Penguin Rescue (Katiki Point Penguin Refuge Charitable Trust)

Annual report 2014/15

Rosalie Goldsworthy, Hiltrun Ratz and Chris Lalas

July 2015

Summary The Katiki Point Penguin Rehabilitation Trust was re-named Penguin Rescue in August 2014. Our vision is to remove Yellow-eyed penguins off the endangered species list. Our mission is to provide sanctuary for penguins and by optimising penguin habitat, maximising penguin survival and breeding success and minimising human disturbance of penguins. This report covers the 12 months from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. Overall the nest numbers in 2014/15 increased by 4 at Katiki Point and decreased by 4 at Okahau Point (aka Barracouta Bay) resulting in the same overall number of breeding pairs at Moeraki as last season. Katiki Point with 34 nests is now the largest Yellow-eyed penguin colony on the South Island and Moeraki now accounts for 92% of nests at North Otago and about 20% of nests on South Island. Chick survival at Okahau Point was 1.4 chicks fledged per pair but low at Katiki Point with only 0.7 chicks fledged per pair. We attribute this having of breeding success at Katiki Point to human disturbance. A total of 70 Yellow-eyed penguins were rehabilitated with an 83% release rate. The total number of admissions was 87 with 11 individuals rehabilitated more than once. Penguin Rescue’s website penguins.org.nz has a new platform and has been updated and expanded. Habitat modifications are ongoing to mitigate disturbance by tourists and to maximise nesting opportunity for penguins. Tripadvisor.com.au has awarded Katiki Point 3rd place in their 2015 Top 10 Landmarks – New Zealand. Tourist numbers were high with a minimum of 27,800 through the 5 months from November 2014 to March 2015. A total of 31 cats and 5 ferrets were trapped. A total of $22,000 was received in donations and $23,000 was spent this season with rehabilitation the highest cost at $6,500. Methods All nest boxes and natural nest sites were given a number and their GPS coordinates were recorded. The two Yellow-eyed penguin colonies at Moeraki, Katiki Point and Okahau Point (aka Barracouta Bay) were searched for nests with eggs in mid September to record the earliest lay dates. All nest contents, and band and transponder numbers of breeding adults were recorded. From mid October each nest was visited twice a week to monitor attendance by the adults, and record hatch dates and chick survival. All adults without a transponder were fitted with one during incubation. Chicks were captured, weighed and transpondered when they reached 70 days of age. If they were under 4kg they were transferred to the rehabilitation facility. All chicks were monitored until fledging and any that appeared to be losing weight were re-weighed and taken to the rehabilitation facility if they were under 5.5kg by age 100 days. Rehabilitation records were collated for the year from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. From February to June the coastline between Katiki Point and Okahau Point was walked twice weekly to locate injured and/or starving moulting penguins. These were visually assessed and where appropriate transferred to the rehabilitation facility. Several volunteers monitored the 20km coastline from Hampden Beach to Shag Point to search for penguins that needed to be rescued for rehabilitation.

Veterinarians from the Oamaru Veterinary Centre visited every fortnight to treat and check the progress of penguins in the rehabilitation facility. Traps targeting cats and mustelids (stoats and ferrets) were placed in both colonies throughout the season and checked regularly. Further protection from predators was provided by the fortnightly shooting of Joe Taurima from November to mid December 2014. Results Nest numbers at Moeraki Nest numbers at Moeraki have increased annually at an average rate of 8% since conservation management began in 1982 and they now account for 91% of all North Otago nests. Okahau Point saw a decrease of 4 nest from last season to 24 nests, Katiki Point an increase of 4 nests to 34 nests resulting in a total of 58 nests, the same total as in the 2013/14 season. Katiki Point was the only South Island colony to show an increase in nest numbers in the 2014/15 season.

Graph of Yellow-eyed penguin nests at Okahau Point and Katiki Point from 1982 to 2014.

