News

Mena, currently the only penguin detection conservation dog in the South Island, and her handler Alastair Judkins from K.O.R.I (Kaikoura Ocean Research Institute), joined the West Coast Penguin Trust once again this September, for two weeks, to survey penguin nesting sites for us and they very kindly agreed to visit some schools with me too, on their way up the Coast.

Mena, currently the only penguin detection conservation dog in the South Island, and her handler Alastair Judkins from K.O.R.I (Kaikoura Ocean Research Institute), joined the West Coast Penguin Trust once again this September, for two weeks, to survey penguin nesting sites for us. They also took the time to visit some lucky schools with me too. We are sorry we couldn't make it to all the schools unfortunately, but we hope in the future, we will make it to those who missed out. Mena and Alistair scoured the coastlines, forests and river mouths all up the West Coast trying to sniff out penguin sites for us. The West Coast Penguin Trust would like to confirm the penguin presence in certain areas and ideally an indication of numbers if possible too. This included Wanganui River area in Hari Hari, north of Hokitika, Barrytown and Punakaiki area and along the penguin protection fence north of Punakaiki, Charleston area, Westport, Carters Beach, Tauranga Bay/Cape Foulwind and Granity. We carry out the Great Annual Blue Penguin Count each year in October, where any members of the public, schools, local communities can join in counting and noting tracks and observations for us. We also monitor certain sites ourselves with observations and burrow scoping. However, what takes us hours to do, Mena takes minutes often. She knows, when her muzzle is on, that she’s on duty.  She’ll seek out a whiff of penguin and then track it down. When she has found the source, she’ll sit down and await further instructions. Alastair will get her to sit and stay on a small blanket while he investigates further and records the finding. Knowing where penguins are nesting is invaluable when development is planned and we are also keen to have a measure of penguins protected by the penguin fences we currently have in Hokitika and Punakaiki, which we are confident are increasing in number, but doing surveys like this will give us greater certainty. We are also lucky enough to be able to take Alastair and Mena into some schools we have worked with to show the students what she does and how she is very useful to the Trust. Alastair, Mena and I visited many schools on our way up the Coast, giving presentations and demonstrations for the students and staff of Mena’s amazing skills, detecting penguins and signalling to Alistair. Many of these students have been spending their time learning about penguins and how to help protect them, so this is a wonderful treat for them. For some students, and staff in fact, this was the highlight of their year! A huge thank you to Mena and Alastair for all their hard work for us and to Jodi Weir-Judkins from K.O.R.I for her support in making this happen. And good luck to Alastair for the training of Kowhai, his next stoat detection dog and his next penguin dog – we look forward to meeting them when they have passed their exams. Another big thank you to Pub Charity for supporting the education component of this project. Pub Charity have supported other trust education projects including the development and printing of our education resource book, both first and second edition. The schools get such a boost from Mena and Alistair's visit and so do we in sharing this experience, and we reached around 1200 pupils and 90 staff at 11 schools between Harihari and Granity on this trip - a superb effort. A personal thank you from me for all Alastair's hard work and patience! And to Pub Charity for the funding to allow it to happen. It really brings the education programme to life when we get to experience exciting events like this. Lucy Waller, Education Ranger      

 

 

 

Whitebait season has arrived.

