>>
>> Dear PenguinPromises
>>
>> The penguins have left Brazil and Promises will now be swimming back home towards
>> the colony. After weeks in Brazil, Promises will arrive home a lot plumper than
>> when leaving the colony earlier this year, skinny after the annual moult. Just
>> as well because the penguins will arrive home to begin a new season of raising
>> chicks, so they need to be in good condition.
>>
>> The penguins remain in sight of the coast as they swim home, and even use the
>> coastline to guide them. When the coastline is on the right-hand side Promises
>> can be sure of swimming in the right direction, which is always south. It is
>> an interesting coastline with lovely sandy beaches, amazing cliffs, a few large
>> cities, and lots and lots of lighthouses.
>>
>> Many of these lighthouses are built on remote islands away from the coast, or
>> on spectacular cliffs and headlands overlooking the ocean. Each lighthouse has
>> its own unique sequence of flashes so that ships know which lighthouse it is.
>> The lighthouses are over 100 years old, but even today with radar and GPS, these
>> lighthouses are still important for marine navigation.
>>
>> I attach a photo showing penguins beside one of the lighthouses that they pass
>> by on their way home. This unmanned lighthouse is situated on a remote uninhabited
>> island 25 miles off the coast of Puerto Deseado in Argentina. The abandoned lighthouse
>> is the only building on the island. It used to be manned, and was built with
>> a red brick house attached to the tower for the lighthouse keepers to live in.
>> That house is now abandoned and used by nesting penguins, as you can see in the
>> second photo. Solar panels charge batteries that now power the light throughout
>> the night.
>>
>> The island is called “Isla Pinguino”, which is Spanish for “Penguin Island”.
>> It is called that because the island is home to thousands of penguins. Many of
>> the penguins swimming alongside Promises will end their journey here, because
>> they have their nests on this island. Despite its name, Isla Pinguino is a very
>> inhospitable place for Magellanic penguins.
>>
>> As you can see in the photo, Isla Pinguino has no bushes and not enough soil
>> to make burrows. It is just rock. The penguins living here have to live sitting
>> on the rocky surface, with no protection from the rain, wind and hot sunshine.
>> It seems an unlikely place for Magellanic penguins to nest.
>>
>> Apart from being surrounded by waters that are rich in fish, Isla Pinguino does
>> have the advantage of having no terrestrial predators. Being such a barren rock
>> miles away from the mainland, there are no foxes or terrestrial predators of
>> any kind living here. The only terrestrial mammals on the island are rats, which
>> are too small to bother the penguins. There are also very few predatory birds
>> on the island because the island has no food for them for much of the year when
>> the penguins are away on migration. A lack of predation seems to be the main
>> attraction for the penguins living here.
>>
>> In that respect Magellanic penguins are very adaptable about where they live.
>> They prefer to live in burrows, but are equally at home nesting under a bush,
>> in a rocky crevice, or even out in the open. At least the penguins on Isla Pinguino
>> have no trouble finding their way home, with a flashing beacon over their nest
>> to guide them home.
>>
>> We are now in early spring here in the south. The days are getting longer but
>> it is still cold. Spring is also the time when the strong winds begin. Patagonia
>> is famous for its strong winds, with Cape Horn being one of the most feared places
>> on Earth for sailors. Of course penguins have no trouble swimming in even the
>> roughest of seas.
>>
>> Penguins are very sociable and always travel together in large groups during
>> their migration. However Promises cannot keep track of who is actually in the
>> group. Out at sea the penguins like the company of other penguins, but do not
>> keep in touch with individual penguins.
>>
>> When penguins raise their head out of the water, their eyes are only a few inches
>> above the water, and the open ocean almost always has waves. So Promises can
>> only see as far as the nearest wave, which is not very far. Every so often a
>> wave will lift the penguins up and give them a quick glimpse of what is around
>> them, before dropping them back down into the trough again. However that is not
>> enough to identify individual penguins amongst all the other penguins, which
>> at a distance all look the same, even to a penguin.
