“I didn’t know there were donkeys on Carcass Island,” I say to Bill at 4 a.m. one morning as the sound of braying awakens us. Suddenly it hits us. What we think is the sound of donkeys is actually coming from the large numbers of Magellanic penguins (also known as Jackass Penguins) that inhabit the beach below the settlement.  The chorus continues until the sun rises above the horizon.

It 30-minute flight to Carcass Island from Pebble (our previous destination) on the FIGAS aircraft. Gentle, rolling hills sloping down to sandy beaches and crystal clear turquoise waters cover the five-mile-long, 1.5-mile wide island, named after a Royal Navy ship that visited in the 1700s. Healthy tussac grass lines the shores, providing shelter to an abundance of wildlife.

Carcass Island is a 5,000-acre sheep farm belonging to Rob and Lorraine McGill who have owned it for over 40 years. They warmly and graciously welcome us to their super comfortable, red-roofed, farm-house with its cozy living room and enormous dining room where up to 16 of us dine at a communal table.

A rare thick grove of Monterey cypress trees surrounds the settlement, which sits on a small bay.  There have only been three owners of Carcass Island, all committed to maintaining the island as a wildlife reserve. As a result, it is “cat and rat free,” which means that songbirds not found on other islands in the archipelago proliferate, including Cobb’s wren (found only on the Falklands), meadowlarks, thrush, finches, Black-chinned siskins and more. The trees and thick, high bushes are also a haven from the incessant wind.

To protect the tussac grass, Rob only maintains enough sheep on the island for food;  a small herd of cows, that he milks himself, provide the home-made, raw-milk butter and milk for breakfast and the thick, rich cream that is slathered on every dessert we eat during our three days on the island.  Rob’s Chilean chef, Roldan, and his assistants prepare the food, using produce that is grown on the island. We eat like royalty!!! 

So do the many striated caracaras that perch on the trees outside the kitchen door waiting for Roldan to throw out the kitchen scraps! We find them everywhere on Carcass Island, watching us as we explore, waiting to snitch something when you are not paying attention. No wonder locally they are called Johnny Rooks (rhymes with crooks)! These birds are actually very rare, found only on the Falkland Islands and in some remote parts of South America.

About 70 yards from the house on a rocky beach,  flocks of Magellanic oystercatchers scavenge for shellfish, their bright orange beaks accenting the colors of the morning as they wend their way through groups of black and white Magellanic penguins with whom they share the space. Between the braying of the penguins and the ear-splitting whistle of the oystercatchers, the beach is a noisy place.

A small yellow fishing boat is anchored in the harbor. This is the “Condor,” our transportation from Carcass Island to West Point Island. Around it you can spot  Commerson’s dolphins fishing in the calm waters of the bay and occasionally a seal, coming to see what you are doing. Black-crowned night herons roost near the dock.

Given the amount of food we are served, it is a good thing that we need to hike to visit the island. On our first day, Rob drives us to the southern tip of the island in his Land Rover and drops us off with a picnic lunch. He tries to vary the path that he takes over the heath to avoid permanently damaging the landscape. 

There is so much to see and photograph that we spend the entire day amidst the wildlife before hiking back to the settlement.

Vast rookeries of Gentoo and Magellanic penguins cover Leopard Beach and its surrounding hills. There is a constant stream of Gentoos going to and from the water. As they return from a day of fishing, they climb back up the hill, calling. Suddenly a chick comes careening out of the pack towards the parent, and a game of catch ensues. The adult makes the chick chase it around for a good five minutes before finally succumbing and sharing food. There are incredible images to be had of chicks diving down the throats of the parent to retrieve a glob of squid.

Meanwhile, Magellanic penguins, which burrow on the higher ground start heading towards the water. If they are startled, they drop onto their bellies and slither along the sand, almost like lizards, rushing en masse towards the water.

As elsewhere, when there are penguins and chicks, you can count on the skuas and other birds of prey lurking around waiting for an easy meal. Most of these birds will ignore you unless there is a nest nearby at which point you can count on them becoming very aggressive.

At one point during our stay, Rob asks if we would like to go along while he rounds up his cows, which seem to have strayed onto the airstrip. Sidney, Rob’s border collie, races along in front of the Land Rover. He knows exactly what he has to do. As Rob drives behind the cows blowing the car horn, Sidney nips at their heels, herding them off the airstrip and into a safer pasture. In so doing, he runs through an area where skuas are nesting. Immediately, the birds soar into the air, diving down to try and peck at the dog. Once the cows are out of the nesting area, the skuas back off.

The northern end of the island, which we explore the next day, is home to gigantic elephant seals. The ones we see lolling on the beach are bachelors; the alpha males, females and young have already gone back to sea. Huge, lumbering blobs of blubber, they lie, soaking up the sun, waking periodically to spar, rearing up their heads, opening their mouths and bashing each other. Mostly they ignore us, their big, soulful eyes staring banefully. They are stuck on the island until they have finished molting, which means they cannot go to sea to eat. You can’t get too close. 

Several freshwater ponds in the area are home to Uplands Geese and Ruddy-headed geese, pintail ducks, grebes and tussac birds that are so friendly they will follow you around waiting for a handout.

This area is also a beachcomber’s delight although you are discouraged from collecting any souvenirs (your baggage will be X-rayed when you fly out from Mt Pleasant airport, and anything that you might have collected will be confiscated, so don’t bother). It is here that you will find the skeletons of whales which have beached themselves, one of which is now being used as a nest by a Cobb’s wren. 

Carcass is one of the most popular islands in the Falklands, in great part due to the generous hospitality of its owners, Rob and Lorraine. We enjoy the time we spend with them and their family, listening to tales of what it is like to live in such a remote location. If you are planning to visit the Falklands, then Carcass Island is one of the “must-see” locations. It is also extremely popular with cruise ships, which regularly land passengers at Leopard Beach in zodiacs to spend a few hours with the penguins. We are fortunate to spend three days and we would have stayed longer if we could.

 

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