Whitebait season is a much loved season here on the West Coast and throughout New Zealand. Families enjoy their old traditions of getting out to favourite spots to spend time with family, friends, or some much needed alone time and to hope for a lucky catch. It is unfortunately also the penguin season too - that crucial time of egg laying, new chicks hatching and parents frantically going in and out of the sea bringing food for their offspring. It is a busy time at the beach currently, where penguins, humans, cars, and dogs all have to co-exist as best we can. We wish you luck with your whitebaiting. Here are some useful tips to keep our penguins safe at the same time: - If you have to drive on the beach or coast roads, please try to avoid the period dawn to dusk or drive extra slowly as our little 30 cm high friends could be crossing - please watch out for them. - Dogs are humans' best friends, but it's sadly not the same for penguins. Unfortunately they are still the main threat to our penguins after vehicles. Please do your part and keep your furry best friends in your sight and under close control when you are out on the beach and estuary areas - penguins can travel up rivers for a kilometre or so. If possible, please keep  your dog out of the sand dunes and bushes/vegetation at the back - this is penguin nesting zone. - Everyone believes that their dogs couldn't possibly kill a penguin, but a penguin is simply a fluffy chew toy to a dog, they are intending no harm most of the time. We have all seen a loving, gentle, family dog with a new chew toy for Christmas - little penguins don't look much different. - If you see a penguin trying to come home and he looks disturbed by your presence, please let him by without disturbance so he can go feed his chicks. Many thanks for your consideration and we hope you have a great season! Who knows you may be lucky enough to experience a penguin sighting whilst catching a net full! Take a look at DOC's Wildlife Wise Dogs programme here for some of their helpful hints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weWk_E0uOlM

The 2021/22 year has been one of change and loss for the trust, but also of productivity and hope for the future.

The 2021/22 year has been one of change and loss for the trust, but also of productivity and hope for the future. Trust Chair, Robin Long, introduces the annual report and explained: "Overshadowing all of our work throughout the year, our inspiration, guide, scientist, and Chair for most of the Trust’s existence, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, battled cancer and sadly died at the end of March.  She had bounced back remarkably well to attend our February meeting, and achieved her long held ambition to write and publish the acclaimed New Zealand Seabirds: A Natural History in October, also managing to do interviews as it was launched. "The loss to the trust and to seabird conservation in Australasia is immense. "But Kerry-Jayne has left a powerful legacy.  Thanks to her guidance, the trust’s work has always been solidly grounded in scientific knowledge and not assumption.  Our vision is that threatened seabirds and their habitats thrive and we will continue to strive towards achieving that in her memory." Follow the link below to read the full report, including summaries of the trust's various projects and programmes of work and our appreciation for all those who help and support us. 2022 West Coast Penguin Trust Annual Report  

Take a moment to act for nature this Conservation Week 5th - 11th September

Conservation Week 2022 focuses on how we can take action for nature. Taking action not only benefits nature, but also our personal wellbeing. Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tangata – when the land is well, the people are well. When Papatūānuku thrives, we thrive. There are many events you can attend, locally and New Zealand wide and activities you can do at home and in your local community to support this week. Take a look at the DOC website to get some ideas. Local ideas: Count some tracks on the beach for our West Coast Annual Blue Penguin Count Attend the Carters Beach market and planting day on Saturday 10th September

Education Ranger, Lucy, joined forces with Sustainable Coastlines Coordinator, Emma Hunter, visiting local Hokitika primary schools.

Ranger, Linden, reports on two exciting new tools for monitoring kororā.

Ranger, Linden, reports on two exciting new tools for monitoring kororā: Building on our foundation of 16 years of monitoring breeding success at two Charleston little penguin/ kororā colonies, this year we have two exciting new tools to further our knowledge of kororā breeding, foraging, and in the long-term, population demography. Firstly, two new handheld microchip readers allow us to learn so much more about the penguins. For example, we’ll see which penguins are occupying which nest boxes, whether couples are staying together from year to year and which chicks return to the colony. These readings can be done with little disturbance to the penguins. We are hugely grateful to The Trusts Community Foundation for a grant to purchase the readers, and to Farm Source Methven for doing us a fabulous deal including arranging the donation of protective rigid wand reader carriers from the manufacturer, Gallagher. Many thanks to all three.

