Today I went on a tour down to Phillip Island to see the penguin "parade". It was a long trip (10 hours door:door) for 1.5 hours of penguin viewing -- but I'm very glad I did it. On the tour we stopped at a wildlife park (rather boring at this point) and we stopped in some small town for dinner (mandatory break for the bus driver) --- I could have passed on both of those stops -- I would have much rather seen more of the island. It was nice though not to have to do the 2 hour drive back to Melbourne.
There are about 32,000 little penguins that live on Phillip Island (they used to be called fairy penguins -- but I guess that's not PC). In NZ they are known as blue penguins. They are the smallest penguin -- only 12" - 13" long and weigh about 2.5 - 3.5 lbs.
The penguins spend their days out in the water -- going out before sunrise and coming back after sunset. Since they are so little -- they have to worry about being gobbled up by birds of prey -- so that's why they go in & out of the water when it's dark out -- they also gather in the water before they hit land -- safety in numbers. We had good conditions tonight -- high tide, quarter moon, cloudy skies -- so we saw over 1,500 penguins come in. If conditions are poor (full moon, low tide, etc.), they often just stay out in the water. The penguins don't have to go out every night -- depends on whether or not they are hungry (we saw some penguins in their burrows as we were walking in.
It was absolutely amazing to see hundreds of penguins pop out of the water and onto the beach. They hang out on the beach for a bit to get their "land legs" -- and to socialize -- and then they start the walk to their burrows. Only immediate family members live together in a burrow -- they don't share with others (and they do get divorced -- the rate is 18 - 50% depending on breeding conditions). The penguins who didn't go in the water will come out of their burrows to greet the returning penguins. They make a lot of noise -- they kind of sound like ducks when they are out on the water -- and then when they hit land -- it's chirps & trills.
Note: you aren't allowed to take photos while on the boardwalk -- regardless of whether or not any penguins are present. I was bad and snuck in a couple of photos (so not very high quality since i had to snap covertly). Some people blatantly ignored the photo ban -- and after being told 2x to stop taking photos -- on the 3x time, they were escorted off the boardwalk.
Note: if you ever go to see the penguin parade -- definitely upgrade to the Penguin Plus viewing area (but I wouldn't do the sky box) -- and bring binoculars (I was very glad that I had mine)
Trivia:
Miles Walked: 4.3
Book/s Read: Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George (#3 in the Lynley / Havers series). Good read.
Pic Notes:
There are about 32,000 little penguins that live on Phillip Island (they used to be called fairy penguins -- but I guess that's not PC). In NZ they are known as blue penguins. They are the smallest penguin -- only 12" - 13" long and weigh about 2.5 - 3.5 lbs.
The penguins spend their days out in the water -- going out before sunrise and coming back after sunset. Since they are so little -- they have to worry about being gobbled up by birds of prey -- so that's why they go in & out of the water when it's dark out -- they also gather in the water before they hit land -- safety in numbers. We had good conditions tonight -- high tide, quarter moon, cloudy skies -- so we saw over 1,500 penguins come in. If conditions are poor (full moon, low tide, etc.), they often just stay out in the water. The penguins don't have to go out every night -- depends on whether or not they are hungry (we saw some penguins in their burrows as we were walking in.
It was absolutely amazing to see hundreds of penguins pop out of the water and onto the beach. They hang out on the beach for a bit to get their "land legs" -- and to socialize -- and then they start the walk to their burrows. Only immediate family members live together in a burrow -- they don't share with others (and they do get divorced -- the rate is 18 - 50% depending on breeding conditions). The penguins who didn't go in the water will come out of their burrows to greet the returning penguins. They make a lot of noise -- they kind of sound like ducks when they are out on the water -- and then when they hit land -- it's chirps & trills.
Note: you aren't allowed to take photos while on the boardwalk -- regardless of whether or not any penguins are present. I was bad and snuck in a couple of photos (so not very high quality since i had to snap covertly). Some people blatantly ignored the photo ban -- and after being told 2x to stop taking photos -- on the 3x time, they were escorted off the boardwalk.
Note: if you ever go to see the penguin parade -- definitely upgrade to the Penguin Plus viewing area (but I wouldn't do the sky box) -- and bring binoculars (I was very glad that I had mine)
Trivia:
- a group of penguins on land are called a "waddle"
- a group of penguins at sea are called a "raft"
Miles Walked: 4.3
Book/s Read: Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George (#3 in the Lynley / Havers series). Good read.
Pic Notes:
- 1: Fields of asparagus
- 2: Tasmanian Devil (I think they are the ugliest animals)
- 3: Kookaburra - I'm sad that I haven't seen any of these in the wild (I've heard them -- but not been able to spot them -- which is a bit weird because they are rather big (11" - 17")
- 4 - 5: Sheep shearing demonstration (the guy doing the shearing has a farm nearby -- his shearing record is 150 sheep in 1 day)
- 6: A kangaroo hopping -- I never get tired of watching them hop around -- I think that we would like deer a lot more if they hopped
- kangaroo trivia: female kangaroos can determine the sex of their offspring. they can even delay gestation when environmental facts are likely to diminish the chance of young surviving.
- 7: Penguins peering out of their burrow
- 8 - 9: Penguin-viewing boardwalk
- 10: A waddle of penguins on their way to their burrows
- 11: Penguins coming out of the water (not my picture)
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