Manly’s Little Penguin Colony

Written by Eira Battaglia

The Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor - Good Little Diver) is the smallest of the world’s 18 species of penguins. An adult penguin weighs around 1 kg and is approximately 30-40 cms tall. The previous name known by many Australians was that of Fairy Penguins, which was changed to better reflect its scientific name. The Little Penguin is called the Blue Penguin in New Zealand due to its dark blue feathers on its back and head with a white abdomen and chest.

The North Harbour–Manly colony of Little Penguins is the only mainland colony in New South Wales, the majority of penguin colonies being found on islands around the south eastern coast of Australia. They are temperate climate birds and found from the north coast of NSW to eastern areas of WA.

In 1997 the colony was listed as endangered under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). At the time the colony was declared endangered, the number of breeding pairs were thought to be around 30 and has varied since to a maximum recorded around 60 pairs.

A Recovery Plan, as per requirements under the TSCAct, was put into place in 1998, to maintain and enhance the population. Various stakeholders of the Recovery Team included Taronga Zoo, Manly Council (now Northern Beaches Council), NPWS/Dept. of Environment and NSW Maritime, with additional input from biodiversity officers who monitor the nests over the breeding season, i.e. from June to February, to report on the number of active nests, eggs hatched and live chicks. The data is presented at the Recovery Plan meetings each year.

A Critical Habitat was declared under the TSC Act in 2002, which comprised the shoreline habitat around Manly Point, from Collins Beach to North Head. Other breeding locations were outside the Critical Habitat area and included under Manly Wharf and Federation Point in Manly Cove. Those nests were not reviewed by NPWS annually to the Recovery Team. Nests were also known to be located outside the Quarantine Station and above Collins beach on the grounds of the Police College. These were included in the Critical Habitat as being in the North Harbour National Park.

The penguins have been adversely affected by human interference in recent years, from the building of houses, of restaurants (the Wharf) and extensive renovations to the Police College. NPWS monitored the renovations and ensured the penguins were not disturbed as they returned to their burrows each evening. The numbers were included in the annual monitoring of nesting sites and comprised a large number of breeding penguins.

A major renovation carried out by a restaurant at Federation Point in Manly Cove in 2014, disturbed long standing penguin nesting sites. Subsequently they did not return to the site, meaning a loss of two established breeding pairs.

There have been several incidents of predation by dogs and foxes which seriously affected the colony. These included dog attacks (2010) a loss of 4 penguins including a chick and fox predation (2015) within the National Park, with a loss of 27 penguins. A number of penguins have been killed by boat strikes from high speed boats which travel into the areas the birds raft up each evening, an ongoing problem despite monitoring by Maritime NSW.

In 2005 the NPWS rangers responsible for the colony adopted a volunteer community protection plan after nest boxes in the National Park were destroyed with dog predation on various beaches. The scheme was based on the Little Tern volunteer community program on the south coast.

NPWS called for volunteers from members of the Manly community and wildlife rescue organisations to be involved in the program. Initially twenty ‘penguin wardens’ attended a workshop in 2005. It gave information about the Little Penguins, their biology, breeding cycle, Critical Habitat Areas (and those outside, e.g. Manly Wharf and Federation Point) with regulations regarding disturbance of the penguin breeding sites, fines within the Critical Habitat area which could be enforced and prohibition of dogs on Manly Cove beach or within the National Park. The responsibilities of the penguin wardens were outlined, which were of education and information only, with no enforcement of regulations. The safety of the wardens was of importance if aggression was encountered by disgruntled dog owners or others, the action needed, e.g. to contact Manly police.

Areas of nesting sites were allocated volunteers, which included Quarantine Station, Collins Beach, Store Beach, (inside the Critical Habitat/National Park areas) Manly Wharf and Federation Parade plus some houses built within the Critical Habitat where penguins were known to nest under houses.

Each evening during the breeding season, two to four wardens patrolled those areas to ensure the birds were not disturbed by either humans or dogs. The nests under Manly Wharf and at Federation Point were particularly susceptible to human interference as residents walked their dogs on the beach or off leash especially in the evening in contravention of the regulations and came close to the penguin nesting areas. Manly Council erected signage to alert of the regulations regarding dogs in the Wildlife Protection Zones.

The wardens advised dog owners of the rules and fines likely if found on the beach or near the breeding areas. Many people, especially tourists, wanted to see the penguins and take photos of the birds, which concerned the wardens, those especially with flash cameras which could affect their eyes. At busy times there could be many crowds looking for the penguins to come in at sunset, the wardens needed to keep the crowds from disturbing the penguins, particularly when there were chicks, which waited for the adults to return to feed them. Manly Council allowed the wardens to place barricades each evening along part of the beach closest to the Wharf where the penguins came in.

Each evening the volunteers noted the time, the number of penguins that returned to their nests, the number of chicks, (if any) whether healthy, their interaction with their parents and when the chicks fledged. The wardens continued to protect the penguins during the moulting time until the adult birds left and returned to sea. In nesting areas inside the National Park, the penguins were unobservable due to the closure of beaches at sunset. The wardens advised visitors to the beaches to leave at sunset before the penguins came in.

The wardens always enjoyed talking to the public about the Manly colony of Little Penguins. Sadly with the loss of the penguins at the Wharf and Federation Point, there was less opportunity to interact with the public.

Some of the wardens participated in the annual Project Penguin program. Children from various schools learned about Manly’s penguins, the dangers to the colony and how they could help protect them. It has been a successful program for almost 15 years with Taronga Zoo and Northern Beaches Council’s (previously Manly Council) involvement.

Penguin Wardens releasing two chicks previously rescued from under the Wharf nest 2018 at Collins Beach. Wardens Tony Garman and Eira Battaglia.

Image by David Jenkins

On occasions over the years, the chicks under the Wharf required rescuing when parents entered an early moult and the chicks were unfed for a number of nights or where one parent was lost with the remaining parent unable to feed the chicks. The chicks were rescued by wildlife rescuers with permission from NPWS and taken to Taronga Wildlife Clinic to be cared for until able to be released.

Any sick or deceased penguins from the colony are required to be taken to Taronga Zoo to be recorded, with necroscopies carried out on any dead penguins to determine the cause of death. It is a requirement under the TSPAct that records are kept of injured or dead penguins from the colony. These details are submitted to NPWS and the Recovery team each season.

The penguin nest under Manly Wharf has been inactive since the female of the established pair was killed by a boat strike in 2018. Despite CCTV cameras being located under the wharf, none have been seen since.

Over the past ten years the colony has decreased to around 25 breeding pairs and is now considered vulnerable. As Manly Wharf, Federation Point and Quarantine Station no longer have active nesting areas, it further reduces the number of breeding pairs. Currently the numbers of active nests are mainly in the National Park or in other unknown areas around the Northern Beaches.

In times of high tourist numbers at Manly such as at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the penguin nesting sites require careful monitoring to prevent the birds being disturbed by loud music, bright lights and dogs on the beaches. The wardens are assisted by the NPWS rangers and if required by Manly police.

The volunteer penguin warden scheme will celebrate its 20th year next year. Several of the original volunteers continue to patrol the areas, mainly within the National Park – Collins and Store Beaches and one area outside the Critical Habitat area, Little Manly.

Penguin Chicks under Manly Wharf

Image by David Jenkins