Our day starts very early with a very bright sun at 5 AM. The temperature with the wind chill is around 4°F as we anchor off of Half Moon Bay. There is an Argentinean research station here but it has only been inhabited once in the past 5 years. As we make our landing I spot a group of sub-adult Antarctic fur seals rough housing on the beach. This is a group that is too young to compete in the breeding beaches so they come here to practice their battle skills. I have noticed a number of lightning fast black and white shapes just at the edge of the water and to my amazement about 15 chinstrap penguins start leaping out of the surf. The chinstrap penguin holds a special place for me as I am the person who tracks all of the this species in North America for the American Zoo Association. After having worked with chinstrap penguins for 14 years at SeaWorld it is quite exciting to see them in their natural environment. We area able to move into the rookery and see many chicks that are almost fledged and will be ready to head out to sea soon. Some of the chicks are still being fed by the parents while others are on their own. Many of the adult penguins have already gone into their yearly molt. There are a number of giant petrals cruising low overhead looking for the opportunity to snatch a chick from an unsuspecting parent. As we are filming a segment up on a cliff overlooking a back bay, I am able to spot a medium-sized black dorsal fin in the water. It seems that a killer whale is patrolling the water's edge waiting for the first chicks to try and go to sea. As we depart half Moon Bay I feel confident that these chicks will survive at least the first part of their life and make it to sea unlike the chicks that I have seen the last two days. As it begins to snow we raise anchor and leave the Antarctic Peninsula setting a course back through the Drake Passage.

Rob Yordi