Research Diary

The Tawaki Project’s Fiordland season wrapped up in the current issue of the Advocate South (also known as Fiordland Advocate).

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

The 2016 tawaki breeding season is coming to a close. Along the north-east coast of Stewart Island, where tawaki tend to occupy every nook and cranny, few birds are still patrolling along the coastlines. Soon all of them will head off to fatten up for the annual moult in February. Where they go is still a mystery… but not for much longer. We’re on it.

One of the last few penguin that have yet to depart on their migration

The Tawaki Project field season 2016 is under wraps. At least the part where we crawl through the bush trying to find tawaki nests and recover data loggers from penguin volunteers. That doesn’t mean that there is no fresh data incoming. Because the satellite tags we deployed on tawaki to examine their at-sea movements before the moult will keep on transmitting data until the birds shed their feathers in February.

Gorge River – no penguins breed actually along the river but up the coast from here

Around Gorge River we have probably the highest concentration of tawaki in New Zealand. The birds really seem to like the long stretches of bouldery beaches and the gently sloping forest beyond them. The tangle of bushlawyer, supplejack and kiekie makes for good breeding habitat. Robin Long has conducted several searches in the region over the last few years and has found nest numbers in the order of several hundreds.

One of hundreds of tawaki that call Gorger River their home

And we encountered juvenile tawaki! With short crests, and grey beards they tend to sit around on the beaches or along the penguin highways up into the forest, looking quite unsure as to what they are supposed to do. This is a very good sign for the species, because after the disastrous breeding outcome at Jackson Head due to El Niño last year, one could have expected that none of last year’s chicks made it through the winter migration.

A juvenile tawaki not quite sure about why he’s here and where he’s supposed to be

Over the course of the next weeks we will track the progress of the birds we fitted with satellite tags. It’s nice not to have to wait until we recover the devices to get to the data. Hopefully all of them will return to Gorge River to moult so that we can get the tags back. Otherwise the devices will fall off wherever the penguins decide to gwor some new feathers.

The penguinification of confusion

The rocky shore that is frequented by hundreds of tawaki (except when this image was taken)

A clear night over the Long residence at Gorge River

This Sunday, we went out to Jackson Head once more to have a look whether the setting of several stoat traps in the last active breeding area Popi’s Plaza made a difference for the surivival of the last few remaining tawaki chicks.

Jackson Head in November 2017 – still lots of adults around

When we left in mid-October there were three chicks large enough to be running around freely but small enough to be taken by stoats. At that stage, two stoats had been trapped in this particular breeding area. The traps remained active for a few weeks after we left under the care of DOC Haast.

Stoat attacks stymied – couple of surviving chicks guarded by a male tawaki

The good news is that, yes, all three chicks in Popi’s Plaza are alive and well. They all hang out together under the watchful eye of two adult males. So it seems the trapping did the trick. The problem is, however, that trapping Jackson Head is a logistical nightmare and not really a viable solution for such inaccessible habitat. So we need alternatives…

Fluffy and healthy – and hopefully too big for any stoat

Afternoon snooze

After an overnight stint in Harrison Cove the Milford Sound team we managed to deploy the last three loggers before the first light on females departing the breeding area; one of which was a transponder tagged bird that carried a GPS dive logger last year. So the day’s chores were completed before breakfast! As the day was young we decided that this was an opportune moment to check whether there are any tawaki breeding in Sinbad Gully, just across the fjord from Harrison Cove.

Sinbad Gully on a gray Milford Sound morning

Dan and Sam from Southern Discoveries dropped us off at the mouth of Sinbad River sometime after 10am which left us about 1.5 hours to have a look for tawaki in an area that has thus far has not been recognized as a breeding location. However, one the GPS tagged birds last year had spent 3 days over here, so we felt it was worth a look. There were no signs of tawaki in the shore (i.e. poo) or any other indications that the birds may hike up the hill to breed. But since we were here, we scrambled upwards through the thick forest.

