SeaWorld San Antonio currently has an unusual guest visiting the park. Our visitor comes to us from the Canary Islands where she is a Supervisor of Penguins at Loro Parque. At Loro Parque (Spanish for “Parrot Park”) Maria Almudena Gonzalez Robles is the supervisor of the “Planet Penguin” area of the park, which is home to over 200 King, Gentoo, Chinstrap, Rockhopper and Humbolt penguins, as well as Atlantic Puffins.

One of the things I love about December is that you start seeing penguins everywhere. Cheerful penguin ornaments for the Christmas tree, shiny penguin wrapping paper for the gifts, and even funny penguin hats for those brisk winter days. But none of that compares to what’s nuzzled up all snug in their nests at SeaWorld San Antonio - penguin chicks!

(Gentoo Chick)

Did you know that at SeaWorld San Antonio more penguin eggs are laid in November than any other month? That’s because in their Sub-Antarctic home it is the height of spring, and the bright, long periods of daylight stimulate courtship, nest building, and ultimately, egg laying. They can then spend the summer raising their fluffy, boisterous chicks before winter sets in.

Put on your best black and white outfit! Grab a fish sandwich for lunch! Put a penguin movie in the DVD player, waddle around the house with your hands stuck out from your sides, and make loud, trumpeting sounds! Why? Because today is World Penguin Day, of course!

Last week we showed you some pictures of our newest member of the SeaWorld family, and asked if you could identify him. You all certainly know your baby animals - the vast majority of guesses were correct, identifying the chick as a penguin. But the last time I checked only two individuals, Bethany and Amanda, even got the species - king penguin!

Throughout the month of March, we're featuring green animals! Today we have a White-Cheeked Turaco. Turacos are the only birds to possess true red and green pigmentation.

Tuesday, July 19th – my last full day on the island! It was a busy day, starting at 6 AM with a weather check and a walk down to the sea to check the temperature. Luckily for me, it was too foggy to do bird count. You can imagine my disappointment at not having to drag a spotting scope up the precarious spiral staircase of the lighthouse, then climbing a ladder to stand in the morning wind to count hundreds of birds. Climbing back into bed for another hour was definitely a treat, but right after breakfast we sprang into action.

Monday, July 18th was almost a day off for us. We began the day by banding 70 more Arctic tern chicks, which took several hours of searching, but after that we had some free time. It threatened to rain all day, with clouds rolling past, wind howling at gusts up to 23 mph and big waves crashing against the shore.