News

To South America and back - the Westland petrel annual migration

A Department of Conservation team, with field work led by Westport based biodiversity ranger, Kate Simister, has been funded to conduct three years of research into Westland petrels / tāiko.  The funding comes from the Conservation Services Programme, which monitors the impact of commercial fishing on protected species, studies species populations and looks at ways to mitigate bycatch. The new funding has allowed the work programme to expand to cover a range of new projects not previously attempted with this species. These include:

1. Understanding burrow occupancy rates in this species to determine how burrow mapping and nest counts can be related to numbers of breeding pairs. In particular how the status of apparent non-breeding birds occupying nest sites changes over time (e.g. are these pairs skipping breeding attempts, failed breeders or do these birds lack a partner?)
2. Investigating the diving behaviour of Westland petrels using time-depth records to determine their risk profile from fisheries methods such as surface and bottom long-lines.
3. Carry out multi-year tracking of adult birds using Global Location Sensing tags to determine extent of time spent within the New Zealand EEZ and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
4. Track juvenile birds to determine if they migrate to seas beyond New Zealand.
5. Testing of different tag attachment methods for GPS or Argos passive integrated transponder tags.

The study, currently in the third year of field work and the winter breeding season of tāiko, has recently shared a progress report.  The report includes some fascinating early findings and when, complete, will provide extensive data for further analysis through an MSc student programme and new scientific papers. Findings include dive depth and foraging locations as well as their migration to South America. For the detail, methodology and early findings, the interim report is available here.

The first sign of the arrival of tawaki on our beaches each year is a set of footprints by the 4 to 4.5kg male penguins leading from the Tasman Sea across the beach and heading to the coastal forests to start their breeding season.

A new species of fossil penguin has been named Eudyptula wilsonae after the late New Zealand ornithologist Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, who was an internationally respected seabird researcher and advocate for conservation.

A new species of fossil penguin has been named Eudyptula wilsonae after the late New Zealand ornithologist Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, an internationally respected seabird researcher and advocate for conservation, and chair and scientist for the West Coast Penguin Trust. New penguin species are being found and fitted into the jigsaw of the origins and lineage of penguins by a team from Massey University, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Bruce Museum in the USA.  This one, related to the little penguin or kororā of today, was found in three-million-year-old sediments in the Taranaki region.  

  Trust Manager, Inger Perkins, said: “Naming this new species of little penguin after her is a wonderful and fitting acknowledgement for her enormous contribution to seabird science over many decades. We are thrilled her name will live on in connection with penguins, it is a tremendous and richly deserved honour.” Read the whole story here: https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/little-fossil-penguin-species-discovered-with-possible-connection-to-korora/  And the research has been published in the Journal of Paleontology: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/pliocene-fossils-support-a-new-zealand-origin-for-the-smallest-extant-penguins/A722D072F8EE3B5FC194A33EF7DBC47F

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM and emerging penguin scientists were recognised at the recent Oamaru Penguin Symposium.

Our late great Chair, Scientist and guide, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, loved the biennial Oamaru Penguin Symposium and encouraged any of our Trust team to attend if they could. Over the years, the symposium has moved from a little or blue penguin, kororā focus, to other Aotearoa New Zealand penguins, other penguins in far off lands and other threatened seabirds. In May, the 13th symposium was again arranged and presented by Dr Philippa Agnew, Research and Environmental Scientist at the Oamaru Penguin Colony.  It was the first symposium since Kerry-Jayne died in March last year and, with the support of Philippa and Dr Thomas Mattern, we were able to acknowledge the tremendous contribution that Kerry-Jayne made to penguin and seabird science and scientists in New Zealand and Australia. To open the symposium, Dr Mattern gave a tribute to Kerry-Jayne and shared a wonderful story of chasing tawaki in Harrison Cove, Doubtful Sound a few years before she died.  It's a lovely story and you can enjoy it on this short recording from the symposium on our Vimeo page - or play from the image below. Before she died, Kerry-Jayne published a book that had been in her mind for many years, New Zealand Seabirds - A Natural History.  Her Trustees found one remaining copy at Kerry-Jayne's home after she died and thought it would be fitting to present it at the symposium.  We agreed that it would go to a young and emerging penguin scientist whose presentation at the symposium stood out. Blake Hornblow was chosen from some outstanding young scientists for his work and presentation entitled Foraging ecology of Tawaki (Fiordland penguin) in Doubtful Sound and a summary of his excellent paper is copied below.  Congratulations to Blake and to all the young scientists and all the presenters at a superb symposium.

