In the current context of increased anthropogenic activities and global disturbance, assessing the impact of stressful events on wild vertebrates has been a major topic in conservation physiology. Ecologist have relied on a wide range of behavioral and physiological measurements to measure individual sensitivity to stress, and among them, the functioning of the HPA axis (and especially the secretion of glucocorticoids in response to stress) has often been considered as one of the most reliable proxy of the stress response. However, very little is known about the duration of this stress response, and more specifically on the dynamics of circulating corticosterone levels when the stressor ends. Using Antarctic seabirds as model species and a specific standardized stress protocol, we examined how corticosterone levels increase during a stressor but also how they change when the stressor ends during the reproductive period. After the initial rise in corticosterone levels in response to the stressor, we found that corticosterone levels decrease quickly at the end of the stressor in some individuals while they keep increasing for several minutes in others. In addition to this astonishing variability, we also found that these corticosterone stress responses and recoveries are linked with individual characteristics such as breeding status, personality, or even some proxies of reproductive success. Altogether, these results suggest that all individuals do not equally react to and recover from a stressor. We believe that these results emphasize the importance of considering the overlooked recovery period when focusing on the impact of stressors on wild vertebrates.