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| Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife |
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Little Penguin Eudyptula minor
Little or Fairy Penguins are relatively common in Australia being found along the southern coast from Perth to Port Stephens. They are the only penguin species to breed in Australia and the smallest penguins in the world. The Fairy or Little Penguin colonies are found in NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. Some colonies like the one in Sydney Harbour and the one at St Kilda in Melbourne are right in the backyard of Australia's major cities. Phillip Island's penguin parade is world famous and the local colony without a doubt the best known in Australia. While tourists from around the world flock to beaches every night to get a glimpse at these shy birds, volunteers at the Penguin Foundation keep an even closer eye on the penguins to ensure the health and wellbeing of the population. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife recently supported the Penguin Foundation with a grant to satellite track the birds while they are at sea. This will help the volunteers learn more about the movements of the penguins and ultimately allow for better protection of their habitat and feeding grounds. St Kilda's penguins by comparison are a well kept secret. They established a breeding colony so close to Melbourne's doorstep that Earthcare Volunteers keep a watchful eye not only on the penguins but also on their human neighbours. Earthcare also received a grant from the Foundation to microchip their penguins to monitor closely the survival rate and breeding success of the individual birds. Sydney Harbour, New South Wales The colony in Sydney Harbour is the only mainland colony in NSW, all other colonies being restricted to offshore islands due to predators. It is one of few known colonies of penguins to inhabit a major city in the world, managing to survive in Australia’s biggest city and busiest port. Because of this and the small size of the colony, about 60 breeding pairs, it was listed as an endangered population. For the first time in 2005 captive-bred penguins were released into the colony to boost population numbers. Breeding season is also the time of year when the birds are most vulnerable. At Manly, volunteer Penguin Wardens watch over the colony from July to January. Every night from 6 to 12 PM, the volunteers safeguard the colony and answer questions from the local community. They are ambassadors for the endangered Little Penguins of Manly, Sydney Harbour. They help with monitoring of the endangered colony and provide members of the public with accurate information about the penguins, their habitat and their needs. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife supports the volunteers by providing polar fleeces, beanies and gloves and other equipment. This project has received generous funding from Rotary. Nest boxes increase breeding success Over the past six years the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has funded both the monitoring of Manly’s endangered Little Penguin colony and the installation of artificial nest boxes to help increase the birds' breeding success and to make the captive-bred arrivals feel at home. The birds visited all nest boxes in the season immediately following their first installation, and they have already proven a higher than average breeding success since. The Foundation is committed to keep up the support. The Boxes need to be replaced quite frequently due to termites and the penguins’ own housekeeping. With corporate, public and international support we should be able to ensure the Little Penguins’ survival in Sydney Harbour and on the shores of Manly. Funding from our donors and MTU Australia is also used to enable the monitoring of the colony. Monitoring data has been collected over the past three breeding seasons allowing a comparison of breeding success. Since monitoring started in 2000, the number of penguins has remained constant over this time despite the impacts of oil spills, foxes and dogs. |
