December 22, 1999

Blue-eyed shags on Cormorant Island

With my deadline rapidly approaching for New Zealand Radio, I spent the day editing sounds, including the blue-eyed shag recordings that I had made a few days ago. In addition to the general din of the small colonies, I managed to get the sounds of hungry chicks begging for food. In a curious acoustic twist, the chick pleadings were modulated as they craned their necks half way down an adult's throat! Shags feed mainly on fish, diving as deep as 25 metres in search of prey. Pairs rotate nesting duties while partners sortee to forage. The return to the nest is often accompanied by calling.

Ice looking south from Palmer Station.

Click here to listen to an MP3 sample of nesting shags.

Click here to listen to an MP3 sample of shag chicks.

(Please note that you will need an MPEG Layer 3 (MP3) player to hear the samples. If your computer does not already have one, players are available for purchase, as shareware or freeware, over the Internet from a number of sites).

Each day brings a different arrangment of ice. It is the ebb and flow of the pack that seems to redefine the landscape, seascape and the soundscape in an everchanging rhythm.