Steeple Jason Island and Carcass Island, Falkland Archipelago
Early this morning, the National Geographic Explorer arrived at the western-most island group of the Falkland Archipelago…the Jason Islands. Our plan, or rather hope, was to go ashore on Steeple Jason right after breakfast. This is perhaps the most important wildlife site in the Falklands, but it is also the most isolated and exposed of all the islands in the archipelago. Unfortunately, it is commonly swept by heavy seas and buffeted by strong winds and landings are seldom possible here. So, we were thrilled to find conditions favorable for our getting ashore.
Steeple Jason is a long, narrow island measuring about six miles (10km) by one mile (1.6km) and consists primarily of two uplifted ancient quartzite (metamorphosed sandstone) hills that rise nearly 1,000ft (300m) above sea level. These deposits are thought to be about 400 million years old and have been uplifted and tilted about 60º from the original horizontal strata. The hills are connected together by a low, narrow isthmus, which creates a protected rocky landing site when sea conditions are favourable…as they were this morning.
On the windward side of the island, we got to see the largest black-browed albatross colony in the world, which contains about 150,000 pairs. This immense colony extends nearly three miles along the rocky shoreline. Nestled in amongst the albatrosses are about 60,000 pairs of rockhopper penguins. It is interesting to see them happily nesting together. Figure A clearly shows thousands of albatrosses on their raised mud nests (note the empty nest in the left foreground), numerous rockhopper penguins nesting between the nesting albatrosses, and a broken-down stone hut in the background, and it gives an indication of the almost unbelievable size of the colony.
Most people seemed to enjoy the brazen behaviour and comedic antics of the striated caracaras, or Johnny Rooks as they are called by the locals, but a few guests were not particularly amused to have had their hats and gloves stolen by the birds. Even though there were dozens of these birds about, and they made their presence very notable, this is the rarest species of raptor in the world. Striated caracaras, which are close relatives of the falcons, are found only in the outer islands of the Falklands and a few islands around southern Tierra del Fuego.
It is interesting to note that sheep were grazed on this island for nearly 100 years before it was made a nature sanctuary in 1970, and there are some remnants of the past human habitation scattered around, including pieces of trypots once used to boil down blubber from whales, seals, and penguins to produce oil. In spite of the deleterious effects of the sheep, there is considerable native flora to be seen here, including impressive growths of tussock grass, especially just above the regions where the albatrosses and rockhoppers nest.
During lunch, we sailed over to nearby Carcass Island where we spent the rest of the day. Most of the wildlife (including Magellanic penguins, gentoo penguins, upland geese, kelp geese, ruddy-headed geese, flightless steamer ducks, striated caracaras, oystercatchers, tyrants, thrushes, wrens, finches, and numerous other birds) and much interesting flora can be found near the southeastern end of the island, so this is where many of us went ashore. A bunch of us hiked first across the isthmus over to Leopard Beach, which legend tells us was so named because leopard seals used to haul out here in the distant past. However, none of us experienced naturalists actually believed this explanation...until today. Amazingly, for the first time in 40 years of visiting the Falkland Islands, we encountered a young, healthy leopard seal hauled out on the beach (see Figure B). And, what a beach it is. It looks like a beautiful Caribbean-styled white sand beach, backed by impressive dunes, lapped by turquoise waters. Beach umbrellas would not seem out of place here. But, what does seem out of place here is penguins walking on the beach.
Many other of the guests enjoyed hanging out with the staff photographers in the northern part of the island, which also contained lots of birdlife, as well as spectacular displays of gorse in bloom. The gorse was introduced to these islands from Europe in the late 19th century for use as hedgerows to contain cattle, but has become a serious problem in some areas as it has spread across the landscape. Nonetheless, it was still quite beautiful. One group of serious birdwatchers also explored the northern area, seeing species that have become extinct in most of the other Falkland Islands through the predation by introduced rats. The fact that Carcass Island has never been troubled by rats makes it a very important nature habitat.
Carcass Island is owned by our friends Rob and Lorraine McGill, and they invited us into their home at The Settlement for a traditional Farmer’s Tea in the late afternoon. This visit, as well as the rather overwhelming selection of tea and baked goods provided for us by the McGills, proved to be yet another of the many highlights of this amazing and fulfilling day.
