Sea birds account for about 30% of all bird species found within the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean to 40 degrees South. On a trip to any specific part of this region you will only encounter a sampling of these sea birds since although many of them travel vast distances around the Antarctic continent, many are also found only within limited geographical areas.

There are 21 species of Albatross and 61 species of Petrel, of which we saw on our trip 4 of the former and perhaps 10 of the latter. The most dramatic of these birds, of course, are the Wandering and Southern Royal Albatross which are the longest-winged flying birds on the planet. Both can have wingspans in excess of 3 metres.

The Petrels, Prions and Storm Petrels are a difficult bunch to distinguish, especially on the wing. They are hard, too, to photograph standing on a heaving deck with a large telephoto lens as they swoop past the back of the ship.

The Brown Skuas are seen everywhere, opportunistically hunting and scavenging, as are the Kelp Gulls, the only true Antarctic gull.

And then there is the Arctic Tern which breeds only in the northern hemisphere, spending the northern summer largely within the Arctic Circle. It then flies all the way south to the Antarctic region where it spends October through April in the Austral summer. It is not only the most travelled of birds, but also sees more hours of daylight than any other!