Secondly, the installation of a fixed microchip reader at the entrance/exit of one of the colonies will tell us all the comings and goings of kororā. We are very fortunate that at this colony all of the kororā enter and exit the colony via a single narrow path, which makes it an ideal spot to place a microchip reader. This reader records the number of every microchipped penguin which passes through it. In turn, this will give us valuable information about how long penguins are ashore and at sea for, which should vary depending on the stage of the breeding season, such as incubating eggs, as now, or raising chicks. In addition, over the long term we will be able to see how many chicks return to breed, which in turn will give us a better idea of the overall population trends of kororā. We’re grateful to Little Totara Electrical for kindly donating cable and some time to help set this up, and we’d like to acknowledge the specialist skills of the maker of this complex bit of kit, Kean Maizels of Kean Electronics Pty over in Australia. On top of that, we’d like to thank our very generous Supporters and other donors. The fixed reader was a big investment for the trust, and one we could not have made without your superb support and generosity. Thank you.

It's the West Coast Annual Blue Penguin Count time again folks

It's the West Coast Annual Blue Penguin Count time again folks, so grab your gummies and your penguin tracks form or better still, your phone with the i-Naturalist app downloaded onto it and start counting tracks! An early morning walk in the spring, the week of Monday 12th - Saturday 17th September, will help you rediscover the beauty of your local coastline, discover whether penguins are using the beach and help us build a clearer picture of where blue penguins are on the West Coast. We have selected these dates when the tide will be low early in the morning to keep you safe and to offer the best chance of seeing penguin tracks crossing the freshly washed sand.  You can add your observations any time, but always pay special attention to tide times and conditions. Read the details here.   A little history behind the Great Annual West Coast Blue Penguin Count: Little Penguin populations on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand were surveyed and partially counted for the first time in late 2005/early 2006. Motivated by anecdotal information suggesting a decline in Little Penguin populations along the West Coast. this on-foot survey has been the foundation for Little Penguin research and the establishment of regular monitoring schemes. The West Coast Penguin Trust undertook the survey in its first year and has since been documenting factors that influence Little Penguin population growth such as threats, breeding habitat, breeding biology and foraging distance at sea during breeding seasons on the West Coast. Your help is extremely valuable, thank you.

Mena the penguin detection dog returns.

Mena and Alistair are returning to the West Coast for another visit this month. She is the only penguin detection conservation dog in the South Island, her handler is Alastair Judkins. They are joining the West Coast Penguin Trust for two weeks to survey penguin nest sites and visit schools. Mena’s key function is to sniff out penguin sites and the Trust would like to confirm the penguin presence and ideally numbers in several areas including north of Hokitika, along the penguin protection fence north of Punakaiki, Wanganui River and around Tauranga Bay/Cape Foulwind and Carters Beach.  She knows, when her muzzle is on, that she’s on duty.  She’ll seek out a whiff of penguin and then track it down.  When she has found the source, she’ll sit down and await further instructions.  Alastair will get her to sit and stay on a small blanket while he investigates further and records the finding. Knowing where penguins are nesting is invaluable when development is planned and we are also keen to have a measure of penguins protected by the penguin fences we currently have in Hokitika and Punakaiki, which we are confident are increasing in number, but doing surveys like this will give us greater certainty. We are also lucky enough to be able to take Alastair and Mena into some schools we have worked with to show the students what she does and how she is very useful to the Trust. She will do a demonstration for the students of her amazing skills detecting penguins and signaling to Alistair. Many of these students have been spending their time learning about penguins and how to help protect them, so this is a wonderful treat for them. There are many excited classrooms awaiting her arrival out there!

Ranger, Linden reports back on the latest from the colonies...

Although we saw some early pairing up from our penguins in June, Ranger, Linden reports back on a late start for laying of eggs in the colonies: "Over the past fortnight we have seen the first eggs laid at both of our monitored little penguin/ kororā colonies at Charleston. We generally see the first eggs laid around early August, so it seems as if this season they have started 2-3 weeks later than normal, and a similar trend is playing out at numerous other kororā colonies around the country. The exact reason for the late start is unclear, but food availability is the most likely cause. During the egg incubating phase, adults take turns incubating the eggs, swapping over every 2-3 days. The eggs take a little over a month to hatch, so we will hopefully begin to see chicks by the end of September!"  