 Graph of Yellow-eyed penguin nests at Moeraki as a proportion of all North Otago nests from 1984 to 2014. Breeding success The fertility at Katiki Point was lower than average (85%) which is often recorded in years with increases in nest numbers because first-time breeders hatch fewer eggs than experienced pairs. There was a decrease in nest numbers at Okahau Point from 2013/14 season and the fertility was slightly above average probably because there were few inexperienced pairs breeding. Unfortunately about one third of all penguins had remained unmarked in the 2013/14 season and therefore recruitment of first time-breeders is not sufficiently known to correlate it to the breeding success. Chick survival was normal for Okahau Point but very low for Katiki Point. There were 34 natural and 2 created nests at Katiki Point and of these 20 (56%) were within 10m of tourist paths or penguins had to cross the tourist path on their way to the nest (track crossing). The other 16 nests were more than 10m from the tourist paths and penguin access to nests did not involve track crossing. Fertility was 24% (=(71%-93%)/93%) lower and 49% (=(43%-64%)/43%) more chicks died at less than 2 weeks old for nests near tourist paths (only one chick died older than 2 weeks). The natural fledging rate was also over 4 times higher (438% = (43%-8%)/8%) for nests that were more than 10m away from tourists paths. We postulate that this low reproductive success will impact recruitment in the future and possibly result in a decline in nest numbers and ultimately demise of this colony.    

Table summarising the breeding success of Yellow-eyed penguins at Katiki Point and Okahau Point in the 2013/14 season.

Katiki Point Okahau Point Total

Number of nests 34 24 58 Number of eggs laid 65 46 111 Number of eggs hatched 53 40 93 Total number of chicks fledged 24 32 56

Number of chicks fledged naturally 14 21 35

Fertility (eggs hatched/eggs laid) 82% 87% 84% Chick survival (chicks fledged/chicks hatched) 45% 80% 60% Egg success (chicks fledged/eggs laid) 37% 70% 50% Total chicks fledged per pair 0.71 1.39 0.98

Table summarising breeding success for nests at Katiki Point that were within 10m of the tourist track and/or the penguins had to cross the tourist path on their way to get to their nest (track crossing), and nests further than 10m from the tourist paths. The percentage refers to eggs hatched for either nests.

nests < 10m or

nests

track crossing

≥ 10m

Number of nests 20

16 Number of eggs 35

30

Number of eggs hatched 25 71% 28 93%

Number of chicks dead < 2 weeks old 16 64% 12 43% Number of chicks fledged through hospital 6 24% 4 14% Number of chicks fledged naturally 2 8% 12 43%

Left: A GoogleEarth map of Katiki Point showing the car park and the lighthouse in the top right corner. The red line follows the path from the car park to the DoC hide. The blue line follows the path visitors take to the point. The red area is the Katiki Point Wildlife Management Reserve and the rest is Ngai Tahu land (Te Runanga o Moeraki). Right: This GoogleEarth map showing the position of the nests at Katiki Point. Successful nests are black, nests with chicks dead aged 2 weeks or less are red, nests with chicks that were rehabilitated pre-fledging are yellow and nests with one of two chicks rehabilitated pre-fledging are half yellow and half black.  

    Fostering The male at an Okahau Point nest was found with a broken flipper during incubation and had to be euthanised. His eggs were first fostered to two experienced pairs at Katiki Point until all eggs could be checked for fertility. One nest at Okahau Point had two non-viable eggs and the eggs were fostered and the chicks fledged there. The male of another Okahau Point was found with severe bleeding when the single chick was 3 weeks old. He was rehabilitated successfully and released. The chick was fostered to a Katiki Point nest that had lost one of its chicks a few days before. The chick was accepted and both chicks fledged. Two pairs that built nests did not lay their own eggs were given first dummy eggs and later one viable penguin egg each. One egg was fostered to a pair half way between Katiki Point and Okahau Point (“Ogden Bay”) where it hatched and the chick fledged. The other egg was fostered to a pair at Katiki Point where it hatched but the chick died at less than 2 weeks old.

