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Extraordinary Birdwatching in Antarctica: Q&A with Expert Ornithologist and Conservationist Peter Ryan
Peter Ryan has dedicated his career to researching birdlife in extreme environments, including the Emperor Penguin in awe-inspiring Antarctica. Photo: Christoph Hoebenreich
Observing birds in remote and challenging environments is Peter Ryan’s forte.
As a leading ornithologist and expert bird conservationist, Ryan has spent four decades exploring and researching birdlife in extreme environments, including the iconic Emperor Penguins of Antarctica.
His passion for the natural world initially began at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where he studied how plastic pollution affects seabirds. Later, he completed his PhD on the evolution of finches found on uninhabited islands in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, south Atlantic Ocean, renowned for being home to the world’s most remote human community.
Ryan’s contributions have shaped conservation practices and deepened our understanding of the challenges facing bird populations, particularly in marine environments, and due to climate change.
Yet, despite his deep scientific knowledge, his passion lies in making it accessible to others. He often advocates for amateur involvement in ornithology, authoring multiple books on bird identification, and serving as the scientific advisor for African Birdlife magazine.
Here he shares his insights into spotting the highly specialised bird species that call Antarctica home – for anyone planning a deep-field adventure to see Emperor Penguins, Ryan is a trusted voice who combines scientific know-how with a genuine love for these incredible birds.
Q: What makes Antarctica such a unique destination for birdwatchers and nature lovers?
Peter Ryan: Antarctica is renowned for its extreme weather conditions—it’s the coldest, driest, and highest continent on Earth. Despite its harsh environment, it hosts some truly iconic bird species, including the Emperor Penguin.
Observing these birds in their natural habitat is an experience that few people have the opportunity to witness.
The colony of Emperor Penguins, discovered from satellite imagery in 2009, was only first visited in November 2023 – with a count of the colony showing it is three times the size initially estimated. The trip was funded by a small expedition group hosted by Ultima Antarctic Expeditions. Photo: Christoph Hoebenreich
Q: How accessible is Antarctica for tourists, particularly those interested in birdwatching?
Peter Ryan: Although Antarctica is high on many people’s bucket list, only a lucky few manage to visit the white continent.
Antarctic tourism continues to grow, recently surpassing 100,000 visitors per year for the first time, but this is trivial compared to other continents. In 2023, Europe welcomed more than 700 million visitors, Asia 300 million, the Americas 200 million, Africa 66 million and Australasia 10 million.
Most tourists visit the Antarctic Peninsula, which is a short cruise across the often tempestuous Drake Passage. Here you are likely to observe a good cross section of Antarctic scenery and wildlife, but you can easily fail to see perhaps the most sought-after bird species of all: the Emperor Penguin.
Cruises from Tasmania and New Zealand are almost guaranteed to deliver Emperors, but they take much longer to reach the continent. A bonus, however, is that most stop at some of the sub-Antarctic islands en route.
South Africa is the third gateway for Antarctic tourism.
You can fly to the continent from Cape Town in under 6 hours from November, with deep-field logistics operator Ultima Antarctic Expeditions who offer seats on flights in support of the various national Antarctic research programmes in the same region.
Ultima has a lodge, the Ultima Oasis Camp, at Schirmacher Oasis, a nunatak on the Antarctic coastline some 115 kilometres south of the edge of the ice-shelf and close to the blue-ice runway where the plane lands.
From there, you can explore the terrain around Oasis on foot and the surrounding region by Twin Otter or Arctic Truck.
For birders, the main attraction is one of two Emperor Penguin colonies a short flight from the Oasis. To the northwest, a new colony was also discovered from satellite imagery in 2009, and visited for the first time in November 2023. To the northeast, the Lazarev colony was first sighted from the air in the 1960s but has yet to be visited!
Q: Can you describe the breeding habits of Emperor Penguins and what makes them so special?
Peter Ryan: Emperor Penguins are unique in being the only bird to breed on ice and they do so through the frigid Antarctic winter. Adults congregate at breeding sites at the end of summer and, after a brief courtship, the females leave the males to incubate the single egg on their feet for two months.
The males survive by huddling together to share body heat, making this the only penguin that forgoes the need for some personal space while breeding. The huddles of incubating males slowly move downwind, as birds on the exposed side shuffle round to gain some protection from the wind.
By the time the chicks hatch in July, the males have been fasting for almost four months, yet they are still able to feed their offspring with an oily glandular secretion if their partners have not returned. The chicks are brooded for four to five weeks, until they are large enough to survive by forming a crèche with other chicks.
