Hi all. Not long back from a short jaunt to the Falkland Islands. Now that I've finally worked out how to reduce the size of my pictures I'll start a trip report. For now, here is a picture of a Gentoo Penguin taken at Bertha's Beach.
Brill Jason iv wanted to go there for a long time. Look forward to reading and seeing some photos cheers.
I’d better start by saying that this was not a birdwatching trip. The main purpose of the journey was to visit my girlfriend (Paula) who is currently stationed at the military base at Mount Pleasant Airfield (MPA). As she was still at work for the first few days I had to content myself with bimbling around the base area to see what I could find. I was not disappointed. The first bird I saw was a Turkey Vulture followed by a pair of Upland Geese. I’d already been told that these were pretty common everywhere, but I wasn’t really prepared to see such large birds roaming freely around the site.
MPA area 15-02-07
With Paula at work I set off on a walk around the accommodation block area of the camp. Again, the first birds I saw were a trio of Turkey Vultures soaring over the site. Upland Geese were also very evident. The back of the complex plays host to the golf course and there is a small gulley between. I decided to start in this area and was rewarded with a pair of Black Throated Finch and a Falkland Pipit. Long-tailed Meadowlark were very much in abundance and so too were the Falkland thrushes, but none of these birds would stay still for any period of time. Kelp Gulls also frequented the area (bins being a favourite as with all gulls) and on my return I managed to find a Dark-faced Ground-tyrant.