Rehabilitation Overall 11 chicks were brought into the rehabilitation facility from Katiki Point, one died and 10 were released. And 13 chicks were brought into the rehabilitation facility from Okahau Point, two died and 11 were released. We had a total of 87 Yellow-eyed penguin admissions into the rehabilitation facility in the 2014/15 season. Three adults, three juveniles, four pre-fledging chicks and one post-fledging chick were admitted more than once resulting in a total of 70 individuals. Seven individuals of other species were also rehabilitated. Yellow-eyed penguins were released at Katiki Point or Okahau Point (Barracouta Bay). The species of penguins other than Yellow-eyed penguins were all released at Katiki Point. An overall 83% release rate for Yellow-eyed penguins was achieved. The average number of days Yellow-eyed penguins spent in rehabilitation was 18 days (range 1-85 days) including the time spent in the soft-release pens. In the 2013/14 season the average number of days penguins spent in the rehabilitation facility was 28. This reduction in the average duration of stay was attributable to starting the rehabilitation of underweight chicks at a younger age and had the benefit that they were released earlier and close their natural fledging age. Table summarising all penguins admissions to the Katiki Point rehabilitation facility in the 2014/15 season.

Total number Total number Total Release rate

of admissions

of individuals dead

of individuals

Yellow-eyed penguins

Adults 40 34 6 82%

Juveniles 9 7 1 86%

Pre-fledging chicks 24 24 3 88%

Post-fledging chicks 14 5 2 60%

Total 87 70 12 83%

Other species

Erect-crested 2 2 1 50%

Little 3 3 0 100%

White-flippered 4 2 1 50%

Total 9 7 2 71%

In 2014/15 only nine juveniles were admitted into the rehabilitation facility (11% of all admitted Yellow-eyed penguins) much fewer than the 42 in the previous season (38%). Also very few other Yellow-eyed penguin juveniles were sighted loafing or moulting in the colonies. The combination of low numbers of rehabilitated juveniles and few seen in the colonies indicates a very low survival rate of juveniles from the 2013/14 season. Overall the 17% mortality rate during rehabilitation of Yellow-eyed penguins in this season was over double the 7% in the 2013/14 season. Starvation, injury and sickness were the reasons penguins were admitted to be rehabilitated. This season all pre-fledging chicks, all post-fledging chicks and all juveniles suffered from starvation upon admittance but only 23 adults (60% of all adults). The other adults had injuries with some also starving. A notable absence this season were eye injuries while in the 2013/14 two juveniles and three adults were admitted with eye injuries. The soft-release strategy was employed again this season. It is still to early to assess its effectiveness as chicks from the 2013/14 season had a very low survival rate and non-breeding penguins are difficult to identify compared to breeding adults whose transponders are easily read on the nest. Overall rehabilitation can only be considered successful if the penguin returns to breed regardless of the age when it was rehabilitated. This season 19% of chicks that had fledged from rehabilitation returned to be rehabilitated again compared to only 3% last season. This was a substantial increase. If chicks are rehabilitated repeatedly post-fledging they not only have more chances to survive but have also learnt to return to Moeraki when they need help. This behaviour could contribute to a higher survival rate and recruitment resulting in more penguins breeding in the future. Table detailing the total number of chicks that were fledged naturally and rehabilitated and fledged in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons; and individual penguins and number of admissions of chicks that were rehabilitated post-fledging.

2013/14

2014/15

Number of chicks

that fledged naturally 26 (44%)

35 (63%)

that fledged from rehabilitation 33 (56%)

21 (37%)

Rehabilitated after

fledging naturally 2 (2/26 = 8%) 3 (3/35 = 9%)

fledging from rehabilitation 1 (1/33 = 3%) 4 (4/21 = 19%)

Of the 63 admissions of adults, juveniles and post-fledging chicks, 44 (70%) were collected within the breeding colonies at Katiki Point and Okahau Point. The other 19 (30%) penguins were collected elsewhere in North Otago from Hampden Beach to Karitane. This indicated that many penguins in need of rehabilitation come ashore outside breeding areas. This makes

