One of the tourist attractions in the Straits of Magellan near Punta Arenas is to visit the Magellanic penguin colony on Magdalena Island. (For anyone doing this tour, buy your ticket at the Comapa building near the Plaza. They offer a 4pm tour for about 60% of what you would pay for the 7am tour at another agency.)
The boat leaves from Tres Puentes and takes two hours to reach the island. Dolphins are often seen romping around the boat. Clouds are always dramatic and colorful, as they are anywhere in the southern latitudes.
Magdalena Island is 25 miles from Punta Arenas and consists of only a few acres of soft earth that penguins love to burrow into for their nests. It is probably only about 200 feet in elevation. It is topped with a lighthouse built in 1902. The light is mechanized but the building houses park rangers who keep watch over the penguin reserve.
A trail marked with a rope indicates where the tourists should not wander in the colony. Unfortunately the penguins don't follow the rules and regularly cross back and forth. One bird who seemed to have just lost a chick became a bit aggressive with one tourist and tried to bite her leg. Most of us just tried to stay clear.
We were told that this small island is home to 170,000 penguins. Ask me some day what that smells like! The entire island is covered with the birds.
The Magellanic penguin makes their next in the ground, normally laying two eggs. Today the chicks or pichones are approaching full size. We watched the females regurgitating to feed the young.
Gulls and Skua are the garbage cleaners on the island. During nesting periods they try to steal eggs. In this season they feed on weak penguins that died. These birds also nest on the island.
One hour on the island is enough to get a good idea of the Magellanic penguin. Here we head home and watch another spectacular Magellanic sunset.
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