Then both adults are free to forage for the chick, commuting across the sea ice to areas of open water. The chicks leave the colony from mid-December, freeing up their parents to prepare for their annual moult.
Once that is complete, the adults must fatten up to prepare for the rigours of the next breeding season.
Emperor Penguins are the only bird to breed on ice and they do so through the frigid Antarctic winter. Photo: Christoph Hoebenreich
Q: When is the best time to visit Antarctica to see Emperor Penguins, especially with their chicks?
Peter Ryan: Most cruises visit Antarctica only after the chicks have fledged. To see them in their super-cute downy plumage in spring you either need a powerful icebreaker equipped with a helicopter or you have to fly to the continent, which is where the deep-field expeditions come in.
From November and early December it is now possible to fly for six hours from Cape Town to Antarctica with Ultima Antarctic Expeditions, and then take a one-hour flight in a Twin Otter to one of the colonies at the edge of the ice-shelf.
Q: How many Emperor Penguin colonies are there, and how are they discovered?
Peter Ryan: There are some 65 Emperor Penguin colonies, spaced every few hundred kilometres around much of the Antarctic coast. They are absent only from the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and the long stretches of ice-shelf edge in the Ross and Weddell seas.
About half of all colonies were first discovered from satellite imagery; the penguins’ dark brown faeces stain the ice and cause localised melting that is readily detected by satellite.
Q: What are the main threats to Emperor Penguins, particularly in the context of climate change?
Peter Ryan: The chicks have to be fully feathered before the ice on which they breed breaks up. Early break-up of the sea ice has resulted in catastrophic breeding failures at some colonies.
For example, in 2015 the ice under the Emperor colony at Halley Bay, the largest in the Weddell Sea, broke up by mid-November thanks to reduced sea ice and strong winds linked to a powerful El Niño event.
That this is only going to get worse is indicated by the past three years having the smallest extent of sea ice around Antarctica since satellite observations began in 1979.
There appears to have been a fundamental shift in sea ice conditions around the continent over the past decade or so, with ice formation becoming more erratic each year.
Climate model projections suggest that most Emperor Penguin colonies will be effectively extinct by the end of the century.
Q: Besides Emperor Penguins, what other bird species can be seen during a visit to Antarctica?
Peter Ryan: The list is remarkably short. A few pairs of South Polar Skuas breed at the Oasis and small numbers forage at the Emperor Penguin colonies.
The only other regular breeding species is Wilson’s Storm Petrel, which nests in crevices on scree slopes at the northern edge of Schirmacher Oasis. They are most active at midnight, flying along the cliffs and calling from burrows, but are still easily seen thanks to the 24-hour daylight!
The delightful Snow Petrel only breeds at mountains farther inland, but occasionally is seen passing over the Oasis. Southern Fulmars were only recently recorded in the region, near the northern slope of the Oasis in December 2023.
Finally, the odd pair of Adélie Penguins sometimes attempts to breed at the Oasis, but they invariably fail as the commute to the ocean is too far for them to ferry food to their chicks. They also visit Emperor Penguin colonies, where some birds build nests from ice pellets. These attempts invariably fail, however, as the egg melts into the ice once the parents start to incubate.
One of a pair of Southern Fulmars displaying on the northern slope of Schirmacher Oasis in December 2023. This is the first record of the species from the region. Photo: David Sinclair.
Q: How does tourism in Antarctica impact the environment, and what measures are in place to protect it?
Peter Ryan: Antarctica is unique in not being part of any sovereign nation. In terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, the area south of the 60th parallel is set aside as a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science.
READ: 10 Cool Facts about Antarctica
Most Antarctic tour operators belong to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), which promotes safe and environmentally responsible tourism to the continent. IAATO provides guidelines to minimise impact on wildlife and the environment in general, and imposes strict biosecurity and waste-management regulations, as well as emission controls on tourist vessels.
Regular inspections of tourist facilities ensure that these regulations are enforced.
Only about a thousand tourists visit the interior each year, which is less than one percent of all visits to Antarctica.
Despite the stringent controls, there is pressure to limit tourism to the continent, even though it has less impact than national research operations.
One way to further reduce the impact of tourism is to link it to existing logistic activities.
Want to learn more about Ultima’s leisure Antarctic expeditions in support of science? Or perhaps you’re interested in a Photographic Expedition to capture this remote continent’s unique birdlife? Reach out to our Ultima Experts who can help tailor your experiences to suit your unique travel aspirations and fitness level.