Yellow eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

We may not have managed to get to Antarctica this year, but I am pretty happy that we have managed to see two new types of penguin. Although we had managed a close encounter with the Little blues in Napier, it doesn't count towards our tally unless we see them in the wild, and we managed that here. But we also got to see possibly the rarest of the species, the yellow eyed penguin.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

The yellow eyed penguin is only found on the South Island of New Zealand, and is unusual in that it does not live in colonies. the birds are solitary, and generally pair up with the same mate each year at breeding time. They have suffered from predators introduced to the islands by man, such as cats, dogs, possums, stoats and weasels, and their numbers reached a dangerously low point of 141 pairs in 1990.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

The good news is that efforts to protect them have paid off, and numbers peaked at around 514 pairs in 2010. The number has dropped again since then, but is around 440 pairs, so has hopefully settled to a more secure future, as long as the protections are kept up.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

While we were on the Otago Peninsula, we stayed in a self catering lodge at Penguin Place, which is a privately owned conservation project for these birds. They started in 1985 with just eight breeding pairs on the land, but through predator control, the planting of trees and shrubs to provide them with the habitat they need, and the addition of little penguin shelters, they managed to create a good environment for them, and increased this to 36 pairs in 1996. Like the overall situation, the numbers have reduced again, but not to such low levels.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

To help fund their work, they run tours to see the penguins on their land. The yellow eyeds are very shy birds, and so they have built a series of hides that enable us to quietly watch them without disturbing them. As ever, there is no guarantee of seeing them, but we managed to find three.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

The first was just chilling out in one of the little shelters. The other two, an adult and a juvenile, came in from the sea while we were there and waddled up right past us in the hide. The juvenile appeared to want to hang out with the adult; the adult put up with it for a while, but eventually told it to go find its own spot.

It was great to see these birds, and I would happily recommend Penguin Place to people.

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

Yellow-eyed penguins, Otago Peninsula

Fur seal, Otago Peninsula

Little blue penguins, Otago Peninsula

We also went to see the Little Blue Penguins come in from their day at sea. For this, we visited the Royal Albatross Centre, where they have set up a viewing platform at the area where the penguins land and around their burrows. The little blues aren't as shy as the yellow eyed, so as long as we keep to our pathways and platforms, they are content.

Little blue penguins, Otago Peninsula

The difficulty with these birds is that, being so small, they try to avoid predators by not returning to land until a little after dusk, so it can be tricky to see them. They have put in just enough lighting that we can see the penguins well enough at certain points, without disturbing them, but as flash is a strict no-no, my little camera wasn't up to the task of getting a decent photo.

Little blue penguins, Otago Peninsula

Oh, and assuming you drive up to the centre, do be careful on the drive back, because the penguins do sometime have to get across the road and they haven't learnt their green cross code. (Do they still have the green cross code, or have I just shown my age again!) 

Little blue penguins, Otago Peninsula