>>
>> So couples travel separately during the winter migration. Keeping in touch with
>> a partner would be impossible. They would be separated the first time one of
>> them went chasing after a fish, and finding each other again would be impossible
>> amongst all the other penguins, and the waves. So partners travel separately
>> in mixed groups and meet up again back at the nest in the spring.
>>
>> When the penguins get back to the colony they meet up again in their nest, because
>> the nest is their only terrestrial home. Just like people always go back home
>> after going anywhere, so too does Promises.
>>
>> Young penguins that are breeding for the first time do not have their own nest
>> yet, and have to find a suitable place to make their nest. They often come across
>> what they believe to be an ideal spot, unaware that it actually belongs to another
>> penguin couple that has not yet returned home. When that happens, a squabble
>> breaks out, and the returning owners of the nest quickly evict the squatter.
>>
>> Upon the return of Promises, the first task is to repair the nest and make it
>> suitable for egg-laying. The eggs will then be laid a couple of weeks later,
>> and once that has happened we will take a new photo of Promises to send you.
>>
>> In the meantime, if you have access to Netflix there is a wonderful series called
>> Penguin Town which I am sure you will enjoy. Many of the activities and behavior
>> that I write about regarding Promises are brought to life in great detail in
>> this excellent series. The series is not too scientific, in fact it is a bit
>> like a penguin soap-opera, following the lives of a few penguins in a story-like
>> manner. The filming is absolutely superb, with lots of really close-up images,
>> and is worth watching just for the quality of filming. If you don’t have Netflix,
>> I expect that sooner or later the series will be available on other channels
>> and media.
>>
>> The series follows African penguins, which are very similar to Promises. However
>> Magellanic penguins take longer to reach maturity, live longer, and travel much
>> further in search of food. So if you are watching the series, remember that some
>> of the information will be different to Promises, even though the overall behavior
>> and life-style is the same.
>>
>> I will write to you again as soon as the egg-laying has taken place, with an
>> up-to-date photo of Promises.
>>
>> Kind regards, Mike
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear PenguinPromises
>>
>> The penguins have left Brazil and Promises will now be swimming back home towards
>> the colony. After weeks in Brazil, Promises will arrive home a lot plumper than
>> when leaving the colony earlier this year, skinny after the annual moult. Just
>> as well because the penguins will arrive home to begin a new season of raising
>> chicks, so they need to be in good condition.
>>
>> The penguins remain in sight of the coast as they swim home, and even use the
>> coastline to guide them. When the coastline is on the right-hand side Promises
>> can be sure of swimming in the right direction, which is always south. It is
>> an interesting coastline with lovely sandy beaches, amazing cliffs, a few large
>> cities, and lots and lots of lighthouses.
>>
>> Many of these lighthouses are built on remote islands away from the coast, or
>> on spectacular cliffs and headlands overlooking the ocean. Each lighthouse has
>> its own unique sequence of flashes so that ships know which lighthouse it is.
>> The lighthouses are over 100 years old, but even today with radar and GPS, these
>> lighthouses are still important for marine navigation.
>>
>> I attach a photo showing penguins beside one of the lighthouses that they pass
>> by on their way home. This unmanned lighthouse is situated on a remote uninhabited
>> island 25 miles off the coast of Puerto Deseado in Argentina. The abandoned lighthouse
>> is the only building on the island. It used to be manned, and was built with
>> a red brick house attached to the tower for the lighthouse keepers to live in.
>> That house is now abandoned and used by nesting penguins, as you can see in the
>> second photo. Solar panels charge batteries that now power the light throughout
>> the night.
>>
>> The island is called “Isla Pinguino”, which is Spanish for “Penguin Island”.
>> It is called that because the island is home to thousands of penguins. Many of
>> the penguins swimming alongside Promises will end their journey here, because
>> they have their nests on this island. Despite its name, Isla Pinguino is a very
>> inhospitable place for Magellanic penguins.
