Scotland and the Antarctic

Section 5: Voyage of the Scotia ... To Buenos Aires and back

Summer on Laurie Island

While Bruce and Scotia were at Buenos Aires, the observations continued on Laurie Island with the six men left behind undertaking much physical, geological, zoological and botanical work.

Menu for a day at Omond House

Breakfast

porridge and penguin eggs with bacon on Wednesdays and Thursdays and coffee or cocoa week about.

Lunch

eggs with bully beef or bread and cheese and tea.

Dinner

penguin hare soup, stewed penguin, some farinaceous pudding or preserved fruit to follow.

Life on Laurie Island was made exciting with the return of the birds. Over 200,000 ringed penguins arrived and space in their rookery was so limited that some climbed to 60 metres (300 feet) to find room for their nest of stones. The rookeries could be smelled 2km (one-and-a-half miles) away. Many species of petrel nested on the islands, while skuas attacked chicks and stole eggs. Survey work continued on the island with meteorological observations every hour. Seals brought up their pups on the beaches near Omond House.