| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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New Zealand South Island East Coast |
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Entering the small town of Omaru, I followed a sign for the Penguin Colony. This led me to the visitor's center for the Omaru Penguin Parade. Omaru was one of the best surprises in New Zealand.
There is a small colony of Little Penguins in an old rock quarry not far from the center of town. The visitors center has exhibits including a live TV camera in one of the artificial burrows in the colony outside. An adult penguin was preparing the nest for a second clutch of eggs. I learned there is a colony of Yellow-eyed Penguins at Brushy Beach a short distance from the visitors center. The guide told me how to see both penguins in one night.
The Yellow-eyed Penguins begin arriving at the beach about 3 PM and continue returning to their nests until after dark. At 6 PM and again at 7 PM a guide takes people close to the nests. The Little Penguin visitors center reopens about 8 PM for the evening parade. A ticket to watch the penguins parade ashore cost NZ$10.
I went back into town and got a bed at the Red Kettle YHA. I met a young woman from Korea and invited her to the two penguin evening. This is one of the smaller YHAs and it is best to have a bed reserved. As I traveled from YHA to YHA I always asked the host to make a paid reservation for me at the next town.
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This is Brushy Beach from the bird hide. Yellow-eyed Penguins
nest in the woods usually under fallen logs. In most of New Zealand the land
has been cleared down to the beach destroying the penguins habitat. The
Penguins must climb higher and higher to find suitable nesting
sites. Here at Brushy Beach the cliffs were never cleared perhaps because they are too steep. The entire colony nests on the slopes in this picture. The colony here was almost destroy by domestic dogs which keep the penguins from coming ashore freely. Before it was too late, dogs were banned from this beach. |
| At the north end of Brushy Beach, this bird hide sits on the
top of the cliff. You need to arrive here about 3 PM to wait for the first
penguins. The Yellow-eyed Penguin is unique is two respects. First it nests in small colonies of from 2 to 40 pairs of birds and each pair like their nest to be completely hidden from the others. Second unlike other penguins, the Yellow-eyed Penguin returns to its nest all year long spending days at sea feeding and nights roosting at the nest. |
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The hide is very small and the night I was there was filled
with spectators. Several Penguins had already come across the beach by the time
I arrived at 3:30 PM. Here comes the first Yellow-eyed Penguin of the evening. This is the view from the hide. To see it well you will need a scope. About 5:30 the volunteer guide shows up and recruits people to take his tour for NZ$8. He offers two tours the first at 6 PM and the second at 7 PM. Photographers will want to take the 6 PM tour before the light dims. Each tour accommodates 12 people so make sure you volunteer quickly. Do not take your scope on the tour. |
| Jim's walk goes back to the entrance and takes the unpaved
path to the right. The walk is downhill and somewhat slippery. At one point we
had to climb over a fallen tree. At a good sitting place Jim gives a talk about the penguins and his involvement in the restoration of Brushy Beach. Twenty three pairs of birds nest at Brushy Beach under Jim's care. Twenty years ago there were 15 pairs found here. Since then the area has been fenced. Dogs have been banned from the beach and intensive trapping has removed feral cats, ferrets. |
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This is a penguin egg in Jim's hand. There are only 4,000 Yellow-eyed Penguins left in the world. It nests only on the south east coast of the south island, on Stewart Island and on the subantarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell. The Yellow-eyed Penguins troubles began when the Maori settled on the island and introduced dogs and rats. Their troubles intensified 150 years ago when Europeans cleared the forests down to the beaches for sheep pastures. The penguin needs woods for protection from predators and from the heat. |
| The Yellow-eyed Penguin nests under fallen logs or under
thick shrubs. This bird's nest is right next to the seating area where Jim
gives his lecture. He or she remained on the nest and seemingly ignored our
presence.. Jim allows flash photographs and I used a fill flash to take this photo and the next one. |
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Close up of the Yellow-eyed Penguin on the nest. Notice the
metal tag on the wing. The Black phase of the Variable Oystercatcher was seen on the beach from the penguin colony. |
The Yellow-eyed Penguin is only the first penguin of the evening. After the 6 PM tour, we went back to the Visitor's Center and paid NZ$10 for the evening Penguin Parade. The center closes about 5 PM and reopens at 8 PM for the parade. Like Phillips Island, Omaru has spectator bleachers for the penguin parade. The present structure seats about 50 people, but they are building a larger concrete stand behind the present stand. The best seats are in the front row on the ocean side.
The Little Penguins will not come ashore until dark. Non-flash photography is allowed but I did not have a camera suitable to take pictures in the dim light. The show is much like the one on Phillips Island with the first birds arriving about 9 PM. The young penguins are older and some of them are outside the burrows waiting to be fed by the adults. The adults cross the road in front of the viewing stand and walk through holes in the fence to the artificial burrows in the old quarry.
My companion from Korea was thrilled with the evening and so was I. Although you will have another chance for Yellow-eyed Penguin on the Otago Peninsula outside Dunedin I strongly recommend an evening in Omaru. It is cheaper and you get to see the Yellow-eyed Penguin in a more natural setting.
| Omaru Penguin Colony | www.penguins.co.nz |
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