>>
>> As you can see in the photo, Isla Pinguino has no bushes and not enough soil
>> to make burrows. It is just rock. The penguins living here have to live sitting
>> on the rocky surface, with no protection from the rain, wind and hot sunshine.
>> It seems an unlikely place for Magellanic penguins to nest.
>>
>> Apart from being surrounded by waters that are rich in fish, Isla Pinguino does
>> have the advantage of having no terrestrial predators. Being such a barren rock
>> miles away from the mainland, there are no foxes or terrestrial predators of
>> any kind living here. The only terrestrial mammals on the island are rats, which
>> are too small to bother the penguins. There are also very few predatory birds
>> on the island because the island has no food for them for much of the year when
>> the penguins are away on migration. A lack of predation seems to be the main
>> attraction for the penguins living here.
>>
>> In that respect Magellanic penguins are very adaptable about where they live.
>> They prefer to live in burrows, but are equally at home nesting under a bush,
>> in a rocky crevice, or even out in the open. At least the penguins on Isla Pinguino
>> have no trouble finding their way home, with a flashing beacon over their nest
>> to guide them home.
>>
>> We are now in early spring here in the south. The days are getting longer but
>> it is still cold. Spring is also the time when the strong winds begin. Patagonia
>> is famous for its strong winds, with Cape Horn being one of the most feared places
>> on Earth for sailors. Of course penguins have no trouble swimming in even the
>> roughest of seas.
>>
>> Penguins are very sociable and always travel together in large groups during
>> their migration. However Promises cannot keep track of who is actually in the
>> group. Out at sea the penguins like the company of other penguins, but do not
>> keep in touch with individual penguins.
>>
>> When penguins raise their head out of the water, their eyes are only a few inches
>> above the water, and the open ocean almost always has waves. So Promises can
>> only see as far as the nearest wave, which is not very far. Every so often a
>> wave will lift the penguins up and give them a quick glimpse of what is around
>> them, before dropping them back down into the trough again. However that is not
>> enough to identify individual penguins amongst all the other penguins, which
>> at a distance all look the same, even to a penguin.
>>
>> So couples travel separately during the winter migration. Keeping in touch with
>> a partner would be impossible. They would be separated the first time one of
>> them went chasing after a fish, and finding each other again would be impossible
>> amongst all the other penguins, and the waves. So partners travel separately
>> in mixed groups and meet up again back at the nest in the spring.
>>
>> When the penguins get back to the colony they meet up again in their nest, because
>> the nest is their only terrestrial home. Just like people always go back home
>> after going anywhere, so too does Promises.
>>
>> Young penguins that are breeding for the first time do not have their own nest
>> yet, and have to find a suitable place to make their nest. They often come across
>> what they believe to be an ideal spot, unaware that it actually belongs to another
>> penguin couple that has not yet returned home. When that happens, a squabble
>> breaks out, and the returning owners of the nest quickly evict the squatter.
>>
>> Upon the return of Promises, the first task is to repair the nest and make it
>> suitable for egg-laying. The eggs will then be laid a couple of weeks later,
>> and once that has happened we will take a new photo of Promises to send you.
>>
>> In the meantime, if you have access to Netflix there is a wonderful series called
>> Penguin Town which I am sure you will enjoy. Many of the activities and behavior
>> that I write about regarding Promises are brought to life in great detail in
>> this excellent series. The series is not too scientific, in fact it is a bit
>> like a penguin soap-opera, following the lives of a few penguins in a story-like
>> manner. The filming is absolutely superb, with lots of really close-up images,
>> and is worth watching just for the quality of filming. If you don’t have Netflix,
>> I expect that sooner or later the series will be available on other channels
>> and media.
>>
>> The series follows African penguins, which are very similar to Promises. However
>> Magellanic penguins take longer to reach maturity, live longer, and travel much
>> further in search of food. So if you are watching the series, remember that some
>> of the information will be different to Promises, even though the overall behavior
>> and life-style is the same.
>>
>> I will write to you again as soon as the egg-laying has taken place, with an
>> up-to-date photo of Promises.
>>
>> Kind regards, Mike
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
