News

New signs alerting beach goers to the possible presence of wildlife are going up across the West Coast region.

New signs alerting beach goers to the possible presence of wildlife are going up across the West Coast region. Led by the West Coast Penguin Trust, this initiative has the support of every District Council and local Department of Conservation teams.  The wording and design of the new signs were developed collaboratively, and Westland Milk Products generously stepped in to pay for them. The new signs ask people to keep themselves and their dogs at least 20m away from wildlife, whether it be penguins, seals, sealions or other sea or shore birds such as banded dotterels and black-billed gulls.  Many of these are threatened or at risk and their survival relies on minimising disturbance. Sadly, DOC and penguin trust data collected over the past 14 years shows that dogs continue to be responsible for around 19% of the deaths of blue penguins reported across the region.  These new signs are a friendly reminder to keep dogs under close control when walking at the beach during daylight hours, and on a lead from dusk to dawn and through vegetated dunes and coastal scrub. Trust Manager, Inger Perkins, explained: “When penguins have been killed by dogs, generally those dogs have been loose and often free to roam from home or out of sight and control of the owner.  And it’s not just penguins that are at risk.  Seals have been known to have been savaged by dogs and later had to be euthanized.  But even the wasted energy required to escape disturbance by people or dogs could be the difference between survival and death for one of these creatures.” Blue penguins are at the start of this year’s breeding season.  They generally lay eggs around July – August and are raising chicks between September and December. In a study of dog control in relation to wildlife on Dunedin's beaches, it was found that it was critical to have consistency in the messaging, and not have a variety of signs from Trusts, Councils and DOC that could present conflicting information.  If signage was confusing or conflicting, it was largely being ignored, so the group working on this new project from the West Coast Penguin Trust, Buller, Grey and Westland Councils and with various DOC biodiversity staff from Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika offices have been at pains to work together and come up with a consistent and shared message.

The penguin protection fence is doing just what it was designed to do say the West Coast Penguin Trust, keeping penguins from straying onto the state highway and being killed.

The penguin protection fence is doing just what it was designed to do say the West Coast Penguin Trust, keeping penguins from straying onto the state highway and being killed. The three kilometres of fence installed by the Trust north of Punakaiki, mostly in 2014 and extended past Seal Island in 2015, protects four colonies of blue penguins.  Numbers of penguin tracks seen on the beaches in those areas are reported to be increasing by local residents.  The Trust has arranged for the colonies to be surveyed later this year to confirm numbers, but, for now, statistics are telling a very positive story. The Trust has worked with DOC to record penguin mortality since 2006 and, before the fence was installed, 56% of all reported deaths were caused by vehicles (154 of a total of 273 dead penguins for eight years).  75% of those deaths on the roads were in Buller (116), largely on the Coast Road. When compared to the six years after the fence was installed, the proportion of penguins being killed on the roads dropped to 37% (49 of 131) and half of those were in the Buller confirming the assumption that the penguin protection fence is working. Looking at the numbers as opposed to percentages, it is clear that penguins are much better off.  Without a fence, and based on the figures before the fence was installed, it is likely that around 87 penguins would have been killed on the roads in the Buller between 2014 and 2019 but the actual number is 25.  25 too many of course, but that’s as many as 60 penguins saved. West Coast Penguin Trust Manager, Inger Perkins, is delighted. “The figures really do tell a success story.  We knew that six to eight penguins were being killed on the Coast Road every year in this area and we knew we had to do something about it.  With support from the community and a variety of businesses and organisations including the NZ Transport Authority, we installed a fence that is saving penguins’ lives.  We’re also very grateful to the NZTA for continued support towards its maintenance with the help of WestReef.” The statistics also show that the proportion of penguins killed by dogs has remained at around 20% of reported penguin deaths, but numbers are slightly down.  In the eight years to 2014, 52 blue penguins were killed by dogs, around 6-7 a year.  Since 2014, there have been 28 blue penguins killed by dogs, under 5 a year. “It’s distressing to know that dogs are still killing penguins despite our efforts over many years to encourage the West Coast community to think penguins and not allow dogs to roam in coastal areas.  However, we have been working with all three District Councils and DOC on a new awareness campaign – coming soon – and we appeal to all dog owners to keep their dogs safe and secure when at home.  That will keep both dogs and penguins safe.”

   

It is the first World Albatross Day today!

