I have come to Southern Chile's
Ortway Bay, seeking
Magellanic Penguins.
I walk the weathered,
wooden boardwalk
toward the sea,
just beyond carpeted grasslands.
High-tide waves
crash nearby.
There they are - among
bleached driftwood and the
continually battered boulders.
Nestled together -
cluster of young penguins,
attired in rock-grey and dull white.
Standing in patient silence.
They await an inborn urge to
venture into krill-rich waters -
and the risk of
being snatched up by roving,
hungry seals.
As night falls,
the young penguins
return to the security of
their birthing burrows.
