The Antarctic Peninsula faced temperature rises in the Southern Hemisphere.Antarctic penguins could act as biological indicators for global climate change.Studying penguin habitat colonies and population changes would provide important information on changes in Antarctic climate.Due to adverse weather conditions in Antarctica,ground census count of penguin was difficult.High-resolution aerial photography obtained by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)provides important guarantees in penguin identification.We have identified penguin populations with object-oriented method from aerial photography on Ardley Island,Byers Peninsula and Penguin Island.A total of 5 063,3 260and 982breeding pairs of penguins were identified on Ardley Island,Byers Peninsula and Penguin Island respectively,with recognition accuracy and comprehensive evaluation indicators of 87%,98%,and 91%,respectively.Historical data and remote sensing identifications indicate that the number of penguins on Ardley Island was stable or steadily increasing, the number of penguins in 2016was similar to 2006.Adelie Penguins(Pygoscelis adeliae),which are more dependent on sea ice,showed a downward trend on Ardley Island.Ardley Island.Adelie penguins were distributed in the lower reaches of eastern coastal areas on Ardley Island.Chinstrap penguin population was decreasing on Byers Island,while the Gentoo penguin showed increasing trend.Long-term aerial photography from UAV technology will continue to play agreat role in mapping penguin population and colonies in Antarctica.