Friday, February 6, 2009

Photo Finish Friday -- Let's Go To The Hop


We visited a colony of 300 breeding pairs of Rockhopper penguins.
They lived on a cliffside on the scary edge of the Falklands.
Rockhoppers get their name because they hop up the rocks from the water to get to their nests.
As you can tell there were plenty of young ones in the colony.
Penguins are curious creatures and will walk right up to should you stand still. Please note, in the Falklands as well as other penguin areas, the penguins have the right- of- way.





The Rockhopper in profile.




The cliff they climb.

In fairness there is a much easier route with a gentle incline, but this pic gives a better idea of how far up they hop to get to their nests.

14 comments:

Tom Rooney said...

Great to have you back Leah. Wonderful photos and sun everywhere. I'm hoping you had a great time.

the Bag Lady said...

What is it about penguins that makes them so appealing?! They are just such an interesting little bird to watch!
Thanks for sharing them with us, dfLeah!

Leah J. Utas said...

Thanks, Tom. We had a wonderful time and I'll be writing more about it.

dfBag Lady, they sure are. Maybe it's their formal attire? And they are cute as the dickens.

Thomma Lyn said...

Oh wow, I love the penguins! And the video is so cool -- getting to watch them in action. I've always liked penguins. What wonderful travels and adventures you've had! :)

Leah J. Utas said...

Thomma Lyn, I'm glad you liked the video. The Rockhoppers are so cute when they climb. We saw other penguins, too, and I'll be posting the pics.

Reb said...

They are so cute, but what a height! Thanks for the video. and photos.

Leah J. Utas said...

It was a bit of a climb for them, Reb. Glad you liked the offererings.

Hilary said...

I love most any bird really, but there's something just so adorable about penguins. They're like a little cartoon come to life. Lucky you for getting to see them like that and lucky us for your sharing them.

Barbara Martin said...

When I saw the header penguins weren't on my mind...but I'm glad you posted about these cuties. It looks like you had a grand time on your vacation and brought back these wonderful videos and photos. Thank you for sharing.

Leah J. Utas said...

Hilary, "cartoon come to life" is a good way to put it.

Barbara, I'm sure most people's thoughts wouldn't go to penguins first.

I'm glad the pics and vid were such a hit. Thanks.

Crabby McSlacker said...

I love penguins!!!!!

So I tried to leave a comment a couple days ago that probably contained something more interesting that "I love penguins", but blogger kept timing out and wouldn't let me in. Just wanted to let you know in case other folks couldn't get through either.

Leah J. Utas said...

Thanks, Crabby. There'll be more penguins along later.

Sorry to hear Blogger was being so mean. It does it to me often, too.

Anonymous said...

Penguins always seem so helpless on land, they are really cute

Leah J. Utas said...

St. Patrick, for as cumbersome as land is to them, they are adorable.