How much do you know about these magnificent seabirds? They are fascinating and impressive and we have many species right here in New Zealand! As with most of our beautiful and impressive species, they are in trouble and their numbers are declining. Take today as an opportunity to spend a few minutes learning about them, watch one video of them on youtube, and we promise you won't be disappointed in their magnificence! Read more here. And the inaugural World Albatross Day was featured on National Radio this morning - interesting story, less than 4 minutes: https://www.rnz.co.nz/.../inaugural-world-albatross-day...

We have been asked for a way to be a member, a supporter or an annual donor, and we have now come up with a means of joining us to ensure that penguins survive and thrive on the West Coast.

We have been asked for a way to be a member, a supporter or an annual donor, and we have now come up with a means of joining us to ensure that penguins survive and thrive on the West Coast. For a minimum donation of just $50 a year you'll become a Supporter, or, for a one-off donation of $500, a Supporter for Life. Supporting us in this way directly ensures that our research and practical projects to protect penguins and their habitat continue. Through our monitoring of blue penguins and tawaki, we are constantly learning about threats to their survival so that we can take and promote the best possible practical solutions. For example the penguin protection fence project was in response to knowledge gained from monitoring blue penguins and maintaining our mortality database over several years and we'll be launching a new coastal wildlife and dog control awareness campaign soon based on clear evidence we have collected. In addition, we have gained invaluable knowledge of the threat posed by stoats to tawaki and we'll be developing that understanding over the coming breeding season to better inform conservation management actions for this species. Becoming a Supporter means not only that you'll be helping us take the lead on penguin conservation, but one lucky Supporter will win something very special in an annual draw. For the first year, our Patron, Craig Potton MNZM, has kindly donated a stunning framed print of one of his beautiful photographs. This one is entitled 'Blue Lake II' and we'll make the draw and give this gorgeous print away when we have thirty new Supporters, so don't delay!

We know not everyone will be in the position of being able to support us in this way, and we will continue to value and cherish your support in any way, for example promoting us and promoting, leading and encouraging penguin friendly behaviour, and of course donations if and when you can. We have a small number of regular donors who will automatically become Supporters and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude, sticking with us through the tough times of the past three months. Three precious Life Members who joined a few years ago will automatically be our first three Supporters for Life! We know you are all already supporters of the Trust and our work, and now you can formalise that with a regular donation. We need your help more than ever, as grants and donations from other Trusts are increasingly hard to come by. Regular donations are the lifeblood of a Trust like ours and we're appealing to you to start one today. Please choose either a simple annual donation of $50 here, or any amount fortnightly, monthly or annually here, or become a Supporter for Life here. We'll offer a new reward each year for all our existing and new Supporters, and of course keep you in touch with all our news. We look forward to welcoming you as a Trust Supporter. Thank you.

After six years of exciting and evolving research, The Tawaki Project has released a summary report noting varied foraging ecology and population dynamics across the breeding range.

After six years of exciting and evolving research, The Tawaki Project has released a summary report noting varied foraging ecology and population dynamics across the breeding range. The project’s research revealed that the penguins show highly adaptable at-sea behaviour allowing them to forage successfully in open pelagic (West coast), constricted fjord ecosystems (Milford Sound/Piopiotahi), as well as shallow coastal marine habitat (Whenua Hou/ Codfish Island). Satellite tracking of tawaki during the nonbreeding period showed that birds from different breeding regions all travel southwards to forage along the Subantarctic Front. Hence, outside the breeding season, odds are even for penguins from all regions. Any regional differences in population developments, therefore, are likely tied to breeding and reproductive success. The next phase of the Tawaki Project will investigate how the penguins fit into the marine ecosystem of New Zealand’s fjords, and whether Fiordland provides a safe haven for tawaki in an era of substantial global changes. Last season, the team again deployed trackers on tawaki in Fiordland and from birds found on the East Coast moulting and or in need of assistance and found that their movements varied according to starting point or whether they had received rehabilitation. More work is required to draw meaningful conclusions. Read the full report here and enjoy the wonderful photographs too.

Our experience from the West Coast tawaki nest sites in recent years is that, if tawaki chicks survive, only one chick is usually raised to fledging, but in these photos, from cameras at Gorge River, one tawaki pair has raised two chicks!

