Falklands with Wildlife Worldwide Travel - Part 1

 I set off to London on 4th December to catch the flight to Santiago the next day.  I had booked this particular photography trip as my friend Claire was going on the one in November.  I was on the waiting list and then another trip was arranged for December.  The other reason for wanting to visit the Falklands was that I was given some wool from my friend Sandra a few years ago when she stopped off from a cruise.  I know I can buy Falklands wool here but I thought it would be good to buy it at source.  

I stayed at the Thistle Hotel at Heathrow.  Handy to get to from the terminal using the automatic parking pods.  I caught up with my friend Judith for lunch the next day.  Then spent the afternoon at Heathrow waiting to be able to drop my bag.  I met up with most of the group in the departure lounge.  Kevin Morgans, the photographer leading the group, Linda, Juliette and Angela.  It was a fairly easy flight to Santiago.  Both Kevin and I were upgraded which is unusual for a group.  We were taken to The Singular Hotel, Santiago.  Unfortunately, I had left my coat and jacket on the plane.  I went back to the terminal later that afternoon with Kevin but no success.  Luckily, Linda had an extra jacket and gloves and Angela found a shop with waterproof jackets on the way to the Falklands.

We had lunch near the hotel and I had a wander after returning from the airport.

Inside of a church we visited on the way to lunch

Kevin recommended I visited these gardens near the hotel

We had an early start the next day as our flight to Mount Pleasant was around 6.35.  We met up with the rest of our group Lesley and Phil at the airport.  A coach met us at Mount Pleasant and we drove into Stanley.  There was plenty of time to walk around and take a few snaps.

Taken from the coach window

Falkland steamer ducks

and a composite of their ducklings

Turkey vultures

First sight of the sealions

The next day we flew to Pebble Island.  There are a lot of cute images on all the Falkland blog posts.  However, I have taken some of caracara and orca kills.  I will put these at the end of the blog posts they appear with a big Warning sign beforehand as they are gruesome to look at.  There will be three caracara kills at the end of this post.

Luggage being loaded

View of Stanley

more views from the plane

first sight of the lodge on Pebble Island

The second plane with the rest of our group flying in

White-tufted grebe

black headed gulls with South American tern

Two banded plover

Linda

Lesley and Phil

Juliette

Kevin showing us the position to photograph our subjects

Crested ducks

Blackish oystercatcher

Long-tailed meadowlark

Black necked swans

one of the outbuildings on the island

The next day we had a long day when we were taken to see our first penguins.  First we stopped off at some memorials from the war.

Variable hawk

site of an Argentina plane crash

a bomb crater

HMS Coventry memorial

Magellanic oystercatcher

pipit

Angela with caracara

Linda with caracara

Striated caracara

looking for a chick to snatch

Southern rock hoppers

Macaroni penguins

Playing with multiple exposure

penguin in swimming pool

Multiple exposure from an Argentinian memorial to the crashed pilots

Two banded plover chick

Magellanic penguin

King Penguin amongst the Magellanics

Gentoo penquin

Leucistic gentoo penguin and sibling

sleeping cuties

one of very many feeding chicks

click on image to see the fish

Joined

Southern giant petrel

in camera movement sunset from the lodge

Southern crested caracara outside the lodge

End of Part 1.  We flew to Saunders Island the next day.  May be a few days before the post is done.

W  A  R  N  I  N  G

W  A  R  N  I  N  G

W  A  R  N  I  N  G

We came across the caracara already eating a chick

I saw the caracara go into the group of penguins and then fly off with chick

Flys in

Takes chick

Obviously drops it

chick is injured and runs around for a time

Eventually taken off

Poor thing is still alive

End of Part 1.