DRB naturalists and guests were presented with a talk on ‘Little Penguins’ by Murray Banks, DEC (Department of Environment and Conservation) Ranger on Penguin Island. Murray, a ranger for the past 23 years, has had sole responsibility for management on Penguin Island since 1995.

For those among the audience who were not aware, it was of interest to hear that the Island has only been out of private hands since 1987. Prior to that time, holiday accommodation, mostly as fibro shacks, was the norm and the penguins were a familiar part of life-under-the-floorboards for weekenders.

Erin Briggs, a researcher on penguins, compiled the PowerPoint presentation that we were shown on the life of the island and its rare inhabitants.

Eudyptula minor, the world’s smallest of the seventeen penguin species, is more familiarly known as the fairy or little blue penguin. The latter name is most commonly used in New Zealand where other colonies of this species also call home. Their geographical range extends from the Shoalwater group of Western Australia (including Penguin Island), across the southern coast, some way northwards on the east coast and includes sites along the east coast of Tasmania. Mostly the colonies are restricted to offshore islands with shallow bays where their food sources can be fished.  Penguin Island is the most northerly and westerly of the colonies and the population here is genetically distinct. Although the colony, of about 975, appears to be fairly stable, statistics demonstrate that over the decades numbers have diminished. The colony is of high conservation value within the Perth Metropolitan Area, but the city is also one of the major threats to its survival. 

The work of the DEC rangers and researchers from Murdoch University covers many and varied projects, including marine and vegetation studies as well as the monitoring and management of penguin lives and activities. Penguins are banded for research purposes. Routine work includes checks on nesting boxes and the health of hatchlings, with records kept of beak lengths and weights of individuals. Other responsibilities of the Island rangers include managing the activities of penguins relative to the day time visits by the public.  Public access has to be restricted; the Island is only 12.5 ha in area and in order to protect the vegetation and habitat, boardwalks and lookout points are provided for visitors. The summer months are best for viewing wild penguin as moulting takes place at the hottest time. Penguins can be seen at the Island sanctuary and information centre. These are penguins that have recovered from injury or mishap and will never be released into the wild.

The vital statistics of this penguin species quote a height of approximately 40 cm (compared with 70 cm for the Emperor species), weighing up to about one kilogram with a life span of 5-6 years living in the wild. It has been established, however, that some penguins on our local Penguin Island reach ages of more than 20 years. They reach maturity in their second to third year and it is very difficult to confirm their gender. They mate for life.

Threats to the colony are manifold and are caused by both natural events and those created through human activities.
Natural events include: storm damage, particularly on the southern beaches where old buildings are undercut and old building piping is exposed; and rising sea temperatures that have made whitebait stocks scarce. As a result of diminishing fish stocks adult penguins have to swim further to find food, increasing their vulnerability to predation, and hatchlings starve or become vulnerable to disease through malnutrition. Natural predation includes losses both at sea and on land; those at sea are caused by New Zealand fur seals, Australian sea lions and sharks, whilst on land both eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to attack by reptiles, ravens, and pelicans. It is a sad fact that rats have recently been recorded on Penguin Island and have the potential to cause serious problems. The Island had always been a rat-free place (protected by the flooded sandbar) and it is likely they have arrived with visiting boats. Measures against the rats are active with baiting taking place under boardwalks. As with most other islands, there are no foxes or cats.

Penguin mortality is monitored and deaths of individuals are always investigated. Fishing lines and boat collisions account for approximately 20% mortality to adult birds. Coastal development and higher than ever boat registrations (19,000 more boats are now registered in the Perth MA than ten years ago) are not good news for penguin life expectancy. Other sad statistics are that during a four month period during 2011 there were 49 penguin deaths, and the season had the lowest fledgling success on record since 1987, the highest mortality of chicks and the lowest use of nesting boxes. Natural diseases include respiratory mycosis (aspergillosis), gastro-intestinal infections from parasitic infections, and a new threat of avian malaria. Seven penguins have tested positive to this newly detected disease. We were also informed that nesting boxes are quite naturally and commonly hotter than natural burrows,  soiled with penguin excreta, and infested by a range of micro-life including bacteria, mites and fleas. Infrared cameras monitoring boxes do however give a glimpse on the conditions of chicks and possible predators.

Visits to the Island are organised by a commercial concern and provide an interesting destination to a unique conservation area in the Perth MA.

Susan Stocklmayer