Field work

Jeepers. It has been one of those days. The day started off not that dissimilar from yesterday and we only headed out to Jackson Head in the afternoon. It was another warn and sunny day out on the West Coast, but that did not prevent things from turning a bit southward.

It started when I checked one of the stoat traps along the track to Jackson Head east. A root decided to have a wrestling contest with my foot and won, which send me flying forward banging my right knee on the only rock within a country mile of soft forest floor. It took me quite some time to regain my composure and continued my walk, if in a rather limpy manner.

We found our second logger bird on the nest and we swiftly removed the device from the brave penguin. All good here.

Then sunset. It got dark. I grabbed my torch that I have dangling around my neck whenever I’m in the field. Problem was… there was no torch dangling around my neck this time. Cripes. Well, what do I have a spare head torch for. Huh? The batteries in that one are empty. No worries, I got a whole box of spare batteries in my bag. Only… the box wasn’t there. It wasn’t anywhere and I likely lost it somewhere on the rocks when I grabbed penguin gear for logger recovery.

So it’s dark, and I don’t have any light. So Hotte gives me his spare torch, which happens to be a real crappy handheld thing. And we have three more loggers to deploy. Yay.

We get to the cave below the rock arena where our three logger candidate nests are located. But… none of the females were at home. To find that out, I had to climb on all fours into the cave through centuries of penguin poop. And I dropped the handheld torch which I had been carrying between my teeth. I tried to wipe it clean as best as I could but inevitably ended up with the taste of penguin poop in my mouth while we were attaching a GPS logger on a female tawaki from a neighbouring nest. We got a second device on a bird too. So, it wasn’t all bad.

But my knee is swollen and throbbing, my box of spare batteries is lost forever, and I can’t get the taste of penguin poop out of my mouth no matter how often I brush my teeth.

Oh brother.

After a rather relaxed start to the day… no, let me rephrase that. After we did nothing other than house cleaning, office work, preparing our next GPS Loggers, and taking long naps until late afternoon, it was time to head out to Jackson Head to get our first GPS loggers back. And deploy the three new ones.

The two penguins with trackers on their backs are both from the sub-colony we call Popi’s Plaza. What we had to do was sit on the shore and wait for them to come home. We try to recover devices before the penguin enter their breeding areas. On one hand they are easier to catch outside of the thick vegetation. On the other hand, we do not cause a stir within the breeding colony, freaking out penguins unrelated to our activities.

The actual process of device recover follows an easy if somewhat unnerving pattern.

We sit hidden behind some rocks and observe the foreshore. As the sun approaches the horizon, penguin start to pop out of the water and scramble over the rocks to their breeding colonies.

But that makes it sound like as if the birds would show rather determined activity. They don’t.

They would walk a few metres and then stop to have a look around or start to preen extensively.

All the while we are straining our eyes to see if any of the birds carry the priced package. The problem is, they tend to show you their bellies. And it requires a lot of patience before you can finally catch a glimpse of their back side… and see that there is nothing.

Often when a logger bird finally shows up, you only catch a glimpse of the device and the last moment. And then it gets hectic.

Well, until 7pm we managed to recover one of our two devices. And we were damn lucky. The bird – or its partner – had really done a job on the logger. The tape we attached the device with was in tatters and was literally hanging on the penguin by a thread. Well, a feather. At any rate, it wouldn’t have taken the bird much to preen off the device and that would have been the end of that.

But, as it is, we have our first logger back.

With a spring tide rolling in around midnight, we had until 9pm to deploy three more loggers. So we made our way through the darkness and thick vegetation to an area we call the rock arena. Here several of the breeding females were feeding their chicks. Once they had finished their job three of them volunteered to carry GPS diver loggers for a few days.

It took us an hour and a half to deliver our pay load so that we had to hurry up to get back out before the tide rolling in cut us off from home.

Because of that, we could not have a look for the second logger bird at Popi’s Plaza. We will have to get here tomorrow. When we will also try to deploy three more devices before we finally head over to Milford Sound on Saturday.

The day started with quite a bit of drama.

