March 16, 2018 at 2:18 pm

King Penguins on South Georgia Island

by twistedsifter

001 king penguin bird south georgia island King Penguins on South Georgia Island

PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIC CHEN / GETTY IMAGES

 

In conjunction with National Geographic’s 2018 Year of the Bird, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, National Geographic Travel has selected the “World’s Best Destinations for Bird-Watching

Seen above is South Georgia Island where half a million King Penguins, each standing three feet tall, pack shoulder to shoulder in mesmerizing colonies on this hundred-mile-long, glacier-studded island–reached by two days of sailing east of Chile’s Cape Horn.

Millions of smaller seabirds nest on the island’s tussock-covered slopes, partly thanks to the largest-ever rat-eradication effort, completed on South Georgia in 2015. While drinking in the abundant birdlife, raise a glass to Ernest Shackleton at his final resting place.

You can read National Geographic’s list of World’s Best Destinations for Bird-Watching here. The author of the list is Noah Strycker, who set a world record after observing 6,042 species of birds in one calendar year on a quest that spanned all seven continents and is also the author of the brand-new National Geographic book, Birds of the Photo Ark.

 

 

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