As winter turns
to spring – in the Southern Hemisphere – penguins are on the move, but it’s not
for their Patagonia vacation.
Rather, this is the season that most of them, after spending the winter at sea,
migrate to their nesting sites in the South Atlantic and South Pacific,
including Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands.
 |
| A solitary Magellanic penguin in the abandoned lighthouse at Isla de los Pingüinos |
With that in
mind, I thought I’d suggest some of my favorite sites for flightless
bird-watching, except that they’re not flightless – they fly through the water!
Penguin nesting sites occur on much of the coastline of both Argentina and Chile – there’s
even one just a couple hours from the Chilean capital of Santiago – but
access is best in Patagonia.
Humboldt & Magellanic Penguins
Visitors to
Chile’s southern “lakes district” can take a detour to Chiloé – similar to
Vancouver Island - only 27 km from the city of Ancud, where the northerly Humboldt penguin and
southerly Magellanic
penguin overlap their ranges at the Monumento
Natural Islotes de Puñihuil (pictured above). These similar species nest in burrows on
offshore islets, but local fishermen shuttle penguin-spotters within camera
distance.
Puñihuil is
easily the best accessible place to see the Humboldts but, elsewhere in
Patagonia the Magellanics are present in abundance. The biggest colony is at
Argentina’s Punta Tombo (pictured above), near the
city of Trelew in Chubut province, but there are
accessible sites near the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, at the mainland Otway Sound and the offshore Isla Magdalena (pictured below, where Patagonia cruises
and local excursions both stop). At all of these, it’s possible to approach the
penguins closely – often they’ll approach you - though there are some restrictions.
King Penguins
King penguins, which
are not migratory, stand out for their size and bright colors, but they’re more
common on remote offshore islands than in easily accessible Patagonian
locations. Occasionally a wanderer shows up at Punta Tombo or another site
where other species breed, but the most accessible choice is the private Parque Pingüino Rey reserve (pictured above) on the Chilean
side of Tierra del Fuego. This is a full-day excursion by ferry and road
from the city of Punta
Arenas, but it’s well worth the time.
Rockhopper Penguins
 |
| An angry rockhopper in the Falkland Islands |
Exactly what
their name suggests, rockhopper
penguins nest on stony offshore islands on which they land by force of
waves and then, painstakingly, they hop up to drier nesting spots. These are
“crested penguins,” along with their close relatives the Macaroni, which
occasionally (but rarely) appears among them. One of the easiest places to see rockies
is the Isla
de los Pingüinos (pictured above), reached from Argentina’s picturesque Puerto Deseado, where
there are frequent excursions in summer on rigid inflatables – sea conditions
permitting. Despite an excellent paved highway, Deseado is out of the way but,
if you have the time, there’s much more to see – including albatrosses,
dolphins and sea lions.
Gentoo Penguins
Gentoos (pictured above) like kings,
are not migratory – they remain in the same place all year. Unfortunately for
penguin-seekers, those colonies are mostly insular, away from the continent,
though there are occasional appearances elsewhere. The likeliest place to see
them is on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego, at the historic Estancia Harberton ranch, where a small colony has established itself on
a nearby islet.
An Austral Footnote
More distant and
more expensive to reach, the Falkland Islands
– still less than two hours from Punta Arenas by air – have almost all the
above species and sometimes more. It can also be expensive and time-consuming
to get around the archipelago but in just one morning, on a 4WD jaunt just
outside the tiny but still sprawling capital of Stanley, I once
saw Magellanics, Gentoos, and rockhoppers, plus a single Macaroni (pictured above) and one
lonely king. In a small king penguin colony on an outer island, I also saw a vagrant
chinstrap penguin
- usually seen only in Antarctica.
An Antarctic Footnote
And now for
something completely different: even more distant and expensive, Antarctica has
many of these species and more. The usual way to reach the frozen continent is
with an expensive cruise but, in summer, there are flights
from Punta Arenas to Isla Rey Jorge (King George Island), with the possibility
of an overnight stay for an introduction to this environmentally strategic destination. I photographed the chinstraps above and the Adelies below there.