While we were having breakfast a loud bang shook Neils Beach. Next thing we knew there were flames billowing from the airfield no more than 200m from the house we’re staying in. It turned out that the heli-shed of Greenstone Helicopters went up in flames. Greenstone have helped out the tawaki project from the beginning and it was sad to hear that the helicopter that was destroyed was the one that got us to and from Gorger River last November. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the heli shed and the adjacent packing facility of Barnbay Fishing burned to the ground in less than half an hour. Hopefully nothing was lost that isn’t covered by insurance.

In the afternoon, we did another round through the tawaki breeding areas to check on our monitored nests. Sadly, we lost another four nests. Again there were signs of predation… or at least scavenging. Judging from the messy job that was done on two chicks from one nest, I would say that a possum had a go at these unfortunate birds. But… question is whether the possum actually killed them. Hopefully, trail cameras operated by the West Coast Penguin Trust can shed some light on this mystery.

The remaining nests, however, look all pretty good. In one nest there we found two big chicks, a rather unusual sight for any crested penguin as they usually lose one of their two chicks a few days after hatching. It probably is a sign for good foraging conditions at sea this year.

When we headed back out, we spotted one of our logger birds returning home. The device will come off tomorrow.

And, finally, to round of this day of tragedy, my camera played up so that some really stunning video footage and photos recorded today are lost. Well, compared to what we witnessed this morning, I probably should not complain.

We can’t say that the weather isn’t on our side – when not deploying GPS loggers, that is. Another stunner of a spring day and according to the weather man, the West Coast is the warmest place in New Zealand today.

We decided to have a look at Jackson Head’s eastern side. So far, we have been working on the western shores of the peninsula, where the coast faces the open sea. The eastern shores look at Jackson Bay and the alpine ranges on the horizon. It is on this side that almost 40 years ago John Warham from Canterbury University did the first comprehensive study of tawaki breeding behaviour. I’m not sure if anyone has visited those penguin colonies since.

Low tide was conveniently just after lunchtime so that we could walk round the foreshore to look for these penguin colonies. We had no idea where they were located, but penguin calls told us where we had to dive into the bush to find them. I was particularly curious to see if the colonies on this side of Jackson Head also show signs of predator impacts. If anything, I would think that this part of the peninsula is easier to access for stoats and possums.

The vegetation proved to be even nastier than on the western slopes. Besides kiekie that tries to slice open every exposed part of skin with its blade like leaves, the bush is thick with supplejack vines, perfect to get entangled in, unless you’re penguin size of course.

The first small tawaki colony comprised of just four nests that are tucked away in the roots of an old fallen tree. When I say four nests, I actually mean to active nests and two nests that might have been active. In one nest a single male penguin guarded an empty hollow, and one floor up, a pair of tawaki huddled around another empty nest bowl. As neither eggs or chicks were in sight this could mean that they were non-breeders – or that the nest contents were taken by predators. I suspect it’s more the latter.

The further we got towards the point of Jackson Head, signs of undisturbed breeding became more prominent. Eggs that rolled out of nests, dead chicks that rolled out of the nests and died which is normal in crested penguins where usually only the first-born chick survives. And as morbid as that may sound… this is good because it means that no possum or stoat has been around to scavenge – or kill chicks. So it seems, that predators may indeed be a problem for the penguins over on this side as well. But there are tawaki sub-colonies that are not – yet – affected by it.

As the sun started to set on the other side of Jackson Head we made our way back to Jackson Bay. Bottlenose dolphins zoomed past and tawaki started to show up to get back to their nests.

We can’t say that the weather isn’t on our side – when not deploying GPS loggers, that is. Another stunner of a spring day and according to the weather man, the West Coast is the warmest place in New Zealand today.

We decided to have a look at Jackson Head’s eastern side. So far, we have been working on the western shores of the peninsula, where the coast faces the open sea. The eastern shores look at Jackson Bay and the alpine ranges on the horizon. It is on this side that almost 40 years ago John Warham from Canterbury University did the first comprehensive study of tawaki breeding behaviour. I’m not sure if anyone has visited those penguin colonies since.

Low tide was conveniently just after lunchtime so that we could walk round the foreshore to look for these penguin colonies. We had no idea where they were located, but penguin calls told us where we had to dive into the bush to find them. I was particularly curious to see if the colonies on this side of Jackson Head also show signs of predator impacts. If anything, I would think that this part of the peninsula is easier to access for stoats and possums.