  Blake Hornblow's paper from the Oamaru Penguin Symposium is summarised below, and all abstracts can be found here: 13th Oamaru Penguin Symposium programme Foraging ecology of Tawaki (Fiordland Penguin) in Doubtful Sound Blake Hornblow1 Thomas Mattern2,3, Ursula Ellenberg1,3, Jeff White4 and Steve Wing1 1 Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 2 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 3 Global Penguin Society, Chubut, Argentina 4 McCracken Lab, Department of Biology, University of Miami, USA Tawaki or the Fiordland penguin only breeds along the South Westland coast, Fiordland and the Foveaux Strait region. This is one of the smallest breeding ranges of any penguin species making tawaki particularly susceptible to regional threats. Tawaki are thought to be in decline and are classed as ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN Redlist. However, the key causes of this decline remain mostly unknown as the current knowledge of tawaki foraging behaviour is limited. We are expanding the knowledge of fiord breeding tawaki diets as they have access to different resource pools compared to coastal foraging birds. We investigated the potential of fiord prey resources acting as a ‘buffer’ against climate perturbations that affect tawaki foraging on the continental shelf & coastal Fiordland. GPS tracking, animal borne-video loggers and stable isotope analyses were used to understand the movements and diet of tawaki from birds breeding on three islands within Doubtful Sound. We found very little overlap in the home range of tawaki breeding in the fiord compared with coastally breeding birds. We will report on the foraging plasticity across the three islands colonies ranging 40km from the entrance to the head of the fiord.

Bach owners Daniel Beetham and his Mum Anna McKay are penguin champions.

Bach owners Daniel Beetham and his Mum Anna McKay are penguin champions! We love to share a story of our supporters now and then and Daniel and Anna are overdue for our enormous thanks and appreciation. Based up in Auckland but falling in love with the West Coast, a few years ago Daniel bought a tiny bach, Woodpecker Bay Bach, on the edge of the ocean between Punakaiki and Charleston.  His plan was to make it available for holiday bookings and his bach became a star - voted best bach in its first year!

Daniel and Anna were immediately aware of nature - how could they not be with the waves crashing beside them!  They discovered that penguins could be close by and wanted to inform those who might stay in the bach and contribute to penguin conservation at the same time.  They have linked bach occupancy to donations and managed to maintain that support during the lockdowns. Daniel explained: "The reason we choose to donate monthly to West Coast Penguin Trust… we know the value of regular continuous payments to charities. Helping with ongoing budget projections etc, as opposed to irregular though always welcome surprise donations. "The reasons that we choose to help the penguins… we know it is a well run Trust with a lot of hard work put in by the team resulting in positive tangible outcomes for the penguins, but also, guests to our baches come for the wild west coast scenery and wildlife, so it is only fitting that we give back to nature, to the reasons why guests come in the first place. Guests absolutely appreciate knowing that their tourist dollars are directly helping nature in this case, simply by booking a Penguin Trust ‘Supporter Bach’." Since then, Daniel and Anna have bought a couple more for lucky folk to rent and the most recent has been christened Little Blue.

From the Trust's point of view, regular donations are our lifeblood.  They show that others share our values and our vision and we are encouraged by their lasting support.  Donations enable the work of the Trust to continue and give others confidence to support us too, through donations and grants. So, if you're looking for a break in a stunning West Coast location that is also good for penguins, one of Daniel and Anna's West Coast Penguin Trust 'Supporter baches' would be perfect. Our very grateful thanks to Daniel and Anna.

Find the baches on Airbnb for a memorable break in a stunning location: Woodpecker Bay Bach Waihaha Bach Te Tūtū Bach Little Blue Bach Waituhi Bach at Whitehorse Bay

With penguins thriving on the side of the penguin protection fence north of Punakaiki, numbers appear to be growing and penguins are exploring beyond the ends of the fence through gaps. One of those gaps has just been filled.

With little penguins thriving on the sea side the West Coast Penguin Trust's penguin protection fence north of Punakaiki, penguins are starting to explore beyond the three colonies that were protected and finding their way past the ends of the fence through gaps.  Sadly one penguin has been killed on the road and others have been rescued and returned to the sea side of the fence. We're therefore thrilled to report that one of those gaps in the fence has just been filled, protecting penguins at the northern end of the main fence line just in time for the new breeding season. Our thanks go to WestReef for getting the work done the minute they were able to including the traffic management and other safety measures, and to Waka Kotahi for both permission and support through an annual grant to help maintain the fence. We would also like to thank Geofabrics New Zealand for the very generous discount on the special fence mesh.  Geofabrics (then Maccaferri) helped us out in the same way when we first installed the penguin protection fence back in 2014.  The mesh has stood up to the coastal assaults of sun and salt brilliantly, just as expected.