it imperative that much of the coast outside breeding areas needs to be monitored for penguins that may require rehabilitation. DoC has decreed in our Rehabilitation Permit that Penguin Rescue may only rehabilitate penguins found between Waianakarua and Karitane, a 45km stretch of coast. A number of local volunteers have again assisted by regularly checking their assigned beaches. As a requirement of our Rehabilitation Permit, a list of monthly admitted and released penguins were submitted to DoC. We usually feed salmon smelt to the penguins in the rehabilitation facility but in mid January King Salmon indicated that they had none left. A subsequent appeal by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust resulted in mackerel and silverside donated to Penguin Place who kindly provided Penguin Rescue with what we needed. Trapping for introduced mammalian predators and predation of seabirds Between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015, 26 cats and 3 ferrets were trapped and killed at Katiki Point and 5 cats and 2 ferrets were trapped and killed at Okahau Point. No Yellow-eyed penguins and no Little penguins were killed. Following the predation of about 70 Sooty Shearwaters at Katiki Point in 2013/14, Rosalie contacted DoC to ask for advise about the latest techniques to trap cats. She was advised supplementary feeding before setting traps and this was a great success resulting in a higher success with a doubling of the number of cats trapped. There were only two Sooty Shearwaters killed at Katiki Point in 2014/15 compared to the 70 the previous year. This year was the first time we accurately counted the kills of other seabirds at Katiki Point: 5 Broad-billed prions, 13 White-faced storm petrels, and 7 Common diving petrels.

A-frame nest box with a breeding adult Yellow-eyed penguin.

Monitoring other seabirds at Katiki Point Ten species of seabirds nested at Katiki Point in the 2014/15 breeding season, including two species breeding for the first time. An 11th species, White-fronted tern, is an ephemeral breeder that does not breed here every year, with none in 2014/15. Nest numbers for the 11 species of seabirds that breed at Katiki Point. In addition there was one nest of Variable oystercatchers, the normal number for Katiki Point. Years entered in the table below represent the start of the breeding season. Monitoring began in 1978 and conservation management began in 1983. Breeding by Yellow-eyed penguins was initiated by translocated rehabilitated birds. Eight other species colonised naturally.

Species Nest

count in 2014

Year for initiation of breeding

Previous nest count Trends in nest numbers

Yellow-eyed penguin 34 1991 31 in 2013 10% increase since 2013; ≈13% average annual increase since initial of breeding in 1991

Little penguin 37 1991 42 in 2004 ≈17% average annual increase since initial of breeding in 1991 but with large annual fluctuations

Broad-billed prion not counted ≈2002 not counted

No reliable nest counts; this is the only known mainland breeding location for broad-billed prions

Sooty shearwater ≈293 1997 ≈203 in 2012 ≈18% average annual increase since initial of breeding in 1997

White-faced storm petrel not counted ≈1994 not counted

No reliable nest counts; this is the only known mainland breeding location for any storm petrel species

Common diving petrel not counted 2014 1st year

breeding No reliable nest counts; this is the only known mainland breeding location for any diving petrel species

Little shag 2 2014 1st year breeding

These are the only coastal little shag nests known between Karitane & Banks Peninsula

Spotted shag ≈39 before 1978 ≈32 in 2011 Maximum 5 nests 1978-2005 and subsequent increase with large annual fluctuations (0-50 nests)

Southern black-backed gull ≈8 before 1983 2 in 2004 Insufficient data to assess any trend

Red-billed gull ≈253 1992 ≈204 in 2013 Large annual fluctuations (0-500 nests) since initial of breeding in 1992

White-fronted tern 0 1992 2 in 2004 Large annual fluctuations (0-100 nests; often 0) with no trend apparent since initial of breeding in 1992

Habitat work The extensive vegetation maintenance started in winter 2014 has been continued with trees pruned to free up overgrown neighbouring slower-growing trees. In particular a concerted effort has been put into the eradication of boxthorn, an invasive introduced species that

