The sea settled a bit overnight and we were headed for Barren Island, at the tip of East Falkland Island. After we landed, we had a brisk and very windy walk up a small rise and over to the beach where there were some Southern Sea Lions, very shy, who skittered away from us even though we were quite a distance away. There were so many birds! Steamer ducks, a tiny Prion, the Southern Giant Petrel and Wilson’s Petrel. We came across several installations of petrel nests with fluffy gray fledglings in them. Eric the naturalist cautioned us to stay a good distance away, as when they are disturbed they will projectile vomit about 9-10 feet away. Fortunately we did not witness this, but we could see some of the birds beginning to raise their wings a bit. Several times we stopped to examine skulls and ones of various birds, which the naturalists are allowed to pick up here as it is inhabited (not allowed in Antarctica and on South Georgia). A very windy walk back to the shore with some dirt and sand blowing in our faces, and we headed back to the ship on a wet zodiac ride.
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