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From forest to caves

November 2, 2022 at 6:06 pm

Tamatea/Dusky Sound appears to be a transition point for tawaki breeding preferences. In the fjords north of Tamatea, we found the majority of tawaki colonies in forest settings, be it the Fuchsia-fern grove that is Harrison Cove in Piopiotahi/Milford Sound, or the primary forest islands of Patea/Doubtful Sound. Sure, the colonies all look vastly different, but what they all have in common is that they are located in forests.

  • Rolla Island, located nearly 40 km from the open sea in Patea/Doubtful Sound
  • Seymour Island at the confluence of Patea/Doubtful Sound and Thompson Sound
  • The eastern Shelter Islands at the entrance of Patea/Doubtful Sound

And with the idea of finding tawaki in forest settings we also arrived in Dusky Sound. However, while we did indeed encounter tawaki colonies on forested islets, we also searched other spots and found at best a handful of nests on islands that theoretically could host hundreds of nests.

A good example was the large, unnamed island in Cormorant Cove in the northern reaches of the fjord. The four of us battled through the undergrowth for what felt like an eternity, we only came up with six nests on the entire 14 hectare island. We spent the night anchored at that island and while having her breakfast muesli Robin spotted a tawaki on the rocks not far from the Tutuko. When she and Myrene checked out that spot a bit later, they discovered a small cave entrance – and a colony of eleven nests in it. Needless to say that from then on, we were on the lookout for sea caves.

  • Unassuming “cave entrance” somewhere on the shore of one of the many Dusky Sound Islands…
  • …and the corresponding colony behind said unassuming entrance.

Especially towards the tail end of our time in Tamatea, we had our eyes on the shoreline. We spotted many potential caves but hardly ever had the chance to inspect them as landing at those sites was rather difficult if not outright perilous.

  • A larger sea cave, albeit tucked away in a small cove.
  • Caving becomes the main activity when mapping tawaki colonies in Dusky Sound.
  • Interestingly it appeared as if cave colonies were well ahead in their breeding schedule when compared to forest nests.

In essence, Tamatea/Dusky Sound can be described as a transition zone for tawaki breeding habits. North of Dusky, the majority of the penguins breed in forests. In Dusky, besides forest settings, tawaki colonies can be found in sea caves, like on Rakiura/Stewart Is in the South.

We even found Tamatea tawaki colonies in caves that were located deep in the forest. So it would appear that in southern Fiordland, the penguins rather live underground than under trees. A sign of centuries of hunting pressure by iwi in the southern ranges of the species?

  • Tawaki somewhere in the forest on Resolution Island…
  • …actually sitting right in front of a hole in the forest floor…
  • …which leads about 15 m almost straight down to…
  • …yet another tawaki cave colony.

More questions to address in the coming years. Working with tawaki never gets boring.

« Tamatea tawaki – good and worrying news
Day 10 – Spring Cleaning »

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