Fiordland Crested Penguins have declined on the mainland in the past decade, most likely due to predation threats to their nesting areas, from rats, stoats, cats and dogs.
This penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as “vulnerable” because it has a small population that has undergone a rapid reduction over the last three generations.
The population is estimated at 2500 to 3000 breeding pairs, many of which breed without disturbance on predator free islands. Nesting colonies are found in dense, temperate rainforest along rocky coastlines, and sometimes in sandy bays.
Penguin Viewing at Munro Beach
Although it breeds around the southern South Island coast, it is most reliably seen at several small and secluded colonies in south Westland.
The best known and most accessible of these is at Munro Beach, where around 15 pairs return to breed each year in the July to December breeding season. They also stay on shore to moult later in the season.
Munro Beach is about 30 km north of the settlement at Haast and about 88 kilometres south of Fox Glacier township. From the north, it is on the right (or west side of the road) at the southern end of Lake Moeraki. If you pass the Wilderness Lodge or reach the Moeraki River bridge, you’ve missed the small turnoff.
Coastal Rainforest Walk
This takes you to a carpark and from there it is an easy 40 minute flat and undulating walk along a good, formed track, through beautiful coastal rainforest.
Once at the beach, look right, and scan the area along the beach beneath the rocks for penguins. Early morning or late evening is best, when penguins are going to, or returning from the sea.
There are Department of Conservation warnings, not to approach close to the penguins, and not to follow them, as this is a breeding area, and the birds are easily disturbed.
Other places to see them in this area are Jackson Point (southern end of Jackson Bay, 48 km south of Haast), and at Knight Point (south of Munro Beach).
Scattered and Secluded Breeding Colonies
The Fiordland Crested Penguin is 60cm tall and weighs about four kilograms. It is the only crested penguin to breed on the mainland - in small numbers and in scattered breeding areas around the coasts of Southland, Westland and Fiordland. These penguins also breeds on Stewart, Codfish, and Solander Islands.
This penguin is similar to the Snares Crested Penguin, Erect Crested Penguin and Rockhopper Penguin, but is distinguished in particular by the shape of its yellow crest. These other species are also not usually found on the south-west mainland coast.
The Fiordland Crested Penguin has a broad yellow eye-brow crest that droops at the back of the head and three to six small scattered whitish stripes on its cheeks.
Distinctive Plumage and Crest
It has a thick orange-red beak with no bare skin at the base, and a red eye. Its plumage is bluish-black slaty grey on the back and flippers, and darker on the head and sides of the face. It has white underparts including a white bib, and has pink webbed feet.
Two white eggs are laid in a shallow lined scrape nest, usually in a deep cavity under tree roots, or in crevices or caves in dense rainforest. Incubation takes about a month and chicks are brooded mostly by the male for three weeks, usually departing the colony in late November and early December. Juvenile Fiordland Crested Penguins have thin eyebrows and a whitish chin and throat.
These penguins feed mainly on fish, squid, octopus and krill, and during the breeding season they feed close to shore over the continental shelf. They first breed at 5-6 years old and may live for 10-20 years.
Further Threats and Competition
They range widely around the South Island coast and the sub-Antarctic islands, and are seen regularly as far north as Cook Strait with occasional stragglers seen in south-east Australia and off the Tasmanian coast.
Other threats to these penguins are incidental capture in set nets, human disturbance at nest sites, and the risk of death crossing roads. At sea, substantial variations in prey abundance, and changes from a rise in sea temperatures could also have a negative impact on populations.
Competition from squid fisheries may also reduce the population, as well as a marine farm planned for the Jackson Bay area. About 10 percent of the Fiordland Crested Penguin population is found in this area.
References
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species online
Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, by Heather and Robertson, 1996 edition (Viking).