Our experience from our monitoring of West Coast tawaki nest sites in recent years is that, if tawaki chicks survive, only one chick is usually raised to fledging, but in these photos, from cameras at Gorge River, one tawaki pair has raised two chicks! Fiordland crested penguins or tawaki follow the crested penguin approach to breeding, that is laying one egg first and a larger one a couple of days later - which then hatches first (B chick). The larger chick then gets fed first and the second, back up chick if you like, only gets fed if the first one is full, being pushed out of the way by the first one. This almost always means that the chick from the first egg (A chick) dies within a few days of hatching. But not for this nest and in fact not in other areas where food is more abundant.  The Tawaki Project has found that some of the pairs monitored at Harrison Cove in Milford Sound were raising two chicks with plentiful food right on their doorstep and had foraging ranges of only 3km. In 2015, during the second year of camera monitoring by the West Coast Penguin Trust in South Westland, it seems that most if not all nests failed at Jackson Head due to chick starvation.  The Tawaki Project were tracking some tawaki from Jackson Head and found that they were going significantly further to forage to feed chicks than in other years, for example they averaged a 12km range in 2014 but a 100km range in 2015 during very strong El Niño conditions. (Read their 2016 season report here including reports for Jackson Head 2015 and Milford Sound 2016.) The Trust is fortunate to have Catherine Stewart at Gorge River to maintain cameras in the tawaki colony and has continued this valuable work each season since it began in 2014.  This year, for the first time in the six years of our camera monitoring, she has seen two chicks grow up in one nest. She reported: "Nest GR15 raised two chicks, at least to the end of October. Lots of video of B chick being preferentially fed and A chick much smaller during the guard phase, but later they were pretty equal." Catherine has now reviewed all the recordings from 10 cameras and Robin Long, Tawaki Ranger, is compiling a report for the season, collating the Gorge River Data along with breeding success monitoring at two other South Westland sites. The report will be available soon.

Robin Long - Ranger and Trustee with the West Coast Penguin Trust and volunteer with The Tawaki Project - speaks about the tawaki, or Fiordland crested penguin, sharing the results of work she has carried out or been involved in over the past 10 years, especially in the 2019 breeding season. Tawaki are the third rarest of the penguins, breed only on the New Zealand mainland and, until recently, have remained largely un-researched and unknown.

Robin Long - Tawaki Ranger and Trustee with the West Coast Penguin Trust and volunteer with The Tawaki Project - speaks about the tawaki, or Fiordland crested penguin, in this talk published on Vimeo this week, sharing the results of work she has carried out or been involved in over the past 10 years, especially in the 2019 breeding season. The Department of Conservation in Franz Josef hosted their second 'Te Wahipounamu TED talks' event in October 2019, inviting speakers to share stories about South Westland in 15 minute slots.  This was a great opportunity for Robin to share her extensive knowledge of these, the third rarest of the penguins.  Tawaki breed only on the New Zealand mainland and, until recently, have remained largely un-researched and unknown. Watch it here.

                    Big thanks to DOC for putting on the talks and to Vaughan Bradley for recording and then collating the video for sharing.

Every year New Zealand Post releases a coin commemorating one of Aotearoa's extinct animals. This vivid coin recalls the recently discovered Chatham Island crested penguin, a unique species that existed on this remote archipelago until only a few hundred years ago.

Every year New Zealand Post releases a coin commemorating one of Aotearoa's extinct animals. This vivid coin recalls the recently discovered Chatham Island crested penguin, a unique species that existed on this remote archipelago until only a few hundred years ago. Read more from NZ Post here. Trust Scientist, Kerry-Jayne Wilson, reported that this penguin was named in honour of John Warham, once the world authority on crested penguins and her mentor when she was a student, and added that both the Chatham species were only discovered recently when ancient DNA could be extracted from sub-fossil bones. Ms Wilson is currently working on a new seabird book and provided these fascinating extracts:

While many terrestrial and freshwater birds became extinct the only known extinctions of marine birds are Scarlett's shearwater from the mainland, Inber’s Petrel, Warham’s Penguin and Richdale’s Penguin from the Chatham Islands (Worthy et al 2017, Cole et al 2019) and the Waitaha Penguin from the south east of the South Island (Boessenkool et al 2009). Other seabirds have survived the arrival of people and predators thanks to populations on islands that remained predator free despite the local losses of vast colonies of many species from the mainland and some islands. Hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of petrels nested on the North and South Island mainlands prior to the coming of people and predators; the pugnacious Westland Petrels, the alpine breeding Hutton’s Shearwaters and the tiny remnant colonies of Sooty Shearwaters, Grey-faced petrels and Fairy Prions are all that remain. Prior to the arrival of people three other species or sub-species were endemic to New Zealand. The Waitaha Penguin occurred along the eastern coast of the South Island until hunted to extinction during the last 750 years. It was replaced by the closely related Yellow-eyed Penguin which colonised Southland and Otago from its Auckland and Campbell Islands homeland. Richdale’s Penguin, a sub-species of the Yellow-eyed, and Warham’s Penguin, a crested penguin, were both apparently restricted to the Chatham Islands (Cole et al 2019). They too became extinct, presumably through hunting after Polynesian settlement of those islands.

