Antarctica - South Georgia
One of the greatest and most breath-taking wildlife spectacles in the entire world, and certainly among the top ten bird experiences worldwide, is the incredible concentration of nesting King Penguins on Salisbury Plain on the island of South Georgia. Here approximately 100,000 pairs of Kings nest, covering the flats and sweeping up a barren mountain slope for a hundred feet or more. Along the shoreline, thousands more gather, returning from or entering the sea to feed, their sea-washed white breasts and bellies gleaming in the sunlight. Along the edges of the colony, a cacophonous symphony of bugling, honking cries bombard the senses as birds raise their beaks skyward, proclaiming territory, attracting mates, or simply celebrating life.
Snow and glacier covered mountains surround this stadium-like colony, while the gently rolling grassy plains nearby host so many hauled-out Antarctic fur seals that, from a distance, the scene is reminiscent of the Serengeti.