Not at all easy to find – tawaki nest in Sinbad Gully

Tawaki nests are never easy to find. But lots of windfalls and fern leafs littering the forest floor made it virtually impossible to look for the usual cues for tawaki presence. However, seemingly out of nowhere we came across a rock that had scratch marks from tawaki claws. And then finally, the pipping of a tawaki chick gave away the first nest.

A male Sinbad Gully tawaki guarding its chick in its tree root nest

Overall we found 9 nests, two of which had failed recently. However, within the limited time we had, it is obvious that there must be quite a few more tawaki nests in Sinbad Gully. It would take a few days of proper searching to get a better idea how many nests the Sinbad colony comprises of. But it’s likely going to be a significant two-digit number.

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We carried out nest searches and showed a camera team from NHNZ round Jackson Head. Nest numbers appear way down this year with lots of empty nests being guarded by one or two adults. It seems that many birds decided to give this season a miss and just hang out in the breeding area. Could also be that some birds died over the winter migration and left single mates that are now waiting for a partner that will never return. El Niño took a significant hit on the Jackson Head tawaki’s breeding success last year and probably also affected their foraging success during the winter. So it will be interesting to see what the breeders do this season while at sea.

The first chicks have hatched – and are pretty big

In the face of environmental change, the tawaki is at last receiving the scientific attention needed to protect one of the world’s rarest penguin species.

Many New Zealanders know the little blue penguins that live and breed along most of our mainland coastlines, and we hold the yellow-eyed penguin that adorns our $5 bill in our hands every day. But faced with a photo of a Fiordland crested penguin/tawaki, most of us likely wouldn’t recognise it as another native species. Tawaki belong to the group of crested penguins that boast striking yellow feathers above their eyes. Unfortunately, most crested penguin populations have been declining during the last century, and tawaki do not seem to be an exception. The population is estimated to range between 5,000 and 6,000 birds, and at some sites their numbers are believed to have declined by as much as 30 percent over just 10 years.

But there is considerable uncertainty about the numbers. Unlike other crested penguins, who breed in densely packed colonies, tawaki breed in scattered colonies, mostly in forests along the rugged coastlines of South Westland, Fiordland, Stewart Island/Rakiura and outlying islands. They are true forest penguins that epitomise the wrongness of the penguins-on-ice stereotype. It also means that it is no mean feat finding – and counting – these penguins in the remote and wild areas they inhabit.

There be tawaki – remote coastlines of South Westland

Their nesting habitat ranges from sea level to 100m elevation, and they like to breed in impenetrable vegetation. Some pairs have even been found breeding in sea caves with access only through submerged entrances. This means it is next to impossible to get accurate estimates of tawaki populations throughout their entire range.

In 2014, Robin Long surveyed a 60km stretch of coastline between Haast and Milford Sound to identify and accurately census tawaki breeding colonies in the area. She found at least 870 pairs – a stark contrast to the 150 pairs reported in a 1994 survey. However, this likely represents an underestimate in the earlier census rather than an increase in actual penguin numbers. By repeating her 2014 survey during the next 10 years, Robin will record changes in penguin numbers, which will be used to extrapolate trends of the entire tawaki population.

Determining tawaki population size and trends is one thing. Coming up with conservation measures to ensure the survival of the species is another. It is equally important to determine which key threats affect the penguins and what options we have to mitigate these threats.

Tawaki Chicks. Photo: Robin Long

Tawaki breed on land but find their food at sea. On land, introduced predators – stoats, possums and dogs – may prey on the penguins and their offspring, while human activities can disturb breeding birds and cause them to abandon sites. At sea, rising ocean temperatures probably disrupt prey availability, fisheries may compete for resources or result in accidental bycatch, and pollution in the wake of proposed oil exploration could also become a major problem for the tawaki.

To date, very little is known about tawaki ecology. For decades, the inaccessibility of their breeding sites was a major barrier for scientific investigation. However, by using new technologies to observe and track the penguins, two research groups from the West Coast Penguin Trust and Otago University have joined forces to fill in significant gaps in our knowledge about the species.

