Penguins heading south

Like every other year in mid-September, Magellanic Penguins arrive at the coasts of Chubut.

Argentine history may be narrated as a story in the travel journal of different migration waves. And in September, as part of this story, spring comes to these lands and another kind of inhabitants arrive at Cabo Dos Bahías:  around 200 thousand couples of Magellanic Penguins.

Like any show, the vigilia (non-stop broadcast of the expected arrival) of these tuxedo-wearing inhabitants of well-known fidelity –according to the popular imagery-, took place live and non-stop for 72 hours from Friday 19 to Sunday 21.
The setting for this event is Cabo Dos Bahías, one of the most beautiful protected areas in the south of the Province of Chubut due to the impact generated by the contrast between the red of continental rocks and the waving blue of the sea.
The 132,124 arid hectares (326,478 acres) of Cabo Dos Bahías are located 320 kilometers (198 mi.) to the south of Rawson and 250 kilometers (155 mi.) to the north of Comodoro Rivadavia. Its vast geography encompasses coasts, 42 islands and maritime territory; its air space extends from Moreno Island up to Quintano Island, between the cities of Camarones and Comodoro Rivadavia, in the north area of San Jorge Gulf.
Magellanic Penguins share the cape with sea lions, southern giant petrels, imperial cormorants and black-neck cormorants, kelp gulls, southern seagulls and Olrog’s gulls, and guanacos, among other typical species.
After spending a season on Brazilian coasts, like every other year, the first to arrive are males. They find the same nest they used for mating with their partners during the previous year and clean it carefully.

Females arrive a few days later and, in late October, lay the eggs that will hatch some forty days later.  Newborn chicks are looked after by their parents, who take turns to forage for food.

In this way, a new generation of Argentine penguins is born to migrating, restless, traveling parents. After they have changed their feathers, the parents and their offspring will leave for the northeast of South America, thus saying goodbye to these lands, although only for some time.