Penguins

These feisty little bruisers are inquisitive, charming and (it would seem) almost without fear. Rockhopper Penguins breed in communal rookeries usually situated on or near the top of a cliff. Often they make their way to and from the sea by along a rocky chute into teeming waters - which makes them very much the stunt men of the penguin world. They grow to about 64cm in height and 700,000 of them make the Falkland Islands their home.

Magellanic penguins are often known as jackass penguins due to their loud, donkey-like call. If, like me, you are a light sleeper then these guys will probably wake you in the night! They nest in burrows dug out of peaty soil where they typically lay two eggs. There are around 200,000 of these birds spread across the Falkland Islands. They grow to around 70cm tall.

Gentoos breed in communal rookeries usually on flat ground near to the beach, however, they may move farther inland for no apparent reason. There are nearly 140,000 gentoos on the Falklands. They lay two eggs and feed predominantly on krill. As gentoo penguin chicks grow and become more confident they become very comical to watch - particularly as they chase random adults around hoping for a feed or engage in wing-slapping fights.

The largest of the Falkland Peguins, kings can grow to almost a metre in height. They are handsome birds and tend to be less active than their smaller cousins. The largest colony on the Falklands, at Volunteer Point has been growing steadily in recent years but still numbers only a couple of thousand pairs. King penguins have a strange breeding cycle producing one chick every eighteen months.

Macaroni penguins are larger and stockier than rockhoppers with darker more defined crests but otherwise they are fairly similar in appearance and habits. They are the rarest resident penguin on the Falklands with only fifty breeding pairs on the islands. The one featured in this photo was a solitary male who had taken up residence in a rockhopper rookery

One thing is for certain, penguin colonies are never dull. They are busy, smelly, noisy, entertaining, amusing and surprising places to be. To start off with, there are hundreds of birds in close proximity. And then there are continually penguins coming and going, running the gauntlet of beaks and wings to get to their spot. Penguins don't leave the colony to go to the loo - they just lean forward. Woe betide the penguins sleeping lazily behind when that happens! Penguins are inquisative too - so if you approach the edge of a colony and then crouch down to take photos you will often find yourself the centre of attention. The colonies provide some protection - but they are not foolproof and occasionally you may see a predator take an egg or a chick (as happened just after this picture of a skua attacking a gentoo colony).

Penguins live and breed all around the southern hemisphere - you can see them in South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the Galapogos.

On the Falkland Islands you can see penguins on many of the beaches. The favourite places to go, however are Sealion Island (for Rockhoppers, Gentoos and Magellanic penguins), Saunders Island (for Rockhoppers, Gentoos and Kings as well as black-browed Albatross) and Volunteer Point (for Kings and Gentoos). Getting to the Falklands is a bit of a trek - but LAN Chile operate a weekly flight from Punta Arenas which is probably the cheapest way onto the Islands. Having a good tour operator sort out an itinerary for you makes getting there and getting around a whole lot easier. I used Falkland Island Holidays and they were excellent.

Alternatively, if you can't afford the time (or money to travel) you can always jsut head over to flickr and see loads more penguin photos there...