On a boat from Ushuaia, we traveled east on the Beagle Channel and eventually landed at Martillo Island, where we saw Magellenic and Gentoo Penguins. Along the way, we switched to a smaller boat at Estancia Harberton, the oldest farm in Terria del Feugo.
Other sites: Sea lions in the Beagle Channel and the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse.
The tour was operated by PiraTour.
Information about the penguins from the website of Estancia Harberton:
"By agreement with Estancia Harberton, the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC) in Ushuaia and the Government of Tierra del Fuego, 80 persons in four groups per day are permitted to walk among the penguins on a designated trail. For safety reasons people are only allowed to walk on the island with a specialized tour guide, in a limited area and under very specific rules, which help us keep both visitors and penguins happy. Part of a scientific experiment on the effect of humans on the penguins, this walk is among the Magellanic penguins; the gentoo penguins are more touchy and must not be disturbed."
"The Harberton estancia, which covers 50,000 acres of mountains, forests, lakes and islands, has, since the opening of the road in 1978, been managed as a working nature reserve. Two parts of the reserve are special: 'The Park' at the homestead, which has been fenced since the 1890s, and Isla Yécapasela (the native name; it is Isla Martillo on the maps) and its surrounding islands in the Beagle Channel. Originally used by the Bridges family for sheep and even cattle (forming instant fields in the early days), these were removed in the 1960s and penguins have resettled on Yecapasela."
"As of 2009, Yécapasela has a colony of 3000 pairs of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), 16 pairs of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua)- the only rookery in continental Argentina- and 155 pairs of rock cormorants (Phalacrocorax magellanicus) nest on the cliffs to the south. This penguin colony, the only one reachable from Ushuaia, is growing gradually each year. Yécapasela is a great habitat for these penguins, as there are very few predators in the area, abundant food and the ground and vegetation provide adequate shelter for nests and chicks."
"Penguins start to arrive on the island early in October to start their annual breeding season, raise their chicks and molt their feathers. Around late March and first days of April, penguins leave to begin their usual migration northward, and will feed at sea for more than 6 months, until the winter is over and spring calls them again to breed on land."
"At Yécapasela you may also see the predatory skua (Catharacta chilensis), and very occasionally, a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica) may visit."
The tour operator was PiraTour.
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