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Kia ora!
We hope you are all enjoying the longer days and evenings, as we are. We are right in the middle of the penguin breeding season so we are very busy monitoring both West Coast penguins, working closely with schools and doing lots of advocacy, all to try to protect kororā, tawaki and other seabirds, such as the tāiko and tītī.
We have just published our Annual Report, including a message from our Chair, Robin Long, sharing her concern about the loss of community conservation funding from DOC. A review of all our projects for the 2022-23 year is the main focus of the report, along with our very grateful thanks to all our donors and supporters - find out more, including a link to the report, here.
We share all our news below but first we need to ask for your help. Help by way of donations and sponsorship is always very welcome and we need them more than ever. Click on the donate button above if you can help - small or large, one-off or regular, every cent helps. But there are other ways you can help too. We have just updated our volunteer opportunities, adding fundraising, with a vast range of things you could do, and sharing our stories via social media. And there are 99 volunteer roles here - something might be just your cup of tea! If you can help, we'd love to hear from you.
The kororā and tawaki had a late start to their breeding season this year, with kororā eggs reported in the last newsletter, but the majority were sadly abandoned later. Some second attempts were made so fingers crossed for them. News from all the colonies is quite different, so have a read of our reports to find out what is happening so far this year in the different locations. This is my first season as Ranger for the Trust as well as education and awareness ranger, and I'm thrilled to be bringing you first hand accounts of our field work.
We were keeping an eye on the new El Niño cycle after a dreadful season for tawaki in South Westland during the last one in 2015. However so far, we have been pleasantly surprised in all the tawaki colonies we monitor. It seems also more promising than we thought for the kororā as well. However, we will know more in the coming weeks and will update you all in the December newsletter. We were lucky enough to have another visit from top penguin scientist, Dr Thomas Mattern, helping us with our GPS foraging study to track kororā this year; read on to find out more.
Local schools have been doing their part for penguins too, with nest box projects and advocacy. Thank you to the great tamariki of the West Coast and their teachers, I love working with you! Finally, as always, we have included a couple of penguin stories from around the globe to keep us all in the loop with what is happening outside New Zealand, Thank you for reading and all your support, we couldn't do what we do without you. Lucy Waller Ranger, West Coast Penguin Trust
PS We will continue to give you the DOC hotline each time so that it's handy if you come across an injured penguin or any wildlife that seems to be struggling whilst out there on the beach, river mouths or roads: 0800 DOCHOT (362 468), and again, do all you can to ensure sick or injured wildlife are safe from dogs.
Also, if you see or hear about a dead penguin, please let us know using our simple reporting form or drop us an email, ideally with a photograph, and, if you can have a look and it's obvious or apparent, your thoughts on possible cause of death. We can then add the information to our database - which informs our conservation actions. |
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Kororā chicks have finally arrived
It has been a late start for our Charleston colony this year, with some eggs laid in August but then being abandoned. Now we have a mixture of incubating birds, new chicks and larger 'post-guard' chicks. Further south, at Camerons Beach, we have a similar story, but with more chicks entering the post-guard stage now. Have you seen tracks, penguins or heard anything on your trips to the beach this Spring? We are always glad to know where the penguins are on the West Coast.
Read more and see more photos here. |
| Little penguins usually lay a clutch of two eggs and raise two chicks successfully |
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Where are the kororā of the West Coast foraging?
We were lucky enough to have Dr Thomas Mattern, from the Tawaki Project, come over to the West Coast and lead our little penguin foraging study earlier this month, to track penguins at sea and record the depths of their dives.
Thomas and our ranger, Lucy, attached loggers to four birds and successfully retrieved the data from three of them including six tracks. This acted as a pilot study at a new colony and we look forward to extending our understanding of these birds and expanding the foraging project next season to include different stages of the breeding cycle. It was fascinating to see where the birds are foraging off the coast and this information will help us have a much greater understanding about our local kororā, to hopefully help protect them in the future.
We will analyse the data and share our findings with you in our next newsletter. Read more about our GPS foraging study here. |
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The foraging paths of three kororā at Camerons Beach |
GPS loggers are attached to the backs of penguins for approx 2 - 4 days. |
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Promising signs for the 2023 tawaki season Considering the strong El Niño weather pattern forecast and then confirmed recently by NIWA, we had concerns about potentially devastating effects on the tawaki breeding season. This fear was based on the last El Niño in 2015 when all chicks starved at our monitored Jackson Head colony. Sarah Kivi and Lucy Waller, our two rangers, took a monitoring excursion down to Haast to do a second check on the colonies at the beginning of this month and the number and size of chicks looked promising. We hope the season continues in this positive way.
Read and see more photos from our rangers here.
Thomas Mattern also reports a good season for the Tawaki of Fiordland during this El Niño period. |
| Usually Tawaki have 1 or 2 chicks but only 1 survives, this nest has 2 healthy looking chicks so far |
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A new nest found at Gorge River
Tawaki ranger Catherine Stewart reports a late start to the tawaki season at Gorge River, but she has found several new nests and chicks appear to be well-fed so far. She will give us her next instalment in the next newsletter so watch this space.... |
| A new nest at Gorge River recorded on a trail camera |
Spot the Tawaki in his new nest |
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St Canice's School get support from whānau and local businesses to build nest boxes George Atfield's year 3/4 wonder class are taking action for penguins!
