Curious and curiouser

Adélie penguins do not mate for life. Their pair bonds last only as long and the pair remains synchronous. The males typically arrive first, find their territory, and start building a nest. But if the female returns before the male, she will quickly find another mate. The breeding season at 77 degrees South is too short for waiting. By the time we arrived, the pairs had formed, eggs had been laid, and incubation, for some, was nearly complete. The incubating penguins eyed us warily if we got too close, sometimes rolling their eyes to show off their intimidating whites, even growling. But they stuck tight to their precious eggs. The young non-breeders on the other hand, were often curious and wandered up to us to get a good look. Occasionally nibbling on our clothing or fingers, the question clearly in their eyes, "What are you?" Usually after a few moments, they lost interest and wandered off.

Curious

and Curiouser

A male advertising for a mate

Undisturbed by a dusting of snow

 When a mate returns from sea, a raucous greeting takes place complete with eye rolling, and coordinated, sinuous neck movements. The vocalizations are an important part of mate recognition and will be extremely important later when the chick and parent need to find each other.

Coming up, I realize a lifelong dream and visit an Emperor penguin colony. It was better than I imagined.

Emperor colony seen from Cape Crozier