Ken Kembry

A moody day in Pouch Cove Newfoundland. A resurrected photo from about 1990

It's World Penguin day... there are many varieties of penguins - and I love them all!

Half Moon Island, Antarctica #BlueSkyMonday #Photography #EastCoastKin

Ah.. things are finally looking springy at the Toronto estate!

It's World Penguin Day!!

On a positive note… although we’re having some trouble finding spring in Toronto, we do have a great garden conservatory - Allan Gardens - where can go and enjoy some horticultural beauty 🙂

I thought we needed more penguin today.. so here's a Rockhopper. I'm not sure why the rockhopper appeals to me so much - could it be the small size (50cm)? The hairstyle? The big pink feet? or maybe the (somewhat) demonic red eyes?

Luckily nice clear skies (though a bit cold) in Toronto for grabbing a picture of the blood moon.

A somewhat despondent looking Southern elephant seal. This was back pre-election (Nov 2) so that can't be the cause. Actually he's a young male who it appeared had been in a bit of a scrap - and lost. It was mating season... #photography #nature #wildlife #travel

It's Penguin Awareness Day! There's something about the face of a chinstrap penguin that makes you very aware he (or she) is looking at you! But with a mischievous little grin 😊 #penguin #naturephotography #photography #birds

In the Antarctic there are more birds than just penguins... This is the Antarctic Shag, or Imperial Cormorant. It is usually found only in the Antarctic area and when nesting they seem to like to hang out with other bird species such as the rockhopper penguin, and black-browed albatross.

An Antarctic sea spider! Although it looks like a spider its actually a marine arthropod having an exoskeleton. As such, unlike an arachnid spider, it moults as it grows. Surprisingly there are about 1500 species of sea spider.. and they can be tiny, or huge (50cm). This one was only about 5cm.

There's no place like home! Two Adelie penguins on Gourdin Island in the Antarctic gaze out at their domain. These two have undoubtedly returned home to nest.. though they'll wait until there's some melting... they only nest on stones piled together - snow and ice just don't cut it.

In Antarctica the wildlife leave hints that they might be around... a few prints in the snow suggests there might be one or two penguins around... and somehow I figured out the second track was from an elephant seal! Good on me! From Yankee Harbour, Antarctica (evening)

We have a weird situation here... what is sky? what is snow? It was an interesting landscape at Yankee harbour in the Shetland Islands. Clearly, the penguins (Gentoo penguins if you're wondering) don't really care. Or maybe they're all gathered together discussing the possibilities .. hmmm... 🤔

While we were at Salisbury Plain on South Georgia Island, I called a meeting of the local King Penguins to discuss climate change. It was standing room only! A very attentive crowd... #southgeorgiaisland #worldwidequesttravel #kingpenguins

Will you be frolicking at midnight? These King Penguins at Salisbury Plain beach on South Georgia Island were practicing their New Years Eve porpoising frolic way back on Oct 31! Of course for them that might be the start of a new year anyway - Spring! Mating Season! New life!

I love clouds .. well not all clouds, if you know what I mean. But these clouds are magnificent - mostly lenticular, with a lovely fish shaped cloud on the left (once you see it you can't unsee it). That was on Nov 9th.. I wonder what it was like today? 🤔

Oh my! Are they singing Christmas carols? No - this was early November - too early for carols (except, apparently, in grocery stores). Its courting time! Who knows what the story is with the third party....

Seals beware! - Orcas! In Antarctica there are 5 different types. These are likely type B1 - or pack ice orcas. They feed mostly on seals... and are good at it. They use innovative techniques to catch their prey such as flipping ice floes to knock seals into the water and use teamwork to hunt.

The Macaroni Penguin! They're not seen as often as other penguins - largely because they seem to like less accessible environments, like high up on the rocks. There are still about 6.3 million breeding pairs, but their numbers have been declining rapidly over the past few decades.

A calm and peaceful morning at Deception Island in the Antarctic Peninsula. Nov 10.

Intrigue in the Antarctic? It's mating season in the Antarctic... I'm sure there's a story here... #antarctica #antarcticpeninsula #halfmoonislandantarctica #penguins #antarctica21

The most abundant species of fur seals are Antarctic fur seals. There are around 5 million of them on South Georgia, which is about 95% of the global population. Antarctic seal fur seals were nearly hunted to extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries. These days they are protected and thriving.

Many Expedition ships in the Antarctic have labs as part of their infrastructure. Doing research in the polar regions is expensive and complicated - these labs provide means for ongoing research. Scientists on board also share their expertise with passengers. #mvmagellanexplorer #antarctica21

I'm likin' this picture... Lichen that is.. bright orange lichen - and a fine lenticular cloud in the sky, lovely blue glacier and lone penguin... From Half Moon Island in the Antarctic Peninsula.

South Georgia is a key summer feeding ground for a number of whale species, but the whaling industry on the island nearly wiped them out, killing over 176K in sixty years. Almost every bay on South Georgia had a whaling station - Grytviken was the first. Surprisingly, whaling continued until 1966

Ah, spring on South Georgia Island. It's mating season for the penguins and seals - and at Salisbury Plain there are about 60K breeding pairs of king penguins - when you include chicks and non-breeding penguins the total is about 250K. #southgeorgiaisland #antarctica21 #penguins #worldwidequest

In Antarctica it stays light late - and we took advantage of the great weather and calm seas to do a landing at Yankee Harbour. This was taken after 9pm.... #antarctica #antarctica21 #worldwidequesttravel #antarcticpeninsula

There are different ways of getting around on an Antarctic expeditons... a comfortable expedition ship (this one was 88 passengers maximum - 69 in our case); a versatile zodiac; or a delightful hike in a snowy landscape.

From Deception Island on the Antarctic Peninsula These are Weddell seals, the first a mature female eating snow, a relatively rare sighting, and the second cute young pup. The Weddell seal is only found in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions generally around the Antarctic coast.