spreads widely but hinders penguin movement and its thorns have been found as splinters in penguin feet and flippers. A total of 85 nest boxes were available for penguins at Katiki Point, 69 at Okahau Point and 4 in the area between Katiki Point and Okahau Point colonies for the 2014/15 season. We continued to create new nest sites within the forested areas with cut branches for concealment. Outside the forested areas nest sites were created by planting trees around new nest boxes and protecting them either with plastic sleaves or with circles made of fencing material and shade cloth. We mowed grassy open areas on coastal slopes to create open spaces for the penguins to socialise. We also cleared any rank grass that blocked access to nest sites. Reducing the area with rank grass also decreases the favoured habitat for introduced predators because stoats, ferrets and cats are attracted to rank grass for shelter and food (mice, rats, rabbits and passerine birds) The local farmer Doug Stalker has kindly made 16 sheep available for grazing around Okahau Point. Our aim is to maintain open areas in short grass throughout the reserve all year. By the end of June 2015 no trees have been planted because the ground was too dry. We are planning to plant about 150 trees later this winter. Shag Point There was one nest at Shag Point this year. The previous nesting at Shag Point was in 2010, so it was exciting to find breeding re-established after a gap of 3 years. One chick survived and was transpondered. Two adults were sighted nearby, one had a band that was sprung open but despite our best efforts the penguin could not be caught to adjust the band. Tourists Patrick Tipa, Kaiwhakahaere-Executive of Te Runanga o Moeraki, decided in spring that the reserve closed between 7:30pm and 7:30am and Penguin Rescue bought signs that displayed opening and closing times. Two were put up by the side of the road to the lighthouse and one at the lighthouse. Despite this signage tourists continued to arrive after closing time, some after dark. The signs were removed 1 April 2015. Closing time was enforced by Rosalie Goldsworthy. In late October 2014 we installed a people counter to get reliable number for visitors. The laser-operated counter was not calibrated and underestimated numbers because people walking abreast were counted as one person. It was also somewhat temperamental and did not function correctly in high winds or high temperatures. The minimum visitor numbers were 4321 in November, 6203 in December, 8136 in January, 4270 in February and 4877 in March. A minimum of 27,807 people visited Katiki Point through these peak five months. Extrapolating from these numbers we estimate an annual total of about 40,000 – 50,000 visitors. The people counter was vandalised in early April 2015 and we cannot afford to replace it.

Photos showing tourists visiting Katiki Point and their behaviour

Car park on 15 February 2015, 6pm.

People crowding penguins on 13 February 2015, 4:30pm.

People blocking penguins on 14 February 2014 (left) and 11 January 2015 (right).

Advocacy work On 10 and 11 July 2014 Chris and Rosalie participated in the Oamaru Penguin Symposium. Chris gave a talk entitled ‘Increase in yellow-eyed penguins through intensive management at Moeraki, North Otago’. On 2 August 2014, Rosalie and Hiltrun presented our season report at the Yellow-eyed Penguin Consultative Group Annual Symposium. South-east Marine Protection Forum: On 4 February 2015 Rosalie presented a talk about Moeraki wildlife on behalf of Penguin Rescue in Oamaru. On 17 April 2015 Hiltrun presented a talk about Otago seabirds at the Marine Science Department, University of Otago. This included seabirds at Moeraki. Meeting with the Green Party: On 27 February 2015, Metiria Turei, Eugenie Sage and Suzanne Menzies-Culling visited Katiki Point. We approached the Green Party on two issues: Our DoC Rehabilitation and Wildlife Management Permits had been outstanding for 18 months we sought their help to get them. The tourist numbers are increasing with a detrimental effect on the breeding success of the penguins this season: we wanted assistance to change the status of the DoC reserve at Katiki Point from Wildlife Management Reserve to Nature Reserve. The result of this meeting was that we received both DoC permits within three weeks. Work is ongoing for the change of reserve status. Meeting with the Labour Party Dunedin North MP David Clark: On 24 April 2015, David Clark and Frances Griffiths visited Katiki Point. They had been approached by Elaine Burgess, a Trustee for Penguin Rescue, to advise on how to effect the change of reserve status for Katiki Point from Wildlife Management Reserve to Nature Reserve. Work is ongoing for this. In May 2014 a Facebook page for Penguin Rescue was started with regular photos and stories about the penguins. By the end of June 2015 212 people had “liked” the page and were following it. In April 2015 www.penguins.org.nz received a new platform and is now hosted by Weebly.com. The website is much easier to maintain and change and features general information about Yellow-eyed penguins as well as specific information about Penguin Rescue. A new sponsorship scheme was initiated in spring 2014. Naming rights for a breeding adult or juvenile can now be purchased for $150, for an egg or chick for $50. Six chicks and two adults have been adopted this season and certificates were sent to the sponsors. The sponsored penguins feature at times on Facebook and the Facebook blog on the website (for those without Facebook accounts). Hiltrun wrote an article about Penguin Rescue featured in the March-April edition of “Lure”, Reel News from the Tautuku Fishing Club. Three articles were also published in the Hamraki Rag to alert locals to stranded penguins. Rosalie attended the Waitaki District Council meeting on dog control 6 August 2014.

