovated and insulated roof makes enough of a difference that our little wood stove can keep up with winter temperatures.
I think I wrote in a previous post about the fact that almost all of our Palmer science is marine-based and done with the aid of the inflatable Zodiac boats that we have. When the weather is good enough, we can take a boat and go recreational boating (rec boating) as long as we stay within our boating limit (approx. 2 miles) and within boating hours (which end 1 hour before sunset).
During this time of year the amount of krill (which are on the menu of most animals here) is booming which is not only good news for the penguins feeding their chicks, but also brings in Minke and Humpback whales.
Yesterday all day long we had been able to see from our big windows in the galley the occasional tell tale spout in the distance, but after dinner there seemed to be a bigger than usual number so we jumped in our boat a drove towards them.
Our efforts were rewarded when in the distance we saw the majestic sight of a whale breaching. Normally we only see them spouting their plumes of water vapor in the air followed by their tail flukes when they dive below the water surface, so I felt immensely grateful that we had found a breaching whale and were looking in the right direction. Over the course of the next couple of hours we were treated to the sight of a very young Humpback who seemed so happy with life that all he wanted to do was breach. There were some 5 or 6 adults in our neighborhood and then some more scattered over the landscape. We never had to wait very long to see a fluke or a breach or a sideways show of the dorsal fin.
The animals near us we're clearly practicing a hunting technique called bubble feeding in which they form a kind of formation under water and by releasing air make a "net" of bubbles that drives the krill together and to the surface. This resulted not only in the whales spending a lot of time at the surface, but also announcing their location by making all the bubbles in the water. It was so incredible to see these huge animals from so nearby (while still trying to keep a safe distance) and hear and smell their breath. I can easily say that this was one of the most unforgettable moments in my Antarctic career which makes being away from Sheri and family a bit easier to bear. Let's hope there will more of these majestic moments but hopefully together with Sheri.
