Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Drone/Aerial
Emperors of Crown Bay

The Emperor Penguin colony of Crown Bay. This image shows part of the rarely visited Ragnhild Emperor Penguin colony in Queen Maud Land. The colony was discovered by Alain Hubert in 2012 through an analysis of satellite imagery. I flew a drone to capture aerial images to obtain an accurate count of the chicks from which the number of breeding pairs can be inferred as each breeding pair produces a single chick. If the sea-ice breaks up early and the chicks have not yet developed their water-proof plumage the chicks can be lost and the Emperors have to wait for another long dark frigid winter to try again. This image captures the precarious situation of breeding colonies exposed to early sea-ice breakup.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Antarctica
Camera: L2D-20c
Copyright: © David Sinclair