November 22, 1996

Bubble stream from an emperor penguin as it dives.

Gerry popped into the hut at 7:00am; I think I had just recently dozed off, so I woke with a start and sat to attention. The BBC film crew were due in the afternoon as were Jeff and Anaika. The wind was still blowing hard and it looked like slim chance for recording--and it certainly would not happen when everybody showed up later in the day. Gerry and I set about cleaning up the corral and spreading out the fresh snow that we were using as "penguin litter." Gerry chipped out the plywood and styrofoam plugs that are used to cover the diving holes at night. The penguins were anxious to get into the water, so I took advantage of this opportunity to watch the spectacle from the ob tube.

As I took my place on the little wooden stool, I could see shafts of light illuminate the water below the dive holes. Ice had gathered in irregular formations about each hole. They were backlit in a way that was suggestive of celestial illusions and clouds in medieaval manuscripts: bright blues and yellows, with sharply delineated edges and the implicit "finger of God" radiating a filtered light. A Weddell seal moved silently up to one of the holes, turning slowly and tucking his flippers up behind him. My eyes gradually adjusted to the light around the ob tube, "I am suspended nearly 6,000 feet above the sea floor." The ice appeared as a confused vault above me. Crystals had grown like giant desert rose quartz formations and encroached around the windows. They were a warm yellow colour from the algae that was growing. I listened to the sound of my breath and heard the resonances of Weddells calling from deep below me. The seal I had seen bobbed up, exhaled and backed out of the hole.

Within moments, the water was alive with streaking jets of streamlined penguins. Their entrances and exists are characterized by lightening flashes of black and white. In an instant they had disappeared, only to reappear as a trail of bubbles. I had seen this on the surface--the manner in which they shoot out of the water, sometimes landing several feet from the dive hole in a belly flop and slide across the snow and ice. From this perspective, their speed was amazing.

The morning winds grew stronger, but the day appeared to be clearing. Gerry and I took a break for lunch. As he was kicking back and nursing a bruised tibia, he jumped suddenly, tossing his sandwich to the table, "Come on, we have to get out there, a seal is trying to haul out in the pen." We scrambled for our coats and made for the pen. I sealed up both holes after getting a head count of all birds on deck. Meanwhile, Gerry chipped out an alternate seal hole, so the Weddell would have a place to haul out. While we enjoyed having regular visits in the hut, the idea of a hauled out seal would have made life a little difficult. After this round of excitement, we finished our lunch and read for awhile--enjoying the quietude and the wind. I nodded off on the couch for a few minutes, to catch up on lost sleep.

Gerry Kooyman works on an alternate seal breathing hole.

The BBC crew arrives.

At 1:00pm, the BBC crew arrived and set up shooting film in the pen. I left Gerry to his work of being interviewed and continued the dive monitoring from the warmth of the hut. Every time the birds entered the water, the time of day was noted. They usually all dove at the same time. At each one minute interval thereafter, I counted how many birds were on the ice surface until all 20 were accounted for: this was a complete dive event. Over a period over hours the group made numerous dives lasting anywhere from 5 ot 12 minutes--the latter being effected by the presence of a seal in one of the diving holes.

As the afternoon wore on, Kate O'Sullivan, the BBC producer/director, expressed and interest in finding some non-captive emperor penguins, so that Gerry and his group could demonstrate the process of herding and capture. I told her about the site Buck, Anaika and I had visited, some 6 miles away and plans were made to try and go out--even if the hour was getting late. Jeff and Anaika arrived just in time. I said that I would stay and continue monitoring while they had their Oscar winning "cowboy round up." Jeff, in his inimitable way,said, "Hey, I'll do the love scenes but Doug why don't you do stunt doubles on this one and I'll watch the birds." So, Jeff and Lynn Simarski, the NSF media coordinator stayed behind at the Ranch.

I was happy to join Gerry and Anaika and the BBC crew whom I had come to know through prior encounters. For the next 3 hours, we trekked out to the sea ice edge and found the group I had recorded earlier. The filming went well--lots of penguin herding as well as ski-doo drive bys. The wind blew a lot of snow around on the ground and the penguins marched along--a bit befuddled by all the commotion. Kate was pleased and we headed back the ranch.

There was still the question of getting me back over to the seal camp--as I had planned to stay up for another night doing an array recording of Weddell seals using three hydrophones. Anaika volunteered, and we set out across McMurdo Sound to the seal camp...