Okay, all you penguin fanatics. Our friends at the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research station in Antarctica have found a way for us to spy on their neighbors—Adélie penguins! They've set up a webcam that brings LIVE looks at the rookery on Torgersen Island. You may recall from Jo's penguin post that the island is home to a colony of Adélie penguins numbering approximately 2,500.

Screen captures of the actual webcam!

You can visit and monitor Adélie rookery with a first hand view here (look for the Torgersen Island tab below the picture of Palmer Station). You may see an Adélie parent caring for chicks while its partner takes to the Ross Sea to feed on krill. You may see a penguin preening. And look out for those fluffy chicks! While Torgersen Island is primarily home to Adélies, other penguins may sometimes be seen on screen, including gentoo and chinstrap penguins (check out Jo's pictures of the different species here). We recently hosted a Google+ Hangout with the researchers on Palmer, too. Shawn had some really interesting things to share about the penguins. Check it out!

This camera is seasonal and operates primarily from October to February, which is the Adélie breeding season. Since the camera is solar-powered it sometimes experiences brief outages due to inclement weather.

Aquarium senior educator Jo Blasi is on expedition to Antarctica to help study the impact of climate change in these areas and changes in the marine ecosystem. She will be live blogging frequently about the expedition, research technologies and marine life encountered during the trip.



All of Jo's entries are cross posted on the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research Station site here. Track her progress on the R/V Gould, and learn more about the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research Station.