The vegetation proved to be even nastier than on the western slopes. Besides kiekie that tries to slice open every exposed part of skin with its blade like leaves, the bush is thick with supplejack vines, perfect to get entangled in, unless you’re penguin size of course.

The first small tawaki colony comprised of just four nests that are tucked away in the roots of an old fallen tree. When I say four nests, I actually mean to active nests and two nests that might have been active. In one nest a single male penguin guarded an empty hollow, and one floor up, a pair of tawaki huddled around another empty nest bowl. As neither eggs or chicks were in sight this could mean that they were non-breeders – or that the nest contents were taken by predators. I suspect it’s more the latter.

The further we got towards the point of Jackson Head, signs of undisturbed breeding became more prominent. Eggs that rolled out of nests, dead chicks that rolled out of the nests and died which is normal in crested penguins where usually only the first-born chick survives. And as morbid as that may sound… this is good because it means that no possum or stoat has been around to scavange – or kill chicks. So it seems, that predators may indeed be a problem for the penguins over on this side as well. But there are tawaki subcolonies that are not – yet – affected by it.

As the sun started to set on the other side of Jackson Head we made our way back to Jackson Bay. Bottlenose dolphins zoomed past and tawaki started to show up to get back to their nests.

As planned we went out late last night to deploy GPS dive loggers on female tawaki. And as forecasted it started pouring down about two hours before we left our research base in Neils Beach. Despite getting wet to the bone, we managed to fit two devices to penguins. Now let’s hope the tape we use to attach the devices holds. Applying it in such wet conditions is always a bit iffy. But I consider this a good start.

Because we returned around 2am we took it easy this morning.

Tonight, high tide is going to be around 9pm. With the current swell that hits the coast this means that we can’t get in or out of the penguin breeding areas between 6pm and midnight. So no logger deployments tonight. This is why we hoped to find any volunteering penguins in the afternoon.

By lunchtime, the weather had cleared up once again – welcome to the West Coast, or indeed, New Zealand. We prepared three more logger packs and headed out to Jackson Head. But, alas, no females anywhere in sight. So no loggers out today.

But on our search for females, we made a worrying discovery. Three of our 30 monitored nests have failed already. In a bad year, that can happen. But firstly all the environmental signals point to this being a good year for the penguins, and secondly the nests were all empty. No trace of eggs or chicks. 50 metres below the ‘apartment building’ we found a penguin egg with obvious bite marks. So either, the egg was scavenged by a possum after it had rolled out of the nest. Or we may have a stoat problem again.

We decided to keep a close eye on what is happening at Jackson Head. So we have abandoned our plan to go to Milford Sound tomorrow and will instead check all breeding area for signs of another stoat invasion.

We arrived at Neils Beach, the small settlement about 5 km from Jackson Head late yesterday after witnessing substantial flooding along the Jackson Bay Road. The weather over here was really bad the past few days. I think our 24 hours delay for our departure was a good call.

Indeed it was, as today the West Coast enjoys beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Perfect conditions to go out and get cracking with our work.

Just after lunch we made our way out to the penguin breeding areas with the intention to deploy a few more nest cameras and to fit the first GPS dive loggers on chick feeding female tawaki. As could be expected, we found mainly male penguins guarding their small chicks or incubating eggs that should hatch very soon. On a couple of nests we found pairs, where the females had returned early to feed their young. Access to these nests was difficult, so that we did not bother these birds to stick devices on the females. Later afternoon, early evening seens most of the females return to feed their chicks, so that that time of the day is much better for what we want to do.

Unfortunately, the tide was not on our side. High tide was at 8pm. This combined with the fact that there was a considerable swell hitting Jackson Head meant that we could not get in or out of the penguin breeding areas between 5pm and 11pm.

So it will be another nightshift for us. We’ll head out around 10.30pm tonight. Hopefully we will manage to bring out three devices. Problem is, that the weather forecast predicts rain for tonight. Hard to imagine when you look at the blue skies that stretch over the West Coast at the moment.

Then again, this is the West Coast. So we better brace ourselves for a wet evening.

