This sound postcard is a submission to the fantastic Nature Soundmap run by Marc Anderson of Wild Ambience.
Magellanic penguins colony at Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve (January 2010)
Soundscape field recording from Punta Tombo, Chubut Province, Argentina (44.0454° S, 65.2235° W). Punta Tombo is a 3.5km long, 600m wide peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean, host to the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in the world, with over 200.000 breeding pairs.
In the 1960s the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Province of Chubut Bureau of Tourism began working together to protect the wildlife of the region. In 1979 Luis and Francisco La Regina donated 210 hectares of their sheep-ranching land to form what is now the Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve (source: http://www.penguinstudies.org/argentina). The penguins arrive here in late September (early spring) and stay until April, protecting their eggs and raising their chicks for the next migration.
I got the chance to visit this wonderful place back in 2010. There weren't many visitors around so I got plenty of quiet time to soak it all in and get a few memorable sound recordings. This nature reserve is well run, with educational information boards about the penguins, their habitat and other animals living here such as gulls, cormorants, rheas and guanacos. The infrastructure is basic, consisting of a wooden walkway that keeps human footprint (literally) to a minimum. Penguins cross your path as they go from the nest to the beach and back. It's all very friendly and there is a real emphasis on respect and conservation, which leaves you feeling assured that these amiable creatures have a safe space to grow and multiply.
