Articles

 

Rockhopper penguin pair on their nest. Egg laying begins in November.

 

                            

 Rockhopper penguins in the Falkland Islands nest in mixed colonies with Black-browed albatross.

 

 Rockhopper penguins are very vocal and pairs call (high shrills) when they greet each other.

 

 Chicks hatch in December. Males brood the chick whilst the female goes to sea each day to feed their chick.

 

 The chick is fed fish, squid and krill daily by the female adult. 

Large chicks form creches, and both parents go to sea to provide food

for the growing chicks.

 

Penguin chicks' feet and flippers grow to full size faster than their bodies and

gives them a very disproportional look.

 

Once the chicks have fledged and left the nest the adults moult all their feathers in 28 days during March and April.

They can not go to sea during this time and fast on land.

 

Rockhopper penguins battle strong currents and swells, often coming ashore on rocks and cliffs.

 

Rockhopper penguins often wash and swim in tide pools.

They enjoy having a good clean after they have returned from sea or after they have spent many days sat on the nest.

 

 

 Rockhopper penguins have bred at the Falkland Islands for thousands of years before man arrived.

Their claw marks are etched in the rocks, generations upon generations of penguins scrambling and climbing their way to nests on top of the cliffs.