Update on the 2005-06 breeding season for the Manly little penguins
July 2005-June 2006
Monitoring by the (then) Department of Environment and Conservation NSW (DEC) for the 2005-06 breeding season began on 19 July 2005 and the first eggs were estimated to have been laid four weeks before this date. The season concluded in mid-February 2006 when the last known bird fledged. By early February 2006, the number of moulting adults in the colony was increasing.
Included in the total number of nests for 2005-06 were four new nests, all of which produced fledglings. Importantly, two former fledglings were recorded breeding during the 2005-06 season. A total of 16 fledglings returned to the colony, and 229 adults and 342 chicks were banded and micro-chipped.
The success of the 2005-06 breeding season at 81% was higher than had been recorded in the previous three seasons, yet the number of active nest sites was considerably lower. The number of breeding pairs and total egg numbers were lower than in previous years, but only marginally lower than in the 2003-04 season. Fledgling numbers were similar to previous seasons.
Breeding activity was also lower in 2005-06 at the Montague Island little penguin colony, suggesting a possible lower breeding activity across the state. The high breeding success of this season, in association with fewer breeding pairs and a large reduction in the number of active nest sites, could be attributed to the return of more successful and experienced breeding adults to the colony. Less experienced birds may not have returned to the colony during the breeding season.
Variations in breeding activity from season to season is normal in wildlife.
Inaccessible nests
All nests could not be accessed - only about 50% of all nest sites within the breeding localities were accessible. Additionally, not all penguins will breed every season. The monitoring indicated that 16 fledglings had returned to Manly since the 1999-2000 season, of which 10 bred. This shows that a growing penguin population is a slow process.
Microchipped
The change in the permanent marking techniques from flipper banding to inserting subcutaneous microchips will have an increasing impact on the results of penguin monitoring. Reductions in the detection of known adults in the Manly colony and in reports of penguin mortality away from the study site is likely. Adults in the study sites that are unreachable in deep rock cavities could previously be identified visually from their metal flipper-bands. With microchipped individuals in similar circumstances, where readers cannot be inserted, their identity will remain unknown. Additionally, in some instances there may be a reluctance to continually disturb a nesting individual to allow positive identification by scanning for a microchip.
Old age
Members of the public reported a couple of penguins found dead in 2005-06 in Sydney Harbour. Two of these birds were at least 10 years old as they had been banded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in 1998 and 1999 and were recorded as breeding adults. Although it is always sad to see the loss of birds from the colony, these were likely to have died from old age. The average wild penguin lives for 7 years.
OEH encourages people who find a dead penguin to report it to the NPWS Sydney Harbour Area North office on 9960 6266 or to the Little Penguin Recovery Coordinator.
Translocation continues
The penguin translocation program, in its second year, continued in 2005-06. Twenty-one wild fledglings were moved to the Manly colony plus two captive-bred chicks from Taronga Zoo. It was hoped that these fledglings would see Manly as their home and begin to return in the following years.
Activity at a second natural nest site on Store Beach, after successful breeding at one nest last season, was a promising progression in the development of a colony at the site. This locality has considerable potential as a major penguin breeding site in Sydney Harbour as it is in a national park.
Keep dogs away
Unfortunately, on a few occasions the presence of dogs at this locality was recorded and several other instances were determined from dog prints on the beach front. Dogs pose a serious potential threat to these little birds, and it is unfortunate that some people ignore the ban on dogs in national parks and in the penguin critical habitat area.
Community penguin wardens
To assist in reducing the threat of dogs in the penguins habitat, DEC trained members of the community to act as 'Penguin Wardens'. These people undertook their first patrol on the Australia Day weekend in January 2006 when there were many visitors on land and in boats. The wardens enhanced the protection of the little penguins by providing beach patrols during the busy warmer months from November to January when the north harbour area attracted both people and penguins. The wardens also provided an important educational role for beach users.
June-July 2004
Nesting was already well under way in all areas of the colony, which had been monitored since the beginning of June. The first eggs were noted in the second week of June and the numbers of active nests slowly built up.
