National Geographic Explorer found just enough protection from the stiff north winds this morning in the lee of Carcass Island, on the western reaches of the Falkland Island Archipelago. Carcass Island offers opportunities to take a good long leg stretch on a trail that follows the shoreline for about two miles. Those who wanted a more leisurely morning spent the time enjoying the homemade pastries offered by our hosts inside their farmhouse, and some of us spent time looking for the elusive Cobb’s wren, a bird endemic to the Falklands. One wren was very cooperative and perched on numerous branches near the settlement for us to photograph.
The afternoon was spent on West Point Island, making a long uphill hike to the far side of the island where a colony of black-browed albatross were nesting. With strong winds blowing, the birds put on a display worthy of an air show. The albatross share their nesting site with rockhopper penguins, who were quite busy getting started with their breeding season, gathering nesting materials and tending to newly laid eggs.
