(Click on any image below for a larger version)
We saw Rockhopper Penguins only on New Island in the Falkland Islands.
The
Rockhopper Penguin rookery that we visited on New island is
located in rocky cliffs above a narrow beach. It is populated by
large numbers of Rockhopper Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags, nesting
all mixed together.
Single male penguins advertise their availability with a loud calling display. They raise their beak skywards and flap their outstretched wings as they sing their penguin song. Each performance lasts the better part of a minute. Often there are a few performers scattered around the rookery singing at the same time.
Rockhopper Penguins have a crest of yellow feathers sprouting
from the sides of their heads and a set of spiky black feathers
on the top. They have red eyes and an orange beak.
The penguins have to negotiate a rocky, penguin highway to get down to the water a hundred feet below the rookery. After feeding in the open ocean, the adult penguins climb back up the rocky path, hopping up a few inches at a time with a belly full of fish to feed their chicks.
Penguin chicks cluster together in groups called creches while
they wait for the adults to bring them food.
When an adult Rockhopper Penguin reaches its chicks it identifies
them by calling to them and listening for their distinctive
little penguin voices. The chicks nuzzle the beak of the adult,
prompting it to regurgitate the fish that it has caught. The
chick sticks its head right into the open mouth of the adult to
get its meal. Once the chick gets its fill, the adult swallows
back down what the chick hasn't taken.
This Rockhopper Penguin has been fitted with a
radio transmitter to track its movements.
Rockhopper Penguins.
Environmental Research Unit, Falkland Islands background information about the Rockhopper Penguin.
Background information about the Rockhopper Penguin.
University of Michigan has a page describing Rockhopper Penguins.
Penguin index
page. You can buy a 2020 Calendar featuring my photographs of penguins taken in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.
A dozen pictures of penguins taken in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. Penguin species pictured include:
Gentoo
Adele
Chinstrap
Rockhopper
Macaroni
Magellanic
King.
Locations where the photographs were taken in the Falkland Islands include:
New Island
Carcass Island
Volunteer Point.
Antarctic locations include:
Paulet Island
Cape Lookout on Elephant Island.
Put a copy of the Penguins 2020 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
Send
a message to Brian.
Hear the Rockhopper Penguins.