Penguin Island Outing
08 Mar 2016
Our club had a coach tour to Penguin Island which is 42 km south of Perth near the Safety Bay area. We went with Club 55 Travel and our driver was owner Chris Hadland. Morning tea was enjoyed in the car park at the mainland terminal before we boarded the Rockingham Wild Encounters’ ferry for the 700m short journey. No doubt the 12.5 hectare island would have been used by the Aboriginal people as suggested by the Dreaming stories that relate to the area.
In the 1800s it was visited by whalers and sealers. The first known occupant was Seaforth McKenzie who lived in a shack known as the Manor from 1918 to 1926. He encouraged visits by holiday makers who camped on the beach. Since 1935 various organizations have managed the island for a variety of uses. In 1966 it was gazette as an A Class Reserve and vested in the then National Parks Authority. Part of the island was leased to a private company that operated a number of small shacks as a holiday resort. In 1985 the government authority was later named the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and in 1987 they negotiated the surrender of the private lease. Today the Department of Parks and Wildlife manage the island as a conservation reserve.
The island is named after the Little Penguins which nest in sand depressions under dense vegetation or in limestone caves. The 600 breeding pairs are the largest colony in WA. Being nocturnal birds, they are rarely seen during the day as they are hunting for bait fish and squid, but come ashore at night. In March more come ashore for the noisy courtship activities. They normally lay a clutch of two eggs which both parents Incubate over 35 days.
There is a rescue service on the island and it is housed in the Visitor Interpretation Centre. Injured birds are healed and released back to the wild. The most common injury is being hit by boats, but propeller damage is often critical and at times the bird has to be euthanized. The other birds there are abandoned chicks and they are hand reared and cannot be released to the wild. Pictured is the pool in the centre where the glass sides to the pool allow visitors to see all the bird activities as they swim and dive.
Feeding times are held three times a day and Jane is seen feeding an older bird which is wise to the procedures. The commentary given was informative and spiced with humour. All the penguins were known by their name. Jane explained how a young pair had abandoned their egg. Another “pair” went through the courting procedure, but no eggs resulted. They were both males! The staff took the abandoned egg and placed it with the male pair and they successfully hatched the egg. The picture shows the abandoned chicks coming from their box after sensing that it was feeding time.
There are more than 30 species of other birds on the island. Seagulls were the most conspicuous. The chicks ranged from recently hatched and coloured light brown as pictured, to more developed ones with their plumage changing from brown to white and all mixtures in between. Some of our members were fascinated to observe mother birds edging their nearly full grown chicks into the water to learn to swim.
Finally it was time to catch the ferry back to the mainland where we then were taken into central Rockingham. After purchasing and consuming our lunch, it was back to Fremantle after a most enjoyable and informative day.
Acknowledgement is made of the Dept. of Parks and Wildlife’s brochure.
Barry Prosser
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