Using motion-sensing cameras at nest sites, the trust is carrying out a study to determine the impact of introduced predators on tawaki. In the past two years, thousands of videos have been recorded. Although most video clips show penguins preening or gathering nest material, occasionally intruders – stoats, possums and rats – enter the scene. While it appears that possums and rats keep a respectful distance from the breeding birds, stoat attacks on chicks caused some monitored nests to fail.

The Tawaki Project is studying the penguins’ marine biology. Using miniaturised GPS dive loggers, Otago University researchers Thomas Mattern and Ursula Ellenberg study tawaki’s foraging ranges and diving behaviour. First results indicate that climate substantially influences the birds’ foraging success, but apparently this depends largely on the region in which the penguins breed. During the strong 2015 El Niño, tawaki from Jackson Head, Haast, had to travel hundreds of kilometres to find food for their chicks while others in Milford Sound could obtain ample food without leaving the fiord.

Both projects will significantly expand our knowledge of tawaki and provide much needed information for fact-based management of New Zealand’s unique and enigmatic forest penguin. To find out more, see www.tawaki-project.org and www.bluepenguin.org.nz.

The Tawaki Project in the Winter 2016 edition of Forest & Bird Magazine

The moderate earthquake that hit Fiordland last week is reminder that tawaki have chosen a particularly precarious stretch of coast to breed. The species’ entire breeding distribution follows one of New Zealand major geological boundaries, the Alpine Fault.

Tawaki breeding range (red), Alpine Fault and our three study sites. Maybe we should be worried too?

Here the Pacific Plate meets the Indo-Australian Plate, two of the earth’s major tectonic plates. Or more specifically, the Pacific Plate moves over its counterpart, pushing it downwards while lifting itself up  – forming the Southern Alps in the process. It’s a pretty lively zone where earthquakes are a common occurrence. So tawaki live in a pretty shaky region.

That wouldn’t be half so bad, if they would breed in earthquake proof burrows. But a lot of them don’t. Many tawaki establish their nests under rocks or boulders, sometimes along the course of old landslips which in itself is a reminder of the violent forces of earthquakes. As researcher, it is a pain to find your way through this jumble of rocks because not every stone you step on is as stable as it seems. Even larger boulders may give way and start to roll when you try to climb over them. Obviously, that is the last thing you want as there might be tawaki breeding under that very same rock.

It does not take much to imagine what an earthquake might do to this tawaki nest

What does this mean for tawaki when there is an earthquake?

Well, first of all, as stated before earthquakes are a common occurrence along the Alpine Fault. So we can probably assume that a lot of the rocks the penguins have decided to breed under have been shaken into place already and are unlikely to be moved by another wee quake.

However… there is a very big earthquake waiting to happen. The Alpine Fault has ruptured four times in the past 9 centuries, which is about one big earthquake every 225 years. And the last rupture dates back to 1717 – almost 300 years ago. So the next big one is overdue. In fact, geologist estimate the next rupture of the Alpine Fault to occur in the next 50 years. And it will create a massive earthquake of magnitude 8 or more, at least as violent as the 2015 Nepal earthquake. If not more so. To put that into perspective, the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch in February 2011 was of  magnitude 6.3.

Predicted isoseismals & consequences for the next Alpine Fault rupture (source: http://bit.ly/1DZWvK1).

The predicted epicenter is about half way between Jackson Head and Harrison Cove. Actually the isoseismals (blue lines in the graph above) forecasting the spatial distribution of seismic activity, neatly cover the core breeding areas of West Coast and Fiordland tawaki. So penguins occupying this stretch of coast will be in for a wild ride indeed. And it is safe to assume that the rocks under which tawaki are breeding will move once more when that happens.

If the quake hits during the breeding season tawaki might indeed be in trouble. In this case, a lot of penguins attending their nests may be crushed by shifting rocks or buried under the rubble of landslides. With such a big earthquake, tsunamis are probably to be expected as well so that birds not breeding under rocks may get washed away. So it could be quite bad. But tawaki would have to very unlucky for that to happen.

Two adults in front of their nest at Jackson Head. Will these rocks stay where they are in a quake?

How likely is it that tawaki will be at home during quake?