Tracks from visiting penguins had again been found on Store Beach, much earlier than last season. It was hoped a pair known to visit the area last year would return and nest.
A young female, banded as a chick last year, made an early reappearance near the Quarantine Station in the company of an older male. She probably did not breed this year but was obviously keen to get to know the area.
August-September 2004
The first little penguin chicks of the season were getting ready to fledge. They had been microchipped and would get into the water in the next week or so.
The reported tracks from visiting penguins on Store Beach early in the season were a good omen. There was a nesting pair in a spot where penguin activity had been reported last season. The site was monitored closely, as a successful breeding pair here would be a welcome return of penguins to this area.
At the end of August, the level of breeding activity was higher than had been seen for several years. About 30 pairs of penguins were nesting, with many more yet to begin breeding. They continued to lay eggs until around November. The early breeders that were successful would hopefully lay another clutch, boosting the chick output of the colony further.
A check of Little Manly Cove revealed some penguin landings on the western side of the cove but no further activity could be seen. The birds appeared to have pulled up for a breather before going on to other established sites.
The bi-annual landing count with the Manly community was held on the evening of 30 August. Residents and DEC staff braved the cold winter weather and sat perfectly still under the full moon to count penguins as they arrived ashore. Some participants sat so still that they did not even move when the tide came up, getting soaked up to their waists! This was the first time a count had been done in winter, although it was planned to repeat this in years to come. The next count was planned for late November.
September-October 2004
The season was progressing well, with good numbers of chicks already taking leave of their parents and beginning their independent lives at sea.
A number of pairs went on to lay a second clutch of eggs. This is called double brooding, and while it is quite commonplace at Manly, it is rarer in the larger colonies in Victoria and Tasmania. It is indicative of the health of the adults at Manly that they attempted these second clutches. Successful fledging of the second batch of chicks would indicate that a continued supply of high quality food was available to the parents.
Forty-five pairs of penguins were reported as breeding in North Harbour. This number was expected to continue to rise for another six weeks, as the last eggs for the season were expected around mid-November. A number of pairs were looking for nest sites each week.
The potential nesting pair at Store Beach appeared to be having an on-again-off-again approach to a breeding attempt. Any hatching at the site had yet to be confirmed (the nest contents were not visible). The disappearance of the adults at the site for a couple of weeks meant breeding may not have occurred. The birds returned to the nest site, however, seemingly with the intent of getting it right.
November-December 2004
The breeding season began to slow down, as birds that had not gone on to double-brood returned to sea to gain weight. The next part of their yearly lifecycle was now ahead of them: moulting, or feather replacement (out with the old wardrobe, in with the new!). To perform these activities they needed plenty of fat stored in their bodies.
Those attempting to hatch a second set of eggs for the season - or who were late layers and were still raising chicks - were busy parenting. This season saw more than 50 pairs of penguins breeding in the Manly colony.
The nesting pair at Store Beach hatched a chick. Hopefully, the parents successfully raised their offspring. As the nest itself was not visible, DEC was relying on visual and audio clues as to how things were going. The adult was sitting rather restlessly in the last couple of visits, indicating that the chick (or perhaps even chicks) was getting a bit large to be brooded beneath the sitting bird.
Soon both the parents would be flat-out providing the necessary food for their growing young. There was some concern, with the large tides of recent weeks, that the nest site may get flooded. Some inexperienced birds select sites a little too close to the water, and with big tides or storm surge they can have their nest washed out. We should not have worried about the site selection of this pair, as they were comfortably above even the biggest waves.
The fact that these birds were breeding at Store Beach was a wonderful result. It was possibly due to the reduction in the numbers of dogs arriving on the beach from boats since the area was declared critical habitat in December 2002. With the critical habitat restrictions firmly in place, it has become a safer haven for nesting penguins. We hope more penguins take full advantage of this situation in the future.
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Page last updated: 15 April 2011