We had a fun day at St Canice's School recently, building penguin nest boxes. We are ever so grateful for the generous support we received from whānau and local community.
Dads came into help and Grandads built more at home, a generous local business sponsored the event and the students learnt some woodworking skills along the way, all helping penguin conservation.
Read more here |
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St Canice's School using their woodwork skills to create homes for penguins! |
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Kevin the kororā and Toni the tawaki are doing the rounds of West Coast schools |
Kevin the kororā and Toni the tawaki are continuing to help education ranger, Lucy, teach students all about local seabirds with fun activities and facts. We also learn about the problems different species face and ideas of how to take action to help protect them.
Since the last newsletter, primary schools Ross, Kaniere, Hokitika, St Canice's and St Patrick's have all taken part in our education programme...photos and updates to follow in the next newsletter.
In addition, we were delighted to be back at John Paul II High School this week to help lead a little penguin dissection session for senior biology students with the fabulous support of both Deputy Principal and science teacher, Dan Steggles, and local vet and student parent, Marjan Sprock.
The focus was on understanding the adaptations of penguins to their environment and learning dissection skills as well as to attempt to discover the cause of death. The students were valiant and thorough in their efforts and we'll report on the class and the findings in the next newsletter. |
| A lot of luggage to be transported between classrooms! |
Play the threat box challenge! |
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What is El Niño and how does it affect New Zealand?
El Niño is officially here, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and with it comes a change from the La Niña weather patterns New Zealand has experienced for the past three years.
In particular, a switch from prevailing north easterlies to south westerlies means New Zealand is one of the few countries where cooler conditions are felt during El Niño. But what "flavour" will this El Niño be?
Time will tell, but El Niño has been looming for some time. Evidence of its imminent arrival could be seen last year in subsurface ocean temperatures, with a build up of warm water in the Coral Sea and western tropical Pacific.
Read more here including a focus on sea surface temperatures
Read more here from NIWA including a great short video explaining the phenomena |
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El Niño conditions occur when the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean, near the equator, are blown towards South America and away from New Zealand and Australia. |
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Risk of new threat to the Westland petrel |
| Westland petrel or tāiko on eggs. |
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Celebrating Tāiko - new event 4th November Come join the Westland Petrel Conservation Trust, DOC and the West Coast Penguin Trust for a celebration of tāiko (Westland petrel) on Saturday 4th November, between 2pm and 5pm at the Barrytown Hall.
The afternoon will be jam-packed with information and fun activities from local experts on these magnificent birds, including lifecycle, breeding and migration patterns and much more. Get it in your diary now! Read more here |
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New marine reserves
On the 5th October. six new marine reserves between Oamaru and The Catlins were announced.
Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Rachel Brooking joined Kāi Tahu representatives in Dunedin to mark the creation of the first marine reserves in the southeast South Island area.
"Protecting our oceans and their biodiversity for future generations is important to this Government," Willow-Jean Prime said.
Along with other penguin and conservation organisations, the West Coast Penguin Trust has advocated for much stronger marine conservation in this area to protect the Nationally Endangered yellow-eyed penguin or hoiho. We acknowledge the progress achieved but would have liked to see far more of the territorial sea protected.
Read what RNZ National had to say about the new reserves here. |
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New Zealand penguin fossil record illustrates penguin evolution
In a recent 'Changing World' feature on RNZ National, Producer Claire Concannon interviews Dr Daniel Thomas of Massey University. In the episode, we discover how birds evolved to the penguins we know today.
It's a fascinating account - listen now or add it to your play list for later! Find the story and the interview here. |
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News from around the globe... |
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Aussie Scientists Track Antarctic Bird Flu Risk |
Seabird experts working with the Australian Antarctic Program will travel to Antarctica this summer to monitor seabird populations for signs of the deadly avian influenza virus. Avian influenza, known as bird flu, has been around for decades but in 2020 a new highly pathogenic strain emerged (HPAI H5N1), resulting in severe disease and high mortality rates.
Read the article here. |
| If a colony shows any signs of bird flu, the area will be closed down. Photo: Richard Youd |
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| An emperor penguin cares for its chick on Snow Hill Island. (Sylvain Cordier / Getty) |
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We thank you for your support and look forward to a successful year for penguins and everyone! |
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| Don't forget to follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with all the important and fun local penguin news! And remember our website also has all the latest news, up-to-date information about the Trust, our projects and much more!
Stay connected.... www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz/ |
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Coming soon: - Findings from our GPS/depth foraging study on kororā
- An update from the field on the penguin breeding season as chicks fledge
- News from our local schools about their penguin projects and dissection results
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More interesting articles relating to seabirds and our marine environment
- And much more - local as well as some other penguin news and interesting stories from around the globe
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Follow us on Facebook and Vimeo and find out more on our website |
West Coast Penguin Trust info@westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz | www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz If you'd rather not receive emails from us, unsubscribe here. |
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