Monitoring of yellow-eyed penguins

To manage the yellow-eyed penguin population effectively and enable scientists to conduct good research, comprehensive data needs to be collected.

Nests are counted to give an indication of overall population trends. These nests are then monitored through the breeding season. Observing the number of eggs laid and whether these chicks survived to fledge, helps us to determine breeding success.

Because birds are marked we can keep track of them, work out who is breeding with who and determine which birds get injured or die. This tells us about the survival rate of hoiho.

Data gathered from individually marked penguins will continue to be added to the Department of Conservation’s yellow-eyed penguin database, and will enhance the Trust’s understanding of hoiho populations and their dynamics, including issues such as recruitment.