Tawaki spend most of their lives at sea. So the timing of the quake would have to be spot on and coincide with the penguins’ breeding season (August to November) or moulting (February), the only periods of the year the birds spend substantial time on land. This means that the penguins are only in the region for four months every year. That’s only a 1:3 chance of tawaki witnessing the quake first-hand. It’s more likely that they come back from their migration to find their breeding site layout altered substantially.

If it happens during the breeding season, will it be enough to wipe them out completely?

Highly unlikely, as there will be a lot of non-breeders and juveniles as well as foraging parents at sea and therefore likely spared from quake-related misfortune. And at sea, those birds can handle all kinds of turmoil…

https://vimeo.com/109104158

One thing that bugged me for quite some time was the question who was first to lay eyes on tawaki. Obviously, the Maori were likely the first ones to have done so. In fact, they laid more than just their eyes on the penguin. Tawaki bones in Maori middens of New Zealand’s North Island indicate that the penguins were a commodity for Maori and it’s highly doubtful that they kept them as pets. (In fact, there is an alternative name for tawaki in Maori, ‘Pokotiwha’, which is also used as an insulting swear word. Tawaki must have given Maoris that handled them a hard time.)

The first European to come close to tawaki country was of course Captain James Cook. On his first voyage (1768-71) Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and that way became the first European to visit Fiordland. Cook had a rather prolific naturalist on board, Joseph Banks, a very educated and observant scientists who no doubt would have made a note of tawaki if he’d ever encountered them.

But, alas, two things stood against Banks describing tawaki. One was timing. The other were apparent animosities between him and Captain Cook.

Joseph Banks and Captain James Cook – not on the friendliest of terms with each other

Although Cook visited New Zealand on all his three journeys, he reached Fiordland only on his first. After sailing down the South Island’s east coast in February 1770 and circling around Stewart Island’s South Cape at the beginning of March, Cook first spotted Fiordland on 11 March 1770.

March. The month after tawaki have finished their moult and are all out on their winter migration. So Cook was too late and it seems highly unlikely that Joseph Banks would have been able to observe tawaki. If they would have landed, that is.

Because Cook never made land fall in Fiordland, much to the dismay of Banks. In fact, it seems as if the two of them weren’t getting on too well because of this.
On 14 March, Cook’s ship Endeavour had reached Doubtful Sound. But due to the wind situation Cook doubted (hence the name!) that if he entered the fiord, he would be able to get back out again. Cook wrote in his log:

The land on each side the Entrance of this Harbour riseth almost perpendicular from the Sea to a very considerable Height; and this was the reason why I did not attempt to go in with the Ship, because I saw clearly that no winds could blow there but what was right in or right out, that is, Westerly or Easterly; and it certainly would have been highly imprudent in me to have put into a place where we could not have got out but with a wind that we have lately found to blow but one day in a Month. I mention this because there was some on board that wanted me to harbour at any rate, without in the least Considering either the present or future Consequences.

“Some on board” was quite obviously the naturalists faction led by Joseph Banks. On the same day Banks wrote into his journal:

Stood along shore with a fair breeze and passed 3 or 4 places that had much the appearance of harbours, much to my regret who wishd to examine the mineral appearances from which I had formd great hopes.

Banks journal entries in the following days are rather short and emit an aura of frustrated anger. When writing his account of New Zealand while the Endeavour sailed to Australia at the end of the month, Banks couldn’t help but reiterate his frustration about not being able to land in Fiordland:

The South part, which is much more hilly and barren than the North, I firmly believe to Abound with minerals in a very high degree. This however is only conjecture; I had not, to my great regret, an opportunity of landing in any place where the signs of them were promising except the last; nor indeed in any one, where from the ship the Countrey appeard likely to produce them, which it did to the Southward in a very high degree, as I have mentiond in my Daily Journal.

Although Banks came in contact with penguins on his journey to New Zealand, he did almost certainly miss out on tawaki.

Which is probably for the better too. Banks as a ‘collector of fine specimen’ shot most of the animals he found interesting.

The one that got away and avoided becoming Bank’s penguin