Members of the Friends of Low Head Penguin Colony have been busy during winter when another 43 marine ply nest boxes were installed at Low Head. The Group received funding from the Premier’s Discretionary Fund (with assistance from Hon. Nick Duigan MLC and Hon. Lara Alexander, MLA), and a Community Assistance Grant from the George Town Council. The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service were also actively involved in the process, providing support and approval, for the project.
Marine ply was purchased and students from Star of the Sea Catholic College and Port Dalrymple School assembled the nest boxes after they had been cut to the well-used pattern by Longs Building & Joinery of George Town. The Group’s efforts were assisted by two George Town Council staff who cut away the African Boxthorn to allow for the placement of the nest boxes under the screening vegetation.
There are now more than 100 nest boxes on site, thanks to the efforts of the Group over several years. Research at Phillip Island in Victoria has shown that penguins using these nest boxes have higher breeding success than natural burrows. Following the devastating dog attacks in 2017/18 in which many penguins were killed, the installation of the nest boxes provides the colony with the greatest recovery possible. A check of the new boxes just a few days later showed that they had already been visited by penguins – highlighting the value of the project to the colony.
A check of the existing nest boxes at the same time showed that the penguins ashore in nest boxes were near the end of their annual moult. Penguins moult after their breeding season, and the moult takes around 20 days for the new feathers to grow and replace the old feathers. This summer, moulting penguins were present in their burrows at Low Head from early January until mid-April.
