skua

I overheard someone say that you could see the edge of the ice from half way up Ob Hill.  The edge of the ice where the other side is water.  I thought that’d be cool to see so I went up Ob Hill today after dinner.  It wasn’t any easier going up or coming down and I can’t even tell if I saw the water or not.  There was a distinct dark line that could have been blue WAAAAY off in the distance.  But it would be hard for me to say definitively that it was water.  I saw something though, could have been water.

When I got to the top, there was a Skua sitting up there.  It is a bird.  It was quite a surprise, it was like he was waiting for me.  They are a pretty impressive bird, kind of like a sea gull, but bigger and brown in color.  They are known for dive bombing people coming out of the galley to take their food.  I don’t know how they get here, maybe I should look it up, but I do know that they are protected under the Antarctic Treaty which basically says if you disturb the wildlife, you’re too close and could be fined heftily.  The wildlife can trap you inside or stop monster trucks in the road, no matter what, they have the right of way.  Obviously, I stayed away but tried to zoom in and got this picture.