Codfish Island Survey

2009:

The resurvey of Codfish / Whenua Hou has been completed by Sandy King (Projects Officer Southern Islands) with assistance from DOC staff Dave Houston (Auckland) and Dean Nelson (Twizel), both very experienced yellow-eyed penguin people in their previous roles with DOC.

What they found was:
2001 survey found 61 breeding pairs
2009 survey found 46 breeding pairs

If you add on a 15% margin for an error of margin of ‘missed nests’ then that is still only 53 breedng pairs, or down 15% from the 2001 survey.

We still need to find out WHY.

Comment from Dave “Codfish, with the removal of pest species and the addition of a few new birds, is even better than I remember from my first amazing trip there 28 years ago, although the hills have apparently got steeper.  Thanks to Sandy King and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust for the opportunity to take part in this fantastic trip and to Dean for bringing the scotch.”

(Thanks Dave for the awesome photos!)

2001:

The Trust sponsored yellow-eyed penguin census of Whenua Hou (Cod Fish Island, found off the north-west coast of Stewart Island) commenced mid-November 2001.

It was important the Trust conduct this survey of this predator-free island. When results are compared to those of the neighbouring Stewart Island, it may assist us in finding out whether feral cat predation is a significant factor in the low numbers of yellow-eyed penguins on Stewart Island.

The Trust’s Projects Officer, David Blair and other experienced volunteers carried out a nest search to find 61 productive nests in three main breeding areas. Following the nest search a series of beach counts were completed. The results for Whenua Hou were very positive this year as the numbers of juveniles and non-breeding adult penguins give promise of a secure future for this breeding location.

Related posts:

• Codfish Island Survey 2009
• Stewart Island Census 1999-2000
• Stewart Island – P1 nest search results
• Unexplained Chick Losses on Stewart Island