My Penguin Year by Lindsay McCrae

Author:Lindsay McCrae [McCrae, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062971388
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

5.

The Worst Winter on Earth

As I entered the month of June, I hadn’t seen the sun for over two weeks. Despite the fact that the sun had disappeared below the horizon, I was surprised at how much twilight there was over midday, especially under cloudless skies. Not only was it dark for much of each day, it was unimaginably cold and for most of the time, exceptionally windy. The brutality of an Antarctic winter had well and truly kicked in. Just venturing outside caused my eyelashes to freeze together, making it difficult for me to even see, but for the penguins it was so much worse; they didn’t have the comfort of a warm research station to return to each evening.

This new season altered the world outside; everything had been transformed into a mysterious murk and nothing looked the same. The extended darkness with no light pollution meant I could see millions of stars; the night sky extended high above my head and I felt I could see further than I ever had before. It just went on and on. Ice crystals on the frozen ocean sparkled under the faint light from the moon. In such a pure white landscape the moonlight transformed the scenery. There was so much beauty amongst the weather’s brutality. The sun wasn’t that far under the horizon but it didn’t offer us any warmth or respite. The only reminder that the sun still shone elsewhere on Earth was the reflection from the moon that gave a little bit of light to the landscape in front of me.

Looking down on the snow at my short, dark shadow, I thought about the long summer days that seemed so far away. My family kept sending me pictures of the beautiful summer they were experiencing at home, the fresh green grass, the butterflies fluttering; it seemed a million miles away. The temperature difference between there and where I was standing was up to 80 degrees Celsius at times. I was in the middle of an Antarctic winter at the opposite end of the planet to everyone I loved and the feeling of being comfortable and warm outside was something I simply couldn’t remember.

Physically and mentally, things were starting to get tough. It was crucial that I captured the full extent of an Antarctic winter to show just what the birds go through to reproduce each year. I started to feel the pressure. I owed it to them to show everything they went through; the cold and the winds are almost impossible to describe but maybe the pictures could do the experience justice and show just what they have to endure.

Male emperor penguins brood their large single egg for approximately sixty-four days, the longest continuous duration in the bird world. It’s an epic feat. All day and all night they were having to battle just to keep themselves warm and to ensure their precious egg remained in position on the top of their feet. Each penguin was hanging on; the lives of the next generation depended on them.

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