 

Qualities of penguins embraced by pension company and extended through a donation to help penguin conservation

Pension Insurance Corporation or PIC for short loves penguins and last year gave the West Coast Penguin Trust a very generous donation. This UK company has had emperor penguins at the centre of their brand from the start.  Their website notes that the penguins are memorable and intrinsically appealing and of course the West Coast Penguin Trust knows that is true for all penguins. PIC has translated the qualities of emperor penguins into their own qualities and the PIC team strive to emulate them every day, loyalty, adaptability and resilience. Most penguins form lifelong partnerships - known as partner fidelity.  Pairs work together to protect and nurture their young and some, including the emperor penguin, cooperate with others for the wellbeing of the group.  This is translated to time invested in building long-term relationships, and being dependable and dedicated. Penguins live in a variety of habitats and zones from equatorial Galapagos Islands to southern Australian and New Zealand coasts, South American and south African coasts to sub Antarctic islands and the Antarctic, in other words, they have evolved to live in many different climates and live successfully in water and on land.  PIC too pride themselves on their adaptability, agility and providing innovative solutions. The emperor penguin, the largest of the 18 species of penguins, are tougher than most species, withstanding long Antarctic winters and months without food.  Again, PIC aligns itself with this remarkable bird in its strength in harsh economic conditions and volatile markets.  The little or blue penguin, the main penguin on the West Coast, is the smallest of the penguin species, but resilient in its own small way. PIC's charity partners are very relevant to their clients, focussing on older age and mental illness.  But their charity committee also considers providing support to other charitable trusts and, late in 2022, the committee approved a generous donation to the West Coast Penguin Trust for penguin conservation.  The approach to PIC was prompted by a personal connection in England, which just goes to show that you never know where any of us might bump into a new donor or sponsor, and we always need to be ready to invite and enable donors to help penguins! The Trust is reliant on donations and grants and this year will be investing in improvements to the penguin protection fence north of Punakaiki and developing our foraging study to better understand the life of and threats to little penguins / kororā at sea off the Charleston coast.  That is in addition to all the business as usual including monitoring breeding success and managing threats to both little penguins and Fiordland crested penguins / tawaki, and our education and awareness programmes.  So the support from PIC is immensely valuable in maintaining and growing our penguin conservation efforts. Not only does PIC recognise the wonderful qualities of penguins but they are also very strongly ethical and environmental in what they do, which the Trust values very highly. PIC are investing in solar/renewable energy and decarbonising the economy, supporting social housing and universities, and has future generations in mind as they do business.  PIC employees can also take two days paid leave each year to work on volunteer projects of their choosing. The West Coast Penguin Trust is hugely grateful for the wonderful support from PIC and congratulates the company on their various community and environmental initiatives.  

We say a farewell and a huge thank you to Linden as trust ranger.

Linden Brown joined the trust in the middle of the 2021 breeding season and, with some guidance from our previous ranger, Matt Charteris, we were delighted that he hit the ground running.  Field work is his passion and he brought considerable field work experience from his monitoring roles with the Department of Conservation. Completing the monitoring and reporting for the 2021 season enabled Linden to approach the 2022 season with clarity and preparedness.  It was a big disappointment to him and to us all when the pin had to be pulled on the foraging study due to the unusual and clearly stressful conditions the penguins were in, apparently due to the marine heat wave. Although his heart was in the field work, Linden provided excellent insights and advice for the behind the scenes work of the trust, including funding applications and reports and advocacy.  While Education Ranger, Lucy Waller, was stuck overseas due to COVID travel restrictions, Linden also stepped up to help lead education and awareness opportunities in the classroom at the beach, proving that he could be the all rounder needed as a ranger. Sadly though, a couple of things drew him away, firstly wanting to do more field work and less time at a desk and secondly, building a new home.  He is the Trust's third ranger to have resigned to put time into building a home! The Trust is grateful to Linden for his contribution and flexibility and wishes him well in future endeavours.

Healthy, safe penguin colony south of Ōkarito is thriving without disturbance.

The West Coast Penguin Trust has maintained an active interest in the Ōkārito kororā colony since it was first surveyed in 2008 and has resurveyed the colony every few years since then.

