Magellanic Penguins of Punta Tombo

Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) are a species of small penguin that inhabit the coasts of Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Punta Tombo, located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, is home to the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in the world, making it a popular tour destination for anyone landing in the local port of Puerto Madryn in Argentina. This region was originally colonized by people invited over from Wales and Welsh is still spoken in parts of the area. Many Welsh town names can be found. I recently took the tour to Punta Tombo from the Viking Chilean Fjords and South America cruise, and this is a short(ish) summary of what you see there! I have also written about the penguins on the Falkland Islands if you want to learn more about these delightful creatures. And, finally, if you are keen about ocean cruises, you can read about the ports on Alaskan and Mediterranean cruises via these links.

The first thing to say is that it is a large and somewhat featureless area going south from Puerto Madryn. The coach ride takes nearly 2.5 hours (with a toilet break) and the most exciting thing you see is a Welsh motel:

Although I have to admit there is a large dinosaur by the side of the road, advertising the finding of what is perhaps the largest dinosaur fossils ever found. This photo also gives you some idea of the scenery along the road!

Punta Tombo is a peninsula that extends 3.7 miles into the Atlantic Ocean and is located approximately 60 miles south of Trelew, the nearest city. The area has been protected as a nature reserve since 1979 and is home to over 1 million breeding pairs of Magellanic penguins.

Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins that stand approximately 20 inches tall and weigh between 6 and 14 pounds. They have a distinctive black and white plumage, with a black back and white chest and belly. Magellanic penguins are known for their braying calls and distinctive waddling gait on land.

The breeding season for Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo typically begins in September, with the first eggs laid in early October. The penguins mate for life and return to the same nesting site each year. The female lays two eggs, and both parents take turns incubating them for approximately 40 days. After hatching, the chicks are fed by regurgitation from both parents for about 90 days until they fledge. They keep their top coast of dense feathers before shedding that to show their long term black and white plumage:

One of the unique features of Punta Tombo is the accessibility of the penguins to tourists. Visitors can walk among the penguin colonies along a wooden walkway down to the beach and observe their behavior up close. However, it is stressed that visitors must remain at least 5 meters (16 feet) away from the penguins and are not allowed to touch or disturb them in any way. With a telephoto lens, it is very easy to get closeups of penguins standing by the pathway. I didn’t know they had these ridges in their throat – it appears that these help the penguin catch and swallow a fish whole. They don’t have teeth and so need to get it into their stomach as quickly as possible!

At the viewing gallery you have a great view of the beach used by the penguins to reach the ocean as well as a top-down view of their activities:

Chicks old enough to get to the ocean and catch their own food are intriguing to watch. This one seemed to have some trouble getting past the surf:

The site also has herds of Guanacos, which are related to camels and llamas. They wander peacefully among the penguins and neither seems to care much about the other.

The parents spend their time waddling over the hills and down to the beach, catching dinner, and then waddling back to the nest:

There is no shortage of opportunities to capture images and videos of these little penguins as they are visible in every direction and have no fear whatsoever for their human visitors. The issue is how to edit the final images down to a reasonable number – I hope this article has given you some background to their lives by the ocean at Punta Tombo:

We continue these stories from the Viking Chilean Fjords and South American cruise with a visit to Colonia del Sacramento.