VI 
February k, 5, 1963 
Banco - Couverville Island area. 
Here is an outstanding biard area - Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins in 
large rookeries. The forraer are centered on Couverville end thus mgate 
this excellent building site as a place for a laboratory'. Theare also happens 
to be a fine safe boat shelter on the east side of this island behind a 
natural breolomter upon vhich a eiaall shelter could be erected. At high 
tide it would be isolated as water flows in over the in-shore end of this 
ridge. Atop its widest i»rt is an abandoned whale boat. The whalers knew 
a good shelter when they saw om. Thei^ is quite a bit of snow -free rock 
here. Jack Crowell has walked over it. 
A ^hort distance to the north of the Base ” 0 " hut, on Banco Island, 
there is a large Gentoo colony, wheie birds were mrchlng back and forth 
in deep "ruts" or tracks all the while we were ashore. The landing is 
poor here because along the shore the water is so very shallow for quite 
a distance out. 
Last but not least is the Chinstrap penguin rookery, or rather c®tro- 
polis, on Cape Spigot, It is a si^t worth travelling to Antarctica to see. 
On the Argentine charts the name ie Hunstak Hegro. Its foreshore is crowded 
with Chinstraps, among whom a single Gentoo was spotted, but the bulk of 
the Chinstraps in this vast rookery bad nests, or roosts if you will, all 
over the rock, steep elopes of Cape Spigot. Svery emw-free patch of rock, 
and the greater part of this great and impressive Cape was crowded with 
penguins. Capt. McDonald estimated that this Nunatak must have at least 
300,000 Chinstraps. Vhat hikers and climbers the Chinstraps must be to avail 
