A Burrowscope to Study the Derwent Estuary Colony of Little Penguins
Little Penguins, also known as Fairy or Blue Penguins, are a feature of Australia’s southern coastline and marine parks. At about 35 cm tall and weighing less than a kilo and a half, these Little Penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world. These little guys are also the only penguin species to breed in Australia.
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded a project to monitor Little Penguin populations in Tasmania. Local researchers were then able to purchase what they call a ‘burrowscope’. This tool is a small camera with infrared capabilities attached to a flexible head. It is inserted into Little Penguin burrows to assess population numbers.
Many penguins are located amongst boulder complexes and rockfalls where a burrowscope is the only realistic means of assessment. The specially designed burrowscope doesn’t emit any visible light into the nests, and it so allows for a quick and accurate assessment without disturbing the penguins inside.
Use of a burrowscope minimizes the amount of damage done to burrows while surveying penguin populations. It also reduces the amount of stress and disturbance to penguins that traditional monitoring techniques could sometimes cause, when penguins were removed from their nests and handled. As a direct result of employing the burrowscope, far fewer nests are deserted by Little Penguins.
Much of the monitoring with the Foundation funded burrowscope is carried out in the Derwent Estuary where Little Penguins can be found nesting along the foreshore. Penguins are highly vulnerable to habitat loss, human disturbance and attacks from domestic pets, and as a result their numbers have been in decline over the last decade.
To try and rectify this problem, the Tasmanian Derwent Estuary Penguin Project has been working on habitat restoration and revegetation of penguin nesting areas. This project is funded by the Australian Government Envirofund and supported by local councils. They have also established artificial burrows, upgraded existing burrows and improved protection from predators by installing fencing, gates and signs.
Monitoring during 2007-2008 saw an increase in active nests, not only at sites with management initiatives, but even those without. Improved nesting areas provided in quieter, more protected sites were taken up by penguins, and demonstrated the benefits of strategic placement of artificial burrows.
In 2008/09 177 breeding pairs were counted. This was a slight decrease from the previous year, although well within expected annual fluctuations. This represents a large increase from 2004/05 when just 98 breeding pairs were counted. The increase is thought to be due to the development of extra burrows, habitat restoration, education and the cooperation of local councils and dog-walkers groups.
The on-going penguin monitoring program, making great use of the handy burrowscope, will help us better understand which management initiatives are of the most benefit to protecting and increasing Little Penguin numbers.
Due to yearly variances in numbers of penguins and breeding success, ongoing assessment over time is the only way to accurately gauge trends within populations. It is hoped that this project can be used as a pilot for other penguin conservation projects within Tasmania and also on the Australian continent.
