Research

Penguin bill measurement

The West Coast Blue Penguin Trust raises money to conduct research into blue penguins. Without the work of the Trust we would know very little about the status, or threats, to blue penguins on the West Coast.

Recent research supported by the Trust has investigated breeding biology and breeding success, and quantified threats faced by blue penguins in the Charleston and Okarito areas.

Blue Penguin Monitoring & Predator Control

The Trust monitors long-term population and breeding trends of penguin colonies on the Coast. Detailed investigation is done, looking at colony size, breeding pair numbers, fledgling success, and the impact of predators.

West Coast Blue Penguin Trust ranger, Reuben Lane, is responsible for predator control and monitoring of blue penguin populations between Punakaiki and Westport. In conjunction with the Department of Conservation the Trust is also monitoring penguin colonies at Okarito, and the Wanganui River Mouth at HariHari.

Ranger Reuben Lane monitoring penguin burrows near Charleston

Annual Penguin Census

On two consecutive days every winter, members of the Trust, and interested locals, walk the beaches of the West Coast counting penguin prints. It is an informal approach to surveying, highly dependent on weather, but does help build a better picture of the scattered penguin populations along the West Coast. Results also show trends over time.

The annual census, along with scientific studies, have lead the Trust to believe blue penguin numbers on the West Coast are declining, and currently number in the high hundreds, or low thousands. Given the coastal area is approximately 500 kilometers long this is a very low population density.

Census results 2011

Census 2010 PDF

2009 Census – (PDF 1.5MB)