ANTARCTICA

If you were asked to name a bird lover's paradise, many tropical locations might spring to mind. But Kevin Calhoon, the Aquarium's assistant curator of forests, says the recent Aquarium trip to Antarctica was a birder's trip of a lifetime. The famed Drake Passage and icy islands that surround the world's coldest continent are home to a menagerie of winged wildlife.
Take a few moments to enjoy some of Kevin's spectacular images of Antarctica.

Notice the angular rocks making up the nest? We got rid of our smooth stones and replaced them with angular ones (better stacking) after observing these nests.	Gentoos love to lounge, they lay on the snow, sand, boulders -- doesn't matter where. (Necko Harbor, Antarctica)	We only visited one Chinstrap colony. (Near South Shetland Islands, Antarctica)	We've been worrying about keeping the beach at the aquarium clean for the chicks -- no more! Notice the krill colored ground in the rookery, these birds eat mostly krill, not fish like our birds. (Neko Harbor)
These young Gentoos were probably a couple of weeks old. Cold weather was coming in two to three weeks. Their chance of survival was minimal.	A 12 foot wingspan (longest in the world). One of four species of Albatross seen on the trip. (Drake Passage)	(South Shetland Islands) We got to see a sunset at the very same time we saw our first icebergs -- spectacular!	(Antarctica) This humpback blew very close to the boat and ended the lecture I was giving.
Leopard Seal on ice. They look very lazy and harmless sleeping on a iceberg . . . they are not!	The huge reptilian head of a leopard seal. They have a huge head full of teeth for eating penguins and seals. Their mouth is near the center of their face making them look snake-like.	A look at the 300ft Corinthian 2 (our ship) from Neko Harbor.	This is me standing next to a blue whale rib. It looked at least 15 feet long!