29 Dec 2019

Penguin Politics on Macquarie Island

We pulled into the welcome shelter of Buckles Bay at Macquarie Island in the early hours of Saturday morning, following a boisterous second night out from the Auckland Islands. After picking up the Australian Rangers from their research station, we sailed an hour south and took the Zodiacs ashore to our landing at Sandy Bay.

The rocky point protecting our landing was festooned with hundreds of Royal Penguins, with many more porpoising around our Zodiacs or preening themselves in the water, while young Elephant Seals, weaners, lay jammed together on the beach in bickering, flatulent clusters. The young males rearing and clashing necks; play-fighting to learn skills they will later use in earnest.

As we started to explore the island, a group of Royal and King Penguins marched toward us up the beach before the Royals peeled off and dashed into the incoming waves. Over at the King Penguin colony, birds stood patiently with their backs to the sea, incubating a single egg each in brood-pouches on top of their sturdy black feet, keeping the eggs warm and away from the cold, muddy ground. Around them last year's chicks are losing their brown downy feathers as their adult coats grow underneath, giving them the appearance of wearing fluffy cloaks. This is in stark contrast to the breeding adult plumage, which is resplendent in rich shades of gold, yellow and silver, offset by bright white breast feathers and crimson gapes.

Observing the Royal Penguin colony, on a denuded slope high above the beach, we watched the downy half-grown chicks which have been corralled into crèche huddles and supervised by adult birds not currently feeding at sea.

But we are not the only ones watching, a Giant Petrel looped around the margins of the colony, looking for a vulnerable chick. Several times it lunges towards one, only to be blocked by a wall of feisty, squawking penguins. However, the petrel's perseverance pays off as a chick wanders a little too far from the crèche. Seizing the opportunity, the petrel swoops in dispatching the chick in moments. While it was hard to watch, it's a reminder that petrels also have hungry chicks to feed.

Image from file © J.Mishina, Heritage Expeditions