XIV 
Febrmry 20, 21, 1963 
¥elchnes8, Dtmdee Island. 
Here we have acres of snow-free laM, eno\igh or aliK>st enou^s to set 
up a secoi^ MdSurdo, but the place api^rently has been feken over by the 
Argentines, fudging from buildings, survey stakes, atrf tractor tracks. 
torwiing with or from the LCVP was troubles«ae, beached ice cakes lined 
the shores of ti^ peninsula or spit tlmt form the major part of Cape 
Welchnese, leeward as well as windward sides. 
Ashore we covei^jd the open, more or less level, snotz-free land from 
om side of the peninsula to tlse other. Pound only scanty and scattered 
©mil patches of mose. Apparently few birds about, other than a ©mil 
flock or group of terns where the peninsula jset the ice cliffs on the wind- 
ward side, none of the birds seen were nesting! Gentoo penguin© were few 
ard far between? a Bominlesn gull or two was flying about, lisjre were "roosting 
on an ice cake just off shore. Standing on a smll hillock was a skua end 
her nearly Hat\ja*e chick, but no others in the air at the tim. The garbage 
dui^d trzm the ship always brou^t more birds around than we saw on, or 
over, land, except lr*g, of course, penguins. 
Some live seals, not many, were lying on the beaches, mre were farther 
out on ice cakes, but well inland and scattered far and wide over the whole 
area were 20 or 30 (perlmps more) remins of dead seals — I would judge 
adolescent or ha If -grown, my have bcfen younger. The skin, and the bones 
within, were about all that was left? heads seemed to have been picked 
clean. The cause of death - I find it difficult to believe that they could 
have been stillborn young, much too large. 