On 19 May 2015 Rosalie was invited to speak to the Waianakarua Women’s Institute about Penguin Rescue work. Rosalie attended and gave a talk at the WReNNZ Wildlife Rehabilitators’ network of NZ conference on 22-24 May 2015 in Hamilton. Rosalie, Chris and Hiltrun are involved in the Yellow-eyed penguin stock-take currently undertaken by the DoC and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust in order to assess the effectiveness of the 2001 Hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes) Recovery Plan 2000-2025. Chris and Rosalie have submitted their feedback. Katiki Point Lighthouse was awarded third place in tripadvisor’s 10 Top Landmarks – New Zealand in early June 2015 (see 3 pages attached at the end of this report). Volunteer hours Volunteer work by Rosalie, Hiltrun and Chris averaged a total 70 hours per week through the past year. This is the equivalent of two full time positions. Financials Penguin Rescue was GST registered in January 2015. Penguin Rescue received a total of $22,000 for the 12 months from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. This included $800 through the paypal donation option on the website and a $927 GST refund. A total of two adults and six chicks were adopted as part of the sponsorship scheme initiated in the past 12 months, resulting in $600 donations. About $7000 was received in the donation box at Katiki Point from the estimated 40,000 – 50,000 visitors, an average of 14 – 18 cents per visitor. Some people were generous and donated up to $50 but this meant that most people gave nothing at all. We have categorised our expenditure through the last 12 months. The table is a summary of these expenses with details for each category. Rehabilitation was our biggest expense followed by the transponder gate and monitoring. Table summarising expenditure for the 12 months from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 with descriptions of categories.

Monitoring: stationery, identification tags for nests, 200 transponder-microchips, egg light box, people counter. Nest boxes: 12 new wooden boxes. Pest control: new traps, bait. Plants: plants, potting mix, planter bags and buckets, trays, watering cans, screening and protection, plumbing for watering plants in the colonies. Rehabilitation: vet visits and drugs, fish, release pens. Reserve fencing and habitat maintenance: penguin proof fencing, maintenance of powertools. Reserve signs: 2 signs displaying opening and closing times for visitors. Transponder gate: transponder reader and scales to electronically record arrival and departure times and arrival weights for transpondered penguins.

Plans for the future A more resilient and appropriate people counter is needed as soon as possible. We plan to approach potential sponsors to help cover the cost of managing the penguins in the colonies as well as operating the rehabilitation facility. The success of fostering a chick at Ogden Bay (midway between Katiki Point and Okahau Point) is encouraging. Five other penguins were sighted there during the 2015 moult and two young females were soft-released there from the rehabilitation facility to complete their moult there. The hope is that they will pair with the resident males and start breeding. The transponder gate and scales arrived at the end of June and will be deployed this winter. Tourists have become a major problem and their number and behaviour disturb the penguins during breeding, particularly because they block penguin access between nests and the sea at Katiki Point. DoC and Ngai Tahu appear unwilling to protect the penguins and more advocacy work with politicians is planned to provide better protection for the penguins. Acknowledgements In addition to people already mentioned, thanks also to volunteers who helped out at Katiki Point, particularly: Daniel Bidwell, Charlotte Cok, and Tom MacTavish. We thank Andreas and Belinda van der Zande for their interest and support. Dr Chris Lalas thanks Sanford Ltd for funding travel between Dunedin and Moeraki. There have been many generous donations this season from many people. Without these it would be difficult to feed all these mouths in the rehabilitation facility and to buy the materials for nest boxes and fences - thank you all. In particular: Adelheid Kahlert $4600 Ron & Isabel Ross Ogden, Lighthouse Hills Farms $1000 Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust $ 750 Murray and Bronwyn Judge $ 500 At4Nature $ 500 Sylvia Allan $ 500 Ivan Sammut $ 500 Craig Rodger $ 500 The locals who watch over ‘their’ beaches and call with news about penguins in trouble – you have saved many penguins this seasons – thank you.