In late October, Ranger Linden Brown resurveyed the colony for the first time since 2018. Unlike most kororā colonies on the West Coast, the penguins here are safe from dogs and cars, and human disturbance and the effect of introduced predators are minimal; it is little surprise that the penguin colony here is the largest on the West Coast. Stepping onto the beach it is obvious that there are a lot of penguins; the sand is almost continuously criss-crossed by penguin tracks! Almost a step back in time to what things would have been like before humans and introduced predators.

The colony is split into distinct north and south areas. Penguin numbers have stayed more or less consistent over the years, and this year was no different with over 40 breeding pairs. It is highly likely there are more pairs than this in area, however thick gorse and supplejack makes finding them tricky sometimes! As we are seeing in our monitored colonies in the Buller, breeding has been later than normal this year, with the majority of adults still sitting on eggs during the late October visit; in previous surveys at the same time of year, the majority of eggs have hatched, with some chicks fledging by this time. Numbers of breeding pairs at the Ōkārito colony

	2008	2013	2015	2018	2022
Ōkārito North	18	21	13	10	17
Ōkārito South	33	34	26	14	22
Total	51	55	39	24	39

The Ōkārito colony is a healthy and safe kororā colony; a reminder of how things would have been in the past, but also a vision of something to work towards for other kororā colonies on the West Coast.

2022 proved to be a challenging season for kororā on the West Coast.

The 2022 breeding season proved to be a challenging one for kororā on the West Coast. Our monitored sites at Charleston had a late start to the breeding season, with the first eggs laid in late August, two to three weeks later than normal. From then on kororā bred in a slow trickle, with eggs still being laid in late October. Sadly, over half of these eggs did not reach hatching after being abandoned by the adults. Lack of easily available food is the likely cause of this poor breeding season, with the adults having to take long foraging trips at sea whilst the other parent stayed on the eggs. If the changeover time is too long then the adult on the eggs will have to abandon the eggs in order to feed themselves. This meant we had a low rate of breeding success, with only 35% of eggs successfully fledging in one colony and 45% in the other. This is comparable to some previous poor seasons such as 2016 and 2017 (37% & 43%), but significantly lower than the last two seasons (80-90%). Kororā lay two eggs and two chicks will fledge in good years - two chicks fledged from two eggs would be 100% breeding success.  We also record chicks per nest, and this year, over the 27 monitored breeding burrows, the average was less than one chick fledged per nest.

Site	Breeding burrows	Breeding attempts	Eggs laid	Chicks hatched	Chicks Fledged	Chicks per breeding attempt	Breeding Success	Failed attempts
Rahui	20	21	42	23	19	0.90	45 %	6
Nile	27	24	48	22	17	0.71	35 %	13

  Although the number of eggs laid at the Nile colony were higher than last year, this number was inflated by the discovery of three additional breeding burrows (which were likely to be breeding in previous seasons). Additionally, and somewhat interestingly, two pairs laid a second clutch of eggs this season. This is common at East Coast colonies, but quite a rarity on the West Coast. One of these pairs successfully raised their first clutch and the second clutch failed, whilst the other failed on their first clutch before successfully raising their second clutch. We assume it was the same pair each time but will be able to use data gained from microchips or PIT tags in the future to confirm this. At the Rahui colony, one burrow was used for two breeding attempts and in this case it was for different birds. The first attempt failed with unknown birds, and the second attempt with the nest box's usual occupants (identified using the PIT tags and reader) was successful. Our rangers noted that this was the third warm water season in a row and the birds struggled for food.  Experienced breeders may have had more success and resilience. No adult (breeding bird) deaths were recorded in these two colonies, which bodes well for the 2023 season when waters should be a little more traditional after the shift from La Niña to El Niño conditions occurs. Our Masters student, Luisa Salis-Soglio, has begun to look at the factors that may be contributing to poor breeding seasons, including water temperature and nutrients.  We will develop our understanding of the marine factors that could impact breeding success and provide updates on our website. In addition to our two fortnightly monitored colonies, there are several other colonies scattered up and down the Buller coastline that are visited by our ranger once or twice a breeding season. These colonies range in size from 1-2 breeding pairs up to around 20 breeding pairs. Although not as intensively monitored as our two key sites, our visits still provide us with valuable insight into population trends at these sites and add to a long-term data set to help improve understanding of blue penguin/ kororā on the West Coast. These colonies generally had similar numbers of breeding pairs to last season, although as was the case at the Nile and Rahui colonies, breeding success was likely lower than last year.

Site	Number of breeding burrows
Joyce Bay	8
Whitehorse	9
Bullock Creek	4
Punakaiki River	1

Read more about our annual kororā monitoring project here.