PENGUINS PROFIT FROM PEOPLE POWER

Source: Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board Newsletter

View image of penguin burrows along Kingscote foreshore

On Sunday 22nd October 2006, 40 enthusiastic and dedicated wildlife lovers gave up 4 hours of their weekend to conduct a census of the penguin colony along the Kingscote and Brownlow foreshores. The annual Kingscote penguin census was initiated last year by Jenny Clapson of the Kangaroo Island Marine Centre. This year Martine Kinloch and Danny Brock of the KI NRM Board's Coast and Marine Program assisted Jenny with the planning, organisation and implementation of the census. The day began at 10 am with a briefing session in the Marine Centre to explain to volunteers how to carry out the census, and in particular how to distinguish active from inactive penguin burrows - largely a case of smell!! Eleven teams of people then set out for their allocated section of coastline between Brownlow and Reeves Point to search for penguin burrows. Luckily, it was a beautiful sunny day, but not too hot, making conditions ideal - and certainly a little easier than last year when people were scrambling around wet slippery slopes in the dark!

This year it was decided to change the method from counting penguins at night to counting their burrows during the day to make the survey easier and safer and also because counting burrows doesn't rely on the birds themselves being home. This method is used around the world to estimate the size of penguin populations, including at Granite Island, near Victor Harbor. Each team recorded the location of penguin burrows with a GPS and also made notes on whether the burrows were occupied and, if so, how many adults and/or chicks were home.

Jenny Clapson briefing the volunteers on the penguin survey at the KI Marine Centre Image: D. Brock

Danny Brock investigating a burrow along the foreshore Image: P. Bartram

A resting penguin Image P.Bartram

The penguin searchers took the operation very seriously and much discussion was to be heard among team members about how to interpret the various scats, tracks and smells that can be used to determine if a burrow is active or inactive, recently occupied or long abandoned.

One group in particular clearly relished this task and returned to the Marine Centre over three hours later looking hot and bedraggled, long after the first cold beers had been cracked during the animated 'debriefing session'. The dedication of Group 1 is to be particularly applauded.

All participants were extremely grateful for the excellent catering provided for the volunteers by Jenny and her husband John Ayliffe - who even went as far as risking his manly reputation by baking delicious choc chip biscuits and jam slice for the occasion.

The data collected during the census have been analysed and mapped by the Coast and Marine Program. Two hundred and five (205) active burrows and 242 inactive burrows were located along the approximately 5 km section of coastline. Nearly threequarters of active burrows were in the central portion of the survey area, between the Yacht Club boatshed and the end of Hospital beach.

Assuming that each active burrow represents one breeding pair of birds, we estimate that the population of adults in the Kingscote/Brownlow colony is 410 penguins. Eighty-two adult penguins (and 34 chicks) were actually counted in the 103 occupied burrows, indicating that 328 penguins were out at sea during the census. This highlights the value of counting burrows rather than birds, given that penguins are frequently absent on foraging trips of up to several days at a time.

Who's watching who? A penguin keeps its eyes on the volunteers from the safety of it's burrow Image: P. Bartram;

The industrious Group 1 searching for burrows along the foreshore Image: D. Brock

Enjoying morning tea at the KI Marine Centre Image D. Brock

The results of the 2006 census provide a valuable baseline against which future trends in penguin numbers, and the area or distribution of the colony, can be monitored. Annual community surveys of this kind will allow us to detect changes in how the foreshore area is being used and whether the penguin population is increasing or decreasing. From this we can assess the long-term health of one of the Island's important natural resource assets.

View image of penguin burrows along Kingscote foreshore

So let's all extend a big round of applause to the following people for their penguin prowess:Phyll and Tony Bartram, Jean-Pierre Bloemendal, Pat Blucher, Gail Capon, Cornelia Colenso, Jim Cooper, Malcolm Ellson, Sandy Farquhar, Grant Flanagan, Anna Hadland, Khalil Hadland, Nieltje Grootenboer, Jenni Harris, Kimberley Harris, Sue and Tony Hoff, Susan Lengyel, Danyel Mackie, Brad MacLean, George Madani, Paul Marlow, Coral Marsden, Pip Masters, Manfred Meidert, Trish Mooney, Sharlene Noble, Kathy O'Brien, Bev and Dean Overton, Phil Pisanu, Gisela Robinson, Steve Thomas, Teale Vanner, David Welford, Colin Wilson and Marion Winkler.

Thanks also to Bonnie and Jack Schofield, Bec Mussared (KI NRM Board) and Judith Wingate (Kangaroo Island Community Education) who helped out with a follow-up survey a week later. This allowed us to check on the accuracy of the method by recounting two of the sections with entirely different personnel.

The results were very reassuring providing confidence the method is scientifically valid as the basis for a long-term community based program.

Martine Kinloch
Coast and Marine Project Officer, KI NRM Board