Click on the reconstruction below for a link to the NZbirdsonline entry for the Chatham Island Crested Penguin:

   

We are delighted to be working with Golden Bay based sustainable jeweller Stone Arrow to raise funds for penguin conservation projects!

We are delighted to be working with Golden Bay based sustainable jeweller Stone Arrow to raise funds for penguin conservation projects! Stone Arrow create ethical and handcrafted jewellery you will love!  Not only beautiful earrings and necklaces based on penguins but much more NZ flora and fauna based jewellery using a variety of recycled materials including silver, copper and glass. And now, when you buy through their website, you simply put 'bluepenguin' in the discount code box and a donation will wing its way to the West Coast Penguin Trust! This is a beautiful way to collaborate, enjoy gorgeous sustainable NZ made jewellery, and support our projects! Have a look at the stunning collection here and, when you order, use 'bluepenguin' to donate as you shop! Thank you! PS They also have some beautiful garden art among other things and you can sign up for their newsletter to receive news of discounts and be in to win!  A few examples are shown below, but go to the website for the whole collection.    

Westland Milk Products is moving mountains to ensure Hokitika’s blue penguin population not only survives but thrives over the course of its ocean outfall project and beyond.

Westland Milk Products is moving mountains to ensure Hokitika’s blue penguin population not only survives but thrives over the course of its ocean outfall project and beyond. Westland CEO Toni Brendish said Westland hoped its project, which has now commenced oceanside work south of the Westland District Council’s Hokitika treatment ponds, would lead to penguin population protection. She said the development of a detailed 30-page management plan to ensure the wellbeing of Eudyptula minor had created passionate penguin advocates among the project’s contractors and Westland staff. “Working with the West Coast Penguin Trust in the planning and now delivery of our proposal has been a very rewarding experience,’’ Ms Brendish said. “We’re hoping this will lead to a very long relationship with the West Coast Penguin Trust to support the work they do to protect our local populations. We want the work that we do to create a better environment for the blue penguin.’’ Environmental Manager for Westland Chris Pullen said the company’s partnership with the Penguin Trust had extended well beyond the ocean outfall project. “We’re now working with the Trust on a number of measures to help protect the birds,’’ Mr Pullen said. “Free roaming dogs, vehicles, and habitat loss or disturbance are some of the threats but creating public awareness about the penguins’ activity, what their habits and breeding cycles are, is part of the answer.’’ Before work near penguin habitat could begin, a penguin-proof fence had to be constructed. Representatives from the main contractors, sub-contractors, Westland, the Department of Conservation and the West Coast Regional Council were also taken through an induction event to ensure the penguins do well during and after construction. The Penguin Trust will train staff members from each company working on the project on how to handle and relocate penguins should rangers from either the Trust or the Department of Conservation be unable to help. “However, the best advice is to leave the handling and relocation to the experts,’’ Mr Pullen said. “To put this into effect, a hot line to the Department and the Trust has been established.’’ West Coast Penguin Trust Manager Inger Perkins said she had been part of discussions since the project was first proposed a decade ago. “Westland identified the fact that the pipeline would be going through penguin nesting and foraging areas and have been at pains to work with the Trust to ensure no harm will come to the penguins,’’ she said. “Not only have we been involved every step of the way to ensure penguins will be safe during the construction project, but we have also built an excellent relationship and we’re delighted the relationship is much broader than the pipeline project. “As a region-wide business, WMP are finding ways to support our region wide penguin conservation projects, both locally in Hokitika, and across the coast.” Mr Pullen said land-based pipe-laying is currently progressing as planned and expected to reach the ocean site work by mid-2020. Two teams are working on land-based pipe-laying, one team from the factory, and the other from the ocean site. Work to construct a hard-stand from which heavy equipment will operate on the district council-owned paddock south of council’s treatment ponds began in mid-February following construction of the penguin-proof fence. Ms Perkins said the new fence would define the work area, protect the public from danger but also keep silt from washing off the site and prevent curious penguins from getting into the site and becoming stuck there or in danger from machinery or trenches. Under seabed drilling and pipelaying to a point 800m offshore is expected to begin around the middle of the year, depending on availability of equipment. The ocean outfall project is the culmination of 10 years of planning to replace the Hokitika plant’s current system of distributing treated wastewater into the Hokitika River.