Skua Sighting!

Skuas: a group of seabirds with about seven species forming the family Stercorariidae and the genus Stercorarius. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in North America. The English word "skua" comes from the Faroese name skúgvur for the Great Skua, with the island of Skúvoy renowned for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is kjógvi. The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word Jäger, meaning "hunter". Skuas nest on the ground in temperate and Arctic regions, and are long-distance migrants. They have even been sighted at the South Pole.

So, as you can imagine at the pole we have no wildlife of any kind… usually.  BUT!  Today, we had a lonesome skua flying around.  An announcement was made and most of the station came to take a look!  It’s a big deal at the pole!  We can assume he flew in with the traverse or with the tourists who skied in this past week.  At any rate, the decision for the bird to come to the pole was a fatal one.  We have nothing for him to eat or warm place for him to hide.  And, he has no other friends here, he came solo.  Poor bird……

Sorry I haven’t posted much this week- my scheduled has changed and I am either sleeping or working when the satellites pass overhead, and the internet is up.  The Prime Minister of Norway did come, as well as nearly 100 tourists (who are here camping outside)!  I will post pictures and tell all about it soon!!