Despite the rather grisly name, the island got its name from the ship HMS Carcass which surveyed the island in 1766. It’s been a sheep farm for over a century and is presently privately owned. Despite the sheep farming, the island has been carefully maintained with a variety of vegetation. There are no rats or cats on the island. As a result, bird life thrives with all local species nesting on the ground.
Greater Magellan or Upland Goose
We saw several pairs of striated caracara, a Near Threatened bird in the eagle/falcon family. There are about 500 nesting pairs in the Falklands. They, like most of the birds we saw here, were unperturbed by our presence.
The expedition crew had loosely marked a 4 km route along the shore out to a spit of land dividing two beaches. We left the boat in bright sun, but on the zodiac ride over it hailed hard, stinging our faces as we rode to shore. Luckily, the weather changes quickly in the Falklands and the hail ended as we landed, turning into a lovely day for a walk. The brilliant blue water looked almost tropical.
Gorse, a non-native plant from Scotland, was in full bloom. It may be invasive, but it provides a splash of color in an otherwise rocky, brown environment.
Our telltale red jackets make it easy for the crew to mark our progress.
A trio of small black and white dolphins frolicked around our zodiac when we got back to the ship.
This is our final landing for the ship. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head southwest to Ushuaia, Argentina from which we will take a flight back to Buenos Aires. The lack of guidance and planning will be a big change we we head out for a few days of exploring on our own.
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