It’s been a long 5 months waiting for the return of the Adelie Penguins to East Antarctica, and in particular to Shirley Island.
Why Shirley Island you might ask? Well, that’s the penguin rookery closest to Casey Station (my current home) and the location where I’m most able to visit on a regular basis.
It’s been so quiet without them, actually without any living beings other than myself and the 25 other expeditions here for the winter… but soon they’ll return bringing life back to our ice covered existence. Stealing stones to make nests for their mates, meeting up with their partner after months of swimming in the southern ocean’s cold waters fattening up on krill to get them through the long months sitting on their eggs, getting muddy and impatient with hanging around their rookery when they could be out swimming with their mates, and generally being most entertaining.
It can’t be long now… a month or so then they’ll return to us.
Then before long, it will be us leaving them. Our turn to travel north and return to warmer climes. I wonder if they’ll miss us like we miss them.
The Coddiwomple Chronicles 