The Falkland Islands is the ultimate birding experience for species, quality and numbers. Add to this some of the rare bird life in the world and you will understand why this is a birder's paradise.

To many the Falkland Islands are the “Penguin Islands” and the ultimate place to get a fine view of these splendid creatures with their comical waddling, their naughty expressions, and their agility in the ocean or their endearing clumsiness on land.

Penguins in the Falkland Islands have the ability to make the landscape come alive through their presence and with colonies of King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Macaroni Penguins; they seem capable of adding a sense of atmosphere to the location as well as colour. To meet them is to experience sheer bliss and to share a moment with them in close proximity is like a gathering of old friends.

With so many vantage points across the Falkland Islands to view penguins, is it any wonder that so many people want to come here and see them. However, there are special places such as that where the Rockhopper penguins leap out of the sea onto cliff edges and slowly make their way up the cliff face in a disjointed procession towards nature's own freshwater shower.

Here they can be seen, preening and showering, almost human-like to rid themselves of the salt in their coats, while others come and sip the fresh water flowing from the crevices of a hidden stream. This magical place, lit with low level light in late afternoon is like a hidden kingdom, one of nature's best kept secrets where hours slip by unnoticed as you become absorbed in the moment.

Lie on a beach near a Gentoo colony and sooner rather than later you will find these inquisitive birds standing over you from a high dune looking at you in a puzzled fashion, wondering as to how you got there. Stay silent and they will stretch, stand, call and squabble, as if trying to compete to see who gets the best view of this strange creature that has invaded their world for an instant.

King Penguins methodically make their way from egg duty to ocean, and with their tailored coats of grey and white, like grooms attending a wedding, they stand huddled in a group at the edge of the sea, as if discussing the plans for the day before setting foot into the crystal clear ocean and heading out into the emerald sea.