  Trustee, Jill also reported a 'party' in her nest box last week, in preparation for the breeding season. She explained that right before breeding begins, there is often a lot of noise and hustle and bustle in the nest box, so she has taken this as a sign that things are finally starting. Watch this space!

Volunteer Fung Lai responded to a call for a volunteer to translate location descriptions into map coordinates and then maps.

Earlier this year, New Coasters joined BeCollective.com, a "digital gateway to helping your community and realising your positive social impact".  The idea is to link volunteers to volunteer opportunities and the Trust took up the offer. Understanding where penguins might be is critical for the advocacy role of the Trust.  When councils are developing or updating plans or considering resource consents in the coastal area, we are able to advise whether there is a potential risk to penguins and seek conditions or rules that will protect them. Penguins could appear anywhere on our coasts.  Main locations will of course be their breeding colonies and their nest sites, but if they have been injured or are ill, they may stop on a beach away from their nest.  We also know that they may travel inland, perhaps for up to a kilometre, sometimes following rivers upstream.  And of course we know that they end up on roads that have been created through their nesting habitat to make our lives easier. Together with DOC, the Trust established a mortality database in 2006 to record all dead penguins that were reported.  Reports were added to a spreadsheet and facts, as far as they could be determined, were included for each record, such as juvenile or adult, cause of death, when and where found. This is where we needed some help and volunteer Fung Lai responded to the call on BeCollective for a volunteer to translate location descriptions into map coordinates and then maps. When using maps in the past, the Trust has identified penguin sign and sometimes been able to confirm nest sites.  For example, the maps below are from a surveys in 2007 and 2012.

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, working with Richard Seed from the New Zealand Penguin Initiative at the time, focussed on known breeding sites in a project to map blue penguin breeding locations around New Zealand.

However, it is not easy to confirm breeding sites, particularly over a stretch of coast around 600km long. So why not refer to a map where we have evidence of penguins being found dead, plus the evidence from annual penguin counts over the years? Fung Lai came to the rescue and gradually worked through the spreadsheet records, doing an absolutely brilliant job of finding often obscure and local location descriptions on a map and translating records to map coordinates that can be viewed in any map program including Google Earth. Before we get to the maps that Fung has created for the Trust, let's introduce her. Fung and her husband set sail from the UK on a two year journey across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to Aotearoa New Zealand, their final destination.  Although they didn't see many penguins on their travels, Fung has found an interest in seabirds and enjoys photographing shags when out and about in her home city of Auckland, observing their behaviour.  She enjoys looking out for penguins too when exploring the islands and coast up in that part of the country. Fung has worked in software development for over a decade and was able to apply her many skills to our challenge. With some of the more obscure descriptions of locations still to identify, we have already got an excellent picture of penguin locations for the region.

Yes, you are correct - that is the sad picture of where dead penguins have found, with around 2/3 killed on coast roads - significantly reduced since we installed penguin protection fences - and 1/5 killed by dogs. The mortality database has been invaluable in determining where we need to invest time and resources - including the fences and awareness around the threat posed by loose dogs, especially at night.  If you find a dead penguin, please let us know using our simple form on our contact page: https://www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz/contact/ Back to the maps, and if we combine all three datasets, we have a complete map of our current understanding of where penguins have been recorded across the West Coast.

We will continue to work on the missing data, but this is a huge leap forward in our understanding and representation of where there is or has been penguin activity over the past 15 years or so.  It will be enormously useful in our work and we will be sharing it with district and regional planners once it is complete. Our very grateful thanks go to Fung and here are some of her shag photos - pied shag I believe - that she kindly shared with us.

And this is a perfect time to be thanking Fung and in face all volunteers - National Volunteer Week!