Seals and Sea Lions

Elephant Seals
Return to Islands in September. Pupping starts at the end of September and continues through October (Height of Pupping Season) and November. The largest breeding area in the Falkland Islands is Sea Lion Island.

Sea Lions
Pupping time end of December & January.

Penguins

Gentoo Penguins
Can be seen all year around in the Falkland Islands. Breeding starts in late September with egg laying in mid October. Incubation is around 33/34 days. Young Gentoo Penguins are fully moulted by late January and enter the sea late February/March.

Magellanic Penguins
Return to the South East of the Falkland Islands at the end of August (two weeks before the penguins on the West of the Falklands). Egg laying begins in early October with incubation of around 38-41 days. Fledglings leave burrows in early January. Adults leave area after moulting end of March beginning of April.

Rockhopper penguins  
Males return to the South East of the Falkland Islands at the end of September (again two weeks before the West), females return 7-10 days later. Egg laying begins end of October with Chicks mid November, the young are fully moulted end of January and enter the seas, adults a little later they are all moulted and at sea from late March to mid April.

Birds

King Cormorants  
Courtship occurs around mid October with egg laying being in the third week of November. Incubation of the eggs is 30 days and the chicks fledge in February after 45-50 days.

Endemic Species
Flightless Steamer Duck – Breeding commences from mid September to mid October. One of the two Endemic species. Falklands Flightless Steamer Duck Tachyeres brachypterus.

Cobbs wren  Troglodytes cobbi

Endemic sub-species:

White tufted Grebe
Upland Goose – Egg laying early September/October  incubation 30 days and fully feathered in 9-10 weeks.
Black crowned night heron
Kelp Goose
Ground tyrant
Short-eared owl
Tussacbird
Black-throated finch
Long-tailed Meadowlark
Grass wren
Falklands pipit
Falklands thrush

Many of the Falklands birds lay their eggs in October/November and have young in December. For further information please contact Falkland Islands Holidays.

Sea lion Island has no Rats or Cats present on the island. This means that there is an abundance of small birds on the island.

Whales

Orca
Orca are sighted in October, November and December during the Elephant Seal breeding season

Throughout the season- 47 varieties of breeding birds no rats so wrens and tussac birds included.  There are also pleanty of additional non breeding birds to see as well.