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A ranger gave a talk about penguins and shearwaters whilst we waited for
the sun to drop. Nothing much happens during daylight. Our rangerette
did a fine job of keeping the kids occupied during the long vigil.
Turned out, though, the prime penguin season had already passed and
shearwater season was in full swing. Not what we came to see (Ak is
totally hooked on the Fairy -- now officially Little -- Penguins) but
an incredible sight nevertheless.
Thousands of birds come in each evening to feed their young, who are
in small burrows all around this area. The shearwaters are great flyers,
but (like so many long-distance birds) not so great at landing. To make
it worse, they have to put down in anything from dusk to nearly total
darkness, depending on how close they cut it.
They often barely miss people, and though the ranger said she'd only
been hit once in three years, one of them nearly got me. Using my combat
flight reflexes I ducked at the last instant (and the poor thing tried to
climb, but it was already on final approach and nearly stalled) and all I
got was a couple of feet brushed along my hat.
Clever little bugger went on to make a pretty good landing. I may have
helped bleed off a little speed.
They often hit bushes, paths, rocks, whatever. Sometimes with a
resounding thump. Then you can watch them gripe and flutter and stalk
off to find their nest.
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