Boy, it was a long, cold winter and an even longer wait until – finally! – field work is again upon us. Tawaki have completed their winter migration and are back in their breeding colonies. In fact, breeding is well under way with hatching set to get into full swin in the next week or two. We know this, because we have just completed a first nest search trip to Jackson Head.

Documentation photos for this year’s tawaki nest database.

We marked close to 30 nest for monitoring over the next 12 weeks to determine the fate of eggs and chicks, record breeding success and track adult penguins on their foraging trips to find food for their offspring. The good news is that, so far, there were no obvious signs of stoat predation.

A female tawaki sitting on eggs

As for the timing of the penguins… they seem to run like clockwork this year. We mainly found females incubating eggs, which means the birds have entered the final stage of the egg incubation phase. After laying both adults hang around the eggs for a while before the females leave on 1-2 week long foraging trips. After that it’s the males turn to go on a longer trip and return when chick hatch. From what we saw, this is going to happen in the next week or two.

It was particularly good to see, that the ‘apartment building’ is once again fully occupied by tawaki. Last year, the area was completely devoid of nests. Because of stoats stealing eggs and chicks prior to our arrival as we later learned from camera trap footage. Maybe the Jackson Head tawaki will have a bit of an advantage this season though, as the Department of Conservation this year has installed two traplines along the peninsula in an effort to control stoat numbers. We will see if that helps!

An ‘apartment building’ tawaki so far not bothered by stoats

Patient female in her apartment waiting for her husband to return and eggs to hatch

It was good to be back out in the field after a long winter of reports, analyses, grant applications and other desktop work that is not good for your back (and belly circumference). Nothing beats being out in the bush with the penguins on a warm, sunny, early spring day. Let’s hope we have many dry days like this one in the next weeks. We will move into our research domiciles at Neils Beach and Milford Sound in a couple of weeks when field work will start in earnest!

Ursula Ellenberg trying to make radio contact with Thomas Mattern in the Jackson Head bush

Ursula reacting to the fact that Thomas is standing right next to her

The tawaki moult is in full swing. All of the penguins we fitted with satellite tags have returned to the mainland to grow a brand new coat of feathers. The question we had was whether they would do this in the comfort of their own home (aka ‘nest’). After we found Jackson Head almost devoid of any penguins in February last year, we started to doubt that the birds return to their colonies to moult as it is commonly believed.

Several feather piles indicating the recent presence of moulting tawaki

So last weekend, we headed over to Milford Sound to catch up with our friends at Southern Discoveries, hitched a ride to Harrison Cove and, together with Andrea Faris, dived into the bush to have a look for penguins. It did not take long to find ample signs of moult – feather trails leading to piles of the fluffy stuff. All clear indications that Harrison Cove is indeed a popular hang out for a change of feathers.

A pair of moulting tawaki; a truly sorry, but perfectly normal look for tawaki at this time of the year

Overall we encountered 20 penguins, some holed up with (presumably) their mates in their nesting caves looking rather bedraggled, others in the final stages of shedding the old feathers, but many apparently through the moult entirely and more or less ready to go on yet another long migration.

Almost through! A solitary female tawaki waits for the last of the old feathers to go.

For us this means that we can plan to come back this time next year to deploy trackers on these birds to examine where they travel to get in shape for another tough breeding season.

‘I’m outta here!’ – A male tawaki on the way to the ocean after a completed moult.

Farewell to Harrison Cove until October

So much for ‘once chicks fledge they will not touch try land again for almost a year’. This tawaki chick from Rollers Beach, Stewart Island, obviously had different plans. After its first splash in the big blue, it found itself a nice little rock not far from the cave it hatched in. It then spent the better half of a day perched there preening extensively and enjoying the life in fresh air (as opposed to the ammonia contaminated, dank gas not really qualified to be called ‘air’ inside said cave).

Ultimately, however, high tide forced the young one to get wet again… and start the adventure of its first year at sea.

A recently fledged tawaki chick is raking a break after its first dip

Don’t be fooled by the grey beard; this fellow is only a couple of months old.

The penguin equivalent to taking a shower

Inevitably, the incoming tide washed the wee one of its perch