Following a quick scan of the images from WCPT cameras within the Fiordland crested penguin (tawaki) nesting area at Jackson Head, it seems that there are plenty of possums and rats about.
However, most of the penguins do not appear to be unduly concerned. A few appear watchful but there has been no sign of predation. The Trust will undertake a more detailed assessment of the data from the cameras, which have been set up close to nests, over the summer.
The tawaki prepare to leave land rather differently to blue penguins. They exhibit a behaviour known as crèching, where the not-quite-independent chicks gather in groups. The crèching is believed to occur to deter predators, to protect from cold weather and/or to protect against aggressive adult birds. Some cameras have been moved to likely crèche areas in the hope of understanding this behaviour and learning whether predators pose a threat to penguins at this stage in their lives.
Research being conducted in the same colony this season by Otago University penguin specialists, Thomas Mattern and Ursula Ellenberg, is showing that the adults spend much longer at sea before returning to feed their young during this pre-independence phase, than while the chicks remain at the nest. While the chicks remain on the nest, the adults will be foraging close by, but later on, they will be off on epic adventures over much larger distances.
A third Fiordland crested penguin project this summer has found up to an estimated 1000 breeding pairs in a 50km stretch of deepest South Westland. GPS records have been made so that future surveys can be used to assess any change in the population in this remote area.
Further detailed analysis of this season’s findings will be made soon and more results published once they are known.
