Day 1,015: Kelp Goose. Patagonia and the Chilean Fjords.

Laetitia led a tour that began with several days in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia and then moved on to the Chilean Fjords. Beneath the surface of the fjord waters are kelp forests that serve as habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals that serve as food for Kelp Geese. You are likely to see these frequently as you cruise the fjords.

On Chilean coasts near the sea
The Kelp Goose is a treat to see
On the ground or in flight
She is black; he is white
So it’s easy to tell she from he.

Day 1,014: Rockhopper Penguin. Patagonia and the Chilean Fjords.

Laetitia led a tour that began with several days in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia and then moved on to the Chilean Fjords. The fjords are home to several subantarctic penguin species. These include Rockhoppers that are often seen on the high cliffs that line the fjords.

With each eye crowned with brief yellow crest
The Rockhopper Penguin likes best
Rocky cliffs that are high
Near the sea that’s nearby
As a place to live and build its nest.

Day 1,013: Blackish Oystercatcher. Patagonia and the Chilean Fjords.

Laetitia led a tour that began with several days in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia and then moved on to the Chilean Fjords. One often sees oystercatchers on shoreline rocks while cruising in Zodiacs in the fjords. They are easy to identify by their striking scarlet bills.

If an ebony shore bird you spy
With a striking red beak and gold eye
It’s an Oystercatcher
Shellfish master cracker
And its mate is most likely nearby.

Day 1,012: Black-necked Swan. Patagonia and the Chilean Fjords.

Laetitia led a tour that began with several days in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia and then moved on to the Chilean Fjords. Chilean poet, Pablo Naruda, wrote of the Black-necked swan, “Above the swimming snow a long black question.”

Of Black-Necked Swans, many are fond
As they swim in bay, lake, stream, or pond
For Neruda, they sparked
A black question mark
Before he joined the great beyond.