Christmas Eve approaches and the eggs should begin to hatch around that date!
What an exciting week it has been! The sea ice is melting under the Summer Solstice sun (Io Saturnalia!) and the Gentoos seem to getting nicely round in form. Idyllic scenes have been the norm, what with parents swapping nest duty; also, the scavenger birds, so far, are staying away.
But what else has been happening? This picture says it all. Two days ago, we had some premature excitement: the eggs began to move and parents were constantly inspecting the shells for cracks and the appearance of an egg tooth.
Notice the peeking and inspecting. All eyes are on those eggs.
Every grab I made of the community at large showed, at least, one of the birds checking the nest.
This one is so sweet. It's like Mom or Dad are asking their new chicks, "Are we there yet?"
That is a very concerned look for a parent-to-be and one that caused myself to also be alert.
So funny! A parent stands and shows off the "pantaloon" look. Also, two days ago, there was a "heat wave" on the Antarctic peninsula: 34 degrees F., and all the natives were restless.
And as for South Georgia Island, the seals were the highlight of the week past.
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